Sustainable urban planning and urban renewal are major challenges of the 21st century. In this context, Urbanism and Town Planning proposes a geohistorical approach to urban construction.

The city and its neighborhoods are studied through their materials and general layout, which sometimes reveal a logic of economic profitability, prestige and social equity, and sometimes a more innovative approach from an environmental perspective. Across these elements, unbuilt spaces (distinctive streets and squares) and built spaces (commercial and residential areas, both individual and collective) form a three-dimensional grid of "voids" and "solids", characteristic of urban landscapes and lifestyles.

Supported by numerous original examples, this book is a comprehensive summary of the most tangible elements of urban planning and development; elements that must be put into context in order to think concretely about the development of the cities of the future.

Jean-Philippe Antoni is a professor of geography at the laboratory ThéMA at the University of Burgundy, France. His research mainly focuses on urban studies, town planning and prospective city modeling, both in terms of land use and mobility.