ENBE Part 1 - The Oasis

Content:
1. Introduction (describe the project brief, the things that you have to do etc)
2. A Town - Better Township or Town or City Guidelines and Issues
3. Investigation & Data Collection: Ancient and old cities/town
4. Investigation & Data Collection: The present towns/cities
5. Investigation & Data Collection: The future and better township
6. The Oasis
7. The Conclusion
8. References list
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1.Introduction
During this second half of Semester 1, we go deeper into the built
environment of this subject. As a mayor of a town, we are to plan a better
town as the current town became too overcrowded.
In planning a town, we have to understand that a town is very much alive,
exactly like the natural elements. In a town, different elements become a
factor in its planning. Factors like the culture, the topography of the site, the
resources needed by the people all play an important role in urban planning.
These elements are what we have to take into consideration in planning the
perfect town.
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To plan for the future, looking at history is a good place to start. Learning from
old mistakes is a way to prepare ourselves for any possible outcomes.
Inspirations can also come from present cities and future cities. The current
trend of today’s cities is to make it more eco-friendly and more sustainable.
All in all, this town-planning project will expose us to many new skills; from
deeper understanding to presentation skills.
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2.The City
2.1 The City Definition
The word ‘city’ originated from the Latin word ‘civitas’. This definition was first codified by
sociologist Louis Wirth in his influential 1938 paper, “Urbanism as a way of life” (Wirth
1938). Cities, according to Wirth, are defined by four characteristics:
1. Permanence
2. Large population size
3. High population density
4. Social heterogeneity
The UK has, for centuries, regulated which settlements can title themselves a city. Under
Henry VIII, the presence of a diocesan cathedral was usually enough to guarantee the claim.
Size didn’t matter so much as the exercise of power – spiritual or temporal.
2.2 What is the brief history
Early humans led a nomadic existence, relying on hunting and gathering for sustenance.
Between 8,000 and 10,000 years ago, systematic cultivation of plants and the domestication
of animals allowed for more permanent settlements. During the fourth millennium B.C., the
requirements for the "urban revolution" were finally met: the production of a surplus of
storable food, a system of writing, a more complex social organization, and technological
advances such as the plough, potter's wheel, loom, and metallurgy.
Cities exist for many reasons, and the diversity of urban forms can be traced to the complex
functions that cities perform. Cities serve as centres of storage, trade, and manufacture. The
agricultural surplus from the surrounding countryside is processed and distributed in cities.
Cities also grew up around marketplaces, where goods from distant places could be
exchanged for local products. Throughout history, cities have been founded at the
intersections of transportation routes, or at points where goods must shift from one mode
of transportation to another, as at river and ocean ports
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2.3 What makes a city / town
The economics, politics, society and cultures shape a city. Gordon Childe attempted to
define a historic city with 10 general metrics. These are:
• Size and density of the population should be above normal.
• Differentiation of the population. Not all residents grow their own food,
leading to specialists.
• Payment of taxes to a deity or king.
• Monumental public buildings.
• Those not producing their own food are supported by the king.
• Systems of recording and practical science.
• A system of writing.
• Development of symbolic art.
• Trade and import of raw materials.
• Specialist craftsmen from outside the kin-group.
2.4 What makes a good town/ township
The phenomenon of the ‘ideal city’ has haunted many civilizations in particular those
that reached a certain stage of maturity. It can be said, as a statement, that cities
represent in every civilization the hallmark of their success and are proof of its
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achievements. Once this assertion is realized on a collective scale – which is on a time-
scale after cities have made their mark – thoughts can linger on the actual character of
the city. The reality of the city-as-phenomenon can be subject to contemplation and
questions can be asked regarding its being. The idea of an Ideal City is part of the total
interactions of human togetherness.
For Plato, the ideal city was one which mirrored the kosmos, on the one hand, and the
individual on the other. As he described in The Republic, the ideal city, or polis, was one
based on justice and human virtue. It was a form of social and political organization that
allowed individuals to maximize their potentialities, serve their fellow citizens, and live in
accordance with universal laws and truths
According to Plato, the ideal city had to be an enlightened one, one based on the highest
universal principles. He insisted that only individuals who were committed to these truths,
who could protect and preserve them for the sake of the common good, were fit to rule the
city.
2.5 What is the future towns
The future towns should be working towards a sustainable township. Future towns should
use the green cities concept, which is:
• Respect of natural environment
• Optimization of key resources
• Infusement of technology with purpose
• Power itself with renewable resources
• Lowest quantity of pollution
• Efficiency use land
• Preservation of heritage
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3.Investigation & Data Collection:
Ancient Cities / towns
3.1 What ancient city are you concentrating on?
Grammichele, Italy, is a town and commune in the province of Catania in Sicily,
southern Italy. It is located at the feet of the Hyblaean Mountains, some 13
kilometers from Caltagirone. It was built in 1693, after the destruction by an
earthquake of the old town of Occhialà.
3.2 What makes is a significant city and what are the details?
The city of Gammichele was designed on a strict hexagonal grid by Nicola
Branciforte. The centre of the city is a hexagonal plaza which pans out into 6
different sections. These sections have theire own rectangular agoras at the end.
Grammichele has a certain geometrical beauty of its city.
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3.3 Conclusion about the cities
The hexagonal grid makes it easier for the city to divide itself into different zones. It also
helps in the numbering of the streets, thus making the street system more organized.
Present Towns / township
Copenhagen, Denmark
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Copenhagen is the capital and most populated city of Denmark, with an urban population of
1,246,611 and a metropolitan population of 1,969,941.
The Finger Plan
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The Finger Plan concentrates new urban development along suburban train lines. The urban
development would be like fingers to the palm. In between these fingers are green spaces.
This is to minimize the dependence on cars, promote mobility and create a mix of dense
urban areas in an environment.
Current Plans of Copenhagen
In working towards becoming a green city, Copenhagen has a few guidelines. Such as;
• Preserving valuable buildings
• Preserving coastlines
• Preventing pollution
• Involving the public in the planning process
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City Of Cyclist
Cycling has always been a Danish tradition. 1 out 3 of its citizens use bicycles as their
primary mode of transportation. This is made possible by the fact that the city of
Copenhagen is covered with 300km of bicycle lanes that are built over a century. The
lanes span out nicely across Copenhagen, increasing their accessibility. As the world
advances in technology, Copenhagen implements the Cycle Lane Messages along the
roads that provide real time data.
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Conclusion
Copenhagen is a sustainable city to live in. This is due to the fact that their main mode of
transportation is bicycles and that they have sustainable urban planning. My future town
should be based on these two elements as well for it to thrive as a green city.
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The future of towns and Better Towns
Icon Ciity, Petaling Jaya.
Icon City marvels with its extraordinary architecture and contemporary living work
and play concept within a sustainable green environment. Icon City works towards
an integrated green environment by having:
• Sustainable sites
• Efficient water and energy systems
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• Environment protection
• Renewable materials and resources
Icon City is a world within a world. A completely intergrated community with
everything you need to work, play, live; lifestyle shops, luxurious offices, retailed
residences and more all within the city.
6. The Oasis
The former town became to overcrowded. Thus, as the mayor of the town, the solution
was to look for a whole new area to call our own.
The new town would be located south-west of Kota Samarahan, Sarawak. There is a
huge undeveloped land there, a space for us to rebuild and start over.
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The Oasis is build on a
hexagonal grid, just like the one
from Grammichele, Italy.
Every section has it’s own park.
The park serves as a meeting
point for each section.
1
2
3
4
5
10
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1. Corporate Park - All in one area for better accessibility. Contains many pocket parks.
2. Galleries - Galleries that explain the history, culture and art of the town. Only bicycles and pedestrians
are allowed in this zone.
3. Commercial Area - Nearby hotels for better accessibility for tourists
4. Lake Resort - The resort exploits the lake as a recreational area. Among the activities done there are
canoeing and diving.
5. Hotels - Nearby the galleries and commercial areas for better accessibility. A big park connects the
hotels with the commercial area.
6. Residential Area -Contains a park that stretches from the top of the zone to the bottom. It connects all
the housing areas together. Buses are not allowed in this area.
7. Educational Hub - Primary to tertiary education are all placed in one area for easier access. Only
bicycles and pedestrians are allowed in this area to ensure the safety of the students.
8. Sports Centre - Nearby the schools and residential areas as these are the people that use this facility
the most.
9. Religious Centres - Separated to avoid complaints.
10. Wind Energy Generator - Placed near the lake as the area near the lake is usually windy
11. Special Forces - Fire brigade, police station and the hospital are placed together for easier access
12. Government Offices - Nearby the services for better management.
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7
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Bigger roads have 7 lanes;
• Pedestrian lane
• 2 Bicycles lanes
• 4 Vehicle lanes
Smaller roads have 5 lanes;
Pedestrian lane
2 bicycle lanes

