From Monofunctional Commercial Districts into Multifunctional Urban Areas – Implementation of Sustainable Urban Practices

Rapid urbanization and population growth require new human-oriented adaptations in cities. Functional zoning, largely applied in the past century, has left current urban development with many difficulties, including space consumption and car dependency. The article examines a specific type of monofunctional land use – commercial areas, as they struggle the most with past planning mistakes. These spatially separated sites demand instant transformations in order to meet global urban challenges. With background information on the development process of commercial land uses and a literature review of existing sustainable approaches, the theoretical framework is created, with respect to economic, environmental, and social fields. Subsequently, the toolbox of good urban practices is being formed as a template for sustainable urban design followed by a discussion of potential implementation methods.