opolt Dec 5, 2010:

Here's a link ... ... just to show again, that in German, the concept of "funktionale Durchmischung" is basically about mixing all aspects of life in urban communities, including but not limited to businesses. This idea has been quite dominant in urban planning here in Germany over the recent decades, as it is considered more human and more sustainable than dividing cities into functional areas which are geographically/physically seperated, e.g. into business sectors and residential areas (read RH part with pink/red background):

http://books.google.com/books?id=dGovj1-cS-sC&pg=PA319&lpg=P...

AndersonT (X) Dec 5, 2010:

Glad to help :)

Susanne Ofner (asker) Dec 5, 2010:

Thank you, AndersenT!
The audience is international and I'll have to think about the term zoning, but I like your suggestion and I'll take everything (except, maybe, zoning) :-)

AndersonT (X) Dec 5, 2010:

If this goes into US English "zoning" might be what you are looking for. Something to the effect of "mixed-use zoning with small units".

Not sure about the small units based on your description, maybe "small individual zones" ?

http://www.google.com/search?q=mixed-use zoning&ie=utf-8&oe=...

Just my two cents :)

opolt Dec 5, 2010:

I guess ... ... you can take out some of the Grossprecherei by rephrasing: "diversity of functions present in urban space on a small scale" etc. Somehow you'd have to render the style of the original sentence. -- But let's see what the native E speakers have to say about this ....

Anyway some of it seems to work in English as well:
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1468-0467.2009....

Susanne Ofner (asker) Dec 5, 2010:

@opoit: ja, die Bedeutung des Satzes sehe ich so, aber versteht man das auf Englisch, wenn man "small-scale functional diversity" schreibtß

Susanne Ofner (asker) Dec 5, 2010:

I rather think it means that neighbourhoods should not be solely residential or solely commercial, but that their functions should be mixed: people should be able to buy groceries, see a movie/a doctor/lawyer or go to work etc. without having to travel long distances.
That would be the 'funktionale Durchmischung' part of the phrase. But kleinteilig is a problem.

opolt Dec 5, 2010:

Gemeint ist ... ... das enge Beeinander von Wohnungen, Arbeitsstätten, Schule/Kita, Parks, Sport- und Einkaufsstätten usw. in schneller Abwechslung, so wie in einem echten "Kiez", wie wir es hier in Berlin nennen, also etwa so wie in der Berliner Innenstadt, oder Paris intra muro -- "small scale functional variation/diversity"?

NKW (X) Dec 5, 2010:

Might it mean that urban planners need to pay close attention to the detail of how developments work/function? The design equivalent of 'micromanagement'? Just a thought.