urbanDESIGN.pdf

background
history of settlements
theories and practices in city planning
settlement planning in the Philippines
Kevin Lynch’s image of the city
Ian Bentley’s levels of responsive environments
urban form and function
urban models
urban design controls
emerging theories in urban design
site planning
PLANNING AND URBAN DESIGN

Ancient Times
Natural factors that affect the
development and growth of urban areas:
potential for natural calamities (fire, flood, volcano
eruptions, etc.)
presence of fertile soil, bodies of water, and other
natural resources
slope and terrain and other forms of natural defenses
climate
HISTORY of SETTLEMENTS

Ancient Times
Innovations that influenced the development of
the earliest cities
- The plow and rectilinear farming.
- Circular and radiocentric planning
- for herding and eventually for defense

7000 – 9000 b.c.
Neolithic cities
- Jericho: early settlement in Israel -9000b.c.
- Khirokitia: early settlement in Cyprus - 5500 b.c
- A well-organized community of about 3000 people
- Built around a reliable source of freshwater
- Only 3 hectares and enclosed with a circular stone wall
- Overrun in about 6500 b.c., rectangular layouts followed
-First documented settlement
with streets
-The main street heading uphill
was narrow but had a wider terminal,
which may have been a social spot

-Largest neolithic city-
13 hectares; 10,000 people
-Catalhoyuk: early settlement in Turkey (Asia Minor)
-An intricately assembled
complex without streets
-Included shrines and quarters
for specialized crafts, production
of paintings, textile, metal, etc.
-Rested on a new rationale for the
city at that time- trade
-Circa 7000 b.c.

2000 – 4000 b.c.
- Cities in the Fertile Crescent were formed by the Tigris
and Euphrates river valleys of Mesopotamia
- Eridu- acknowledged as the oldest city.
- Damascus- oldest continually inhabited city
- Babylon: the largest city with 80,000 inhabitants

3000 b.c.
-Cities of Thebes and Memphis along the Nile Valley
- characterized by monumental architecture
-worker’s communities
were built in cells along
narrow roads
-cities had monumental avenues, colossal temple
plazas and tombs cut from rock

- Tel-el-Amarna
- An example of a typical
Egyptian city with the
following:
(1) central area
(2) north suburb
(3) south city
(4) custom’s house
(5) worker’s village

2500 b.c.
- Indus Valley (present day Pakistan)
-Cities of Mohenjo – Daro and Harrapa:
800 b.c.
-Yellow River Valley of China-
“land within the passes”. Precursor of Linear City.
- Anyang- largest city of the Yellow River Valley
-administrative-religious centers with 40,000 inhabitants
-archeological evidence indicates an advanced civilization
lived here as there were housing variations, sanitary and
sewage systems, etc.
1900 b.c.
- Beijing- founded in approximately same location it’s in today
-present form originated in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644)

b.c. to a.d
- Elaborate network of cities in Mesoamerica were built by
the Zapotecs, Mextecs, and Aztecs in rough rugged land.
- Teotijuacan and Dzibilchatun were the largest cities

Greek Classical Cities
700 b.c.
- Greek cities spread through the Aegean Region –
westward to France and Spain
-“polis” : defined as a “city-state”. Most famous is the
Acropolis- a religious and defensive structure up on the
hills, with no definite geometrical plan

700 b.c.
- Sparta and Athens : the largest cities (100-150T)
- Neopolis and Paleopolis (new and old cities)
-Hippodamus- the first noted urban planner. Introduced
the grid system and the Agora (public marketplace)
400 b.c.
- 3 sections:
for artisans, farmers,
and the military
-Miletus

-Roman Cities : adopted Greek forms but with different
scale- monumental, had a social hierarchy
- Roman Forums
Roman Classical Cities

- Romans as engineers- built aqueducts, public
baths, utility systems, fountains, etc.
- Developed housing variations and other spaces:
- Romans incorporated public works and arts
into city designs
- Romans as conquerors- built forum after forum
Basilica- covered markets; later, law courts
Curia- the local meeting hall; later, the capitol
Domus- traditional Roman house; with a central
atrium
Insulae- 3 to 6- storey apartments with storefronts

- Sienna and
Constantinople:
signified the
rise of the
Church
Medieval Ages
- Decline of Roman power left many outposts all over
Europe where growth revolved around
- Feudalism affected the urban design of most towns
-Towns were fine and intimate with winding roads and
sequenced views of cathedrals or military fortifications

- 11th century towns in Europe: Coastal port towns
- Mercantilist cities : continuous increase in size
- World trade and travel created major population
concentrations like Florence, Paris, and Venice
- Growth eventually led to congestion and slums
- many of these coastal
towns grew from military
fortifications, but expansion
was limited to what the city
could support

- 15th Century France: display of power
- Arts and architecture became a major element of
town planning and urban design
The Renaissance and Baroque periods
- Geometrical forms of cities were proposed

- Vienna emerged as the city of culture and the
arts- the first “university town”
- Landscape architecture showcased palaces
and gardens
karlsruhe (Germany) Versailles (France)

