Urban Design Lecture

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Lecture 4
Urban Qualities
Definitions & Measurements
Urban Design - ARCH 342Dr. Samaa Badawi

2. "All Rights Reserved"Lecture 4
Urban Space
URBAN QUALITIES
Are Design values of the urban environment which
affect users’ experience and represent the magic
of great urban environment
• Definition of
Urban Qualities
• Importance
1. Imageability
2. Enclosure
3. Human Scale
4.Tranceparency
5. Complexity
Urban Design - ARCH 342Dr. Samaa Badawi
Urban Qualities
1. Imageability
2. Enclosure
3. Transparency
4. Human Scale
5. Complexity
Definition
Urban Elements
Affected by

3. "All Rights Reserved"Lecture 4
Urban Space
URBAN QUALITIES
Why Urban qualities are important?
• Definition of
Urban Qualities
• Importance
• Measurement
1. Imageability
2. Enclosure
3. Human Scale
4.Tranceparency
5. Complexity
Urban Design - ARCH 342Dr. Samaa Badawi
Urban Qualities
They affect the livability of public spaces
specially streets and make them more inviting
to people and more memorable.
They Enhance the role of the street as a
public space & encourage walkability
Importance

4. "All Rights Reserved"Lecture 4
Urban Space
URBAN QUALITIES
There are many technics for measuring urban qualities
• Definition of
Urban Qualities
• Importance
• Measurement
1. Imageability
2. Enclosure
3. Human Scale
4.Tranceparency
5. Complexity
Urban Design - ARCH 342Dr. Samaa Badawi
Urban Qualities Measuring
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5. "All Rights Reserved"Lecture 4
Urban Space
URBAN QUALITIES
• Definition of
Urban Qualities
• Importance
• Measurement
1. Imageability
2. Enclosure
3. Human Scale
4.Tranceparency
5. Complexity
Urban Design - ARCH 342Dr. Samaa Badawi
1.Imageability
Urban Design Qualities

6. "All Rights Reserved"Lecture 4
Urban Space
is the quality of a place that makes it
distinct, recognizable, and memorable.
Urban Design - ARCH 342Dr. Samaa Badawi
High Imageability: Can be achieved when:
* Specific physical elements and their arrangement capture
attention, evoke feelings, and create a lasting impression
Which street has High imageability? Why?
1. Imageability
URBAN QUALITIES
• Definition of
Urban Qualities
• Importance
• Measurement
1. Imageability
2. Enclosure
3. Human Scale
4.Tranceparency
5. Complexity

7. "All Rights Reserved"Lecture 4
Urban Space
* Urban Elements that affect Imageability:
Urban Design - ARCH 342Dr. Samaa Badawi
1. The existence of open spaces:
Plaza, park, courtyard…..
is the quality of a place that makes it
distinct, recognizable, and memorable.
1. Imageability
URBAN QUALITIES
• Definition of
Urban Qualities
• Importance
• Measurement
1. Imageability
2. Enclosure
3. Human Scale
4.Tranceparency
5. Complexity

8. "All Rights Reserved"Lecture 4
Urban Space
* Urban Elements that affect Imageability:
Urban Design - ARCH 342Dr. Samaa Badawi
2. Important places containing natural elements:
Marine. Harbor…..
is the quality of a place that makes it
distinct, recognizable, and memorable.
1. Imageability
URBAN QUALITIES
• Definition of
Urban Qualities
• Importance
• Measurement
1. Imageability
2. Enclosure
3. Human Scale
4.Tranceparency
5. Complexity

9. "All Rights Reserved"Lecture 4
Urban Space
* Urban Elements that affect Imageability:
Urban Design - ARCH 342Dr. Samaa Badawi
3. Historic Buildings:
is the quality of a place that makes it
distinct, recognizable, and memorable.
1. Imageability
URBAN QUALITIES
• Definition of
Urban Qualities
• Importance
• Measurement
1. Imageability
2. Enclosure
3. Human Scale
4.Tranceparency
5. Complexity

