PLANNING 2

URBAN
PLANNING
SUBMITTED BY:
OLANIO, MARC
SUBMITTED TO:
ARCH. PINEDA

DEFINITION OF TERMS
CITY - A CITY IS A RELATIVELY LARGE AND PERMANENT SETTLEMENT.
ALTHOUGH THERE IS NO AGREEMENT ON HOW A CITY IS DISTINGUISHED
FROM A TOWN WITHIN GENERAL ENGLISH LANGUAGE MEANINGS, MANY
CITIES

HAVE

PARTICULAR ADMINISTRATIVE, LEGAL,

OR HISTORICAL STATUS BASED ON LOCAL LAW.

URBAN

OF, PERTAINING TO, OR DESIGNATING A CITY OR TOWN.

LIVING IN A CITY

URBAN DESIGN - URBAN DESIGN IS THE COLLECTIVE TERM USED TO

DESCRIBE THE PROCESS OF DESIGNING AND SHAPING CITIES, TOWNS
AND VILLAGES. WHEREAS ARCHITECTURE FOCUSES ON INDIVIDUAL
BUILDINGS, URBAN DESIGN ADDRESS THE LARGER SCALE OF GROUPS
OF

BUILDINGS,

OF

STREETS

AND

PUBLIC

SPACES,

WHOLE

NEIGHBOURHOODS AND DISTRICTS, AND ENTIRE CITIES, TO MAKE

URBAN AREAS FUNCTIONAL, ATTRACTIVE AND SUSTAINABLE. URBAN
DESIGN IS AN INTER-DISCIPLINERY SUBJECT, THAT UNITES ALL THE
BUILT

ENVIRONMENT

PLANNING, LANDSCAPE

PROFESSIONS,
ARCHITECTURE,

INCLUDING URBAN

ARCHITECTURE,

CIVIL

AND MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN NATURAL & PLANNED CITIES
A PLANNED COMMUNITY, OR PLANNED CITY, IS ANY COMMUNITY THAT
WAS CAREFULLY PLANNED FROM ITS INCEPTION AND IS TYPICALLY
CONSTRUCTED
CONTRASTS

IN

WITH

PREVIOUSLY

SETTLEMENTS

UNDEVELOPED

THAT

EVOLVE

IN

AREA.

THIS

A MORE AD

HOC FASHION, WHILE NATURAL CITIES DO NOT NECESSARILY CONSIDER

THINGS THAT PLANNED CITIES DO. LAND USE CONFLICTS ARE LESS
FREQUENT IN PLANNED COMMUNITIES SINCE THEY ARE PLANNED
CAREFULLY.

CONCEPT OF UTOPIA
A UTOPIA IS A CONCEPTION OF AN IDEAL SOCIETY IN WHICH THE
SOCIAL, POLITICAL, AND ECONOMIC EVILS AFFLICTING HUMANKIND
HAVE BEEN ERADICATED AND THE STATE FUNCTIONS FOR THE GOOD

AND HAPPINESS OF ALL. ALTHOUGH UTOPIAN LITERATURE DOES NOT

USUALLY DWELL ON THE PRACTICAL MEANS BY WHICH PERFECT
SOCIETIES ARE CREATED, ITS STATED AND IMPLIED CRITICISMS OF
SOCIAL ILLS AND ITS PRESENTATION OF ALTERNATIVE MODES OF
EXISTENCE HAVE ASSURED IT A PROMINENT PLACE IN THE HISTORY OF
THOUGHT. PLATO'S REPUBLIC , WRITTEN IN THE 4TH CENTURY, IS
GENERALLY REGARDED AS THE EARLIEST AND GREATEST WORK IN THE
GENRE, ALTHOUGH THE BIBLICAL GARDEN OF EDEN MIGHT BE
DESCRIBED AS A UTOPIA.
THE USE OF THE WORD UTOPIA (WHICH MEANS "NO PLACE" IN
GREEK) TO DESIGNATE A PERFECT SOCIETY BEGAN WITH THE
PUBLICATION IN 1516 OF SAINT THOMAS MORE'S UTOPIA, A LATIN ESSAY
DEPICTING THE WAY OF LIFE AND SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS ON AN
IMAGINARY ISLAND. THE WORK CONSISTS OF TWO BOOKS: THE FIRST, A
SCATHING ACCOUNT OF CONDITIONS IN CONTEMPORARY ENGLAND, IS
DESIGNED TO CONTRAST SHARPLY WITH THE SECOND, A DELINEATION
OF MORE'S CONCEPTION OF A STATE RULED BY REASON. HE DESCRIBES
IN ABUNDANT DETAIL HIS IDEAL COMMUNITY'S RELIGION, GOVERNMENT,
EDUCATION, ECONOMICS, WARS, LAWS, AND CUSTOMS. UTOPIA GAINED
A WIDE AUDIENCE, AND THE TERM WAS SUBSEQUENTLY APPLIED TO ALL
SUCH CONCEPTS ADVANCED BY SOCIAL THINKERS AND VISIONARIES.
DURING THE 19TH CENTURY NUMEROUS ATTEMPTS WERE MADE
ACTUALLY

TO

ESTABLISH

UTOPIAN

COMMUNITIES.

MOST

WERE

EXPERIMENTS IN UTOPIAN SOCIALISM, SUCH AS THOSE ADVOCATED BY

THE COMTE DE SAINT-SIMON, CHARLES FOURIER, AND TIENNE CABET
IN FRANCE, ROBERT OWEN IN BRITAIN AND THE UNITED STATES, AND HIS
SON ROBERT DALE OWEN IN THE UNITED STATES. ALTHOUGH THEY
DIFFERED CONSIDERABLY IN THEIR SPECIFIC VIEWS, THESE UTOPIAN
THINKERS CONCURRED IN THE BELIEF THAT IDEAL SOCIETIES COULD BE
CREATED WITHOUT MUCH DIFFICULTY, STARTING WITH THE FORMATION
OF

SMALL

COOPERATIVE

COMMUNITIES

MADE

UP

OF

THEIR

FOLLOWERS. SAINT-SIMON REGARDED TECHNOLOGICAL PROGRESS

AND LARGE-SCALE ECONOMIC ORGANIZATION AS BEING OF UTMOST
IMPORTANCE. FUTURE HAPPINESS, HE BELIEVED, WAS TIED TO
INDUSTRIAL GROWTH. FOURIER, IN CONTRAST, REPUDIATED INDUSTRY.
HE FAVORED AGRICULTURAL COMMUNITIES IN WHICH PEOPLE LIVED IN

SMALL, SELF-SUFFICIENT "PHALANXES" FREE FROM THE RESTRAINTS

IMPOSED BY CIVILIZATION. EXPERIMENTAL SETTLEMENTS BASED ON
THE THEORIES OF THE UTOPIANS WERE SET UP IN EUROPE AND THE
UNITED STATES AND INCLUDED ROBERT OWEN'S FAMOUS COOPERATIVE
COMMUNITIES IN NEW HARMONY, IND., AND NEW LANARK, SCOTLAND.
MOST DID NOT LONG SURVIVE; ONE OF THE LONGEST LASTING WAS
ONEIDA COMMUNITY, IN NEW YORK STATE, WHICH LASTED FROM 1848
TO 1881. BY THE MIDDLE OF THE 19TH CENTURY THE UTOPIAN
SOCIALISTS WERE BEGINNING TO BE ECLIPSED BY MORE MILITANT
RADICAL MOVEMENTS, INCLUDING ANARCHISM AND MARXISM.
IN MODERN TIMES UTOPIANISM HAS FREQUENTLY SUGGESTED A
NAIVE

AND

IMPOSSIBLY

NEVERTHELESS,

THE

IMPRACTICAL

TRADITION

OF

APPROACH
UTOPIAN

TO

REALITY.

LITERATURE

HAS

PERSISTED AS A DEVICE FOR EXPOSING CONTEMPORARY ILLS. MUCH

RECENT WRITING HAS FOCUSED ON SCIENTIFIC UTOPIAS IN ADVANCED
TECHNOLOGICAL

SOCIETIES.

THE

PUBLICATION

OF

SATIRIC

ANTIUTOPIAS, SOMETIMES CALLED DYSTOPIAS, HAS ALSO CONTINUED.

PROMINENT EXAMPLES OF THIS GENRE ARE ALDOUS HUXLEY'S BRAVE
NEW WORLD, GEORGE ORWELL'S NINETEEN EIGHTY-FOUR, AND KURT
VONNEGUT'S PLAYER PIANO (1951).
HISTORICAL LAYOUTS

IN

THE NEOLITHIC

PERIOD,

AGRICULTURE

AND

OTHER

TECHNIQUES FACILITATED LARGER POPULATIONS THAN THE VERY

SMALL COMMUNITIES OF THE PALEOLITHIC, WHICH PROBABLY LED TO
THE STRONGER, MORE COERCIVE GOVERNMENTS EMERGING AT THAT
TIME. THE PRE-CLASSICAL AND CLASSICAL PERIODS SAW A NUMBER OF
CITIES LAID OUT ACCORDING TO FIXED PLANS, THOUGH MANY TENDED
TO DEVELOP ORGANICALLY. DESIGNED CITIES WERE CHARACTERISTIC
OF THE MESOPOTAMIAN, HARRAPAN, AND EGYPTIAN CIVILIZATIONS OF
THE THIRD MILLENNIUM BC (SEE URBAN PLANNING IN ANCIENT EGYPT).

DISTINCT

CHARACTERISTICS

OF

URBAN

PLANNING

FROM

REMAINS OF THE CITIES OF HARAPPA, LOTHAL, AND MOHENJO-DARO IN

THE INDUS

VALLEY

CIVILIZATION (IN

NORTHWESTERN INDIA AND PAKISTAN)

LEAD

MODERN-DAY

ARCHEOLOGISTS

TO

CONCLUDE THAT THEY ARE THE EARLIEST EXAMPLES OF DELIBERATELY

PLANNED AND MANAGED CITIES. THE STREETS OF MANY OF THESE
EARLY CITIES WERE PAVED AND LAID OUT AT RIGHT ANGLES IN AGRID
PATTERN, WITH A HIERARCHY OF STREETS FROM MAJOR BOULEVARDS
TO RESIDENTIAL ALLEYS. ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE SUGGESTS THAT
MANY HARRAPAN HOUSES WERE LAID OUT TO PROTECT FROM NOISE
AND ENHANCE RESIDENTIAL PRIVACY; MANY ALSO HAD THEIR OWN
WATER WELLS, PROBABLY FOR BOTH SANITARY AND RITUAL PURPOSES.
THESE ANCIENT CITIES WERE UNIQUE IN THAT THEY OFTEN HAD
DRAINAGE SYSTEMS, SEEMINGLY TIED TO A WELL-DEVELOPED IDEAL OF
URBAN SANITATION.

CLASSICAL AND MEDIEVAL EUROPE - THE GREEK HIPPODAMUS (C. 407

BC) HAS BEEN DUBBED THE "FATHER OF CITY PLANNING" FOR HIS
DESIGN OF MILETUS; ALEXANDER COMMISSIONED HIM TO LAY OUT HIS
NEW CITY OF ALEXANDRIA, THE GRANDEST EXAMPLE OF IDEALIZED
URBAN PLANNING OF THE ANCIENT MEDITERRANEAN WORLD, WHERE
THE CITY'S REGULARITY WAS FACILITATED BY ITS LEVEL SITE NEAR A
MOUTH OF THE NILE. THE HIPPODAMIAN, OR GRID PLAN, WAS THE BASIS
FOR SUBSEQUENT GREEK AND ROMAN CITIES. ARISTOTLE'S CRITIQUE
AND INDEED RIDICULE OF HIPPODAMUS, WHICH APPEARS IN POLITICS 2.
8, IS PERHAPS THE FIRST KNOWN EXAMPLE OF A CRITICISM OF URBAN
PLANNING.
THE ANCIENT ROMANS USED A CONSOLIDATED SCHEME FOR CITY
PLANNING,

DEVELOPED

FOR

MILITARY

DEFENSE

AND

CIVIL

CONVENIENCE. THE BASIC PLAN CONSISTED OF A CENTRAL FORUM

WITH CITY SERVICES, SURROUNDED BY A COMPACT, RECTILINEAR GRID
OF STREETS, AND WRAPPED IN A WALL FOR DEFENSE. TO REDUCE
TRAVEL TIMES, TWO DIAGONAL STREETS CROSSED THE SQUARE GRID,
PASSING THROUGH THE CENTRAL SQUARE. A RIVER USUALLY FLOWED

THROUGH THE CITY, PROVIDING WATER, TRANSPORT, AND SEWAGE

DISPOSAL. MANY EUROPEAN TOWNS, SUCH AS TURIN, PRESERVE THE
REMAINS OF THESE SCHEMES, WHICH SHOW THE VERY LOGICAL WAY
THE ROMANS DESIGNED THEIR CITIES. THEY WOULD LAY OUT THE
STREETS AT RIGHT ANGLES, IN THE FORM OF A SQUARE GRID. ALL
ROADS WERE EQUAL IN WIDTH AND LENGTH, EXCEPT FOR TWO, WHICH
WERE SLIGHTLY WIDER THAN THE OTHERS. ONE OF THESE RAN EAST
WEST, THE OTHER, NORTHSOUTH, AND INTERSECTED IN THE MIDDLE
TO FORM THE CENTER OF THE GRID. ALL ROADS WERE MADE OF
CAREFULLY FITTED FLAG STONES AND FILLED IN WITH SMALLER, HARDPACKED ROCKS AND PEBBLES. BRIDGES WERE CONSTRUCTED WHERE
NEEDED. EACH SQUARE MARKED BY FOUR ROADS WAS CALLED
AN INSULA, THE ROMAN EQUIVALENT OF A MODERN CITY BLOCK.
EACH INSULA WAS 80 YARDS (73 M) SQUARE, WITH THE LAND
WITHIN IT DIVIDED. AS THE CITY DEVELOPED, EACH INSULA WOULD
EVENTUALLY BE FILLED WITH BUILDINGS OF VARIOUS SHAPES AND
SIZES AND CRISSCROSSED WITH BACK ROADS AND ALLEYS. MOST
INSULAE WERE GIVEN TO THE FIRST SETTLERS OF A ROMAN CITY, BUT
EACH PERSON HAD TO PAY TO CONSTRUCT HIS OWN HOUSE.