1. Medieval Organic City - taken after the “boug”
(military town) and “fauborg” (citizen’s town) of
the medieval ages
2. Medieval Bastide - taken from the French bastide
(eventually referred to as “new towns”)
Settlements in the Americas
3. The Spanish “Laws of the Indies” town - King
Philip II’s city guidelines that produced 3 types
of towns- the pueblo (civil), the presidio
(military), and the mission (religious)
- came in the form of grids or radial plans
reflecting flexibility

4. The English Renaissance - “the European
Planned City” – ex. Savannah (designed
by James Oglethorpe), Charleston, Annapolis,
and Williamsburg (Col. Francis Nicholson)
- Today, Savannah is the world’s largest officially
recognized historical district

– government bldgs were
focal points of the plan,
though a civic square
was also provided
Williamsburg
Annapolis
– plan was anchored by
the Governor’s palace,
the state capitol, and
the College of William
and Mary

5. The Speculators Town - developments were
driven by speculation
- Philadelphia– designed by William Penn
- Built between the Delaware and Scool Kill

- The “Machine Age” - change from manpower
to assembly lines
The Industrial Revolution
- 2 schools of thought- the “reform movements”
and the “specialists”

The Industrial Revolution
- the reform movements:
- Robert Owens (New Lanark Mills,
Manchester, England)
- New Harmony, Indiana, USA by Owens, Jr.
-Designed for 800 to 1200 persons
-With agricultural, light industrial,
educational, and recreational facilities
- Icarus, Red River, Texas, by Cabet
- Brook Farm, Massachusetts, by a group of
New England Planners
- the “Owenite Communities”:
(eventually, Cabet joined the Mormons in laying out
Salt-lake City, Utah)

- Tony Garnier (Une Cite Industrielle )
Locational features
may have been a
precursor to modern
zoning
Ideas and theories
adopted by Dutch
Architect JJP Oud
in the design of
Rotterdam

- Ebenezer Howard – author of “Tomorrow:
A Peaceful Path To Social Reform”
The Garden Cities
- Garden City plans - cluster with a mother town
of 58,000 to 65,000 with smaller garden cities
of 30,000 to 32,000 each with permanent green
space separating the cities with the towns
THEORIES and PRACTICES

- The Garden City Association- established by
Howard in 1899
Letchworth:
first Garden City
designed by
Raymond Unwin
and Barry Parker
in 1902
-Consisted of
4,500 acres
(3000 for agriculture,
1500 for city proper)

-Welwyn, 1920
(by Louis de Soisson)
-brought formality and
Georgian taste
-Hampstead Garden Suburbs- meant only for housing but
with a variety of housing types lined along streets with
terminating axes on civic buildings in a large common green

The City Beautiful Movement
-Daniel Burnham spearheaded
the movement with his design
for Chicago and his famous words:
“make no little plans…”
-Also credited for the designs of
San Francisco and Cleveland
-Emphasis was on grand formal
designs, with wide boulevards,
civic spaces, arts, etc.
-Influenced by the world fairs of
the late 19th century, like the 1891
Columbian Exposition, Chicago

- Baron Hausmann- worked on the reconstruction
of Paris- linear connection between the place de
concord, arc de triomph, eiffel tower and others
Champs d’ Elysee

New Capitals
- capital of Brazil and a completely new twentieth-
century city
- Designed by Lucio Costa with a lot of influence
from Le Corbusier
Brasilia
-with two huge axes in the sign
of the cross, one for gov’t,
commerce, and entertainment,
the other for the residential
component
-Oscar Niemeyer was among
the architects employed to
design the buildings

- Capital of Punjab
province of India,
and the only
realized plan of
Le Corbusier
-Original Master Plan by Albert Myer
Chandigarh
-A regular grid of major roads for rapid transport
surrounding residential superblocks or sections each
based on the rectangle and measuring 800x1200 meters
-The whole plan represents a large scale application of the
Radburn principle regularized by Le Corbusier’s
predilection for the rectilinear and the monumental.

- Canberra’s design taken from the principles of the
city beautiful movement
Canberra, Australia in 1901
design reflected the
principles of the city beautiful
movement with a triangular
formation of three important
buildings:
the Court of Justice,
the Parliament House,
and the Capitol Building,
with each apex pointing
to another important
building or monument

New Delhi, India
-based on the great east-west axis
of Kingsway, 1.5 miles long,
with the Government House on a
hilltop in the West end, and
the eastern counterpoint a large
hexagonal space reserved for
palaces of the native princes.
- Designed by Sir Edward Lutyens
-covers 2650 hectares, yet growth
beyond a population of 57,000
was not contemplated as low
garden-city type density was
envisioned

-Conceptualized by Le Corbusier in his book
-“the Cities of Tomorrow”
The City of Towers
-His first plan for high
density living was
Unite d’ Habitation,
in Marseilles
-A “super building
with 337 dwellings in
10 acres of land

