The dimensions of urban planning for development and expansion require looking at how hardscapes impact spatial areas as well as the population. Concepts of urban planning are related to environmental health as well as public health. When looking at an urban pathway, approaches to environmental and public well – being are essential to sustainability.
The first requirement for better urban planning is to look at minimizing threats to the environment and human life. The target is to reduce pollutants and sediments that are harmful to the environment and the community. Air and water sediments are considered the most harmful within urban areas, specifically because they carry pollution and often build hazardous areas.
Preservation is another target for an urban pathway and buildings within cityscapes. The two focuses of preservation are to reduce water erosion and runoff that occurs as well as reducing the greenhouse gases that often build in urban areas. It is also noted that this focus is designed to maintain and preserve habitats that naturally reside within urban areas for those in a given location.
Researchers (Contemporary Urban Planning, John Levy, 2015), have noted that there are some barriers to environmental planning. This begins with the lack of understanding of pollution and the tracks that are taken of the pollution. For instance, sediment runoff often compiles in certain areas. Water erosion, when not handled through natural soil processes, begins to accumulate damage through an urban pathway and other regions, building damage over time.
Changing choices with environmental planning for an urban pathway and spatial areas also alters the development and sustainability of communities. For landscape architects, it is necessary to look at how pollution are impacting both the environment and the health of the community. There are various environmentally friendly materials and architecture which changes the planning and development of various regions while creating balanced cityscapes.