URBAN DESIGN STUDIO

Assignment-2
DESKTOP STUDIES
ON 15 MINUTE CITIES AND
COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS
LONDON
● London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom.
● The city stands on the River Thames in the south-east of England.
● It is one of the largest financial centres. It exerts a considerable impact upon the arts, commerce, education, entertainment, fashion, finance,
healthcare, media, professional services, research and development, tourism and transportation.
● London has a diverse range of people and cultures, and more than 300 languages are spoken in the region.

TOPOGRAPHY
● Greater London encompasses a total area of 1,583 square kilometres (611 sq mi).
● The extended area known as the London Metropolitan Region or the London Metropolitan
Agglomeration, comprises a total area of 8,382 square kilometres (3,236 sq mi).
● Modern London stands on the Thames, its primary geographical feature, a navigable river
which crosses the city from the south-west to the east.
● The Thames Valley is a floodplain surrounded by gently rolling hills including Parliament Hill,
Addington Hills, and Primrose Hill.
● The Thames was once a much broader, shallower river with extensive marshlands; at high
tide, its shores reached five times their present width.

CLIMATE
● London has a temperate oceanic climate.
● The average annual precipitation amounts to about 600 mm.despite its relatively low annual
precipitation, London still receives 109.6 rainy days on the 1.0 mm threshold annually.
● Summers are generally warm, sometimes hot.Winters are generally cool with little temperature
variation. Heavy snow is rare but snow usually happens at least once each winter. Spring and
autumn can be pleasant.
15 MINUTE CITY CONCEPT OF LONDON
The 15 minute city concept in London: There are large parts of London that can
contribute hugely to a longer term vision of London as a sustainable city, its zero carbon
credentials and achieve 15 minute city concept effectively.

➢ FEW CONCEPTS THAT THEY HAVE ADAPTED

1. Large numbers of residents within walking distance of the town centre
2. A large number of local amenities
3. Very good access to public transport
4. Easily walkable/cyclable high street and town centre.
➢ THE ABOVE CONCEPTS HAVE BEEN EFFECTIVELY IMPLEMENTED IN THE
FOLLOWING WAYS
● Improving walking and cycling routes into the local high streets (adjacent Healthy
Neighbourhoods and Low Traffic Neighbourhoods are ideal for this).
● Improving conditions on the high streets – traffic calming, frequent crossings, wide
uncluttered pavements, protected cycle lanes, trees and greenery.
● Making the most of green space (allotments, community growing, wild meadows
etc).
● Creating attractive walking and cycling links to local parks.
● Rethinking the use of the kerbside – replacing car parking with more active uses
such as pocket parklets and cycle parking.
● Designing streets to be more climate resilient – Sustainable Urban Drainage (SUDS)
and tree planting with canopy cover that reduces temperatures in hot weather
KEY FEATURES , CHARACTERISTICS
● London's buildings are too diverse to be characterised by any particular architectural style, partly because of their varying ages.
● The London Plan is the statutory spatial development strategy for the Greater London area in the United Kingdom that is written by the
Mayor of London and published by the Greater London Authority.
● London’s defining characteristic is an absence of overall form.
● It is physically a polycentric city, with many core districts and no clear hierarchy among them.
● London has at least two (and sometimes many more) of everything: cities, mayors, dioceses, cathedrals, chambers of commerce, police
forces, opera houses, orchestras, and universities. In every aspect it functions as a compound or confederal metropolis.
 QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS
● Land Area: 606.95 sq mi (1,572 km²)
● Purchasing Power Index - 82.79 Moderate
● Elevation: 36 ft (11 m) ● Safety Index - 46.85 Moderate
● Density: 5,701/km² ● Health Care Index - 71.14 High
● Population: 89.8 lakhs (2019) ● Climate Index - 88.25 Very High
● Cost of Living Index - 86.52 Moderate
● Property Price to Income Ratio - 13.94 High
● Traffic Commute Time Index - 43.81 Moderate
● Pollution Index - 58.67 Moderate

Quality of Life Index: 130.81 High

CITY LAYOUT -
The city of london is made out of 3 basic patterns-

● First, there is the undulating line of the Thames separating northern from southern London
● London differs from east to west - The wind flows eastwards .Therefore, shipping, heavy haulage, manufacturing, and labouring districts
developed downstream in the East End, while the affluent and leisured classes built their homes and pursued their pleasures in the West
End.
● overlying the north-south and east-west distinctions is a simple concentric ring pattern that reflects the historical phases of London’s
growth.
LAND USE MAP
Residential patterns
London’s social geography is never static. The city has never had ghettos or strong policies of segregation. The areas of local government are
too large and the housing stock too diverse for exclusionary practices of the kind encountered in some North American cities. There is
intermixture even in the areas having a high concentration of one particular group, such as those of the extreme orthodox Jews at Stamford Hill,
the Sikhs at Southall, or the West Indians at Brixton.

