This document discusses regional planning concepts including regionalism, critical regionalism, and theories of regional planning. It defines regionalism as developing a sense of regional identity based on local culture and environment. Critical regionalism balances local character with modern influences. Theories of regional planning consider regions as administrative units and examine types like physical, cultural, economic, and political regions. Regionalization divides national space into manageable regional units for various goals while debates consider regions as bounded territories or relational networks.

1. Theory of
Regional
Planning
LECTURER :WOGEN TAYE
AMBO UNIVERSITY

2. Content
Regionalism (Architectural concepts)
Regionalists and Regionalism
Regional planning(Planning concepts)
Theories of Regional planning

3. Regionalism
What is Regionalism?
What are the basic characters of Regionalism in relation to
Architecture?
How is Regionalism related to Post Modernism?

4. Regionalism
The regional consciousness searching to develop a sense of
identity within a specific region.
Regionalism, understood as a regional consciousness.

5. Regionalism
Regionalism rejects the premises of internationalism,
considered a sub-theme of "modernism."

6. Regionalism
Regional architecture is common sense response to regional factors
Regional factors
 culture identity
 local climate
 political motivation
 ecology
 landscape

7. Regionalism
Regionalism, the tension between
"spirit of place" and "spirit of time"
is essentially expressed.

8. Critical Regionalism
The term Critical Regionalism as coined
by Alex Tzonis and Liliane Lefaivre in
"The Grid and the Pathway" (1981); Hence,
the spirit of place is enclosed in the region
as keeper of cultural and environmental
features; the spirit of time is enclosed in
the decaying modern and actual
postmodern era.

9. Critical Regionalism
Critical Regionalism depends upon
maintaining a high level of critical self-
consciousness.

10. Kenneth Frampton's consideration of critical regionalism
Architecture can only be sustained today as
a critical practice if it assumes an
arriéregarde position, that is to say, one
which distances itself equally from the
Enlightenment myth of progress and from a
reactionary, unrealistic impulse to return to
the architectonic forms of the preindustrial
past.

11. Kenneth Frampton's consideration of critical regionalism
Solving
architectural
problems that
has been seen
in modern
times –
towards
Regionalism

12. Kenneth Frampton's consideration of critical regionalism
The advocacy of Regionalism has been dominated by
anthropological, culturalism and phenomenological view-
points in addition to the earlier emphasis on local geographical
climatic premises.

13. Culture Versus Nature: Topography, Context,Climate, Light and
Tectonic Form
Critical Regionalism necessarily involves a more directly
dialectical relation with nature than the more abstract, formal
traditions of modern avant-garde architecture allow.

14. The Regionalist doctrine
Its assumption is based on the idea of return
to cultural essence, to origin, to self, to
nature, etc. wherein, as generally suggested,
local cultural values can be used as a source
of reference in a self-conscious way. .

15. The Regionalism and neo-vernacularism
Innovative approach utilizes different levels of technology as well as
new types of infrastructures.
This architectural approach is often used for commercial and tourist
buildings and resorts because it incorporates easily recognizable
symbols.

16. Regional planning
Put a group of architects, urban designers and planners
in a sightseeing bus and their actions will define the
limits of their concerns. The architects will take
photographs of buildings, or highways or bridges. The
urban designers will wait for that moment when all three
are juxtaposed. The planners will be too busy talking to
lookout of the window.
Denise Scott Brown, AD Urban Concepts

17. The region
Highly discussed in both academia and wider societal life – in
spite of contrasting tendencies related to globalization and all kinds
of flows and networks
In fact
 Despite the acceleration of globalization, networks and flows,
the contemporary world is a complex constellation of more or less
bounded spaces that exist at various spatial scales. These spaces
are regions or territories.

18. The region
 Different approaches by different academic specializations
Regionalism/regional integration means different things to
different people in different contexts.
EX A great divide between the discourse of macro-regionalism
and the discourse of micro-regionalism (regional and urban studies)

19. The region
Macro-regions (“world regions”)
◦ Are large territorial units or subsystems, between the “state” and the
“global” level
◦ (e.g. Europe or the EU),
◦ Politial science, International relations
Micro-regions exist between the “national” and the “local”
(municipal) level, and are either sub-national or cross-border
-Focus for urban and regional studies

20. Regional space
 the concept of region
frequently used to denote
“border” or a delimited space,
often a “province”.
Traditionally, it is understood
as a form of spatial
delimitation of natural and/or
sociocultural units

21. Region
In general regions are
spatial entities delineated on some criteria
(spatial, administrative/political, functional)
Usually first level subdivision below the
nation state
In some cases it is defined in terms of having
some administrative/political power below
the nation state

22. Types of sub-national Regions
Various guises and shapes.
At least five general types, are of relevance for sub-national as well as cross-
border regions:
1. physical-geographic regions;
2. cultural regions;
3. economic regions;
4. Administrative
5. Planning regions; and
6. political regions

23. Physical-Geographic region: Regions united
by lakes, rivers and roads, whereas they have
often been separated by mountains and
forests.
Cultural regions :Often include a shared
history and religion as well as linguistic and
cultural similarities.
Eg French-speaking Quebec in Canada,
Flanders in Belgium,
the Lozi region in Southern Africa,
Kurdistan in the Middle East
Region
Source:https://www.trtworld.com/magazine
/who-are-the-kurds—17915, cited 26/1/2022

24. Economic regions : Understood with regard to economic
characteristics and criteria,
Eg industrialized/deindustrialized, urban/rural,
tourist-oriented, steel producing
regional production systems and territories/zones
for economic development
An economic region is often functional
◦ Demarcated from the outside world in terms of transportation,
contacts and other dependencies and flows that connect peoples
and structures
Region

25. Planning region-often functional region; constructed for purpose of growth
and development on the basis of human and natural resources
Administrative region
is essentially a functional region as well, but of a different type than the previous
one.
It is made up for purposes of administration and control of people or territories
(resources)
Region

26. Political regions: Differ from administrative
regions in that they have democratically elected
assemblies or councils as well as accountable
executive bodies.
In essence, they are fully-fledged regional
governments.
Eg German and Austrian Länder, the Belgian
political regions, the States in the USA and the
Provinces in Canada,
Region

27. Regions
Different categories of a region have attached
new meanings to the abstract idea of region.
 city-region,
 mega-region,
learning region,
 creative region,
 Competitive region,
resilient region or bioregion,

28. Regionalism
An expression of a region’s cultural,
political, and geographical identity
Regionalism is in essence the dynamics that
gives a geographical area a regional identity.

29. Regionalization
The main goal of regionalization is to organize the
national space by dividing it into manageable units.
Necessary to subdivide the national space for
administrative, social, economic purposes
As many regions as the goals of regionalization
(economic, political, administrative etc)
But useful to consider different goals together (be
aware of possible goal conflict)

30. Regionalization
The main goal of regionalization is to organize the
national space by dividing it into manageable units.
Necessary to subdivide the national space for
administrative, social, economic purposes
As many regions as the goals of regionalization
(economic, political, administrative etc)
But useful to consider different goals together (be
aware of possible goal conflict)

31. Territorial versus relational debate on regions
Territorial view point: sees regions as bounded spatial units
◦ Regions were given single ‘essential’ definitions and lauded as the fundamental
building blocks of a ‘regional world’
Relational view point: Argues that spatial configurations are not necessarily or
purposively territorial or scalar, but constituted through the spatiality of flow,
porosity, and relational connectivity associated with globalization