this background the aim of the multi-disciplinary research project Ecology and urban planning (ECOPLAN)(Jacobs, 1992) is to study such aspects of urban ecology that are relevant for planning and management use this understanding to develop methods for a better incorporation of ecological knowledge into land use planning and maintenance of urban green areas strengthen urban ecological research (Hosack, 2001).
Within the classical literature of urban planning in relation to ecological concerns, Anaheim California represents what could be called "Modernist" while the development of Dubai City is representative of Post-Modernism. Almost all Urban planning in the last decade has been a reaction to the influences of the modern movement. Greatly simplified, the "modernist" approach assumes that development of any sort that helps the greater community is good for the whole community. It was this sort of thinking that turned Anaheim from a small grape growing and agricultural village into a metropolis.
(Founders of Anaheim in 1855, Friis, 1983)
The primary factor that caused this was the purchase, in 1953, or several thousand acres of farmland by Walt Disney. At that time, the land was valued at right around $10 an acre. Disney promised the farmers that if the company let him build an amusement park, he would build roads, sewers, and bring 400 jobs to the community. In 1955, when Disneyland opened in Anaheim, the city had a population of 15,000 people. Consider the growth pattern that was the result of the addition of Mickey Mouse to the neighborhood.
This kind of growth -- unheralded in past centuries and in past nations -- has had a distinct impact on the pleasant valley that was once the small village of Anaheim. We shall examine this more closely in future sections. At this point, suffice it to say that it is this pattern of growth that led to the concept of post-modernist planning, such as that exhibited by Dubai Cit...