- New York City – present day city of towers along
with Houston, Chicago, Toronto
-He also conceptualized Le Contemporaine, high
rise offices and residential buildings with a greenbelt
for a population of 3,000,000 people

- Broadacres Frank Lloyd Wright
- The Mile High Tower
FLW proposed that every family in the U.S.
live in one acre of land. Problems with lack of land
lead to his design of the…
Proposed to house a
significant amount of
Manhattan residents to
free up space for
greenfields
10 or more of these could
possibly replace all
Manhattan buildings

Radical Ideas
- The Linear City-
proposed by
Spanish Engineer
Soria Y Mata
-Stalingrad
-N.A Milyutin,
1930

- The Arcology Alternative– the 3D city by
Paolo Soleri

-Motopia
- Proposed by Edgar Chambless
- Vehicular traffic will be along
rooftops of a continuous
network of buildings, while
the streets will be for
pedestrian use only
-Science Cities
- Proposed by the “metabolism group”; visionary
urban designers that proposed underwater cities,
“biological” cities, cities in pyramids, etc.

- The Floating City- Kiyonori Kikutake

- The Barbican City– a 63 acre area. mixed used
development that was built in response to the
pressures of the automobile. An early type of
Planned Urban development that had all
amenities in one compound with multi-level
circulation patterns.

The Neighborhood Unit
- by Clarence Perry and
Clarence Stein, defined
as the Physical
Environment wherein
social, cultural,
educational, and
commercial are within
easy reach of each other
- concerns self sustainability
of smaller units
- the elementary school as the
center of development
determines the size of the
neighborhood

Contemporary World Urbanization
-“Millionaire” cities- large cities were the exception
prior to the twentieth century, but a few did exist in
antiquity.
- Leading World Cities in 900 a.d.:
city population
Baghdad (Iraq) 900,000
Changan (China) 500,000
Constantinople
(Turkey)
300,000
Kyoto (Japan) 200,000
Cordova (Spain) 200,000

-Large cities subsequently dwindled in the middle
ages.
-Millionaire cities generally did not emerge until the
20th century
-Leading World Cities in 1900
city population city population
London 6,480,000 Vienna 1,662,000
New York 4,242,000 Tokyo 1,497,000
Paris 3,330,000 Leningrad 1,439,000
Berlin 2,424,000 Philadelphia 1,418,000
Chicago 1,717,000 Manchester 1,255,000

- Industrial Revolution- generated jobs,
increased productivity, and opened up mass
markets for goods.
- Factors that contributed to urban growth:
- Transportation innovations, specially
“farm to market” roads
- Improved infrastructure
- the electric elevator
- Improved medicine
- Iron and steel construction technology

- “Megalopolis” – concept coined by Jean Gottmann
for urban complexes in the Northeastern United
States.
- The term means “Great City” in Greek. Today it is
used to refer to massive urban concentrations
created from strong physical linkages between
three or more large cities.
Boston – New York – Philadelphia – Washington (U.S.A.)
San Diego – Los Angeles – San Francisco (U.S.A.)
Dortmund – Essen – Duesseldorf (Germany)
The Hague – Rotterdam – Amsterdam (Netherlands)
Tokyo – Yokohama – Nagoya – Osaka – Kobe (Japan)

in the PHILIPPINES
SETTLEMENT PLANNING

Pre-colonial Times
Settlement Planning in the Phils.
- Like other cities in the world the earliest Filipino
communities developed out of the need for their
inhabitants to band together.
- They were formed for security, or to be close to
critical resources like food and water. Most of
the earliest towns were by the coast for the
fisherfolk or were where there was abundant
agricultural land for the farmers.
- The community unit was the barangay, consisting
of 30 to 100 families.

The Spanish Colonial Times
Laws of the Indies
- In 1573, King Philip II proclaimed the Laws of the
Indies that established uniform standards and
planning procedures for colonial settlements.
- These laws provided guidelines for site selection,
layout and dimensioning of streets and squares,
the location of civic and religious buildings,
open space, cultivation and pasturing lands,
and even the main procedural phases of
planning and construction.

- The Plaza Complex-
a result of several
ordinances of the
Laws of the Indies.
- The plaza is
surrounded by
important buildings
such as the:
Catholic church
Municipal or town hall
Marketplace and merchant’s
stores
Elementary school
The homes of the “principalia”
Other government buildings

Intramuros
- The walled city of Manila
- 1.2 sq. KM in area; perimeter is 3.4 KM
- home of the Spanish (except for the Friars & the
high ranking officials)
- decentralization occurred and settlements were
built in Malate, San Miguel, and Paco, among
other areas

The American Period
The American Agenda
- guide urban growth and physical development
- put more emphasis on other values such as
sanitation, housing, and aesthetic improvements.
Daniel Burnham
- Architect / planner who designed Chicago, San
Francisco, and parts of Washington D.C.