10. "All Rights Reserved"Lecture 4
Urban Space
* Urban Elements that affect Imageability:
Urban Design - ARCH 342Dr. Samaa Badawi
4. Buildings with Identifiers:
Identifiers: special elements that identify buildings
For example, a church can be identified by a steeple. Stores
can be identified by signs that can be easily read
is the quality of a place that makes it
distinct, recognizable, and memorable.
1. Imageability
URBAN QUALITIES
• Definition of
Urban Qualities
• Importance
• Measurement
1. Imageability
2. Enclosure
3. Human Scale
4.Tranceparency
5. Complexity

11. "All Rights Reserved"Lecture 4
Urban Space
* Urban Elements that affect Imageability:
Urban Design - ARCH 342Dr. Samaa Badawi
5. Buildings with nonrectangular shape:
whose shape is not a simple rectangular box
is the quality of a place that makes it
distinct, recognizable, and memorable.
1. Imageability
URBAN QUALITIES
• Definition of
Urban Qualities
• Importance
• Measurement
1. Imageability
2. Enclosure
3. Human Scale
4.Tranceparency
5. Complexity

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Urban Space
* Urban Elements that affect Imageability:
Urban Design - ARCH 342Dr. Samaa Badawi
6. Outdoor Dinning places:
is the quality of a place that makes it
distinct, recognizable, and memorable.
1. Imageability
URBAN QUALITIES
• Definition of
Urban Qualities
• Importance
• Measurement
1. Imageability
2. Enclosure
3. Human Scale
4.Tranceparency
5. Complexity

13. "All Rights Reserved"Lecture 4
Urban Space
* Urban Elements that affect Imageability:
Urban Design - ARCH 342Dr. Samaa Badawi
7. The existence of people in the street:
The existence of walking, standing, or sitting pedestrians
is the quality of a place that makes it
distinct, recognizable, and memorable.
1. Imageability
URBAN QUALITIES
• Definition of
Urban Qualities
• Importance
• Measurement
1. Imageability
2. Enclosure
3. Human Scale
4.Tranceparency
5. Complexity

14. "All Rights Reserved"Lecture 4
Urban Space
URBAN QUALITIES
• Definition of
Urban Qualities
• Importance
• Measurement
1. Imageability
2. Enclosure
3. Human Scale
4.Tranceparency
5. Complexity
Urban Design - ARCH 342Dr. Samaa Badawi
1.Imageability
Measuring

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2. Important places containing natural elements

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21. "All Rights Reserved"Lecture 4
Urban Space
URBAN QUALITIES
• Definition of
Urban Qualities
• Importance
• Measurement
1. Imageability
2. Enclosure
3. Human Scale
4.Tranceparency
5. Complexity
Urban Design - ARCH 342Dr. Samaa Badawi

22. "All Rights Reserved"Lecture 4
Urban Space
URBAN QUALITIES
• Definition of
Urban Qualities
• Importance
• Measurement
1. Imageability
2. Enclosure
3. Human Scale
4.Tranceparency
5. Complexity
Urban Design - ARCH 342Dr. Samaa Badawi
2.Enclosure
Urban Design Qualities

23. "All Rights Reserved"Lecture 4
Urban Space
Enclosure refers to the degree to which streets and other
public spaces are visually defined by buildings, walls,
trees, and other elements.
Urban Design - ARCH 342Dr. Samaa Badawi
2. ENCLOSURE The degree of space closeness.
URBAN QUALITIES
• Definition of
Urban Qualities
• Importance
• Measurement
1. Imageability
2. Enclosure
3. Human Scale
4.Tranceparency
5. Complexity

