Ideology, science and the New Urban Design – critique and evolution

Urban design is a discipline that has a debatable theoretical foundation. It can be divided into two major elements. First, mainstream urban design. Second, what has been termed the ‘New Urban Design’. In the mainstream, there has been a substantial effort to contain debate within a scientific discourse. While this has been productive, it has also limited urban design theory to a scientific model, natural, proto or pseudo. Such approaches have not given the idea of ideological formations sufficient status, at least equal to that of science. This article demonstrates that ideology must be included for a complete and encompassing theoretical engagement.