THE CITY WAS SURROUNDED BY A WALL TO PROTECT IT FROM

INVADERS AND TO MARK THE CITY LIMITS. AREAS OUTSIDE CITY LIMITS
WERE LEFT OPEN AS FARMLAND. AT THE END OF EACH MAIN ROAD WAS
A LARGE GATEWAY WITH WATCHTOWERS. A PORTCULLIS COVERED THE
OPENING WHEN THE CITY WAS UNDER SIEGE, AND ADDITIONAL
WATCHTOWERS WERE CONSTRUCTED ALONG THE CITY WALLS. AN
AQUEDUCT WAS BUILT OUTSIDE THE CITY WALLS.
THE COLLAPSE OF ROMAN CIVILIZATION SAW THE END OF ROMAN
URBAN PLANNING, AMONG OTHER ARTS. URBAN DEVELOPMENT IN THE
MIDDLE AGES, CHARACTERISTICALLY FOCUSED ON A FORTRESS, A
FORTIFIED ABBEY, OR A (SOMETIMES ABANDONED) ROMAN NUCLEUS,
OCCURRED "LIKE THE ANNULAR RINGS OF A TREE", WHETHER IN AN
EXTENDED VILLAGE OR THE CENTER OF A LARGER CITY. SINCE THE NEW
CENTER WAS OFTEN ON HIGH, DEFENSIBLE GROUND, THE CITY PLAN
5

TOOK ON AN ORGANIC CHARACTER, FOLLOWING THE IRREGULARITIES

OF ELEVATION

CONTOURS LIKE

THE

SHAPES

THAT

RESULT

FROM AGRICULTURAL TERRACING.

THE IDEAL OF WIDE STREETS AND ORDERLY CITIES WAS NOT

LOST, HOWEVER. A FEW MEDIEVAL CITIES WERE ADMIRED FOR THEIR
WIDE THOROUGHFARES AND ORDERLY ARRANGEMENTS, BUT THE
JURIDICAL CHAOS OF MEDIEVAL CITIES (WHERE THE ADMINISTRATION
OF STREETS WAS SOMETIMES PASSED DOWN THROUGH NOBLE
FAMILIES),

AND

THE

CHARACTERISTIC

TENACITY

OF

MEDIEVAL

EUROPEANS IN LEGAL MATTERS PREVENTED FREQUENT OR LARGESCALE URBAN PLANNING UNTIL THE RENAISSANCE AND THE EARLYMODERN

STRENGTHENING

OF

CENTRAL

GOVERNMENT

ADMINISTRATION, AS EUROPEAN (AND SOON AFTER, NORTH AMERICAN)

SOCIETY

TRANSITED

FROM

CITY-STATES

TO

WHAT

WE

WOULD

RECOGNIZE AS A MORE MODERN CONCEPT OF A NATION-STATE.

RENAISSANCE EUROPE - FLORENCE WAS AN EARLY MODEL OF THE NEW

URBAN PLANNING, WHICH TOOK ON A STAR-SHAPED LAYOUT ADAPTED
FROM THE NEW STAR FORT, DESIGNED TO RESIST CANNON FIRE. THIS
MODEL WAS WIDELY IMITATED, REFLECTING THE ENORMOUS CULTURAL
POWER OF FLORENCE IN THIS AGE; "[T]HE RENAISSANCE WAS
HYPNOTIZED BY ONE CITY TYPE WHICH FOR A CENTURY AND A HALF
FROM FILARETE TO SCAMOZZI WAS IMPRESSED UPON UTOPIAN
SCHEMES: THIS IS THE STAR-SHAPED CITY". RADIAL STREETS EXTEND
OUTWARD FROM A DEFINED CENTER OF MILITARY, COMMUNAL OR
SPIRITUAL POWER.

ONLY IN IDEAL CITIES DID A CENTRALLY PLANNED STRUCTURE

STAND AT THE HEART, AS IN RAPHAEL'S SPOSALIZIO (ILLUSTRATION) OF
1504.

AS

BUILT,

THE

UNIQUE

PLANNED QUATTROCENTO NEW

EXAMPLE

OF

CITY

CENTER,

RATIONALLY
THAT

OF VIGEVANO (149395),

RESEMBLES

CLOSED

SPACE

INSTEAD,

SURROUNDED BY ARCADING.

FILARETE'S
ALBERTI'S DE

RE

COMPLIMENT

TO

CIRCUMSCRIBABLE

IDEAL

CITY,

BUILDING

AEDIFICATORIA,
HIS
BY

WAS

PATRON;

ITS

ON LEONE

NAMED

BATTISTA

"SFORZINDA"

TWELVE-POINTED

A "PERFECT" PYTHAGOREAN

IN

SHAPE,

FIGURE,

THE

CIRCLE, TOOK NO HEED OF ITS UNDULATING TERRAIN IN FILARETE'S

MANUSCRIPT. THIS PROCESS OCCURRED IN CITIES, BUT ORDINARILY
NOT IN THE INDUSTRIAL SUBURBS CHARACTERISTIC OF THIS ERA (SEE
BRAUDEL, THE STRUCTURES OF EVERYDAY LIFE), WHICH REMAINED
DISORDERLY AND CHARACTERIZED BY CROWDING AND ORGANIC
GROWTH.

FOLLOWING THE 1695 BOMBARDMENT OF BRUSSELS BY THE

FRENCH TROOPS OF KING LOUIS XIV, IN WHICH A LARGE PART OF THE
CITY CENTER WAS DESTROYED, GOVERNORMAX EMANUEL PROPOSED
USING THE RECONSTRUCTION TO COMPLETELY CHANGE THE LAYOUT
AND ARCHITECTURAL STYLE OF THE CITY. HIS PLAN WAS TO
TRANSFORM

THE

MEDIEVAL

CITY

INTO

CITY

OF

THE

NEW BAROQUE STYLE, MODELED ON TURIN, WITH A LOGICAL STREET

LAYOUT, WITH STRAIGHT AVENUES OFFERING LONG, UNINTERRUPTED
VIEWS FLANKED BY BUILDINGS OF A UNIFORM SIZE. THIS PLAN WAS
OPPOSED BY RESIDENTS AND MUNICIPAL AUTHORITIES, WHO WANTED A
RAPID RECONSTRUCTION, DID NOT HAVE THE RESOURCES FOR
GRANDIOSE PROPOSALS, AND RESENTED WHAT THEY CONSIDERED THE
IMPOSITION OF A NEW, FOREIGN, ARCHITECTURAL STYLE. IN THE
ACTUAL RECONSTRUCTION, THE GENERAL LAYOUT OF THE CITY WAS
CONSERVED, BUT IT WAS NOT IDENTICAL TO THAT BEFORE THE
CATACLYSM. DESPITE THE NECESSITY OF RAPID RECONSTRUCTION AND
THE LACK OF FINANCIAL MEANS, AUTHORITIES DID TAKE SEVERAL
MEASURES TO IMPROVE

TRAFFIC

FLOW, SANITATION, AND THE

AESTHETICS OF THE CITY. MANY STREETS WERE MADE AS WIDE AS

POSSIBLE TO IMPROVE TRAFFIC FLOW.
7

AMERICAS - MANY CENTRAL AMERICAN CIVILIZATIONS ALSO PLANNED

THEIR CITIES, INCLUDING SEWAGE SYSTEMS AND RUNNING WATER.
IN MEXICO, TENOCHTITLAN WAS THE CAPITAL OF THE AZTEC EMPIRE,
BUILT ON AN ISLAND IN LAKE TEXCOCO IN WHAT IS NOW THE FEDERAL
DISTRICT IN CENTRAL MEXICO. AT ITS HEIGHT, TENOCHTITLAN WAS ONE
OF THE LARGEST CITIES IN THE WORLD, WITH OVER 200,000
INHABITANTS.

MODERN PLANNING - MODERN URBAN PLANNING DATES FROM THE

1850S AND THE CONTRASTING PROJECTS TO UPDATE PARIS AND
EXTEND BARCELONA.

IN

1852, BARON

GEORGES-EUGNE

HAUSSMANN WAS COMMISSIONED TO REMODEL THE MEDIEVAL STREET

PLAN OF PARIS BY DEMOLISHING SWATHES OF THE OLD CITY AND
LAYING OUT WIDE BOULEVARDS, EXTENDING OUTWARDS BEYOND THE
OLD CITY LIMITS. HAUSSMANN'S PROJECT ENCOMPASSED ALL ASPECTS
OF URBAN PLANNING, BOTH IN THE CENTRE OF PARIS AND IN THE
SURROUNDING DISTRICTS, WITH REGULATIONS IMPOSED ON BUILDING
FACADES,
FACILITIES,

PUBLIC
AND

PARKS,
PUBLIC

SEWERS

AND

MONUMENTS.

WATER

BEYOND

WORKS,

CITY

AESTHETIC

AND

SANITARY CONSIDERATIONS, THE WIDE THOROUGHFARES FACILITATED

TROOP MOVEMENT AND POLICING.

THE PLAN CHOSEN TO EXTEND BARCELONA WAS A RIGOROUS

PROJECT BASED ON A SCIENTIFIC ANALYSIS OF THE CITY AND ITS
MODERN REQUIREMENTS. IT WAS DRAWN UP BY THE CATALAN
ENGINEER ILDEFONS CERD TO FILL THE SPACE BEYOND THE CITY
WALLS AFTER THEY WERE DEMOLISHED FROM 1854. HE IS CREDITED
WITH INVENTING THE TERM URBANIZATION AND HIS APPROACH WAS
CODIFIED

IN

HIS

GENERAL

THEORY

OF

URBANIZATION

(1867).

CERD'S EIXAMPLE (CATALAN FOR 'EXTENSION') CONSISTED OF 550

REGULAR BLOCKS WITH CHAMFERED CORNERS TO FACILITATE THE
MOVEMENT OF TRAMS, CROSSED BY THREE WIDER AVENUES. HIS
OBJECTIVES WERE TO IMPROVE THE HEALTH OF THE INHABITANTS,
TOWARDS WHICH THE BLOCKS WERE BUILT AROUND CENTRAL
8

GARDENS AND ORIENTATED NW-SE TO MAXIMIZE THE SUNLIGHT THEY

RECEIVED, AND ASSIST SOCIAL INTEGRATION.

REACTION - BY THE LATE 1960S AND EARLY 1970S, MANY PLANNERS

FELT THAT MODERNISM'S CLEAN LINES AND LACK OF HUMAN SCALE
SAPPED VITALITY FROM THE COMMUNITY, BLAMING THEM FOR HIGH
CRIME RATES AND SOCIAL PROBLEMS.

MODERNIST PLANNING FELL INTO DECLINE IN THE 1970S WHEN

THE CONSTRUCTION OF CHEAP, UNIFORM TOWER BLOCKS ENDED IN
MOST COUNTRIES, SUCH AS BRITAIN AND FRANCE. SINCE THEN MANY
HAVE BEEN DEMOLISHED AND REPLACED BY OTHER HOUSING TYPES.
RATHER THAN ATTEMPTING TO ELIMINATE ALL DISORDER, PLANNING
NOW CONCENTRATES ON INDIVIDUALISM AND DIVERSITY IN SOCIETY
AND THE ECONOMY; THIS IS THE POST-MODERNIST ERA.

