This book takes a bold epistemological approach to address the fundamental questions that urban design has faced since its inception - questions concerning its legitimacy, definition, nature, content, purpose, theory, methods, jurisdiction and above all its knowledge base. The appropriate level of urban design - global or local - is another critical and emerging question discussed. At the end, an integrative theory of urban design is introduced, on the basis of which a set of principles is developed for application by practicing urban designers. These principles are presented at three essential levels: general, global and local-Iranian. Toward an Integrative Theory of Urban Design is intended to dispel many of the ambiguities still troubling urban design as a discipline and profession.

This book takes a bold epistemological approach to address the fundamental questions that urban design has faced since its inception - questions concerning its legitimacy, definition, nature, content, purpose, theory, methods, jurisdiction and above all its knowledge base. The appropriate level of urban design - global or local - is another critical and emerging question discussed. At the end, an integrative theory of urban design is introduced, on the basis of which a set of principles is developed for application by practicing urban designers. These principles are presented at three essential levels: general, global and local-Iranian. Toward an Integrative Theory of Urban Design is intended to dispel many of the ambiguities still troubling urban design as a discipline and profession.

Questions have been increasingly raised by academicians, theorists, and professionals concerning the essence, legitimacy, knowledge base and content and especially methods of inquiry of urban design. These questions were dealt with in an original study for almost four decades, the preliminary results, which were published under the title Toward an Integrative Theory of Urban Design (Bahrainy and Bakhtiar, Springer, 2016). The author's premise in that work was that because urban design is a complex and multifaceted field, the most useful theories and methods are ones that are integrative (e.g. substantive: urban space and activities; as well as procedural: integrative rules and principles: artistic-intuitive and scientific-rational). The main purpose of this book is to introduce an integrative method of inquiry for urban design through illustrating the practical application of the proposed urban design rules and principles. The authors believe this collection will be a great contribution to the understanding and application of the integrative urban design theory and, particularly, its practical rules and principles. This synthesis of theory and practice is expected to prepare thoughtful practitioners in urban design, and therefore, will be of great interest to the professionals, as well as academicians and also the students of urban design, urban planning, architecture, and the art fields.