24. "All Rights Reserved"Urban Design - ARCH 342Dr. Samaa Badawi
2.ENCLOSURE Degree of enclosure and long sight line
URBAN QUALITIES
• Definition of
Urban Qualities
• Importance
• Measurement
1. Imageability
2. Enclosure
3. Human Scale
4.Tranceparency
5. Complexity
Lecture 4
Urban Space
* Elements that affect Enclosure:
1. Long sight line
2. Street Walls
Blocked sight line : High enclosure
Long sight line: low enclosure
1. long sight line: is the ability to see far to a distance

25. "All Rights Reserved"Urban Design - ARCH 342Dr. Samaa Badawi
2.ENCLOSURE Degree of enclosure and long sight line
URBAN QUALITIES
• Definition of
Urban Qualities
• Importance
• Measurement
1. Imageability
2. Enclosure
3. Human Scale
4.Tranceparency
5. Complexity
Lecture 4
Urban Space
* Elements that affect Enclosure:
1. Long sight line
2. Street Walls
2. Street walls :
Continuous walls = High enclosure
Discontinuous walls = Low enclosure

26. "All Rights Reserved"Lecture 4
Urban Space
URBAN QUALITIES
• Definition of
Urban Qualities
• Importance
• Measurement
1. Imageability
2. Enclosure
3. Human Scale
4.Tranceparency
5. Complexity
Urban Design - ARCH 342Dr. Samaa Badawi
2.Enclosure
Measuring

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30. "All Rights Reserved"Lecture 4
Urban Space
URBAN QUALITIES
• Definition of
Urban Qualities
• Importance
• Measurement
1. Imageability
2. Enclosure
3. Human Scale
4. Transparency
5. Complexity
Urban Design - ARCH 342Dr. Samaa Badawi
3.Human Scale
Urban Design Qualities

31. "All Rights Reserved"Urban Design - ARCH 342Dr. Samaa Badawi
3.Human Scale
Refers to the size of physical elements
that match the human size
1. Long sight line
2. Building height and Details
3. Street plants
4. Street Furniture
* Urban Elements that affect Human Scale:
URBAN QUALITIES
• Definition of
Urban Qualities
• Importance
• Measurement
1. Imageability
2. Enclosure
3. Human Scale
4.Tranceparency
5. Complexity
Lecture 4
Urban Space

32. "All Rights Reserved"Urban Design - ARCH 342Dr. Samaa Badawi
3.Human Scale
Refers to the size of physical elements
that match the human size
1. Long sight line
* Urban Elements that affect Human Scale:
Long sight line= low
sense of human scale
Blocked sight line=
high sense of human
scale
URBAN QUALITIES
• Definition of
Urban Qualities
• Importance
• Measurement
1. Imageability
2. Enclosure
3. Human Scale
4. Transparency
5. Complexity
Lecture 4
Urban Space

33. "All Rights Reserved"Urban Design - ARCH 342Dr. Samaa Badawi
3.Human Scale
Refers to the size of physical elements
that match the human size
2. Buildings Details : a) Windows proportion at ground
level
* Urban Elements that affect Human Scale:
High proportion of windows at ground level = High
sense of human scale
URBAN QUALITIES
• Definition of
Urban Qualities
• Importance
• Measurement
1. Imageability
2. Enclosure
3. Human Scale
4. Transparency
5. Complexity
Lecture 4
Urban Space

34. "All Rights Reserved"Urban Design - ARCH 342Dr. Samaa Badawi
3.Human Scale
Refers to the size of physical elements
that match the human size
2. Buildings Details : b) Average buildings heights along
the street
* Urban Elements that affect Human Scale:
High buildings= Low sense of human scale
Low buildings = High sense of human scale
URBAN QUALITIES
• Definition of
Urban Qualities
• Importance
• Measurement
1. Imageability
2. Enclosure
3. Human Scale
4. Transparency
5. Complexity
Lecture 4
Urban Space