MINIMALLY PLANNED CITIES STILL EXIST. HOUSTON IS A LARGE

CITY (WITH A METROPOLITAN POPULATION OF 5.5 MILLION) IN A
DEVELOPED

COUNTRY

COMPREHENSIVE ZONING ORDINANCE.

WITHOUT
HOUSTON

DOES,

A
HOWEVER,

RESTRICT DEVELOPMENT DENSITIES AND MANDATE PARKING, EVEN

THOUGH SPECIFIC LAND USES ARE NOT REGULATED. ALSO, PRIVATESECTOR DEVELOPERS IN HOUSTON USE SUBDIVISION COVENANTS
AND DEED

RESTRICTIONSTO

EFFECT

LAND-USE

RESTRICTIONS

RESEMBLING ZONING LAWS. HOUSTON VOTERS HAVE REJECTED

COMPREHENSIVE ZONING ORDINANCES THREE TIMES SINCE 1948. EVEN
WITHOUT TRADITIONAL ZONING, METROPOLITAN HOUSTON DISPLAYS
LARGE-SCALE LAND-USE PATTERNS RESEMBLING ZONED REGIONS
COMPARABLE IN AGE AND POPULATION, SUCH AS DALLAS. THIS
SUGGESTS

THAT

NON-REGULATORY

FACTORS

SUCH

AS

URBAN

INFRASTRUCTURE AND FINANCING MAY BE AS IMPORTANT AS ZONING

LAWS IN SHAPING URBAN FORM.

FORMS OF URBANISM & NEW URBANISM

NEO-TRADITIONAL DEVELOPMENTS
NEO-TRADITIONAL DEVELOPMENT (NTD) OR NEO-TRADITIONAL
TOWN PLANNING IS AN URBAN DESIGN TREND WHICH HAS DRAWN THE
ATTENTION OF PLANNERS AND ARCHITECTS DURING THE PAST TWO
DECADES. THIS POST MODERN FLOW IS FOCUSED ON CREATING WELLPLANNED, MIXED-USE, COMPACT CITIES.
DENSITY

HAS

AN

IMPORTANT

ROLE

IN

NTDS.

NEO-

TRADITIONALISTS TRY TO PLAN COMMUNITIES WITH DENSE FABRIC AS

WELL AS PROMOTING PEDESTRIAN AND BICYCLE AMENITIES. THIS IS A
REACTION TO THE RECENT CRITICISMS OF URBAN SPRAWL. CRITICS OF
URBAN SPRAWL BELIEVE THAT SPRAWLING URBAN AREAS AND
SUBURBS CAUSE LOW SENSE OF COMMUNITY, HIGH CONSTRUCTION
COSTS,

HIGH

AUTOMOBILE

DEPENDENCY,

HIGH

ENVIRONMENTAL

POLLUTIONS, LOW PUBLIC HEALTH, ETC.

URBAN CONTAINMENT
URBAN CONTAINMENT AS THE POLICY OF LIMITING SPRAWL BY
RESTRICTING OUT-OF-TOWN DEVELOPMENT.1 WHILE THIS IS A SIMPLE
DEFINITION, IT IS TRUE THAT URBAN CONTAINMENT AIMS TO LIMIT
SPRAWL, AND THAT IT DOES SO BY RESTRICTING DEVELOPMENT
OUTSIDE OF A DESIGNATED ZONE. BUT A SLIGHTLY BROADER VIEW IS
NECESSARY IN ORDER TO INCLUDE THE AIMS OF URBAN CONTAINMENT
IN TERMS OF IN-TOWN DEVELOPMENT AS WELL.
THE PRIMARY OBJECTIVES OF URBAN CONTAINMENT ARE THE
EFFICIENT DELIVERY OF PUBLIC
FACILITIES; THE PRESERVATION OF FARMS AND FOREST LAND; THE
REDUCTION OF AIR, WATER AND LAND
POLLUTION; AND THE CULTIVATION OF QUALITY OF LIFE BY CREATING A
DISTINCTLY URBAN AMBIENCE.
10

WHEN THESE OBJECTIVES ARE IMPLEMENTED EFFECTIVELY, URBAN

CONTAINMENT PROVIDES FOR THE
ACCESSIBILITY OF ALL DESTINATIONS IN AN URBAN AREA TO ALL THE
AREAS RESIDENTS2. SHOPPING,
JOBS, AND SCHOOLS ARE CLOSER TO HOME AND MORE EASILY
SERVICED BY PRIVATE AND PUBLIC
TRANSPORTATION. THE URBAN AREAS POLLUTION IS REDUCED BY
COMPACT DEVELOPMENT, AND
CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS AND PUBLIC PARKS ARE WELL COORDINATED
TO CORRESPOND WITH TRAFFIC
PATTERNS, MAKING THEM MORE RELEVANT TO THE LIVES OF AN URBAN
AREAS RESIDENTS.
COMPACT CITY
COMPACT CITY IS A HIGH DENSITY URBAN SETTLEMENT THAT HAS THE
FOLLOWING MAIN CHARACTERISTICS:

CENTRAL AREA REVITALISATION

HIGH-DENSITY DEVELOPMENT
MIXED-USE DEVELOPMENT
SERVICES AND FACILITIES: HOSPITALS, PARKS, SCHOOLS, LEISURE AND
FUN
ECO-CITY
AN ECO-CITY IS AN ECOLOGICALLY HEALTHY CITY. ECO-CITIES
ARE PLACES WHERE PEOPLE CAN LIVE HEALTHIER AND ECONOMICALLY
PRODUCTIVE

LIVES

WHILE

REDUCING

THEIR

IMPACT

ON

THE

ENVIRONMENT. THEY WORK TO HARMONIZE EXISTING POLICIES,

REGIONAL REALITIES, AND ECONOMIC AND BUSINESS MARKETS WITH
THEIR NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENTAL ASSETS. ECO-CITIES
STRIVE

TO

ENGAGE

ALL

CITIZENS

11

IN

COLLABORATIVE

AND

TRANSPARENT DECISION MAKING, WHILE BEING MINDFUL OF SOCIAL

EQUITY CONCERNS.

UTOPIAN CITY DESIGN CONCEPTS

GARDEN CITY(VILLAGE)- GARDEN CITY IS A VILLAGE IN THE TOWN

OF HEMPSTEAD IN
THE UNITED

CENTRAL NASSAU

STATES.

IT

COUNTY, NEW

WAS

FOUNDED

YORK,
BY

IN

MULTI-

MILLIONAIREALEXANDER TURNEY STEWART IN 1869, AND IS LOCATED

ON LONG ISLAND, TO THE EAST OF NEW YORK CITY, 18.5 MILES (29.8 KM)
FROM MID-TOWN MANHATTAN, AND JUST SOUTH OF THE TOWN
OF NORTH HEMPSTEAD. A VERY SMALL SECTION OF THE VILLAGE IS IN
NORTH HEMPSTEAD.

GARDEN CITY(METHOD)- THE GARDEN CITY MOVEMENT IS A METHOD

OF URBAN PLANNING THAT WAS INITIATED IN 1898 BY SIR EBENEZER
HOWARD IN THE UNITED KINGDOM. GARDEN CITIES WERE INTENDED TO
BE

PLANNED,

SELF-CONTAINED

"GREENBELTS" (PARKS),

COMMUNITIES

CONTAINING

SURROUNDED

BY

PROPORTIONATE AREAS

OF

RESIDENCES, INDUSTRY AND AGRICULTURE.

INSPIRED

BY

THE UTOPIAN NOVEL LOOKING

BACKWARD,

HOWARD PUBLISHED HIS BOOK TO-MORROW: A PEACEFUL PATH TO

REAL REFORM IN 1898 (WHICH WAS REISSUED IN 1902 AS GARDEN
CITIES OF TO-MORROW). HIS IDEALISED GARDEN CITY WOULD HOUSE
32,000 PEOPLE ON A SITE OF 6,000 ACRES (2,400 HA), PLANNED ON
A CONCENTRIC PATTERN WITH OPEN SPACES, PUBLIC PARKS AND SIX
RADIAL BOULEVARDS, 120 FT (37 M) WIDE, EXTENDING FROM THE
CENTRE. THE GARDEN CITY WOULD BE SELF-SUFFICIENT AND WHEN IT
REACHED FULL POPULATION, ANOTHER GARDEN CITY WOULD BE
DEVELOPED NEARBY. HOWARD ENVISAGED A CLUSTER OF SEVERAL
GARDEN CITIES AS SATELLITES OF A CENTRAL CITY OF 50,000 PEOPLE,
LINKED BY ROAD AND RAIL.

12

CITY BEAUTIFUL - THE CITY BEAUTIFUL MOVEMENT WAS A REFORM

PHILOSOPHY

CONCERNING NORTH

AMERICAN ARCHITECTURE AND URBAN

DURING

THE

1890S

AND

1900S

PLANNING THAT
WITH

THE

FLOURISHED
INTENT

OF

USING BEAUTIFICATION AND MONUMENTAL GRANDEUR IN CITIES. THE

MOVEMENT,

WHICH

WAS

ORIGINALLY

ASSOCIATED

MAINLY

WITH CHICAGO, DETROIT, AND WASHINGTON, D.C. PROMOTED BEAUTY

NOT ONLY FOR ITS OWN SAKE, BUT ALSO TO CREATE MORAL ANDCIVIC
VIRTUE AMONG

URBAN

POPULATIONS. ADVOCATES

OF

THE

PHILOSOPHY BELIEVED THAT SUCH BEAUTIFICATION COULD THUS

PROMOTE A HARMONIOUS SOCIAL ORDER THAT WOULD INCREASE THE
QUALITY OF LIFE.

SATELLITE CITY
SATELLITE CITIES ARE SMALLER CITIES THAT ARE NEXT TO A
LARGE CITY THAT IS THE CENTER OF A METROPOLITAN AREA. THEY ARE
DIFFERENT

FROM SUBURBS, SUBDIVISIONS AND BEDROOM

COMMUNITIES BECAUSE THEY HAVE THEIR OWN GOVERNMENTS AND

ENOUGH JOBS TO SUPPORT THEIR OWN PEOPLE. SATELLITE CITIES
COULD BE SEPARATE CITIES OUTSIDE OF THE LARGER METROPOLITAN
AREAS. HOWEVER, WORKING AS PART OF A METROPOLIS, A SATELLITE
CITY GETS "CROSS-COMMUTING" (PEOPLE LIVING IN THE CITY WORKING
OUTSIDE OF THE CITY AND PEOPLE FROM OTHER PLACES WORKING IN
THE CITY).

LINEAR CITY

THE LINEAR CITY WAS AN URBAN PLAN FOR AN ELONGATED URBAN

FORMATION. THE CITY WOULD CONSIST OF A SERIES OF FUNCTIONALLY
SPECIALIZED PARALLEL SECTORS. GENERALLY, THE CITY WOULD RUN
PARALLEL TO A RIVER AND BE BUILT SO THAT THE DOMINANT WIND
WOULD BLOW FROM THE RESIDENTIAL AREAS TO THE INDUSTRIAL
STRIP. THE SECTORS OF A LINEAR CITY WOULD BE:
1. A PURELY SEGREGATED ZONE FOR RAILWAY LINES,

13

2. A ZONE OF PRODUCTION AND COMMUNAL ENTERPRISES, WITH

RELATED

SCIENTIFIC,

TECHNICAL

AND

EDUCATIONAL

INSTITUTIONS,
3. A GREEN BELT OR BUFFER ZONE WITH MAJOR HIGHWAY,
4. A

RESIDENTIAL

ZONE,

INCLUDING

BAND

OF

SOCIAL

INSTITUTIONS, A BAND OF RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS AND A

"CHILDREN'S BAND",
5. A PARK ZONE, AND
6. AN AGRICULTURAL ZONE WITH GARDENS AND STATE-RUN FARMS
(SOVKHOZY IN THE SOVIET UNION).
AS THE CITY EXPANDED, ADDITIONAL SECTORS WOULD BE ADDED TO
THE END OF EACH BAND, SO THAT THE CITY WOULD BECOME EVER
LONGER, WITHOUT GROWING WIDER.

INDUSTRIAL CITY
INDUSTRIAL

DISTRICT OR

INDUSTRIAL

CITY

WAS

INITIALLY

INTRODUCED AS A TERM TO DESCRIBE AN AREA WHERE WORKERS OF A

MONOLITHIC HEAVY

INDUSTRY (SHIP-BUILDING, COAL

MINING, STEEL, CERAMICS, ETC.) LIVE WITHIN WALKING-DISTANCE OF

THEIR PLACES OF WORK.

CONTEMPORARY CITY

THE VILLE CONTEMPORAINE (CONTEMPORARY CITY) WAS AN

UNREALISED

PROJECT

TO

HOUSE

THREE

MILLION

INHABITANTS

DESIGNED BY THE FRENCH-SWISS ARCHITECT LE CORBUSIER IN 1922.

