Abstract :
Urban design may be considered as an architectural relationship between different development constructions. This relationship may have developed consciously or unconsciously, according to pragmatic requirements or theoretical models. In urban design the street has constituted a planning element of value equal to the building or the building block, as exemplified in several theories of urban design. However, architecture as physical form has, almost without exception, been given priority. Throughout planning history the theory of the street as a planning element in urban design has received little attention.
Since World War II more emphasis has been placed on functional aspects of the street. The change came from the development of various means of transportation, primarily the car, which constituted the root of functionalism as planning ideology. More recently, other urban design ideologies have gained ground as planning strategy, and the historic town has, to an increasing degree, become the model for the transformation of cities. Simultaneously the functional requirements of streets have become more complex, and their use as a social arena has been given more attention. In current street planning, the importance of the street as an architectural element of urban design seems incompatible with its function as a versatile transport artery. This problem constitutes an important challenge for the street planner.
