Town and Country Planning Legislation and Zonal Segregation

Abstract

The paper, which considers the phenomenon of spatial segregation from its legal perspective is divided into
an introduction and then two more parts, the introduction being given over to an explanation of those forces
(e.g. immigration) that are exacerbating the question of urban segregation. Of the following two parts, the
first gives a descriptive analysis of the American and French legal struggle against segregation. Though in
no way ignoring the marked differences as between the social and legal set-ups of these countries, the paper
points up the remarkable similarities between the legal approach of both to the issue. The second part then
examines the state of the question in Spain and tries to break some fresh legal ground here. The constitutional
framework in which all public activity must be carried out is closely examined in a search for ways of
achieving a workable social balance through land-use strategies. In the light of this examination, the paper
then limits itself to a series of reflections upon the role of national and local government and the courts in
the managing of social diversity perhaps through new legislation as to the uses to which Land is put that,
in being more socially informed, might then be a step in the direction of territorial cohesion.