History of urban planning
Urban planning is a technical and political process concerned with the use of land and design of the urban environment, including air, water, and the infrastructure passing into and out of urban areas such as transportation and distribution networks. The history of urban planning runs parallel to the history of the city, as planning is in evidence at some of the earliest known urban sites. Pre-classical The pre-Classical and Classical periods saw a number of cities laid out according to fixed plans, though many tended to develop organically. Designed cities were characteristic of the Minoan, Mesopotamian, Harrapan, and Egyptian civilisations of the third millennium BC (see Urban planning in ancient Egypt). The first recorded description of urban planning appears in the Epic of Gilgamesh: "Go up on to the wall of Uruk and walk around. Inspect the foundation platform and scrutinise the brickwork. Testify that its bricks are baked bricks, And that the Seven Counsellors must have laid its foundations. One square mile is city, one square mile is orchards, one square mile is claypits, as well as the open ground of Ishtar's temple.Three square miles and the open ground comprise Uruk. Look for the copper tablet-box, Undo its bronze lock, Open the door to its secret, Lift out the lapis lazuli tablet and read." Distinct characteristics of urban planning from remains of the cities of Harappa, Lothal, Dholavira, and Mohenjo-daro in the Indus Valley civilisation (in modern-day northwestern India and Pakistan) lead archeologists to interpret them as the earliest known examples of deliberately planned and managed cities. The streets of many of these early cities were paved and laid out at right angles in a grid pattern, with a hierarchy of streets from major boulevards to residential alleys. Archaeological evidence suggests that many Harrapan houses were laid out to protect from noise and to enhance residential privacy; many also had their own water wells, probably both for sanitary and for ritual purposes. These ancient cities were unique in that they often had drainage systems, seemingly tied to a well-developed ideal of urban sanitation. Cities laid out on the grid plan could have been an outgrowth of agriculture based on rectangular fields. Most Mesoamerican cities in the late Postclassic period had highly organized central portions, typically consisting of one or more public plazas bordered by public buildings. In contrast, the surrounding residential areas typically showed little or no signs of planning. China and Japan China has a tradition of urban planning dating back thousands of years. In Japan, some cities, such as Nara and Heian-kyo, followed classic Chinese planning principles; later, during the feudal period, a type of town called Jōkamachi emerged. Those were castle towns, planned for - and oriented around - defense. Roads were laid out to make the paths to castles longer; the castles and other buildings were often situated in order to hide the castles through densely packed surrounding buildings. Edo, later Tokyo, is one example of a castle town. Greco-Roman empires Traditionally, the Greek philosopher