35. "All Rights Reserved"Urban Design - ARCH 342Dr. Samaa Badawi
3.Human Scale
Refers to the size of physical elements
that match the human size
3. Street plants: small trees and small plants
* Urban Elements that affect Human Scale:
High number of small plants= High sense of human
scale
URBAN QUALITIES
• Definition of
Urban Qualities
• Importance
• Measurement
1. Imageability
2. Enclosure
3. Human Scale
4. Transparency
5. Complexity
Lecture 4
Urban Space

36. "All Rights Reserved"Urban Design - ARCH 342Dr. Samaa Badawi
3.Human Scale
Refers to the size of physical elements
that match the human size
4. Street Furniture: chairs, tables, lighting columns…..
* Urban Elements that affect Human Scale:
High number of street furniture = High sense of
human scale
URBAN QUALITIES
• Definition of
Urban Qualities
• Importance
• Measurement
1. Imageability
2. Enclosure
3. Human Scale
4. Transparency
5. Complexity
Lecture 4
Urban Space

37. "All Rights Reserved"Lecture 4
Urban Space
URBAN QUALITIES
• Definition of
Urban Qualities
• Importance
• Measurement
1. Imageability
2. Enclosure
3. Human Scale
4.Tranceparency
5. Complexity
Urban Design - ARCH 342Dr. Samaa Badawi
3.Human Scale
Measuring

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43. "All Rights Reserved"Lecture 4
Urban Space
URBAN QUALITIES
• Definition of
Urban Qualities
• Importance
• Measurement
1. Imageability
2. Enclosure
3. Human Scale
4. Transparency
5. Complexity
Urban Design - ARCH 342Dr. Samaa Badawi
4.Trancsparency
Urban Design Qualities

44. "All Rights Reserved"Urban Design - ARCH 342Dr. Samaa Badawi
4.Transparency
The degree to which people can see
the human activities beyond edges of
the street
URBAN QUALITIES
• Definition of
Urban Qualities
• Importance
• Measurement
1. Imageability
2. Enclosure
3. Human Scale
4. Transparency
5. Complexity
Lecture 4
Urban Space

45. "All Rights Reserved"Urban Design - ARCH 342Dr. Samaa Badawi
4.Transparency
The degree to which people can see
the human activities beyond edges of
the street
* Urban Elements that affect Transparency:
1. Transparent windows at street level: chairs, tables,
lighting columns…..
High proportion of windows at ground level = High
Transparency
Lecture 4
Urban Space
URBAN QUALITIES
• Definition of
Urban Qualities
• Importance
• Measurement
1. Imageability
2. Enclosure
3. Human Scale
4. Transparency
5. Complexity

46. "All Rights Reserved"Urban Design - ARCH 342Dr. Samaa Badawi
4.Transparency
The degree to which people can see
the human activities beyond edges of
the street
* Urban Elements that affect Transparency:
2. Proportion of street walls: the length of street walls
divided by the length of the street
High proportion of street walls = High Transparency
URBAN QUALITIES
• Definition of
Urban Qualities
• Importance
• Measurement
1. Imageability
2. Enclosure
3. Human Scale
4. Transparency
5. Complexity
Lecture 4
Urban Space

47. "All Rights Reserved"Urban Design - ARCH 342Dr. Samaa Badawi
4.Transparency
The degree to which people can see
the human activities beyond edges of
the street
* Urban Elements that affect Transparency:
3. Proportion of active uses : Active uses such as shops,
restaurants, public parks, residential and other uses that
are inviting to pedestrians
Inactive uses such as blank walls, parking lots, vacant lots,
abandoned buildings
URBAN QUALITIES
• Definition of
Urban Qualities
• Importance
• Measurement
1. Imageability
2. Enclosure
3. Human Scale
4. Transparency
5. Complexity
Lecture 4
Urban Space

48. "All Rights Reserved"Lecture 4
Urban Space
URBAN QUALITIES
• Definition of
Urban Qualities
• Importance
• Measurement
1. Imageability
2. Enclosure
3. Human Scale
4.Tranceparency
5. Complexity
Urban Design - ARCH 342Dr. Samaa Badawi
4. Transparency
Measuring

