Environmental planning and management of urban natural landscapes

Advantages of urbanization such as access to clean water, health, and overall easier life in cities, as well as the disadvantages or its negative effects on environment cannot be ignored. Today, there are numerous environmental problems due to the reduction in ecologically valuable places within urban areas. Bringing nature to the cities appears to be essential to enhance urban environment and to reduce environmental problems in urban communities. In fact, issues resulting from the idea of sustainability as a policymaking goal require an integrated environmental policymaking approach. The innovations of new environmental policymaking require policymaking mechanisms that can deal with interdependent characteristics of environmental problems. To this end, new structures have emerged known as Environmental Planning and Management and Strategic Environmental planning and management. This analytical – descriptive article aims to reexamine the origins and concepts related to environmental planning using a field and desk study. With the introduction of urban natural landscape, Environmental planning considers such spaces within the city. In this regard, Khoshk River, Shiraz, Iran, as an urban natural landscape, was analyzed. Environmental planningbased polices were proposed to improve quality of the place under discussion.