Understanding the conceptual and procedural framework of urban infill development

Abstract

Since the 1970s, various internal development strategies have been tried for tackling the problem of city sprawl that resulted from the Second World War. One remedy was infill development, a subsidiary of the smart growth approach. Based on an analytical-descriptive method and a study of theoretical and practical literature, this research aims to discover a conceptual framework for infill development, discuss the theoretical background which has shaped and developed the concept of infill development and, while reviewing the general process of infill development, explain the key procedural concepts (partnership, capacity assessment, phasing) within the context of analysing several case studies. As a conclusion, this paper offers two principles which are dominate in infill development and form the different stages of the infill process: ‘improvement’ and ‘contextualism’. In the context of sustainable development, environmental preservation and other relevant issues, understanding the procedural framework of an urban infill development approach can provide a new, systematic perspective for future urban development policy making.