-Brought in to design Manila and the
“summer capital” of Baguio
Luneta

- Designed with
grand avenues and
a strong central
civic core
Burnham’s Design for Manila
- Included a civic
mall to house
national buildings
(only the Finance &
Agriculture buildings
were built)
- Fronted Manila Bay
like most Baroque
plans fronted a large body of water

- On July 31, 1903, by virtue of Act No. 183, the city of
Manila was incorporated
Manila as the first chartered city
- Manila encompassed Intramuros, and the towns of
Binondo, Tondo, Sta. Cruz, Malate, Ermita, Paco,
and Pandacan.
- The population then was 190,000 people

- Quiapo- the illustrado territory; the enclave of the
rich and powerful. Also the manifestation of folk
religiosity.
The Arrabales Growth of Manila
- Binondo- the trading port developed by the
Chinese and Arabs
- Sta. Cruz- the main commercial district with swirls
of shops, movie houses, restaurants, etc.
- San Nicolas- also a commercial town built by the
Spanish with streets of “specialized” categories
(i.e. ceramics, soap, etc.)
- Sampaloc- centered on two churches (Our Lady of
Loreto and Saint Anthony of Padua). Also known
as the first “University Town”.

Later Suburbs
- San Miguel (Malacañang)- where rest-houses
were built for the Spanish government
- Malate- the early “summer resort” of wealthy and
cultured Filipinos. Then became the first fishing
and salt-making town
- Ermita- early tourist belt (red-light district)
- Paco- first town built around a train station
- Pandacan- town built by the Americans for Oil
depots

Further Suburbanization
Quezon City as the new capitol city
-In 1939, Commonwealth Act
No. 457, authorized the
transfer of the capitol to
an area of 1572 hectares
-A master plan of Quezon City
was completed in 1941 by
Architects Juan Arellano,
Harry T. Frost, Louis Croft,
and Eng. A.D. Williams
- “City beautiful” plan reflected the aspirations of an emerging
nation and the visions of a passionate leader

-In 1946, a search committee was
formed to find a new site
Constitution Hill
-a 158 ha area in the Novaliches
watershed was selected and
called Constitution Hill and
National Government Center
-The three seats of government
were to form a triangle at the
center of the complex
-It included a 20 hectare civic space
referred to as the Plaza of
the Republic

Philippine Homesite and Housing Corporation
- Precursor of the National Housing Authority
Philamlife Homes
- icon of middle class suburbanization
- Built homes for the masses
(“the projects”, i.e. proj.4, proj. 6, etc.)
- Master Plan designed by Architect and Planner,
Carlos P. Arguelles, based on suburban
developments in California with modifications
BLISS (bagong lipunan sites and services)
- Walk-up developments for government sector

Present Day Metro Manila
Metro Manila
Cities and
Municipalities
population,
area, and
density
City / Municipality Population
(yr 2000)
Land Area
(sq. km)
Density
(per sq. km)
City of Manila 1,619,000 38.30 42271.54
Kalookan City 1,300,000 55.80 23297.49
Las Pinas City 526,000 41.50 12674.7
Makati City 498,000 29.00 17172.41
Mandaluyong City 323,000 26.00 12423.08
Marikina City 381,000 38.90 9794.344
Muntinlupa City 527,000 46.70 11284.8
Paranaque City 458,000 38.30 11958.22
Pasay City 415,000 13.90 29856.12
Pasig City 518,000 31.00 16709.68
Quezon City 2,250,000 166.20 13537.91
Valenzuela City 528,000 47.00 11234.04
Malabon 414,000 23.4 17692.31
Navotas 266,000 8.90 29887.64
Pateros 55,000 2.10 26190.48
San Juan 111,000 4.50 24666.67
Taguig 497,000 33.70 14747.77
Total 10,686,000 645.2 16562.31

Metro Manila Central Business Districts
- Manila CBD- this traditional CBD is a center of
business and commerce, has a population
nucleus, and seats the national government
- Makati CBD- a business, financial, commercial,
convention, and recreational center of the
Metropolitan Region covering an area of 979
hectares. Begun by the Ayala conglomerate in
1948.
- Ortigas CBD- another business, financial,
convention, shopping, and recreational node.
Developed by the Ortigas conglomerate in the
1950s, it’s present configuration fully developed
only in the late 80s. The area covers 600 hectares.

- Cubao CBD- developed in the 1960s by the
Araneta Family, Cubao was intended as an
alternative business center in the Eastern side of
the metropolis. This 37 hectare property now
reflects more of a bazaar economy, though plans
are now being developed to convert the area to a
more modern commercial and recreational center.
- Emerging CBDs
Fort Bonifacio Global City- 500 ha of prime land
Boulevard 2000- 1167 ha of reclaimed land to revive
Manila as a city of commerce and tourism
Filinvest Corporate City- joint venture of government
and private sector. Accessible to industrial estates
and technological parks

Kevin Lynch’s Images of the City
Physical elements that create the image of the city

Paths
- Channels along which the observer moves
- Predominant element for many person’s image
- Other elements are arranged and related through
paths
- Strong paths are:
easily identifiable
have continuity and directional quality
are aligned with a larger system
- Spatial extremes highlight paths

Edges
- Linear elements not used or considered as paths
- Lateral references, not coordinate axes
- May be barriers or seams
- Not as dominant as paths but are important
organizing features
visually prominent
continuous
and impenetrable to cross movement
- Strong edges are:
- Edges can be disruptive to city form

Districts
- Medium to large sections of a city, conceived of as
two-dimensional
- Observer can mentally enter “inside of”
- Recognizable as having some common, identifying
character
- Dominance depends upon the individual and the
given district

activity and use
building types and detail
inhabitants (ethnic or class)
- Physical characteristics have a variety of
components
physical characteristics (topography, boundaries,
age, etc.)