Transportation of London
The Thames - London’s oldest highway is the Thames. Until the opening of Westminster Bridge in 1750, London Bridge was the only
crossing.After the development of the railways, the river ceased to carry significant passenger traffic, despite periodic attempts to revive its
function as a mass transit artery with hydrofoils, catamarans, and hovercraft.

Roads - London’s most striking physical feature is the absence of a grand road layout. Town planners have made repeated attempts to impose a
greater degree of formal order on the capital.The failure of road building has actually proved beneficial to London, which has Britain’s highest
rate of travel by public transport. The use of automobiles for travel to work in central London is small and declining.

Railway - Competing railway companies brought 10 separate systems of track into London from every point of the compass, each with its own
terminus station perched at the edge of the high-value metropolitan core of the City and the West End. Linkage between the terminals was
achieved in 1884 with the opening of the Metropolitan Railway, London’s first “underground.”
Culture-
● Leisure and entertainment - Leisure is a major part of the London economy.Globally the city is one of the big four fashion capitals of the
world, and according to official statistics, it is the world's third-busiest film production centre, presents more live comedy than any other
city,and has the biggest theatre audience of any city in the world. Few well known places are - Leicester Square, Piccadilly Circus , Royal
Opera House, the London Coliseum, Sadler's Wells Theatre, and the Royal Albert Hall.
● Museums, art galleries and libraries - London is home to many museums, galleries, and other institutions, many of which are free of
admission charges and are major tourist attractions as well as playing a research role. The first of these to be established was the British
Museum in Bloomsbury.The British Library is the second largest library in the world, and the national library of the United Kingdom. the
National Gallery was founded to house the British national collection of Western paintings; this now occupies a prominent position in
Trafalgar Square.

Recreation-
● Parks and open spaces- A 2013 report by the City of London Corporation said that London is the "greenest city" in Europe with 35,000
acres of public parks, woodlands and gardens.The largest parks in the central area of London are three of the eight Royal Parks, namely
Hyde Park and its neighbour Kensington Gardens in the west, and Regent's Park to the north.Hyde Park in particular is popular for sports
and sometimes hosts open-air concerts. Regent's Park contains London Zoo, the world's oldest scientific zoo, and is near Madame
Tussauds Wax Museum.Primrose Hill, immediately to the north of Regent's Park, at 256 feet (78 m) is a popular spot from which to view the
city skyline.
● Walking - Walking is a popular recreational activity in London. Areas that provide for walks include Wimbledon Common, Epping Forest,
Hampton Court Park, Hampstead Heath, the eight Royal Parks, canals and disused railway tracks.Access to canals and rivers has improved
recently, including the creation of the Thames Path, some 28 miles (45 km) of which is within Greater London, and The Wandle Trail; this
runs 12 miles (19 km) through South London along the River Wandle, a tributary of the River Thames.Other long distance paths, linking green
spaces, have also been created, including the Capital Ring, the Green Chain Walk, London Outer Orbital Path ("Loop"), Jubilee Walkway, Lea
Valley Walk, and the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Walk.
PHILADELPHIA
● The City of Philadelphia was founded by William Penn as the Capital of the Province of Pennsylvania.
● The City Plan of Philadelphia is a seminal creation in American city planning in that it was the first American City Plan to provide open public
squares for the free enjoyment of the community and a gridiron street pattern featuring streets of varying widths: wide main streets and
narrower side streets. In addition this plan was the first city plan in the United States to provide for long-term urban growth.
● He determined that the city should be place upon the river for health purposes and easy navigation. These features inspired the planners of
many cities to adopt the Philadelphia Plan as a model.

TOPOGRAPHY
● The geographic center of Philadelphia is located approximately at 40° 0′ 34″ north
latitude and 75° 8′ 0″ west longitude.
● The city encompasses 142.71 square miles (369.62 km2), of which 134.18 square miles
(347.52 km2) is land and 8.53 square miles (22.09 km2), or 6%, is water.
● The lowest point is sea level, while the highest point is in Chestnut Hill, about 446 feet
(136 m) above sea level on Summit Street near the intersection of Germantown Avenue
and Bethlehem Pike (example coordinates near high point: 40.07815 N, 75.20747 W).