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52. "All Rights Reserved"Lecture 4
Urban Space
URBAN QUALITIES
• Definition of
Urban Qualities
• Importance
• Measurement
1. Imageability
2. Enclosure
3. Human Scale
4. Transparency
5. Complexity
Urban Design - ARCH 342Dr. Samaa Badawi
5.Complexity
Urban Design Qualities

53. "All Rights Reserved"Urban Design - ARCH 342Dr. Samaa Badawi
5.Complexity
the visual richness of a place which
depends on the variety of the physical
elements
1. Number of buildings
2. Number of colors used
3. Presence of outdoor dinning
4. Number of pieces of public arts
5. Number of people
* Urban Elements that affect Complexity:
URBAN QUALITIES
• Definition of
Urban Qualities
• Importance
• Measurement
1. Imageability
2. Enclosure
3. Human Scale
4. Transparency
5. Complexity
Lecture 4
Urban Space

54. "All Rights Reserved"Urban Design - ARCH 342Dr. Samaa Badawi
5.Complexity
the visual richness of a place which
depends on the variety of the physical
elements
1. Number of buildings
* Urban Elements that affect Complexity:
More Buildings = High complexity
URBAN QUALITIES
• Definition of
Urban Qualities
• Importance
• Measurement
1. Imageability
2. Enclosure
3. Human Scale
4. Transparency
5. Complexity
Lecture 4
Urban Space

55. "All Rights Reserved"Urban Design - ARCH 342Dr. Samaa Badawi
5.Complexity
the visual richness of a place which
depends on the variety of the physical
elements
2. Number of colors used
* Urban Elements that affect Complexity:
Basic Colors: main and dominant colors of the building
Accent Color: used in street furniture and buildings
accessories
Basic: (red brick- white)
Accent: (Green-Red)
Basic: (orange)
Accent: (Green)
URBAN QUALITIES
• Definition of
Urban Qualities
• Importance
• Measurement
1. Imageability
2. Enclosure
3. Human Scale
4. Transparency
5. Complexity
Lecture 4
Urban Space

56. "All Rights Reserved"Urban Design - ARCH 342Dr. Samaa Badawi
5.Complexity
the visual richness of a place which
depends on the variety of the physical
elements
3. Presence of outdoor dinning
* Urban Elements that affect Complexity:
URBAN QUALITIES
• Definition of
Urban Qualities
• Importance
• Measurement
1. Imageability
2. Enclosure
3. Human Scale
4. Transparency
5. Complexity
Lecture 4
Urban Space

57. "All Rights Reserved"Urban Design - ARCH 342Dr. Samaa Badawi
5.Complexity
the visual richness of a place which
depends on the variety of the physical
elements
4. Number of pieces of public Art
* Urban Elements that affect Complexity:
URBAN QUALITIES
• Definition of
Urban Qualities
• Importance
• Measurement
1. Imageability
2. Enclosure
3. Human Scale
4. Transparency
5. Complexity
Lecture 4
Urban Space

58. "All Rights Reserved"Urban Design - ARCH 342Dr. Samaa Badawi
5.Complexity
the visual richness of a place which
depends on the variety of the physical
elements
5. Number of people
* Urban Elements that affect Complexity:
URBAN QUALITIES
• Definition of
Urban Qualities
• Importance
• Measurement
1. Imageability
2. Enclosure
3. Human Scale
4. Transparency
5. Complexity
Lecture 4
Urban Space

59. "All Rights Reserved"Lecture 4
Urban Space
URBAN QUALITIES
• Definition of
Urban Qualities
• Importance
• Measurement
1. Imageability
2. Enclosure
3. Human Scale
4.Tranceparency
5. Complexity
Urban Design - ARCH 342Dr. Samaa Badawi
5. complexity
Measuring

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Thanks for your attention