THE CENTERPIECE OF THIS PLAN WAS A GROUP OF SIXTY-STORY
CRUCIFORM SKYSCRAPERS BUILT ON STEEL FRAMES AND ENCASED IN
CURTAIN WALLS OF GLASS. THE SKYSCRAPERS HOUSED BOTH OFFICES
AND THE FLATS OF THE MOST WEALTHY INHABITANTS. THESE
SKYSCRAPERS WERE SET WITHIN LARGE, RECTANGULAR PARK-LIKE
GREEN SPACES.

14

AT THE CENTER OF THE PLANNED CITY WAS A TRANSPORTATION

CENTER WHICH HOUSED DEPOTS FOR BUSES AND TRAINS AS WELL AS
HIGHWAY INTERSECTIONS AND AT THE TOP, AN AIRPORT.
LE CORBUSIER SEGREGATED THE PEDESTRIAN CIRCULATION
PATHS FROM THE ROADWAYS, AND GLORIFIED THE USE OF THE
AUTOMOBILE AS A MEANS OF TRANSPORTATION. AS ONE MOVED OUT
FROM THE CENTRAL SKYSCRAPERS, SMALLER MULTI-STORY ZIGZAG
BLOCKS SET IN GREEN SPACE AND SET FAR BACK FROM THE STREET
HOUSED THE PROLETARIAN WORKERS.

LETCHWORTH CITY

LETCHWORTH, CORRECTLY TITLED LETCHWORTH GARDEN CITY,

IS A TOWN AND CIVIL PARISH IN HERTFORDSHIRE, ENGLAND WITH A
POPULATION OF 33,600.

THE TOWN'S NAME IS TAKEN FROM ONE OF THE THREE VILLAGES

IT SURROUNDED (THE OTHER TWO BEING WILLIAN AND NORTON) - ALL
OF WHICH FEATURED IN THEDOMESDAY BOOK. THE LAND USED WAS
PURCHASED BY QUAKERS WHO HAD INTENDED TO FARM THE AREA AND
BUILD A QUAKER COMMUNITY. THE CURRENT TOWN WAS LAID OUT
BY EBENEZER HOWARD IN 1903 USING HIS RADICAL NEW GARDEN
CITY APPROACH WHICH INCORPORATED ELEMENTS OF THE COUNTRY,
ALONGSIDE CITY LIFE. MOCKED IN THE PRESS AT THE TIME, THE DESIGN
WAS SUPPORTED BY THE ARTS AND CRAFTS MOVEMENT AND THE
QUAKERS.

AS ONE OF THE WORLD'S FIRST NEW TOWNS AND THE FIRST

'GARDEN CITY' IT HAD GREAT INFLUENCE ON FUTURE TOWN PLANNING
AND THE NEW TOWNS MOVEMENT; IT INFLUENCED WELWYN GARDEN
CITY, WHICH USED A SIMILAR APPROACH AND INSPIRED OTHER
PROJECTS

AROUND

THE

WORLD
15

INCLUDING CANBERRA,

THE

AUSTRALIAN

CAPITAL, HELLERAU,

GERMANY,

SMALL

VILLAGE

OF TAPANILA, FINLAND, AND MEAPARKS IN LATVIA), .

WELWYN CITY
WELWYN GARDEN

CITY

IS A TOWN WITHIN THE WELWYN

HATFIELD BOROUGH OF HERTFORDSHIRE, ENGLAND. IT IS LOCATED

APPROXIMATELY 20 MILES (32 KM) FROM KINGS CROSS. WELWYN
GARDEN CITY WAS THE SECOND GARDEN CITY IN ENGLAND (FOUNDED
1920) AND ONE OF THE FIRST NEW TOWNS (DESIGNATED 1948).
IT IS UNIQUE IN BEING BOTH A GARDEN CITY AND A NEW TOWN
AND EXEMPLIFIES THE PHYSICAL, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL PLANNING
IDEALS OF THE PERIODS IN WHICH IT WAS BUILT. BECAUSE OF ITS
HISTORICAL IMPORTANCE IT ATTRACTS VISITORS FROM AROUND THE
WORLD.

NEIGHBOURHOOD UNIT
THE CONCEPT OF THE NEIGHBOURHOOD UNIT, CRYSTALLISED
FROM THE PREVAILING SOCIAL AND INTELLECTUAL ATTITUDES OF THE
EARLY 1900S BY CLARENCE PERRY, IS AN EARLY DIAGRAMMATIC
PLANNING MODEL FOR RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT IN METROPOLITAN
AREAS. IT WAS DESIGNED BY PERRY TO ACT AS A FRAMEWORK FOR
URBAN

PLANNERS

ATTEMPTING

TO

DESIGN

FUNCTIONAL,

SELF-

CONTAINED AND DESIRABLE NEIGHBOURHOODS IN THE EARLY 20TH

CENTURY IN INDUSTRIALISING CITIES. IT CONTINUES TO BE UTILISED
(ALBEIT IN PROGRESSIVE AND ADAPTED WAYS, SEE NEW URBANISM), AS
A

MEANS

OF

ORDERING

AND

ORGANISING

NEW

RESIDENTIAL

COMMUNITIES IN A WAY WHICH SATISFIES CONTEMPORARY "SOCIAL,

ADMINISTRATIVE AND SERVICE REQUIREMENTS FOR SATISFACTORY
URBAN EXISTENCE".

SUPERBLOCK
SUPERBLOCKS WERE POPULAR DURING THE EARLY AND MID20TH CENTURY, ARISING FROM MODERNIST IDEAS IN ARCHITECTURE
16

AND URBAN PLANNING. A SUPERBLOCK IS MUCH LARGER THAN A

TRADITIONAL CITY BLOCK, WITH GREATER SETBACK FOR BUILDINGS,
AND IS TYPICALLY BOUNDED BY WIDELY SPACED, HIGH-SPEED,
ARTERIAL OR CIRCULATING ROUTES RATHER THAN BY LOCAL STREETS.
SUPERBLOCKS ARE OFTEN ASSOCIATED WITH SUBURBS, PLANNED
CITIES, AND THE URBAN RENEWAL OF THE MID-20TH CENTURY; THAT IS,
IN AREAS IN WHICH A STREET HIERARCHY HAS REPLACED THE
TRADITIONAL GRID. IN A RESIDENTIAL AREA OF A SUBURB, THE INTERIOR
OF THE SUPERBLOCK IS TYPICALLY SERVED BYCUL-DE-SAC OR LOOPED
STREETS. SUPERBLOCKS CAN ALSO BE FOUND IN CENTRAL CITY AREAS,
WHERE THEY ARE MORE OFTEN ASSOCIATED WITH INSTITUTIONAL,
EDUCATIONAL,

RECREATIONAL

AND

CORPORATE

RATHER

THAN

RESIDENTIAL USES.

NEW URBANISM CONCEPTS

NEW URBANISM PROMOTES THE CREATION AND RESTORATION
OF DIVERSE, WALKABLE, COMPACT, VIBRANT, MIXED-USE COMMUNITIES
COMPOSED

OF

THE

SAME

COMPONENTS

AS

CONVENTIONAL

DEVELOPMENT, BUT ASSEMBLED IN A MORE INTEGRATED FASHION, IN

THE FORM OF COMPLETE COMMUNITIES. THESE CONTAIN HOUSING,
WORK PLACES, SHOPS, ENTERTAINMENT, SCHOOLS, PARKS, AND CIVIC
FACILITIES ESSENTIAL TO THE DAILY LIVES OF THE RESIDENTS, ALL
WITHIN EASY WALKING DISTANCE OF EACH OTHER. NEW URBANISM
PROMOTES THE INCREASED USE OF TRAINS AND LIGHT RAIL, INSTEAD
OF MORE HIGHWAYS AND ROADS. URBAN LIVING IS RAPIDLY BECOMING
THE NEW HIP AND MODERN WAY TO LIVE FOR PEOPLE OF ALL AGES.
CURRENTLY, THERE ARE OVER 4,000 NEW URBANIST PROJECTS
PLANNED OR UNDER CONSTRUCTION IN THE UNITED STATES ALONE,
HALF OF WHICH ARE IN HISTORIC URBAN CENTERS.

URBAN DESIGN GUIDELINES

RETAIN AND ENHANCE THE DISTRIC TCHARACTER OF SPECIFIC

LOCALITIES. CONSIDER SUITABLE HEIGHT CONTROL, SETBACKS AND
TREE PRESERVATION WHERE APPROPRIATE.

17

PROVIDE RELIEF AND DIVERSITY IN HEIGHT AND MASSING

OF

DEVELOPMENTS IN DIFFERENT LOCALITIES (DETAILED STUDIES SHOULD

BE CARRIED OUT FOR INDIVIDUAL AREAS WHERE NECESSARY).

PRESERVE LOW DENSITY AREAS TO ENHANCE DIVERSITY IN THE URBAN
CORE AND INTRODUCE INTERESTING LANDSCAPE, AND BUILT FORMS

WHERE APPROPRIATE.
PROTECT EXISTING VIEW CORRIDORS TO RIDGELINES AND PROVIDE

VISUAL ACCESS TO THE COUNTRYSIDE.

RESPECT AND INTEGRATE WITH

LOW

RISE

NEIGHBOURING

DEVELOPMENTS BY STEPPING DOWN BUILDING HEIGHT. USE LOWER

BUILDINGS SUCH AS COMMUNITY HALLS, SCHOOLS, ETC. AS INTERFACE

AND AS VISUAL AND SPATIAL RELIEF IN THE URBAN CORE.

NEW DEVELOPMENTS SHOULD R E S P O N D T O T H E U N I Q U E
TOPOGRAPHICAL AND LANDSCAPE SETTING OF A NEW TOWN. VIEW
CORRIDORS / BREEZEWAYS TO MOUNTAIN BACKDROP OR WATERBODY

SHOULD BE MAINTAINED.
DEVELOPMENTS SHOULD BE COMPATIBLE WITH THEIR CONTEXT. OUTOF-CONTEXT SORE THUMB DEVELOPMENTS SHOULD BE AVOIDED,

ESPECIALLY AT THE PERIPHERY OF A NEW TOWN.

WHERE APPROPRIATE, ADOPT A COHERENT GRADATION IN BUILDING
HEIGHT PROFILE FROM THE HIGH DENSITY CORE AREA TO THE FRINGE /

LOW DENSITY AREAS.

CREATE LANDMARKS AT THE CIVIC / COMMERCIAL CENTRES OR FOCAL

POINTS WHERE APPROPRIATE.

BUILDING HEIGHT AND MASS SHOULD BE HARMONISED WITH THE RURAL
SETTING. OUT-OF-CONTEXT SORE THUMB DEVELOPMENTS SHOULD BE

AVOIDED.
DEFINE DISTINCT VIEWSHEDS ACCORDING TO MAJOR RIDGELINES.
DETERMINE APPROPRIATE HEIGHT PROFILE WITHIN INDIVIDUAL VIEW

SHED.
ENCOURAGE DIVERSITY IN BUILDING HEIGHTS IN NEW LOW-RISE
DEVELOPMENTS TO ADD VARIETY AND INTEREST TO THE SUBURBAN

BUILT FORM. AVOID STEREOTYPE OR MONOTONOUS DEVELOPMENTS.

CREATE AN ACTIVE WATERFRONT WITH DIVERSITY IN ACTIVITIES AND
FUNCTIONS

INCLUDING

RESTAURANTS,

BARS,

RETAIL FACILITIES,

PROMENADES AND PIERS. ADD WELL-DESIGNED LANDSCAPING AND

STREET FURNITURE WHERE APPROPRIATE.

AVOID THE WALL EFFECT AND CREATE A VARYING BUILDING HEIGHT
PROFILE WHERE APPROPRIATE. TALLER DEVELOPMENTS SHOULD BE

18

LOCATED INLAND, WITH LOWER DEVELOPMENTS ON THE WATERFRONT.

IN NEW DEVELOPED AREAS, CONSIDERATION SHOULD BE GIVEN TO

DESIGNATION OF COASTAL SITES FOR LOW DENSITY DEVELOPMENT.

ENCOURAGE WELL LANDSCAPED GREEN OPEN SPACES THAT MEET THE
FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR ACTIVE AND PASSIVE RECREATIONAL

USES.
MAXIMISE PUBLIC ACCESSIBILITY TO OPEN SPACES WITH EASY
PEDESTRIAN CIRCULATION AND MINIMUM INTERFACE WITH ROADS.
VISUAL LINKAGE ALONG VIEW CORRIDORS COULD HELP ORIENTATE
PEDESTRIANS AND DIRECT THEM TO THE OPEN SPACE FACILITIES. VIEW

CORRIDORS SHOULD BE LANDSCAPED WHEREVER PRACTICABLE.

