ABSTRACT
In 1934, the International Federation for Housing and Town Planning’s first international glossary defined the French word urbanisme not only as “town planning” but also the “study of towns” (IFHTP 1934). This French word still means more than planning, now signifying the vast field of “all sciences, techniques, and arts related to the organization and development of urban spaces in order to ensure human well-being and social relationships while preserving the environment” ( Trésor de la langue française 1994). Some direct translations of the English term planning—planification urbaine or, in Belgium, planologie—have existed since the 1930s, but they never corresponded to a professional field as urbanisme does.