CLIMATE
● Philadelphia falls under the northern periphery of the humid subtropical climate zone.
● Summers are typically hot and muggy, fall and spring are generally mild, and winter is
moderately cold.
● Snowfall is highly variable with some winters having only light snow while others
include major snowstorms. The normal seasonal snowfall averages 22.4 in (57 cm).
15 MINUTE CITY CONCEPT OF PHILADELPHIA
15 minute city concept of Philadelphia: We know that cities will need to be able to withstand more
shocks than ever, with extreme weather events or future pandemics on the horizon. But we don’t need a
huge overhaul. Small yet widespread interventions, such as more greenery or improved walkability, can
have a profound impact on a city’s resilience. By moving to a “15-minute city”, in which essential
amenities are a 15-minute walk or cycle from home, we can help people of philadelphia hold on to the
things we’ve gained temporarily during lockdowns, such as less traffic and cleaner air, while ensuring
our resilience for the future.

➢ FEW CONCEPTS THAT THEY HAVE ADAPTED

1. Bringing green spaces to grey places
2. Improving walkability
3. Building digital cities
➢ THE ABOVE CONCEPTS HAVE BEEN EFFECTIVELY IMPLEMENTED IN THE FOLLOWING
WAYS
● Greenery does not require creating more extravagant parks. Through smaller “rewilding” projects
we can bring green spaces to people’s doorsteps — whether by planting trees in urban spaces or
creating “parklets” where street furniture and planters provide respite from endless tarmac and
concrete.this exact concept can be seen in various parts of the city.
● A city design where people are within walking distance of amenities will make transport less
essential to everyday lives. Not only will this help reduce air pollution, but a more walkable
neighbourhood also creates a sense of community, building ties between neighbours and
increasing people’s — and, consequently, their city’s — resilience.
● By using digital twins, we can make sure that developments contribute to making urban life
more enjoyable by helping with everything from reducing air pollution to connecting people with
green spaces.
KEY FEATURES , CHARACTERISTICS
Thomas Holme was the Surveyor-General of the Province and city planner. He published the engraving of the city plan in London in 1683 to advertise for
new immigrants to settle there.

● Gridiron street pattern

● Central public square for future public building
● Street widths appropriate to the street's functions
● Open public squares
● Foresight to provide ample land for future development within the plan
● The last three features listed were firsts in American City Planning.
● This city plan provided American city planners with a new model for the use of a gridiron street pattern featuring open public squares and varying
widths for streets. It also provided city planners with an example of long-range planning and the benefits it can provide.
 QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS
● Consolidated city-county Area: 142.70 sq mi (369.59 km2)
● Land Area: 134.28 sq mi (347.78 km2)
● Purchasing Power Index - 86.24 Moderate
● Water Area: 8.42 sq mi (21.81 km2) ● Safety Index - 38.10 Low
● Elevation: 39 ft (12 m) ● Health Care Index - 69.38 High
● Density: 11,796.81/sq mi (4,554.76/km2) ● Climate Index - 77.98 High
● Pop. (2010) 1,517,550; ● Cost of Living Index - 77.26 Moderate
● CSA (Combined Statical Area): 7,206,807 (US: 8th) ● Property Price to Income Ratio - 4.42 Very Low
● Philadelphia has a total parkland—including city parks, squares, ● Traffic Commute Time Index - 39.20 Moderate
● Pollution Index - 53.72 Moderate
playgrounds, athletic fields, recreation centers and golf
courses, plus state and federal parks—that amounts to 11,211 Quality of Life Index: 139.74 High
acres (45.37sq km)
LAND USE MAP
Buildings
● Fairmount Park is the largest municipal park in Philadelphia.
● Independence National Historical Park is a United States National Park in Philadelphia that preserves se
● Washington Square (Originally designated in 1682 as Southeast Square) is a 6.4 acres (2.6 ha) Open-space park in Center City,
Philadelphia, The southeast quadrant and one of the five original planned squares laid out on the city gridveral sites associated with the
American Revolution and the nation's founding history.
● Philadelphia City Hall is one of the world's largest all-masonry, load- bearing structures without a steel frame.
● One liberty place styled in Postmodern style, influenced by Art Deco elements of the Chrysler Building completed in 1987.
● PAFA Historic landmark building has Victorian Gothic style, trendy in the mid-1800s due to a renewed interested in medieval design
completed in 1876. It Erected for the Philadelphia Centennial

