This course provides an introduction to the origin and evolution of planning thought and its implementation through the growth and development of towns and cities. You will gain an understanding of what planning is, how it originated and developed over time, and how it has guided urban form. The history of planning is one of great ideas, visions and dreams. It also reflects wider social movements, utopian ideals, pragmatic reform, beneficial legacies and great mistakes. Understanding the historical evolution of cities, and of conscious efforts to plan them, helps to understand why cities and metropolitan areas display their current structure and functions.