Nodes
- May be thematic concentrations
- Points, strategic spots by which an observer can enter
- Intensive foci from which observer is traveling
- Junctions and Concentrations
- Directly related to the concept of paths and the
concept of districts

Landmarks
- Point references considered to be external to the
observer
- Physical elements that may vary widely in scale
- Unique and special in place of the continuities
used earlier
- Sequential series of landmarks as traveling guides

Permeability
Ian Bentley’s Responsive Env’ts
- Places must be accessible to
people to offer them choice
- Public and private access
must be complementary
- Physical and visual
permeability depends
on how the network of
public space divides the
environment into blocks
- There is a decline in public permeability because
of current design trends
Scale of development
Hierarchical layout
Segregation

Variety
- Variety offers users a choice
of experiences
- Variety of experience implies
places with varied forms,
uses, and meanings
- Developers and planners are
more concerned with
economic performance
and easier management,
than with variety
- Variety of uses depends on three main factors:
range of activities
possibility of supply
extent to which design encourages positive interactions
- Variety also depends on feasibility: economic,
political, and functional

Legibility
- Degree of choice depends
on how legible it is: how
layout is understood
- Legibility is important at
two levels: physical form
and activity patterns
- Legibility in the old days:
important buildings
stood out
- Legibility of form and use is
reduced in the modern
environment
- Separating pedestrians from vehicles also reduces
legibility
- Legibility is strengthened by Lynch’s physical
elements of the city

Robustness
- Environments which can be
used for many different
purposes
- There must be a distinction
between large scale and
small scale robustness
- There are three key factors
that support long term
robustness:
Building depth
Access
Building height
- The design of small scale
robustness depends on
extra factors
hard and soft spaces
active and passive spaces

Visual Appropriateness
- Visual Appropriateness
focuses on details
- A vocabulary of
visual cues must
be found to
communicate levels
of choice
- Interpretations can
reinforce
responsiveness by :
supporting the place’s legibility
supporting the place’s variety
supporting the place’s robustness

Richness
- The variety of sense experiences
that users can enjoy
- There are two ways for
users to choose from
different sense
experiences
focusing their attention on different
sources of sense experience
moving away from one source to
another
- The basis of visual richness depends on the
presence of visual contrasts

- The sense of motion: gained through movement
- The sense of smell: can not be directed
- The sense of hearing: user has limited control
- The sense of touch: voluntary and involuntary
- The sense of sight: most dominant in terms of
information input and is the one easiest to
control

Personalization
- allows people to achieve
an environment that
bears the stamp of their own tastes and values
- makes a person’s pattern of activities more clear
- Users personalize in two ways:
to improve practical facilities and to change the
image of a place

- Personalization comes in two levels:
Private
Public
- Personalization is affected by three key factors:
Tenure
building type
technology
- Users personalize as an affirmation of their own
tastes and values and because they perceive
existing image as inappropriate

permeability: designing the overall layout of routes
and development blocks
variety: locating uses on the site
legibility: designing the massing of the buildings and
the enclosure of public space
robustness: designing the spatial and constructional
arrangement of individual buildings and outdoor spaces
visual appropriateness: designing the external
image
richness: developing the design for sensory choice
personalization: making the design encourage
people to put their own mark on the places where they
live and work
Putting it all together…

Urban Form and Function
Landform
Topography
Relationship with Nature
cities within nature cities and nature nature within cities

Shape
radiocentric-
a large circle with radial
corridors of intense
development emanating from
the center
rectilinear-
usually with two corridors of
intense development crossing
the center; usually found in small
cities rather than in large
star-
radiocentric form with open
spaces between the outreaching
corridors of development

ring-
a city built around a large open
space
linear-
usually the result of natural
topography which restricts growth;
may also be a transportation spine
branch-
a linear span with connecting arms

sheet-
a vast urban area with little or no
articulation
articulated sheet-
a sheet accented by one or more
central clusters and several
subclusters

satellite-
constellation of cities around a
main center
constellation-
a series of nearly equal sized cities
in close proximity

Size & Density
- physical extent – measured in KMs across, or
center to outskirts, or square KM
- density formulas- number of inhabitants with respect
to physical size; can be computed in several ways:
number of people per sq. KM or hectare
number of families per block (residential density)
number of houses per sq. KM or hectare
amount of building floor area per section
automobile population, Floor Area Ratio (FAR), etc.

Routes
- outlying routes
- approach routes

Urban Spaces
-Urban spaces- well-defined public streets; plazas,
parks, playgrounds, quadrangles, etc.

