Human settlements are the basic constituents of the historical spatial organisation of society and its physical environment. The human settlement is composed of several elements which together form an overall system. These elements are the physical environment, society, the spatial structure and planning. The physical spatial structure of the settlement is an important framework within which other systems of the settlement exist and function. The physical spatial structure of the human settlement consists of five main elements; central area, neighbourhoods, the fringe, open land beyond the fringe and road system. The physical spatial structure of the settlement has always been affected by the decisions of people who live within it. These decisions constitute the physical planning system of the human settlement. The physical planning system aims to control and manage the physical spatial structure of the settlement. The physical planning system, in this respect, is seen as the state intervention in the control and management of the physical spatial structure of the settlement. The physical planning system is composed of two main elements; institutional arrangements and instrumental representations. The important question is what relationship does exist between the physical planning system and the physical spatial structure of the settlement? This research aims to investigate this problem by considering the physical planning system in Palestine and its relationship with the physical spatial structures of Palestinian settlements from the late 19th century to 1994. The importance of Palestine in this investigation depends on the fact that, within this century alone, Palestine had four different physical planning systems. These systems have drastically affected the physical spatial structures of Palestinian settlements. This research is based on the examination of the elements of each physical planning system in Palestine and the way by which they have affected the physical spatial structures of Palestinian settlements. A detailed case study is provided for the city of Tulkarm in order to illustrate the actual effects of the physical planning system in Palestine on elements of the physical spatial structure of this settlement. Within the above theoretical framework and empirical investigations, this research is an important attempt to achieve more insights into models and theories of both the physical planning system and the physical spatial structure of the settlement.

No description available.

Magister Artium (Development Studies) - MA (DVS) / In recent years, urban growth has been one of the major challenges in Africa. The increasing size and unwieldiness of towns and cities are a result of an on-going rapid urbanisation. The process of this rapid urbanisation in Africa is driven by the pursuit of employment and a better standard of living, which is rarely offered or available in rural areas (Okeke, 2014). Urbanisation brings about better services and livelihoods to millions, but poverty remains high in the rural and urban areas of Africa. Urbanisation is defined as an increase in the percentage of people living in towns and cities, which takes place as people move from rural to urban areas for better living standards. Urbanisation increases as a result of the extent and density of the cities.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Stockholm School of Economics, 1984. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 297-313).

Th. 3e cycle--Géogr.--Poitiers, 1986.

Thèse--Lettres--Paris I, 1976. / Bibliogr. p. 695-726.

Th.--Géogr. et aménage.--Grenoble 3, 1987.

Th.--Hist.--Helsinki, 1982. / Bibliogr. p. 204-208. On a joint un résumé en anglais.

Shifts in developmental and environmental imperatives in the late 1980s and early 1990s have prompted concomitant reassessments of urban management practice. In this context, the urban village discourse has emerged as an alternative take on how to create the built landscape. The ideas promoted in the discourse have been quickly adopted into national policy and implemented in urban development projects. However, it is the argument of this thesis that such endorsement of urban village principles has been hasty and uncritical. Employing the urban village as a material example, this thesis examines the implications of the production of urban form in the communication of meanings and social relations. The approach uses 'landscape' as an organising concept. This approach acknowledges the ideological foundations of urban transformation processes and the role that the built landscape has in signifying societal intentions. What the investigation confirmed was that not only does the urban village discourse have a concern with fashioning physical environments, but it also attempts to procure specific social outcomes through the built form. Case studies of two urban village landscapes, that are currently under construction, are used to progress this argument. The first is a green field extension to a small county town, the Poundbury project in Dorchester, Dorset. The second is a regeneration scheme in the centre of a major city, the Crown Street project in Glasgow. Through these two urban landscapes it is possible to analyse the divergent application of urban village premises and ideologies amidst competing influences. The projects illustrate the diversity in physical form and economic context that is possible within the urban village discourse. However, their social agendas are closely aligned. Three principal arguments are made in the thesis. Firstly, that urban village conception and construction of the built environment communicates a specific conservative social order. Secondly, that when embracing new paradigms the planning and development communities need to make themselves aware of the intrinsic implications and complex ideological enterprises associated with them. Finally, that a critical landscape approach is a powerful tool for unveiling the foundations of newly emerging planning visions.

Akadamisk avhandling--Umeå, 1992. / Bibliogr. p. 222-230. Résumé en anglais.