PROVIDE FOCAL LANDMARK FEATURES IN OPEN SPACES TO ACHIEVE

ORIENTATION AND CREATE A SENSE OF PLACE.

INTRODUCE MORE GREEN SPACES AT STREET LEVEL. ENCOURAGE
DEVELOPMENTS TO ALLOCATE MORE GROUND LEVEL SPACE FOR
LANDSCAPING AND PROVIDE MORE SETBACKS (E.G. LESS PODIUM
COVERAGE) FOR TREE PLANTING. WHERE PRACTICABLE, PROVIDE
MORE WELL LANDSCAPED GREEN AREAS AND AMENITY STRIPS ALONG

MAJOR TRANSPORT CORRIDORS, STREET FRONTAGES AND WALKWAYS.

PROVIDE A BALANCED MIX OF HARD AND SOFT LANDSCAPE. DETAILED
MICRO-SCALE LANDSCAPE DESIGN SHOULD BE SITE SPECIFIC TO
MAXIMISE LEGIBILITY, TO CREATE A COMFORTABLE ENVIRONMENT AND

TO GREEN THE CITY.

PROVIDE PEDESTRIAN PRIORITY FACILITIES, SUCH AS PEDESTRIANISED
STREETS

AND

UNDERGROUND/SEMISUBMERGED

ROADS,

TO

ENCOURAGE SEGREGATION OF VEHICLES AND PEDESTRIANS WHERE

APPROPRIATE.
INTRODUCE TRAFFIC CALMING MEASURES SUCH AS SPEED BUMPS AND
RAISED CROSSINGS TO MINIMISE THE CONFLICT BETWEEN VEHICLES

AND PEDESTRIANS.
PROVIDE SAFE, CLEAN, ACCESSIBLE AND INTERESTING ENVIRONMENTS
WITH DUE CONSIDERATION TO MICROC L I M A T E F O R P E D E S T R I A
N CIRCULATION. EASE OF ACCESS SHOULD BE ENSURED FOR PERSONS

WITH DISABILITIES.
INTEGRATE THE PROVISION OF PEDESTRIAN LINKAGES WITH THAT OF
OPEN SPACE NETWORKS.
PROVIDE RAMPS FOR THE CIRCULATION OF THE ELDERLY, PERSONS

WITH DISABILITIES, PARENTS WITH CHILDREN, ETC.

PROVIDE HIGH QUALITY PAVEMENT SURFACES SUCH AS PATTERNED

TILES, BRICK PAVING, OR STONE FINISH. THE PROVISION OF STREET

19

FURNITURE SHOULD COMPLEMENT THE CHARACTER OF THE AREA OR

THE

ADJACENT

SPECIFICATIONS

DEVELOPMENTS.
FOR

DESIGNS

AVOID

AND

USING

STANDARDISED

MATERIALS

ESPECIALLY

IN

BUSINESS AND TOURIST AREAS.

INTRODUCE INTERNAL PUBLIC CIRCULATION ON DESIRE LINES TO
CONNECT POPULAR DESTINATIONS. THESE LINKAGES SHOULD BE
FREELY ACCESSIBLE TO THE PUBLIC, SHOULD BE OF SUITABLE SCALE
DEPENDING ON PEDESTRIAN FLOW, AND SHOULD HAVE NATURAL LIGHT

WHERE POSSIBLE.
DUE CONSIDERATIONS

SHOULD

BE

MADE

FOR

PERSONS

WITH

DISABILITIES IN THE DESIGN OF CROSSINGS, TACTILE PAVING, BRAILLE

INFORMATION BOARDS ETC. STREET FURNITURE SHOULD ALSO CATER

FOR THE NEEDS OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES AND THE ELDERLY.

ROADSIDE PLANTING SHOULD BE ENCOURAGED. PROVIDE ATTRACTIVE
HARD AND SOFT LANDSCAPING TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF THE
STREET ENVIRONMENT. SOFTEN THE HARD EDGES WITH LANDSCAPING

(E.G. TREE PLANTING AND SHRUB BEDS WHERE APPROPRIATE).

PROVIDE NON-SENSITIVE BUILDINGS OR SETBACKS TO CREATE
BUFFERS BETWEEN ROADS (POLLUTION SOURCE) AND SENSITIVE
RECEIVERS. OFFICE BUILDINGS, ENCLOSED SPORTS HALLS, RETAIL

MALLS, ETC CAN BE USED AS BUFFERS.

ACOUSTIC BARRIERS NEED TO BE VISUALLY UNOBTRUSIVE. THESE
ELEMENTS

COULD

HAVE

A NEGATIVE

VISUAL

IMPACT

ON

THE

STREETSCAPE. THEREFORE, WHERE APPROPRIATE THE SCREENS

COULD BE INCORPORATED IN A LANDSCAPING SCHEME, OR BE MADE OF
A TRANSPARENT MATERIAL (E.G. GLASS) TO MINIMISE THEIR VISUAL
IMPACTS.
PROVIDE SOUND ABSORBING MATERIALS FOR ROADS.

PRINCIPLE OF INTELLIGENT URBANISM

PRINCIPLES OF INTELLIGENT URBANISM (PIU) IS A THEORY OF
URBAN PLANNING COMPOSED OF A SET OF TEN AXIOMS INTENDED TO
GUIDE THE FORMULATION OF CITY PLANS AND URBAN DESIGNS. THEY
ARE INTENDED TO RECONCILE AND INTEGRATE DIVERSE URBAN
PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT CONCERNS. THESE AXIOMS INCLUDE
ENVIRONMENTAL
APPROPRIATE

SUSTAINABILITY,
TECHNOLOGY,

HERITAGE

INFRASTRUCTURE

CONSERVATION,
EFFICIENCY,

PLACEMAKING, "SOCIAL ACCESS," TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT,

20

REGIONAL INTEGRATION, HUMAN SCALE, AND INSTITUTIONAL INTEGRITY.

THE TERM WAS COINED BY PROF. CHRISTOPHER CHARLES BENNINGER.
THE TEN PRINCIPLES OF INTELLIGENT URBANISM ARE:
PRINCIPLE

ONE:

BALANCE

WITH

NATURE

EMPHASIZES

THE

DISTINCTION BETWEEN UTILIZING RESOURCES AND EXPLOITING THEM.

IT FOCUSES ON A THRESHOLD BEYOND WHICH DEFORESTATION, SOIL
EROSION,

AQUIFER

DETERIORATION,

SILTING,

AND

FLOODING

REINFORCE ONE ANOTHER IN URBAN SYSTEMS, DESTROYING LIFE

SUPPORT SYSTEMS. THE PRINCIPLE PROMOTES ENVIRONMENTAL
ASSESSMENTS
THREATENED

OF

ECOSYSTEMS

NATURAL

SYSTEMS

TO
AND

IDENTIFY

FRAGILE

HABITATS

THAT

ZONES,
CAN

BE

ENHANCED THROUGH CONSERVATION, DENSITY, LAND USE AND OPEN

SPACE

PLANNING.

PRINCIPLE TWO: A BALANCE WITH TRADITION INTEGRATES PLAN

INTERVENTIONS WITH EXISTING CULTURAL ASSETS,

RESPECTING

TRADITIONAL PATTERNS AND PRECEDENTS OF STYLE. IT RESPECTS

HERITAGE PRECINCTS AND HISTORICAL ASSETS THAT WEAVE THE PAST
AND THE FUTURES OF CITIES INTO A CONTINUITY OF VALUES.
PRINCIPLE THREE: APPROPRIATE TECHNOLOGY PROMOTES MATERIALS,
BUILDING

TECHNIQUES,

INFRASTRUCTURAL

SYSTEMS

AND

CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT THAT ARE CONSISTENT WITH PEOPLES=

CAPACITIES, GEO-CLIMATIC CONDITIONS, LOCAL RESOURCES, AND
SUITABLE CAPITAL INVESTMENTS. THE PIU FOCUS ON MATCHING
INTERFACES BETWEEN THE PHYSICAL SPREAD OF URBAN UTILITIES AND
SERVICES, WATERSHED CATCHMENTS, URBAN ADMINISTRATIVE WARDS
AND

ELECTORAL

CONSTITUENT

BOUNDARIES.

PRINCIPLE FOUR: CONVIVIALITY SPONSORS SOCIAL INTERACTION

THROUGH PUBLIC DOMAINS, IN A HIERARCHY OF PLACES, DEVISED FOR
PERSONAL

SOLACE,

HOUSEHOLDING,

ENGAGING

NEIGHBORING,

FRIENDSHIP,

COMMUNITY AND

ROMANCE,

CIVIC

LIFE.

IT

PROMOTES THE PROTECTION, ENHANCEMENT AND CREATION OF OPEN

PUBLIC

SPACES

WHICH

21

AE

ACCESSIBLE

TO

ALL.

PRINCIPLE FIVE: EFFICIENCY PROMOTES A BALANCE BETWEEN THE

CONSUMPTION OF URBAN RESOURCES LIKE ENERGY, TIME AND
FINANCE,

WITH

PLANNED ACHIEVEMENTS

IN

COMFORT, SAFETY,

SECURITY, ACCESS, TENURE, AND HYGIENE LEVELS. IT ENCOURAGES

OPTIMUM

SHARING

OF

LAND,

ROADS,

FACILITIES

AND

INFRASTRUCTURAL NETWORKS TO REDUCE PER HOUSEHOLD COSTS,

INCREASING
PRINCIPLE

AFFORDABILITY
SIX:

PEDESTRIAN

HUMAN

ORIENTED

SCALE
URBAN

AND

CIVIC

ENCOURAGES

VIABILITY.

GROUND

ARRANGEMENTS,

LEVEL,

BASED

ON

ANTHROPOMETRIC DIMENSIONS, AS OPPOSED TO AMACHINE-SCALES.=

WALKABLE, MIXED USE URBAN VILLAGES ARE ENCOURAGED, OVER
MONO-FUNCTIONAL BLOCKS AND ZONES, LINKED BY MOTOR WAYS AND
SURROUNDED

BY

PARKING

LOTS.

PRINCIPLE SEVEN: OPPORTUNITY MATRIX ENRICHES THE CITY AS A

VEHICLE FOR PERSONAL, SOCIAL, AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT,
THROUGH ACCESS TO A RANGE OF ORGANIZATIONS, SERVICES AND
FACILITIES, PROVIDING A VARIETY OF OPPORTUNITIES FOR EDUCATION,
RECREATION, EMPLOYMENT, BUSINESS, MOBILITY, SHELTER, HEALTH,
SAFETY

AND

BASIC

NEEDS.

PRINCIPLE EIGHT: REGIONAL INTEGRATION, ENVISIONS THE CITY AS AN

ORGANIC PART OF A LARGER ENVIRONMENTAL, ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND
CULTURAL GEOGRAPHIC SYSTEM, WHICH IS ESSENTIAL FOR ITS FUTURE
SUSTAINABILITY.
PRINCIPLE NINE: BALANCED MOVEMENT PROMOTES INTEGRATED
TRANSPORT SYSTEMS COMPOSED OF PEDESTRIAN PATHS, CYCLE
LANES, EXPRESS BUS LANES, LIGHT RAIL CORRIDORS AND AUTOMOBILE
CHANNELS. THE MODAL SPLIT NODES BETWEEN THESE SYSTEMS
BECOME THE PUBLIC DOMAINS AROUND WHICH CLUSTER HIGH
DENSITY, SPECIALIZED URBAN HUBS AND WALKABLE, MIXED-USE URBAN
VILLAGES.
PRINCIPLE TEN: INSTITUTIONAL INTEGRITY RECOGNIZES THAT GOOD
22

PRACTICES INHERENT IN CONSIDERED PRINCIPLES CAN ONLY BE

REALIZED

THROUGH

THE

EMPLACEMENT

OF

ACCOUNTABLE,

TRANSPARENT, COMPETENT AND PARTICIPATORY LOCAL GOVERNANCE.

IT

RECOGNIZES

APPROPRIATE

THAT

SUCH

DATA BASES,

GOVERNANCE

ON

DUE

IS

FOUNDED

ENTITLEMENTS,

ON

ON
CIVIC

RESPONSIBILITIES AND DUTIES. THE PIU PROMOTES A RANGE OF

FACILITATIVE AND PROMOTIVE URBAN DEVELOPMENT MANAGEMENT
TOOLS TO ACHIEVE INTELLIGENT URBAN PRACTICES, SYSTEMS AND
FORMS.