Architecture
- scale
- character/ theme
- grain/ texture

Details
- traffic signs, billboards, store
signs, etc.
- sidewalks, street furniture, urban landscaping,
pavers, etc.
- street vendors, traffic enforcers, entertainers, etc.
Inhabitants
- ethnic background, social
class, sex, etc.
- activities

Movement
- pedestrian
- vehicular
- channelization

City Functions
Economic
Defense and Protection
-A basic and continuing function. The city acts as
producers and marketplaces
-Locating cities at strategic points is important for
the exchange of goods
-Historic urban functions of the city, though quite
obsolete at present
-Cities were once built to withstand sieges from
migrating tribes, or frequent raids from enemies

Worship and Government
Transportation
-The prime function of the city throughout history
-Cities were built around temples, shrines, and
pyramids in ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome
-Greatly influences the location of cities since they are
dependent on geography
-New means of transportation have enabled people to
live in much larger more spread out cities
-The medieval cathedral was the center of the city, as
were renaissance palaces and castles

Education and Culture
Housing
-Cities have always been the seat of academy and
scholarship and is a continuing function
-Due to the diversity of people, ideas, jobs, etc., the
city is seen as an educator.
-The largest and simplest function of a city
-Through the years, housing functions of the inner city
have shifted to outlying areas
-Ancient theaters, religious festivals, city beautification,
etc. is a reflection of cultural pride.

Urban Models
Concentric Zone Theory
- the geographer
E.W. Burgess
- includes transition
zone for eventual
CBD expansion
- has some
deficiencies but
simplicity has
stood the test
of time

Urban Models
Sector Model
- the economist
Homer Hoyt
- developed under the
premise that other
uses grow with
the CBD
- consistent with the
observation that
most cities grow
in the direction of
the higher income

Urban Models
Multiple Nuclei Model
- by Chauncy Harris &
Edward Pullman
(geographers)
- uses do not evolve
around a single core
but at several nodes
and focal points
- recognizes that different activities have varying
accessibility requirements

Urban Models
Urban Realms
- by James Vance
- presents the
emergence of
self-sufficient
sectors
- independent urban
realms brought
by the impact of
the automobile

Urban Design Controls
Floor Area Ratio
-the proportions between the built area and the lot area
also referred to
as ‘Plot Ratio’
Floor Space Index (FSI)
-established by dividing the area of the total floor-space
of the buildings on any by the site area, including
half the area of any roads adjoining it

Land Use Planning and Zoning
- Defined as the legal regulation of the use of land
- An application of the police power for the protection
of the public health, welfare, and safety
Incentive Zoning
- allowing builders and developers more space if they
provide certain desirable features and amenities
such as plazas, arcades, and other open spaces
Cluster Zoning
- Creating special zoning policies and regulations for
medium to large sized controlled developments
- Allocating types of uses based on growth patterns

Urban Design
Guidelines
- building heights
- setbacks
- building bulk
- Architectural
character

Environmental Impact Statement
- for large projects developers are required to outline
possible effects of the project on the environment.
The outline includes the following:
Description of the project
Description of existing environments (physical, social,
economic, historical, and aesthetic)
Impact on the environment (conditions evaluated)
Adverse environmental effects
Alternatives to proposed action taken
Long range impacts
Irreversible and irretrievable communities of resources
likely to result from implementation of proposed project

Environmental Preservation
Conservation, Restoration & Adaptive Reuse
- Conservation- a term used interchangeably with
preservation but having the rather more positive
connotation of adaptation of parts of buildings
while retaining the essential spirit of the original
conservation area—an area containing a group of buildings
of special architectural or historical significance, which a
Local Authority may designate.
- protecting the environment from urban growth by
restricting development in certain areas, especially
in sensitive areas such as wetlands, coastal areas,
and mountain environments

- Urban Renewal- a general term to describe the
idea of consciously renewing the outworn areas
of towns and cities; covers most aspects of
renewal, including both redevelopment and
rehabilitation
“The process of cleaning slum areas which are
economically & physically beyond repair,
rehabilitation areas where houses & neighborhood
facilities can be restored to come up to health,
safety, & good living standards, & protective
measures in order to prevent enrichment of
undesirable influences” – (exam question)

- Adaptive Reuse- converting old, usually historic
buildings, sections of, or entire districts to new
uses other than their original purpose. In many
U.S. cities adaptive reuse is encouraged by
special tax incentives
- Rehabilitation- term used to describe the idea of
repairing, redecorating and in some cases
converting, existing structurally sound property
to a standard compatible with modern
requirements of amenity and health

Urban Planning Terms
-Invasion- a type of urban ecological process defined
as the entrance of a new population and / or
facilities in an already occupied area
-Centralization- an urban ecological process in city
land use patterning referring to an increase in
population at a certain geographic center
- Gentrification- improving the physical set-up and
consequently affecting the market for previously
run-down areas
-Block-boosting- “forcing” the old population out of
the area because of social or racial differences

Emerging Theories
Planned Unit Developments
- sometimes referred to as cluster zoning
- used in areas that are being intensively developed
for the first time
- ordinary zoning regulations can be suspended for
this particular property
- usually consists of a variety of uses, anchored
by commercial establishments and supported
by office and residential space

Transit Oriented Developments
• Most TODs place residents
within 600 to 700m of
transit stations.
• This is equivalent to an
average walking time of
about 5 minutes.
- a mixed use community with an average 670 meter
distance of a transit stop and commercial core area.
TODs mix residential, retail, office, open space, and
public uses in a walkable environment, making it
convenient for residents and employees to travel by
transit, bicycle, foot, or car.

