Plan of an ideal city of 100 000 inhabitants by Jean-Jacques Moll from 1801
Urban planning, also known as town planning, city planning, regional planning, or rural planning, is a technical and political process that is focused on the development and design of land use and the built environment, including air, water, and the infrastructure passing into and out of urban areas, such as transportation, communications, and distribution networks and their accessibility. Traditionally, urban planning followed a top-down approach in master planning the physical layout of human settlements. The primary concern was the public welfare, which included considerations of efficiency, sanitation, protection and use of the environment, as well as effects of the master plans on the social and economic activities. Over time, urban planning has adopted a focus on the social and environmental bottom-lines that focus on planning as a tool to improve the health and well-being of people while maintaining sustainability standards. Sustainable development was added as one of the main goals of all planning endeavors in the late 20th century when the detrimental economic and the environmental impacts of the previous models of planning had become apparent. Similarly, in the early 21st century, Jane Jacob‘s writings on legal and political perspectives to emphasize the interests of residents, businesses and communities effectively influenced urban planners to take into broader consideration of resident experiences and needs while planning. read more…
Aldabra is the world’s second-largest coralatoll. It is situated in the Aldabra Group of islands in the Indian Ocean that are part of the Outer Islands of the Seychelles, with a distance of 1,120 km (700 mi) southwest of the capital, Victoria, on Mahé Island. Aldabra atoll has, besides the four larger islands, some 40 smaller islands and rocks, all inside the lagoon, as well as a few very small islets at the West Channels between Grand Terre Island and Picard Islands, the largest of those being Îlot Magnan. A small scientific research station of the SIF is based on La Gigi village on Picard Island. The permanent staff (currently 12) conduct research to study Aldabra’s biodiversity. Aldabra is not easily accessed. No airstrips, helipads or landing jetties have been permitted to be built on the atoll. The nearest airfield on Assumption is 50 kilometres (31 mi) south-east of Picard Island. Supply ships operating from Mahé provide food and other essentials once every two months to the scientists and staff at the research station. Cruises are operated by several companies along with dive boats which may visit the atoll on expedition tours. Visits to the island by people other than the scientists and staff of the SIF are strictly controlled and only guided tours are provided with prior permission., an average of 900 tourists visit the atoll a year. Within the atoll, paved walking paths exist from the village of La Gigi, which leads to a promontory from where scenic views of the large lagoon (during low tides) and the mangrove species are seen. read more…
The Red Sea–Dead Sea Conveyance (RSDSC), sometimes called the Two Seas Canal, is a planned pipeline to run from the coastal city of Aqaba by the Red Sea to the Lisan area in the Dead Sea. It will provide drinking water to Jordan, Israel and Palestine, bring water with a high concentration of salts resulting from the desalination process (reject brine) to stabilise the Dead Sea water level, and generate electricity to support the energy needs of the project. The project is planned to be carried out by Jordan and is entirely in Jordanian territory. It will be financed by the governments of Jordan, Israel, and a number of international donors. read more…
Asturias, officially the Principality of Asturias, is an autonomous community in northwest Spain. It is coextensive with the province of Asturias and contains some of the territory that was part of the larger Kingdom of Asturias in the Middle Ages. Divided into eight comarcas (counties), the autonomous community of Asturias is bordered by Cantabria to the east, by León (Castile and León) to the south, by Lugo (Galicia) to the west, and by the Bay of Biscay (Cantabrian sea) to the north. Asturias is situated in a mountainous setting with vast greenery and lush vegetation, making it part of Green Spain. The region has a maritime climate. It receives plenty of annual rainfall and little sunshine by Spanish standards and has very moderated seasons, most often averaging in the lower 20s celsius. Heatwaves are rare due to mountains blocking southerly winds. Winters are very mild for the latitude, especially near sea level. Asturias is also home of the Princess of Asturias Awards. The paleolithic art in the caves of Asturias is declared World Heritage Site with the Paleolithic Art of Northern Spain. read more…
The Regional Nature Park Grands Causses (French: Parc naturel régional des Grands Causses) is located in the Frenchdepartment of Aveyron in the Occitania region. The nature park was founded on May 6, 1995 and today covers an area of around 327,000 hectares. The park administration is based in Millau, where the “Maison du Parc” is located. The park is made up of 93 municipalities with a catchment area of around 68,000 inhabitants. A part of the Grands Causses Regional Nature Park is the Causses and Cévennes Property, which in turn is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Larger towns in the park are Millau, Saint-Affrique, Sévérac d’Aveyron (Commune nouvelle; formerly: Sévérac-le-Château), Creissels, Vabres-l’Abbaye and Saint-Georges-de-Luzençon. read more…
Soomaa National Park is a national park in south-western Estonia. Soomaa (“land of bogs“) protects 390 km², the park was created in 1993. Soomaa is Important Bird Area since 1989 and a Ramsar site of protected wetlands since 1997 and a Natura 2000 area since 2004. The national park, situated in Vahe-Eesti (aka Meso-Estonia), was created in 1993 to protect large raised bogs, flood plain grasslands, paludified forests, and meandering rivers. The territory of the national park is mostly covered with large mires, separated from each other by the rivers of the Pärnu River basin — the Navesti, Halliste, Raudna and Lemmjõgi rivers. Of the raised bogs, the most noteworthy is the Kuresoo raised bog, whose steep southern slope, falling into Lemmejõgi, rises by 8 metres over a distance of 100 m. read more…
Castle Combe is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, about 5 miles (8 km) northwest of the town of Chippenham. The village has two parts: one is in the narrow valley of the By Brook, while Upper Castle Combe is on higher ground to the east, on the B4039 road which links Chippenham with Chipping Sodbury. A motor racing circuit is to the south of the upper village. The village takes its name from the 12th-century castle which stood about 1/3 mile (500 m) to the north. read more…
