Blue space in urban planning and design comprises all the areas dominated by surface waterbodies or watercourses. In conjunction with greenspace, it may help in reducing the risks of heat-related illness from high urban temperatures .
Substantial urban waterbodies naturally exist as integral features of the geography of many cities because of their historical development, for example the River Thames in London.
The Water-Lily Pond – Claude Monet
Downtown Green Bay City Deck along the Fox River, Wisconsin
Chattanooga waterfront - panorama
View of Brooklyn Bridge Park from Manhattan Bridge
Urban planning, also known as town planning, city planning, regional planning, or rural planning in specific contexts, 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, maintaining sustainability standards. Similarly, in the early 21st century, Jane Jacobs'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.
Partizánske in Slovakia – an example of a typical planned European industrial city founded in 1938 together with a shoemaking factory in which practically all adult inhabitants of the city were employed
Berlin – Siegessäule. August 1963. Spacious and organized city planning in Germany was official government policy dating back to Nazi rule.