Urban Flaneur Guidebook

The on-line academic journal Urbana: Urban Affairs and Public Policy has a new design and a new server. Go to http://www.urbanauapp.org/   . The old site will soon refer those visiting to the new site. This has taken almost six months to complete. The Editorial Board thinks the audience of Urbana: Urban Affairs and Public Policy will be pleased in its ease of use. The journal is peer reviewed, and will soon appear in various indexes.  For fifteen years, Urbana has sought quality manuscripts demonstrating the diversity of the study of urban areas. This new phase represents another evolution in this unique journal.  Please e-mail to your associates the new link. Manuscripts are accepted at any time during the year and published as soon as they are reviewed and edited in our Online First page. After the volume is closed they will be included in the appropriate volume. Please send manuscripts, inquiries, comments etc. to michaelamcaams@yahoo.com  . Urbana also acce...

An urban flâneur is one who casually observes what is going on in an urban environment making critical observations while strolling about the city. A city planner collects data, attends meetings prepares future plans for a specific town, village, city or region. The flâneur is seen as operating in a fuzzy, objective/subjective and qualitative milieu; while, the urban planner is involved in quantifying and analyzing data (‘hard facts’), applying standards and regulations to aid in the effective and efficient operation of an urban area. The training that as a planner receives is based on the rationalist-lineal approach and does not include training about how to be a good observer in an urban environment. Most of all the public and the elected officials view the urban planner as a government employee who is at the disposal of elected officials and the public---a public servant. The idea of wandering about a city would not be considered productive or would be done on the off-hours. It woul...