• Allows residents to
have easy access to
transit stations,
lessening dependence
on the automobile.
• Boosts transit
ridership and revenue
• With TOD, the city
and the transit system
“meet in the middle”

Transit Oriented developments
- Urban TOD- are located directly on the trunk line
transit network: at light rail, heavy rail, or express
bus stops. They should be developed with high
commercial intensities, job clusters, and
moderate to high residential densities

- Neighborhood TOD- on a local or feeder bus line
within 10 minutes transit travel time (no more
than 3 miles) from a trunk line transit stop.
They should place an emphasis on moderate
density residential, service, retail, entertainment,
civic, and recreational uses.

• The local street system should be recognizable
and interconnected, converging to transit stops,
core commercial areas or open spaces
• Streets must be pedestrian friendly
• Street and Circulation System

Emerging Theories
Distribution of TODs-
TODs should be located to
maximize access to core
commercial areas without relying
solely on arterials. TODs with
major competing retail centers
should be spaced a minimum
of 1 mile apart and should be
distributed to serve different
neighborhoods. When located on
fixed rail transit systems, they
should be located to allow
efficient station spacing

Emerging Theories
Traditional Neighborhoods
- Developments that take
the form of traditional
neighborhoods, while
still accommodating
the automobile and
other modern amenities.
- These are finely
integrated, walkable
communities with a
strong local identity
and with convivial
public places
- The ideas of TNDs are
further illustrated in
“New Urbanism”

New Urbanism
Background of New Urbanism
Sprawl
- Suburban Sprawl brought about by:
the automobile
development conspiracies
the “American Dream”

New Urbanism
• Sprawl-
Creates landscapes
dominated by
parking lots and
undefined edges,
aesthetically
unpleasing
characteristics of
the urban fabric

New Urbanism
-Some suburban centers have roads and parking
lots taking up close to 80% of the land area

New Urbanism
the Congress for New Urbanism (CNU)
- founders- Andres Duany, Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk,
Peter Calthorpe, Peter Katz, Daniel Solomon,
among others

New Urbanism
Hierarchy of Spaces
The Region
- urbanism, defined by its
diversity, pedestrian
scale, public space &
structure of bounded
neighborhoods,
should be applied
throughout a
metropolitan region
regardless of location.
- The entire region should
be designed according
to similar urban principles.
( Region, City, Neighborhood,
District, Block, Street )

New Urbanism
The neighborhood, the district, & the corridor
- these three are the fundamental organizing elements
of New Urbanism
neighborhoods are urbanized areas with a balanced
mix of human activity
districts are areas
dominated by a single activity
corridors are connectors
and separators of
neighborhoods and districts

New Urbanism
The street, the block, and the building-
- the form of New Urbanism is realized by the deliberate
assembly of streets, blocks, and buildings
streets are not the dividing lines within a city, but are to
be communal rooms and passages
blocks are the field on which unfolds both the building
fabric and the public realm of the city
buildings are the smallest increment of growth in the
city. Their proper configuration and placement relative to
each other determines the character of each settlement

New Urbanism
The Context of New Urbanism
- The neighborhood has a discernible center or a
focal point
- Most of the dwellings are within a five-minute walk
of the center, an average of roughly 600 to 700
meters (2,000 feet)

New Urbanism
- There is a variety of dwelling types
- There are mixed uses
- Streets within the neighborhood are a connected
network, preferably a grid pattern, which
disperses traffic by providing a variety of
pedestrian and vehicular routes to any destination

New Urbanism
- There are small playgrounds near every dwelling –
not more than 200 meters away.

New Urbanism
-An elementary school is close enough so that most
children can walk from their home.
- The streets and sidewalks are covered with rows of
trees and other landscaping elements that provide
shade to pedestrians and an overall pleasant environment
- Parallel parking will also be allowed along the streets,
with trees in between each designated space

New Urbanism
- Sidewalks are wide, at
least 3.0 meters, and
will be free from
dangerous obstructions
except for landscaping
elements and street
furniture that will invite
pedestrians to sit.
- Storefronts are also built
close to the sidewalk,
with wide window
openings and visible
entrances that are
inviting to the pedestrian

New Urbanism
-Buildings in the neighborhood center are placed close
to the street, creating a well-defined “outdoor room”.
- Prominent sites at the termination of street vistas or in
the neighborhood center are reserved for civic buildings.

