city planning

American  

noun

1. the activity or profession of determining the future physical arrangement and condition of a community, involving an appraisal of the present condition, a forecast of future requirements, a plan for the fulfillment of these requirements, and proposals for constructional, legal, and financial programs to implement the plan.

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city planning British  

noun

1. the US term for town planning

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Other Word Forms

• city planner noun

Etymology

Origin of city planning

First recorded in 1910–15

Example Sentences

"This discovery gives us a rare look at how the early Romans experimented with city planning," he said.

From Science Daily • Dec. 2, 2025

Mr. Angel is a professor of city planning at New York University.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 17, 2025

Shade-first city planning would upend more than a century of conventional wisdom about zoning.

From Slate • Jul. 23, 2025

Karen Chapple, a city planning expert at UC Berkeley, said that’s usually the message in the aftermath of a disaster.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 18, 2025

Large cities, like London, New York, Philadelphia, and Chicago, have spent enormous sums of money in city planning after they have already grown up without plan.

From Community Civics and Rural Life by Dunn, Arthur William