URBAN DESIGN GLOSSARY

ADAPTIVE RE-USE - CONVERSION OF A BUILDING INTO A USE OTHER
THAN THAT FOR WHICH IT WAS DESIGNED, SUCH AS CHANGING A
WAREHOUSE INTO A GALLERY SPACE OR HOUSING.
ANIMATION A QUALITY OF THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT WHICH SUPPORTS
SUSTAINED ACTIVITY THROUGH THE ARCHITECTURAL AND ARTISTIC
EMBELLISHMENT OF MATERIALS AND DETAILS, THE VISUAL AND
PHYSICAL ACCESSIBILITY OF INTERIOR ACTIVITIES FROM THE EXTERIOR
AND THE INTRODUCTION OF SUPPORTIVE PUBLIC FACILITIES AND
AMENITIES.
AREAS OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL POTENTIAL: AREAS FAVOURBLE WITH
MEDIUM OR
HIGH POTENTIAL

FOR

THE

DISCOVERY

OF

ARCHAEOLOGICAL

RESOURCES. THIS
POTENTIAL IS BASED ON THE PRESENCE OF A WIDE RANGE OF
GEOGRAPHIC AND
HISTORICAL FEATURES
ARCHAEOLOGICAL

WHICH

POTENTIAL

INFLUENCED
IS

PAST

CONFIRMED

SETTLEMENT.
THROUGH

ARCHAEOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT.
AWNING AN ADJUSTABLE, ROOF-LIKE COVERING FITTED OVER
WINDOWS, DOORS, ETC. TO PROVIDE SHELTER FROM THE SUN, RAIN
AND WIND AND FOR ITS DECORATIVE AND ADVERTISING POTENTIAL.
BARRIER-FREE DESIGN BUILDING AND SITE DESIGN WHICH IS
ACCESSIBLE TO ALL PEOPLE, REGARDLESS OF AGE AND ABILITIES.

23

BAY A VERTICAL DIVISION OF A FAADE OR A STRUCTURE DIVISION OF

A BUILDING, MARKED BY COLUMN SPACING, ROOF COMPARTMENTS,
WINDOWS OR SIMILAR MEASURES.
BOLLARDS - VERTICAL COLUMNS USED TO PHYSICALLY BLOCK OR
VISUALLY
GUIDE VEHICULAR TRAFFIC IN AN AREA.
BUILDING ARTICULATION- DETAILING OF BUILDING MASS, LOCATION OR
ORIENTATION OF FENESTRATION, AND DESIGN OF BUILDING ELEMENTS.
BOULEVARD THE PORTION OF LAND ON EITHER SIDE OF A STREET,
BETWEEN THE CURB AND PROPERTY LINE AND MAY INCLUDE SIDEWALK.
BUFFER A STRIP OF LAND ESTABLISHED TO PROVIDE SEPARATION
BETWEEN LAND USES AND TYPICALLY DEVELOPED AS A LANDSCAPE
AREA.
BUMP-OUTS- WIDENED SIDEWALK AREAS AT INTERSECTIONS, OFTEN IN
PLACE

OF

ON-STREET

PARKING,

THEREBY

NARROWING

THE

PEDESTRIAN CROSSING DISTANCE OVER A RIGHT-OF-WAY.

BUILDING ENVELOPE THE VOLUME OF SPACE THAT MAY BE OCCUPIED
BY A BUILDING USUALLY DEFINED BY A SERIES OF DIMENSIONAL
REQUIREMENTS SUCH AS SETBACK, STEP BACK, PERMITTED MAXIMUM
HEIGHT, MAXIMUM PERMITTED LOT COVERAGE.
BUILT

HERITAGE

RESOURCE:

ONE

OR

MORE

BUILDINGS,

STRUCTURES,MONUMENTS, INSTALLATIONS, OR REMAINS ASSOCIATED

WITH ARCHITECTURAL,CULTURAL, SOCIAL, POLITICAL, ECONOMIC, OR
MILITARY

HISTORY, AND

IDENTIFIED

ASBEING

IMPORTANT

TO

COMMUNITY.
CANOPY

PEDESTRIANS

PERMANENT
AND

DISPLAY

FIXTURE
GOODS

DESIGNED
FROM

TO

SHELTER

ADVERSE

WEATHER

CONDITIONS.
CIRCULATION: MOVEMENT PATTERNS OF PEDESTRIAN AND VEHICULAR
TRAFFIC.
COMPATIBILITY THE CHARACTERISTICS OF DIFFERENT DESIGNS
WHICH, DESPITE THEIR DIFFERENCES ALLOW THEM TO BE LOCATED
NEAR EACH OTHER IN HARMONY, SUCH AS SCALE, HEIGHT, MATERIALS,
FENCING, LANDSCAPING AND LOCATION OF SERVICE AREAS.
24

CORNICE AN ORNAMENTAL MOLDING ALONG THE TOP OF A WALL.

CULTURAL HERITAGE LANDSCAPE A DEFINED GEOGRAPHICAL AREA
OF HERITAGE SIGNIFICANCE, WHICH HAS BEEN MODIFIED BY HUMAN
ACTIVITIES. SUCH AN AREA IS VALUED BY A COMMUNITY AND IS OF
SIGNIFICANCE TO THE UNDERSTANDING OF THE HISTORY OF A PEOPLE
OR PLACE.
DENSITY OF USE THE NUMBER OF INDIVIDUALS PER UNIT OF AREA.
HIGHER LEVELS OF DENSITY MUST BE APPROPRIATELY SUPPORTED BY
THE URBAN INFRASTRUCTURE TO PREVENT OVERCROWDING AND
CONGESTION. THE ADVANTAGES OF DENSER SETTLEMENT PATTERNS
INCLUDE THE DECREASE OF SEPARATING

DISTANCES BETWEEN

INDIVIDUALS, BUSINESSES, AND INSTITUTIONS; THE INCREASE OF

SOCIAL

INTERACTIONS;

AND

THE

PRESERVATION

OF

NATURAL

RESOURCES, SUCH AS LAND AND ENERGY (DECREASE OF SPRAWL).

THE COMMON MEANS TO MEASURE AND REGULATE DENSITY OF
DEVELOPMENT IS BY FLOOR AREA RATION (FAR), WHICH IS THE
PROPORTIONAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE TOTAL FLOOR AREA OF
THE BUILDINGS AND THE LAND ON WHICH THEY ARE BUILT.
DESIGN GUIDELINES CRITERIA ESTABLISHED TO GUIDE DEVELOPMENT
TOWARD A DESIRED LEVEL OF QUALITY THROUGH THE DESIGN OF THE
PHYSICAL

ENVIRONMENT

AND

WHICH

ARE

APPLIED

ON

DISCRETIONARY BASIS RELATIVE TO THE CONTEXT OF DEVELOPMENT.

DISTRICT GEOGRAPHICAL AREAS OF RELATIVELY CONSISTENT
CHARACTER,

SUCH

AS

EXHIBITED

IN

MAY

RESIDENTIAL

NEIGHBORHOODS AND THE DOWNTOWNS.

DRIP LINE THE OUTER BOUNDARY OF AN AREA ON THE SURFACE OF
THE GROUND THAT CORRESPONDS TO THE OUTER EDGE OF THE
CROWN OF THE TREE.
ELEVATION A DRAWING SHOWING AN EXTERNAL FACE OF A BUILDING.
ENCLOSURE (SENSE OF) AN EXPERIENCE IN WHICH A PEDESTRIAN
FEELS SHELTERED WITH A SEMI-PRIVATE REALM. BUILDINGS, TREES,
LANDSCAPING AND STREET WIDTHS ARE ALL FACTORS IN CREATING A
SENSE OF ENCLOSURE.

25

FAADE THE EXTERIOR WALL OF A BUILDING EXPOSED TO PUBLIC

VIEW OR THAT WALL VIEWED BY PERSON NOT WITHIN THE BUILDING.
FENESTRATION THE ARRANGEMENT OF WINDOWS IN A BUILDING.
FOCAL POINT A PROMINENT STRUCTURE, FEATURE OR AREA OF
INTEREST OR ACTIVITY.
GABLE ANY BASICALLY TRIANGULAR-SHAPED, UPPER PART OF A
BUILDING WALL, USUALLY UNDER A PITCHED ROOD, SOMETIMES UPPER
WALLS TOPPED WITH STEPPED PARAPETS ARE REFERRED TO AS
GABLES OR STEPPED GABLES.
GATEWAY THE DESIGN OF A BUILDING SITE OR LANDSCAPE TO
SYMBOLIZE AN ENTRANCE OR ARRIVAL TO A SPECIAL DISTRICT.
HISTORIC ASSETS BUILDINGS OR ASPECTS OF NEIGHBORHOODS THAT
HOLD SIGNIFICANT SHARED MEMORIES FOR THE RESIDENTS AND
PROVIDE HISTORIC IDENTITY FOR THE COMMUNITY. SOME BUILDINGS
ARE SPECIFICALLY RECOGNIZED BY THE CITY FOR THEIR HISTORIC
CHARACTER AND ARE PROVIDED WITH A DEGREE OF PROTECTION
FROM DESTRUCTION OR SIGNIFICANT ALTERATIONS TO THE EXTERIOR.
SOME NEIGHBORHOODS THAT HAVE MANY HISTORIC STRUCTURES
HAVE BEEN RECOGNIZED AS HISTORIC DISTRICTS OR, ALTERNATIVELY,
CONSERVATION DISTRICTS, AND THESE CLASSIFICATIONS PROVIDE
CERTAIN LEVELS OF PROTECTION FOR THE NEIGHBORHOOD AS A
WHOLE.
HERITAGE CONSERVATION: THE ACTIVITY UNDERTAKEN TO PROTECT,
SAFEGUARD, PASS ON OR ENHANCE HERITAGE RESOURCES.
HERITAGE CONSERVATION DISTRICT: A GEOGRAPHIC AREA PRIMARILY
MADE UP OF GROUPS OF BUILDINGS, STREETS AND OPEN SPACES
WHICH

COLLECTIVELY GIVE

TYPICALLY, THE

HERITAGE

THE AREA A SPECIAL CHARACTER.

CONSERVATION

SUBJECT TO A BY-LAW DESIGNED TO

DISTRICT

WOULD

BE

ROTECT AND RETAIN THE

CHARACTER AND SPIRIT OF THE AREA AND TO ENSURE THAT

DEVELOPMENT IS SYMPATHETIC TO AND FITS INTO THE FABRIC OF THE
NEIGHBOURHOOD.

26

HERITAGE DESIGNATION: A MEASURE OF PROTECTION ENACTED BY BYLAW UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF THE ONTARIO HERITAGE ACT FOR THE
PURPOSE OF CONSERVING AND ENHANCING HERITAGE RESOURCES.
HUMAN SCALE THE QUALITY OF THE PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT WHICH
REFLECTS A SYMPATHETIC PROPORTIONAL RELATIONSHIP TO HUMAN
DIMENSIONS AND WHICH CONTRIBUTES TO THE CITIZENS PERCEPTION
AND COMPREHENSION OF THE SIZE, SCALE, HEIGHT, BULK AND
MASSING

OF

BUILDINGS

OR

OTHER

FEATURES

OF

THE

BUILT

ENVIRONMENT.
INFILL THE PLACEMENT OF NEW BUILDINGS INTO ESTABLISHED BUILTUP URBAN AREAS, WHICH USUALLY RESULTS IN AN INCREASE IN THE
EXISTING BUILDINGS STOCK.
LANDMARKS BUILDINGS, STRUCTURES AND SPACES WHICH CREATE
DISTINCT VISUAL ORIENTATION POINTS THAT PROVIDE A SENSE OF
LOCATION TO THE OBSERVERS WITHIN THE OR DISTRICT SUCH AS THAT
CREATED

BY

SIGNIFICANT

NATURAL

FEATURE

OR

BY

AN

ARCHITECTURAL FORM WHICH IS HIGHLY DISTINCTIVE RELATIVE TO ITS

SURROUNDING ENVIRONMENT.
-A BUILDING OR STRUCTURE THAT STANDS OUT FROM ITS BACKGROUND
BY VIRTUE OF HEIGHT, SIZE OR SOME OTHER ASPECT OF DESIGN.
MASS THE COMBINATION OF THE THREE DIMENSIONS OF LENGTH,
HEIGHT AND DEPTH WHICH GIVE A BUILDING ITS OVERALL SHAPE; A
BUILDING IS OFTEN COMPOSED OF MANY MASSES, HENCE THE TERM
MASSING, WHICH IS OFTEN USED TO DESCRIBE THE FORM OR SHAPE OF
STRUCTURE.
MICROCLIMATE OUTDOOR CONDITIONS AROUND BUILDINGS AND THE
IMPACT OF BUILDINGS ON SITE CONDITIONS, PEDESTRIAN SPACES AND
ADJACENT

BUILDINGS;

CONDITIONS

INCLUDE

AMOUNT

OF

SUNLIGHT/SHADE, WIND LEVELS AND SNOW LOADS ARE INFLUENCED BY

BUILDING PLACEMENT, HEIGHT, DESIGN, ORIENTATION AND MASSING.
MIXED USE A DEVELOPMENT OR AREA COMPRISED OF MIXED LAND
USES EITHER IN THE SAME BUILDING OR IN SEPARATE BUILDINGS ON
EITHER THE SAME LOT OR ON SEPARATE LOTS OR, AT A LARGER SCALE,
IN NODES.

