Beyond Land Use

This article examines the methodological particularities of micro-scale urban planning, with a focus on the distinctive features of the lowest tier of planning that continues to adhere to the fundamental stages of the planning process. To illustrate these features, I draw on examples from a micro-scale urban plan prepared for the town center of Pafos, a Mediterranean coastal town in Cyprus. While grounded in the core stages of the planning process, micro-scale urban plans operate within institutional, spatial, and participatory contexts that demand significant methodological adaptations. This article focuses on three such adaptations: (a) the complexity involved in delineating the study/intervention area; (b) the shift from top-down to bottom-up approaches in formulating the intervention’s aims; and (c) the application of an evidence-based framework for monitoring the plan’s performance. Drawing on the Pafos plan, the article argues that although micro-scale plans are often overshadowed by statutory land-use plans, they constitute a distinct and underexplored methodological domain. Ultimately, the article contributes to the refinement of planning methodology by advocating for intermediary approaches that can enrich both local and broader spatial planning practices.