FERNANDO, Khea Micole May B.

PLANNING 2

1. What is socio-cultural?

Sociocultural is a concept related to social and cultural influences, implying that a population
group has similar traditions, habits, patterns, and beliefs. In sociological and marketing contexts, the word
is often used and refers to the most remarkable drivers behind the way people make choices in a culture.

2. What are the socio-cultural factors affecting urban/community design?

 GEOGRAPHY AND ECOLOGY

o AVAILABILITY OF LOCAL MATERIALS
o Most designers design with available materials. It is not common for people to design
with materials which are not available or which are difficult to obtain. This is especially
true in commercial architecture which is almost always subject to time and cost pressures.
o ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
o Major current environmental issues may include climate change, pollution,
environmental degradation, and resource depletion etc. The conservation movement
lobbies for protection of endangered species and protection of any ecologically valuable
natural areas, genetically modified foods and global warming.
 ANTHROPOLOGY
o Anthropology is the study of humans, past and present. To understand the full sweep and
complexity of cultures across all of human history, anthropology draws and builds upon
knowledge from the social and biological sciences as well as the humanities and physical
sciences. A central concern of anthropologists is the application of knowledge to the
solution of human problems.
 CULTURAL LANDSCAPES
o Cultural landscapes are landscapes that have been affected, influenced, or shaped by
human involvement. A cultural landscape can be associated with a person or event. It can
be thousands of acres or a tiny homestead. It can be a grand estate, industrial site, park,
garden, cemetery, campus and more. Collectively, cultural landscapes are works of art,
narratives of culture, and expressions of regional identity
 Other socio-cultural factors that affect community/urban design are religions, culture, ethnicity,,
etc.
 Cultural identity is the identity of a group or culture, or of an individual as far as she/he is
influenced by her/his belonging to a group or culture. Cultural identity is similar to and has
overlaps with, but is not synonymous with, identity politics.
 Ethnic values are the values that characterize the value systems of ethnic groups and whose
continued support helps to underpin notions of ethnic identity. This includes the values.
 Regional differences or geographical differences are studied by looking at identical representative
samples separated by geography and comparing them.
 Religious practices are the collection of behaviors that religious people perform as part of the
conduct of their religion. This includes the rites, rituals and worship practices they perform.

3. How these factors affect Community Architecture? Cite an example.

The consideration of these factors in the developing solutions to urban/community design

problems make people feel connected, involved and produce true connections to each other and
to their communities. An example is the influence of cultural factors in traditional Iranian houses
which developed introverted architecture in those areas. The central courtyard position in
traditional Iranian houses has been derived from the socio-cultural factors of that region.