27

MODULATION VARIATION IN THE PLANE OF A BUILDING WALL OFTEN

USED TO PROVIDE VISUAL INTEREST.
MULTIPLEX - MULTIPLE RESIDENTIAL UNITS WITHIN A HOUSE FORM
BUILDING.
NODE - A PLACE WHERE ACTIVITY AND ROUTES ARE CONCENTRATED,
OFTEN USED SYNONYMOUSLY WITH JUNCTION.
PARAPET A PORTION OF A WALL THAT PROJECTS ABOVE A ROOF.
PEDESTRIAN: ALL PEOPLE ON FOOT OR MOVING AT WALKING SPEED,
INCLUDING

THOSE

WHO

USE

MOBILITY

AIDS

(WHEELCHAIRS,

SCOOTERS, ETC.), PERSONS WITH STROLLERS AND BUGGIES, AND

FRAIL ELDERLY PERSONS.
PEDESTRIAN-ORIENTED:

AN

ENVIRONMENT

DESIGNED

TO

MAKE

MOVEMENT BY PEDESTRIANS FAST, ATTRACTIVE AND COMFORTABLE

FOR

VARIOUS

AGES

SEPARATION

OF

FURNITURE,

CLEAR

AND

ABILITIES;

PEDESTRIAN

AND

CONSIDERATIONS

AUTO

DIRECTIONAL AND

CIRCULATION,

INCLUDE
STREET

INFORMATIONAL SIGNAGE,

SAFETY, VISIBILITY, SHADE, LIGHTING, SURFACE MATERIALS, TREES,

SIDEWALK WIDTH, INTERSECTION TREATMENT, CURB CUTS, RAMPS AND
LANDSCAPING.
PEDESTRIAN-ORIENTED USES: USES WHICH RELY ON PEDESTRIAN
TRAFFIC FOR THE MAJORITY OF THEIR BUSINESS SUCH AS RETAIL
STORES, RESTAURANTS, SERVICE AND REPAIR SHOPS.
PERMEABILITY - THE DEGREE TO WHICH AN AREA HAS A VARIETY OF
PLEASANT, CONVENIENT AND SAFE ROUTES THROUGH IT.
PODIUM A BASE TO BUILDING OR STRUCTURE.
PRESERVATION:

PROVIDING

FOR

THE

CONTINUED

USE

OF

DETERIORATED OLD AND HISTORIC BUILDINGS, SITES AND STRUCTURE

THROUGH SUCH MEANS AS RESTORATION, REHABILITATION AND
ADAPTIVE RE-USE.
PUBLIC ART: SITE SPECIFIC ARTWORK CREATED TO ENHANCE AND
ANIMATE

PUBLICLY

ACCESSIBLE

SPACES

THROUGH

ARTISTIC

INTERPRETATIONS THAT RANGE FROM INDIVIDUAL SCULPTURE TO

INTEGRATED

ARCHITECTURAL

TREATMENTS.
28

AND

LANDSCAPE

FEATURES

AND

PUBLIC REALM THE PUBLIC AND SEMI-PUBLIC SPACES OF THE CITY,

ESPECIALLY THE STREET SPACE OF THE CITY FROM BUILDING FACE TO
THE OPPOSITE BUILDING FACE (INCLUDING THE FAADE, FRONT YARD,
SIDEWALK AND STREETS) AND OPEN SPACE SUCH AS PARKS AND
SQUARES.
PUBLICLY ACCESSIBLE SPACES: BUILDINGS, STREETS AND EXTERIOR
AREAS, WHICH MAY BE PRIVATELY-OWNED, BUT TO WHICH THE PUBLIC
HAS ACCESS.
RENOVATION: MODERNIZATION OF AN OLD OR HISTORIC STRUCTURE
WHICH UNLIKE RESTORATION MAY NOT BE CONSISTENT WITH THE
ORIGINAL DESIGN.
RESTORATION: ACCURATELY RECOVERING THE FORM AND DETAILS OF A
BUILDING AND SITE AS IT APPEARED AT A PARTICULAR PERIOD OF TIME
BY MEANS OF THE REMOVAL OF LATER WORK OR BY THE REPLACEMENT
OF MISSING EARLIER WORK.REVERSE LOTTING LOTS LOCATED
ADJACENT TO AN ARTERIAL OR COLLECTOR ROAD WHICH FRONT ONTO
AN INTERNAL STREET, WHILE THE REAR YARD FACES ONTO THE STREET.
RIGHT-OF-WAY: (ROW) - A STRIP OF LAND, INCLUDING THE SPACE ABOVE
AND BELOW THE SURFACE, THAT IS PLATTED, DEDICATED, CONDEMNED,
ESTABLISHED BY PRESCRIPTION OR OTHERWISE LEGALLY ESTABLISHED
FOR THE USE OF PEDESTRIANS, VEHICLES, OR UTILITIES.
RHYTHM AND PATTERN RELATING TO MATERIALS, STYLES, SHAPES
AND SPACING OF BUILDING ELEMENTS AND THE BUILDING THEMSELVES,
THE PREDOMINANCE OF ONE MATERIAL OR SHAPE AND ITS PATTERNS
OF RECURRENCE.
RIGHT-OF-WAY THAT PART OF THE STREET SPACE THAT IS PUBLICLY
OWNED AND LIES BETWEEN THE PROPERTY LINES.
ROADS, ARTERIAL: MAJOR TRAFFIC AND TRANSIT ROUTES, INTENDED
TO CARRY LARGE VOLUMES OF VEHICULAR TRAFFIC AND PROVIDE
CONTINUOUS ROUTES ACROSS URBAN AREAS.
ROADS, COLLECTOR: TRAFFIC AND TRANSIT ROUTES DESIGNED TO
CARRY LOWER VOLUMES OF TRAFFIC THAN ARTERIAL ROADS, AND
PROVIDING CONTINUOUS ACCESS ACROSS NEIGHBOURHOODS.

29

SCALE THE SENSE OF PROPORTION OR APPARENT SIZE OF THE

BUILDING OR BUILDINGS IN ITS SETTING; SCALE USUALLY APPLIES TO
HOW THE SENSE IS PERCEIVED IN RELATION TO THE SIZE OF A HUMAN
BEING AND REFERS TO THE APPARENT SIZE, NOT ACTUAL SIZE, SINCE IT
IS ALWAYS VIEWED IN RELATIONSHIP TO ANOTHER BUILDING OR
ELEMENT.
SECONDARY STREET - STREETS USED TO ACCESS DESTINATIONS
WITHIN DOWNTOWN, RATHER THAN TO ACCESS DOWNTOWN ITSELF.
SIGNIFICANCE IN REGARD TO WETLANDS AND AREAS OF NATURAL AND
SCIENTIFIC INTEREST, AN AREA IDENTIFIED AS PROVINCIALLY OR
REGIONALLY SIGNIFICANT.
SITE PLAN: A PLAN PREPARED TO SCALE, SHOWING ACCURATELY WITH
DIMENSIONS THE BOUNDARIES OF THE SITE AND THE LOCATION OF ALL
BUILDINGS, STRUCTURES, NATURAL FEATURES, USES AND PRINCIPAL
SITE DESIGN FEATURES PROPOSED FOR A PARCEL OF LAND.
STEP BACK A SETBACK OF THE UPPER FLOORS OF A BUILDING WHICH
IS GREATER THAN THE SETBACK OF THE LOWER FLOORS.
STORM WATER MANAGEMENT PLANS AND FACILITIES DESIGNED TO
CONTROL THE QUALITY AND QUANTITY OF STORM WATER FLOWS ON A
SITE.
STREET

FURNITURE:

MUNICIPAL

EQUIPMENT

PLACED

ALONG

STREETS,NINCLUDING LIGHT FIXTURES, FIRE HYDRANTS, TELEPHONES,

TRASH RECEPTACLES, SIGNS, BENCHES, MAILBOXES, NEWSPAPER
BOXES AND KIOSKS.
SENSE OF PLACE THE FEELING ASSOCIATED WITH A LOCATION BASED
ON A UNIQUE IDENTITY AND OTHER MEMORABLE QUALITIES.
SETBACK: THE HORIZONTAL DISTANCE FROM THE PROPERTY LINE TO
THE FACE OF A BUILDING OR FROM NATURAL FEATURES TO A BUILDING.
SENSITIVE

LAND

USE:

OUTDOOR

SPACES

MEANS

WHERE

BUILDINGS, AMENITY AREAS,

ROUTINE

OR

NORMAL

OR

ACTIVITIES

OCCURRING AT REASONABLY EXPECTED TIMES WOULD EXPERIENCE

ONE OR MORE ADVERSE EFFECTS FROM CONTAMINANT DISCHARGES
GENERATED BY A NEARBY MAJOR FACILITY. SENSITIVE LAND USES MAY
BE A PART OF THE NATURAL OR BUILT ENVIRONMENT. EXAMPLES
30

INCLUDE: RESIDENCES, DAY CARE CENTRES, AND EDUCATIONAL AND

HEALTH FACILITIES.
STREET-LINE: THE OUTSIDE LINE OF A REQUIRED RIGHT-OF-WAY OR
ROAD ALLOWANCE; THE SAME AS THE PROPERTY LINE.
STREETSCAPE: THE DISTINGUISHING ELEMENTS AND CHARACTER OF A
PARTICULAR STREET AS CREATED BY ITS WIDTH, DEGREE OF
CURVATURE, PAVING MATERIALS, DESIGN OF THE STREET FURNITURE,
PEDESTRIAN AMENITIES AND SETBACK AND FORM OF SURROUNDING
BUILDINGS.
STREET WALL THE CONDITION OF ENCLOSURE ALONG A STREET
CREATED BY THE FRONTS OF BUILDINGS AND ENHANCED BY THE
CONTINUITY AND HEIGHT OF THE ENCLOSING BUILDINGS.
STATIONARY NOISE SOURCE: SOURCE OF SOUND WHICH DOES NOT
NORMALLY MOVE FROM PLACE TO PLACE SUCH AS NOISE ASSOCIATED
WITH INDUSTRIAL OR COMMERCIAL ESTABLISHMENTS.
SUBDIVISION PLAN A PLAN FOR THE DESIGN AND DIVISION OF A LARGE
PROPERTY INTO INDIVIDUAL BUILDING LOTS AND BLOCKS, STREETS,
PARKS, SCHOOLS AND OTHER NEIGHBORHOOD FACILITIES AND USES.
SUBWATERSHED MANAGEMENT PLAN OR STUDY: AN INTEGRATED
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PLAN FOR A PARTICULAR SUBWATERSHED
WHOSE PRIMARY FOCUS IS TO DEVELOP DETAILED TARGETS AND
OBJECTIVES

FOR

RESOURCE

MANAGEMENT,

ENVIRONMENTAL

PROTECTION AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT.

