Hippodamus of Miletus in the context of "Urban planner"

The Latin word insula (lit. 'island'; pl.: insulae) was used in Roman cities to mean either a city block in a city plan (i.e. a building area surrounded by four streets) or later a type of apartment building that occupied such a city block specifically in Rome and nearby Ostia. The latter type of Insulae were known to be prone to fire and rife with disease.

A standard Roman city plan was based on a grid of orthogonal (laid out on right angles) streets. It was founded on ancient Greek city models, described by Hippodamus. It was used especially when new cities were established, e.g. in Roman coloniae.

An urban planner (also known as town planner) is a professional who practices in the field of town planning, urban planning or city planning.

An urban planner may focus on a specific area of practice and have a title such as city planner, town planner, regional planner, long-range planner, transportation planner, infrastructure planner, environmental planner, parks planner, physical planner, health planner, planning analyst, urban designer, community development director, economic development specialist, or other similar combinations. The Royal Town Planning Institute is the oldest professional body of town and urban planners founded in 1914 and the University of Liverpool established the first dedicated planning school in the world in 1909, followed by Harvard University in 1924. There also exists evidence of urban planners in ancient cities in Egypt, China, India, and the Mediterranean world. For instance, Hippodamus has often been accredited the title of "the father of city planning" in Aristotle's Book 2.