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Bus LIne
Pink Line – Connects the Residential to
Educational, Sports, Services, Corporate Park and
the Lake Resort. Mainly for the locals.
Blue line – Connects Government to Wind
Energy Generator and Services. Mainly for the
government servants.
Orange Line – Connects Government to Wind
Energy Generator, Galleries and Hotels. For
tourism.
Blue line – Connects Government to Wind
Energy Generator and Services. Mainly for the
government servants.
Green line – Connects the residential to the
services, corporate parks and commercial area.
Central line for the town.

7.Conclusion
Throughout these few weeks of research, planning and lastly presenting there were a
lot of thing I learnt. The process was not as easy as I thought as there were a lot of
factors to take into consideration and a lot of guidelines to follow.
I learned that each city is unique and each of them has something to offer. But what
makes them uniformed is the desire to allow the citizens to live harmoniously and in
unity. They provide a better life fro those who inhabit them.
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8.Reference Links
1. http://www.planetizen.com/node/63248
2. http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?
q=cache:http://quadralectics.wordpress.com/4-representation/4-1-
form/4-1-4-cities-in-the-mind/4-1-4-1-the-ideal-city/
3. http://www.crystalinks.com/ancientcitygrids.html
4. http://www.theguardian.com/cities/2014/may/08/what-makes-city-
tech-garden-smart-redefine
5. http://subsite.kk.dk/sitecore/content/Subsites/CityOfCopenhagen/Sub
siteFrontpage/Business/~/media/9E5C396089DA478D906A77C16C52F3
AF.ashx
6. http://kk.sites.itera.dk/apps/kk_pub2/pdf/823_Bg65v7UH2t.pdf
7. http://wideurbanworld.blogspot.com/2011/02/what-is-city-definitions-
of-urban.html
8. http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?
q=cache:http://urbanplanning.library.cornell.edu/DOCS/gerard.htm
9. http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20130617-moving-around-in-the-
megacity
10. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grammichele
11. http://www.icon-city.com.my/
12. http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-
7m7TAlWOUgs/TiTipbl5seI/AAAAAAAAAHE/61YJ7Z-0d4E/s1600/Image
%2B1.png
13. http://www.thecoolist.com/wp-
content/uploads/2012/09/copenhagen-green-path-map.jpg
14. http://chrisbence.com/geometrics/fractal_city/
15. http://www.sparknotes.com/philosophy/republic/summary.html
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ENBE Part 1 - The Oasis

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ENBE Part 1 - The Oasis