STREET EDGE A TERM OFTEN USED TO DESCRIBE THE LINE TO WHICH
THE FRONT WALLS OF BUILDINGS ON A PARTICULAR STREET ARE BUILT.
FOR EXAMPLE: IF A NEW STORE ON CHESTNUT STREET IS BUILT WITH
ITS FRONT WALL BACK TWENTY FEET FROM THE FRONT OF ALL THE
OTHER BUILDINGS ON THE BLOCK TO PROVIDE OFF-STREET PARKING
SPACES, THAT BUILDING CAN BE SAID TO HAVE NOT MAINTAINED THE
STREET EDGE.
SUSTAINABLE MATERIALS AND BUILDING PRACTICES TERMS USED TO
DESCRIBE A WIDE RANGE OF BUILDING PRACTICES AND MATERIALS
THAT

ARE

DESIGNED

TO

LIMIT

31

THE

DEPLETION

OF

NATURAL

RESOURCES. BUILDING DESIGNS THAT UTILIZE SUCH PRACTICES ARE

OFTEN REFERRED TO AS GREEN ARCHITECTURE.
TOWER - UPPER PORTION OF A BUILDING THAT IS EXCEPTIONALLY HIGH
IN PROPORTION TO THE WIDTH AND LENGTH OF THE BASE.
TRANSIT: PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION SERVICES, PARTICULARLY BUS
SERVICE.
TRANSIT ORIENTED THE ELEMENTS OF URBAN FORM AND DESIGN
WHICH MAKE TRANSIT MORE ACCESSIBLE AND EFFICIENT, THESE
RANGING FROM LAND USE ELEMENTS (I.E. LOCATING HIGHER DENSITY
HOUSING AND COMMERCIAL USES ALONG TRANSIT ROUTES) TO DESIGN
(I.E. STREET LAYOUT WHICH ALLOWS EFFICIENT BUS ROUTING).
TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE INCLUDES ALL BUILT ASPECTS
OF THE PRIVATE AND PUBLIC SYSTEMS OF TRANSPORTATION, SUCH AS
RAIL LINES, ROADWAYS, BRIDGES, PARKING LOTS, AND BIKE PATHS.
TRANSIT ROUTE: THE ROUTE OF PUBLIC TRANSIT VEHICLE.
TREE: INCLUDES ALL WOODY VEGETATION (BY-LAW NO. 92-155).
TREE, PUBLIC: A TREE WHICH HAS MORE THAN 50 PERCENT OF ITS
TRUNK DIAMETER AT BREAST HEIGHT ON PUBLIC PROPERTY (BY-LAW
N0. 92-155).
URBAN DESIGN THE PLANNING AND DESIGN OF CITIES FOCUSING ON
THE THREE DIMENSION FORM AND FUNCTION OF PUBLIC AND PUBLICLY
ACCESSIBLE SPACE.
URBAN GRAIN - THE PATTERN OF THE ARRANGEMENT AND SIZE OF
BUILDINGS AND USES AND THEIR PLOTS IN AN AREA, USUALLY ALONG A
STREET. FINE URBAN GRAIN REFERS TO A PATTERN OF STREET BLOCKS
AND BUILDING SITES THAT IS SMALL AND FREQUENT, THEREBY
CREATING A DYNAMIC AND ANIMATED URBAN ENVIRONMENT FOR THE
PEDESTRIAN.
URBAN STRUCTURE - THE SHAPE OF DOWNTOWN AS A WHOLE,
INCLUDING ITS OVERALL HEIGHT AND DENSITY, STREET WALL HEIGHTS,
SETBACKS/BUILDTO LINES, AND DISTINCT FUNCTIONAL AND CHARACTER
AREAS. IT

32

BUILDS ON EXISTING AND HISTORIC DEVELOPMENT CHARACTERISTICS,

AND CONSIDERS LINKAGES AND INTERFACES WITH THE SURROUNDING
CONTEXT.
UTILITIES: FACILITIES FOR GAS, ELECTRICITY, TELEPHONE, CABLE
TELEVISION,

WATER

AND

WASTE

WATER.

OVERHEAD

AND

UNDERGROUND POWER AND TELEPHONE LINES, ALL FIRE HYDRANTS,

WATERMAINS, STORM AND SANITARY SEWERS (TOWN OF ANCASTER,
SITE PLAN).
VEHICLES: ALL MOTORIZED CONVEYANCES FOR STREET TRAVEL, AND
INCLUDES

AUTOMOBILES,

RECREATIONAL

VEHICLES,

VANS,

TRUCKS,

EMERGENCY

MOTORCYCLES,

VEHICLES,

BUSES

AND

TRACTOR TRAILERS.
VERNACULAR LANDSCAPE OR ARCHITECTURAL STYLE COMMON TO,
OR REPRESENTATIVE OF AN AREA.
VIEWS: THAT WHICH CAN BE SEEN FROM AN OBSERVATION POINT TO AN
OBJECT(S), PARTICULARLY A LANDSCAPE OR BUILDING.
VISTAS: A LINE OF VISION, CONTAINED BY BUILDINGS OF LANDSCAPING,
TO A BUILDING OR OTHER FEATURE WHICH TERMINATES THE VIEW.
WALKABLE - A CONDITION OF A SYSTEM OF ROUTES WHICH ARE
BARRIER FREE, INTERESTING, SAFE, WELL-LIT, COMFORTABLE AND
INVITING TO PEDESTRIAN TRAVEL.
WAYFINDING: THE INFORMATION AVAILABLE TO PEOPLE WHICH THEY
NEED TO FIND THEIR WAY AROUND THE CITY AND CAN BE VERBAL,
GRAPHIC, ARCHITECTURAL AND SPATIAL
WAY FINDING THE INFORMATION AVAILABLE TO PEOPLE WHICH THEY
NEED TO FIND THEIR WAY AROUND THE CITY AND CAN BE VERBAL,
GRAPHIC, ARCHITECTURAL AND SPATIAL.
ZONING A DOCUMENT DIVIDING THE MUNICIPALITY INTO SMALLER
AREAS CALLED ZONES, EMPLOYED BY THE MUNICIPALITY TO REGULATE
THE USE OF LAND STATING EXACTLY WHAT LAD USES ARE PERMITTED
AND PROVIDING REGULATIONS, AMONG OTHER MATTERS, REGARDING
PERMITTED LOCATIONS FOR BUILDINGS; AND STANDARDS FOR LOT
SIZE,

PARKING

REQUIREMENTS,

BUILDING

DIMENSION AND SETBACK FROM THE STREET.

33

HEIGHT,

SIDE

YARD

ZONING AND PLANNING CODE THE LEGAL GUIDELINES BY WHICH THE

CITY CONTROLS THE USES OF BUILDINGS OR AREAS OF LAND AND ALSO
THE RULES ABOUT BUILDING SIZE AND HEIGHT, SETBACKS FROM LOT
LINES, AND REQUIRED OPEN SPACE.
ZONING VARIANCES THE LEGAL REMEDIES BY WHICH PROPERTY
OWNERS MAY OBTAIN PERMISSION TO BUILD STRUCTURES THAT DO
NOT FULLY CORRESPOND TO THE EXISTING ZONING CODES. IN
PHILADELPHIA, VARIANCE REQUESTS ARE REVIEWED BY THE ZONING
BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT (ZBA).

NEW URBANIST CONCEPTS

WITHIN THE CONCEPT OF NEW URBANISM TODAY, THERE ARE
FOUR KEY IDEAS. THE FIRST OF THESE IS TO ENSURE THAT A CITY IS
WALKABLE. THIS MEANS THAT NO RESIDENT SHOULD NEED A CAR TO
GET ANYWHERE IN THE COMMUNITY AND THEY SHOULD BE NO MORE
THAN A FIVE MINUTE WALK FROM ANY BASIC GOOD OR SERVICE. TO
ACHIEVE THIS, COMMUNITIES SHOULD INVEST IN SIDEWALKS AND
NARROW STREETS.
IN ADDITION TO ACTIVELY PROMOTING WALKING, CITIES SHOULD
ALSO DE-EMPHASIZE THE CAR BY PLACING GARAGES BEHIND HOMES
OR IN ALLEYS. THERE SHOULD ALSO ONLY BE ON-STREET PARKING,
INSTEAD OF LARGE PARKING LOTS.
ANOTHER CORE IDEA OF NEW URBANISM IS THAT BUILDINGS
SHOULD BE MIXED BOTH IN THEIR STYLE, SIZE, PRICE AND FUNCTION.
FOR EXAMPLE, A SMALL TOWNHOUSE CAN BE PLACED NEXT TO A
LARGER, SINGLE FAMILY HOME. MIXED-USE BUILDINGS SUCH AS THOSE
CONTAINING COMMERCIAL SPACES WITH APARTMENTS OVER THEM ARE
ALSO IDEAL IN THIS SETTING.
FINALLY, A NEW URBANIST CITY SHOULD HAVE A STRONG
EMPHASIS

ON

THE

COMMUNITY.

THIS

MEANS

MAINTAINING

CONNECTIONS BETWEEN PEOPLE WITH HIGH DENSITY, PARKS, OPEN

SPACES AND COMMUNITY GATHERING CENTERS LIKE A PLAZA OR
NEIGHBORHOOD SQUARE.

34

THE SMART CODE

THE SMART CODE IS A UNIFIED LAND DEVELOPMENT ORDINANCE FOR
PLANNING AND DESIGN. IT ENABLES COMMUNITY VISION AND SPECIFIC
OUTCOMES, IS SITE SPECIFIC AND IS MEANT TO BE LOCALLY
CUSTOMIZED.
IT SUPPORTS:

COMMUNITY VISION

LOCAL CHARACTER

CONSERVATION OF OPEN LANDS

TRANSIT OPTIONS

WALKABLE AND MIXED-USE NEIGHBORHOODS.

IT PREVENTS:

WASTEFUL SPRAWL DEVELOPMENT

AUTOMOBILE-DOMINATED STREETS

EMPTY DOWNTOWNS

A HOSTILE PUBLIC REALM

THE SMARTCODE IS CONSIDERED A FORM-BASED CODE BECAUSE IT
STRONGLY ADDRESSES THE FORM OF DEVELOPMENT. CONVENTIONAL
ZONING CODES FOCUS ON USE, DENSITY AND PARKING, AND HAVE
CAUSED SYSTEMIC PROBLEMS OVER THE PAST SIXTY YEARS BY
SEPARATING USES. THE SMARTCODE GOES BEYOND THIS BY
RECOGNIZING THE FACT THAT WHILE USES ARE IMPORTANT, THE FORM
OF WHAT GETS BUILT IS EQUALLY IMPORTANT.
THE POLITICAL POWER OF THE SMARTCODE LIES IN THE FACT THAT
INSTEAD OF THE ONE-SIZE FITS ALL CONVENTIONAL CODE APPROACH,

35

IT ALLOWS DIFFERENT APPROACHES IN DIFFERENT AREAS WITHIN THE

COMMUNITY. THIS PERMITS BUY-IN FROM ALL CORNERS OF THE
CONSTITUENCY. THE TRUE IMPORTANCE OF THIS FEATURE IS THAT THE
CURRENT

AD

HOC

BASIS

FOR

REGULATION

OF

REAL

ESTATE

DEVELOPMENT IS GREATLY REDUCED.

URBAN COMPENDIUM
THE URBAN DESIGN COMPENDIUM AIMS TO PROVIDE ACCESSIBLE
ADVICE TO DEVELOPERS, FUNDING AGENCIES AND PARTNERS ON THE
ACHIEVEMENT AND ASSESSMENT OF THE QUALITY OF URBAN DESIGN
FOR THE DEVELOPMENT AND REGENERATION OF URBAN AREAS. IT IS
WRITTEN TO PROVIDE A SOURCE OF BEST PRACTICE TO ALL THOSE
INVOLVED IN THE REGENERATION AND DEVELOPMENT INDUSTRIES.
CONTENTS OF URBAN COMPENDIUM

FUNDAMENTALS

THE IMPORTANCE OF URBAN DESIGN

KEY ASPECTS OF DESIGN

HOW THE COMPENDIUM IS ORGANISED

APPRECIATING THE CONTEXT

COMMUNITY

PLACE

NATURAL RESOURCES

CONNECTIONS

FEASIBILITY

VISION
CREATING THE URBAN STRUCTURE

THE MOVEMENT FRAMEWORK

MIXING USES

DENSITY, FACILITIES AND FORM

ENERGY AND RESOURCE EFFICIENCY

36

LANDSCAPE

LANDMARKS, VISTAS AND FOCAL POINTS

BLOCKS

PARCELS AND PLOTS

MAKING THE CONNECTIONS

WALKING

CYCLING

PUBLIC TRANSPORT

STREETS AND TRAFFIC

PARKING AND SERVICING

UTILITIES INFRASTRUCTURE
DETAILING THE PLACE

POSITIVE OUTDOOR SPACE

ANIMATING THE EDGE

BUILDING SIZE AND SCALE

BUILDING FOR CHANGE

A THRIVING PUBLIC REALM

SAFETY AND SENSE OF SAFETY

CONCEPTS OF URBAN DEVELOPMENT

URBAN DEVELOPMENT IS THE EXPANSION INTO NATURAL AREAS
SUCH AS DESERTS, FORESTS, AND SWAMPS.
AS POPULATIONS GROW A NEED FOR MORE HOUSES FOR
PEOPLE TO LIVE IN DEVELOPS. THIS IS WHAT CAUSES URBAN
DEVELOPMENT. AS THE DEMAND OF HOUSING INCREASES, CITIES BEGIN
TO EXPAND INTO NEW AREAS. THEY MIGHT EVEN BEGIN TO BUILD IN
UNLIKELY AREAS LIKE FORESTS, SWAMPS, AND DESERTS.

URBAN RENEWAL
37

URBAN RENEWAL

IS RELATED TO URBAN DEVELOP BUT IT IS

ACTUALLY THE REHABILITATION OF CITY AREAS BY RENOVATING OR

REPLACING DILAPIDATED BUILDINGS WITH NEW HOUSING, PUBLIC
BUILDINGS, PARKS, ROADWAYS, INDUSTRIAL AREAS, ETC., OFTEN IN
ACCORDANCE WITH COMPREHENSIVE PLANS.
IT IS ALSO CALLED URBAN REDEVELOPMENT.

URBAN CONSERVATION
THE ACTIVITY UNDERTAKEN TO PROTECT, SAFEGUARD, PASS,
ENHANCE OR RETAIN THE HERITAGE CHARACTER OF AN URBAN AREA
OR PART OF IT.

38