New Urbanism
- Parking lots and garage doors rarely front the street.
Parking is relegated to underground, to multi-level
structures, or to the rear of buildings, usually
accessed by alleys.

New Urbanism
- In areas with bodies of water of significant size,
buildings will be built facing the water, rather than
having the water in its backyard

New Urbanism
New Urbanism Strategies
- The neighborhood is organized to be self-governing.
A formal association debates and decides matters
of maintenance, security and physical change
Redevelopment

Famous Case Studies
New Urbanism
Seaside
- Walton County,
Florida, 1981
- proj area. 80 acres
- Fosters a strong sense
of community with
a variety of dwelling
units built close to
each other,
complete
neighborhood
amenities, open
spaces, terminating
vistas, etc.

New Urbanism
-Terminating vistas give importance
to public buildings.
-Architectural
guidelines include
the requirement for
porches built up to
the road

New Urbanism
Laguna West
- Sacramento County, California, 1990
- proj area. 1,045 acres
- Peter Calthorpe and Associates

New Urbanism
Laguna West
-The system of
public spaces is the
organizing structure
of the community
-The town center is
located at the terminus
of radial boulevards
which originate in
neighborhood parks

New Urbanism
Kentlands
- Gaithersburg, Maryland
- proj area: 355 acres
- Andres Duany & Elizabeth Plater- Zyberk (DPZ)

New Urbanism
- high-end residential units built up to the sidewalk
and close to one another

New Urbanism
Jackson Taylor
- San Jose, California, 1991
- proj area. 75 acres
- Peter Calthorpe and
Associates
- Presents three different
block types

New Urbanism
- BLOCK 1:
mixed use commercial-office-residential

New Urbanism
- BLOCK 2:
high density residential

New Urbanism
- BLOCK 3:
lower density residential

FAMOUS PLANNERS
- In 1913 he won a competition for the re-planning
of Dublin
Abercrombie, Sir Leslie Patrick (1874- 1957)
- In 1944 he published his Greater London Plan and
founder of the Town Planning Review
- Bacon’s Design of Cities (1967)
Bacon, Edmund Norwood (1910-)
- Architect designer in Shanghai
- Cité Industrielle, designed between 1898 and 1904
Garnier, Tony (1869-1948)
- Distinct functional zoning throughout

- Gropius owes his place in any account of the
history of planning to his invention of the
residential layout in which slab blocks of flats
are placed laterally or obliquely to a street rather
than parallel with it
Gropius, Walter (1883-1969)
- planner and author who has pioneered the
development in America of both regional and
city centre pedestrian shopping areas
Gruen, Victor (1903-)
- in planning circles, his indelible mark is made by
his extensive contribution to fresh thought on
the shape and location of contemporary human
communities
Geddes, Sir Patrick (1854-1932)
- the author of Cities in Evolution (1915)
FAMOUS PLANNERS

- American architect noted for his imaginative
sequence of plans for the redevelopment of
Philadelphia, designed intermittently between
1952 and 1961.
Kahn, Louis (1901)
- Believed that housing developments should blend
in with the neighboring city to produce a change
of character, but not a shock
Mayer, Albert
- Thus proposed the planning concept of
“differentiation without division”
- American author and former associate editor of
Architectural Forum whose book the Death and
Life of Great American Cities was published in 1962.
Jacobs, Jane (1916-)
FAMOUS PLANNERS
- Conceptualized the original plan for Chandigarh

- An influential American writer on planning and
sociology.
Mumford, Lewis (1895-)
- His first book on planning, The Story of Utopias,
was published in 1922.
FAMOUS PLANNERS
- Believed in curving forms, rather than formal
grid patterns
Nash, John
- Designer of London’s Park Crescent and Regent’s Park
Osborn, Sir Frederic James (1885-)
- Author, planner and propagandist, Sir Frederic
Osborn has acquired an international reputation
for his sustained and tireless espousal of the
principles behind Howard’s Garden Cities

-Austrian art historian and writer of the book Der
Städtebau nach seinen künstlerischen Grundsätzen
(City Planning According to Artistic Principles)
Sitte, Camillo (1843-1903)
- Architect and planner who analyzed major cities
of the world’s industrialized countries, finding
that characteristically they comprise only about
15% of a country’s population
Tange, Kenzo
Silkin. Lewis
- Earned his place in the history of planning by the
legislation which he introduced into Parliament
while minister of Town and Country Planning
from 1945 to 1950
FAMOUS PLANNERS
- New Towns Act of 1946 and the Town and Country
Planning Act of 1947

- the 4th to 7th chapters of his first book are
concerned generally with town planning and
embody fundamental principles for the layout
and form of whole towns
Vitruvius (1st Century B.C.)
FAMOUS PLANNERS
- An early advocate of formalism in town planning
highlighted by simple curved buildings
Wood, John
- Designer of the Royal Circus and the Royal
Crescent in Bath, England
- Credited for rebuilding London after the fire of 1966
Wren, Christopher
- The stock exchange building was the symbolic
focal point of his plan, instead of the traditional
palace or cathedral

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