The Functional Approach In Urban Planning And Development

In the study there is discussed the creation and application of the functional approach to theplanning and development of towns and cities. The author defends the proposition that the application of the functional approach in the development of modern towns and cities is not a restriction, but rather the opposite -a catalyst to the processes, connected with the overlay of urban functions and activities.The study is structured in two parts. In the first part there is made a retrospection of the evolution of towns from the point of view of their classical variant. There is discussed thedevelopment of transport and the development of the transport network of towns, which has determined the emergence of the theory of the linear town. There is noted the merit of Soria and Mata for the development of the theory of the linear town on the basis of the 10 postulates drawn by him, which have their present-day significance. On that basis the author of the study has carriedout a contemporary reading and done a parallel with the legal and normative matter in this area interms of the present-day practical application of the views of Soria and Mata.The principal andmost important part of the study is Part Two, where in three paragraphs there are outlined:-the creation of the Athenian charter as the basis for the application of the functionalapproach to the planning and development of towns.-the updating of the Athenian charter at the end of the XXth century, and-a vision for the development of towns at the beginning of the XXIst century.At the end of paragraph one in Part Two the author defends his proposition of the catalystrole of the functional approach in the development of modern towns and cities under conditions of internationalization and globalization, with the effective application of the achievements of moderninformation technology.