Land and the City Patterns and Processes of Urban Change

First Published in 2004. Presents a broad analysis of land use patterns and processes in urban areas. Land has the greatest significance for the spatial patterning and functioning of modern urban settlements and societies - providing the basic morphological elements of the city, it is a source of social and economic power, is intimately bound up with environmental issues and lies at the heart of planning. This book examines the way in which land is allocated and used in both theoretical and practical senses. The author examines the empirical data to reveal the sources and nature of land, how land is used and how those uses are changing in the contemporary city. Particular attention is paid to the misuse of land through vacancy or dereliction. He also explores the importance of land ownership and the principles of land policy using case studies. Finally, he assesses the land use implications of major urban change - deindustrialization, counter-urbanization and new technology. For the first time the overall significance of land use and ownership are examined in an urban geographical and planning context.

1. Introduction 2. Urban Land Allocation 3. Measuring and Monitoring Urban Land 4. Patterns and Changes of Land Use 5. Land Ownership 6. Land Policy 7. Vacant and Derelict Land 8. Some Conclusions

Philip Kivell

In the rapidly changing sphere of urban development, land is shown to provide the basic morphological structure of the city, but also the source of economic and social power and the key to planning through examples from around the world