# Urban Land Use Survey Methods: A Discussion on Their Evolution
## 1 Introduction
Specifically, their survey and mapping allows planners to answer important questions relating to how land is currently used, what the dynamics of land use changes are, what land use changes can be made in accordance with a set of rules, and how these changes impact land use [3] (p. 274). Due to the above, a planner would reasonably expect to easily find well-developed methods for the survey of urban land uses in the current literature. Each method would be accompanied by tested solutions at the technical level and discussions of their relation to the most recent technological developments. In short, one would expect to find a mature methodological framework--an expectation, however, that is not met. Additionally, from an educational standpoint, it is difficult to provide under- or post-graduate students in architecture or planning studies with a contemporary reading that elaborates on the basic theoretical underpinnings and explains how the survey of urban land uses is conducted. Given the key position of land use surveys in planning practice, scholars have shown little interest in studying the historical development of urban land use survey methods. One exception is [PERSON]'s book: _Selected References on Land Use Inventory Methods_, which was published in 1969 and therefore misses the developments of the last 50 years [12]. Studies that focus on the evolution of planning methodology (see: [13; 14; 15; 16]) do include research on urban land use surveys but do not cover the specific subject matter in further detail. Studies on the ways land use maps have evolved (see: [17; 18; 19; 20; 21]) can be regarded as closely affiliated; however, they concentrate on the cartographical aspect, rather than on survey methods, and show no particular interest in urban space. In light of the above research gap, this article performs an in-depth review of the Anglo-American literature pertinent to the survey methods of urban land uses. In addition, it examines selected field surveys and considers wider developments in planning theory and methodology, when these provide critical understandings of the way(s) that survey methods have evolved or have been transformed. The objective of this study is threefold. First, _to highlight key contributions_, given that some past publications on the subject matter remain exceptionally advanced even by today's standards. Second, to _present the main elements that constitute a land use survey method_ and _to discuss their evolution over time_. Finally, _to provide a basis for further discussions and research on survey methods_, because their current state impacts the potentialities of urban analysis negatively, and because methodological and conceptual histories are the most neglected types among planning histories [22]. With respect to the period covered, the study is limited to the relevant literature published in the 20 th century onwards. This is a choice initially dictated by practical reasons, as older literature on the subject matter is scarce and difficult to access. Moreover, the simplicity of older surveys, evident in the resultant figure-ground maps with labels indicating important uses (see Figure 4), limits room for discussion of their methodological background This by no means overlooks or underestimates the nodal importance of these endeavors in cartography and in the advancement of survey techniques (i.e., measurement and representation) of the built environment [23]. Indeed, the role of these attempts in the formation of land use survey methods for the period studied herein comprises a solid research topic, albeit one falling outside the scope of the present study.