Streets
● Philadelphia is almost entirely regular street grid. Aside from a few arterial roadways and rogue neighborhood pathways, the city’s
central core boasts streets are so aligned.
● Intersected by a few wide roadways, the countless side streets were designed to be the same width
● — “uniform down to the water.”
● The open public squares are the most striking feature of the city plan.
Public Spaces
● The open public squares are the most striking feature of the city plan. While the gridiron street plan had been used in the American
colonies as early as 1638 in New haven, the only public squares provided in earlier colonial plans were for the express use of civic
buildings and markets. William Penn specified that the Philadelphia squares, other than the Center Square, were to remain open for
the recreation of the residents.
● The four public squares, situated in each quarter of the original grid pattern, have evolved with the neighborhoods which surround
them.
Transport
● One of the first subway systems in the United States was established in the city in 1907 and remains a centrepiece of public transportation
in Philadelphia. A complex system of public and private trolley and bus lines was consolidated in 1963 by the state legislature’s creation of
the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) to plan, develop, and coordinate a regional transportation system and to
fund projects by the sale of bonds.
● Express buses provide rapid service between the inner and outer city. A high speed rail line connects Philadelphia with nearby
communities in New Jersey and a ferry and rail line link the city with the renovated waterfront in Camden, New Jersey.
● A joint New Jersey–Pennsylvania bridge commission operates 7 toll and 13 tax-supported bridges over the Delaware north of the city. Two
of these are solely for pedestrian use. The Schuylkill is bridged at a number of points and has a subway tunnel.
● The Delaware River Port Authority administers the Ameriport Intermodal Rail Facility, the Port of Philadelphia and Camden, a ferry service,
the PATCO high-speed transit line, and the Benjamin Franklin, Walt Whitman, Betsy Ross, and Commodore Barry bridges over the
Delaware.
● The authority has also carried out major improvement and expansion programs throughout the entire port area. Philadelphia International
Airport is less than 7 miles (11 km) from the city centre

Landscape
● Situated on a 1,200-acre flat plain between the Schuylkill and Delaware Rivers, the city laid out by Holme and Penn comprised a grid
of streets subdivided into four sections.
● According to the plan, each of the quadrants would include a centralized eight-acre landscaped square that would serve as common
space for Philadelphia’s residents.
● These public squares were interconnected by avenues that were named for native trees, such as mulberry, locust, sassafras, and
walnut..
● These common areas were used for livestock grazing, wood collection, and trash disposal.
SEATTLE
● Seattle is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States,located in the Lower
Mainland region of British Columbia.
● Seattle is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest
region of North America.
● A major gateway for trade with Asia, Seattle is the fourth-largest port in North
America.
● The Seattle area was inhabited by Native Americans for at least 4,000 years before
the first permanent European settlers.

GEOGRAPHY
● Situated at latitude 47°36'35"N, Seattle is the northernmost U.S. city with at
least 500,000 people, farther north than Canadian cities such as Toronto,
Ottawa, and Montreal.
● It has a land area of 83.9 square miles (217.3 km2).
● The topography of Seattle is hilly.
● The city has over 5,540 acres (2,242 ha) of parkland.
CLIMATE
● Seattle has a temperate climate, classified in the Mediterranean zone .
● It has cool, wet winters and mild, relatively dry summers, covering
characteristics of both.
● The climate is sometimes characterized as a "modified Mediterranean"
climate because it is cooler and wetter than a "true" Mediterranean climate,
but shares the characteristic dry summer (which has a strong influence on
the region's vegetation).
 15 MINUTE CITY CONCEPT OF SEATTLE
The 15 minute city concept in Seattle: The vision for Seattle with respect to 15 minute city is
to be design neighborhoods with maximum facilities. Urban planning has long been focused on
moving as many cars as possible and though mass transportations systems like Seattle’s own
Link light rail are expanding. They now think that “When we focus on how the different spaces in
our lives such as residential, commercial and recreation areas can be intermixed instead of in
separate areas of the city, meeting all our needs by walking becomes the easy option, and likely
the more enjoyable one”.

➢ ACCORDING TO A RECENT SURVEY IN SEATTLE ABOUT THE LOCAL PROGRAM:

According to the City of Seattle: the response to the Stay Healthy Streets program has
been generally positive: About 10 to 40 people per mile are walking and biking in the
streets depending on the location. The Keep Moving Streets near destination waterfront
parks have seen the most use compared to locations along neighborhood greenways.
People walking have room to spread out on both sidewalks and the street, while most
people running or biking are using the street.Those lively streets and the folks who live
among them are the heart of the 15-Minute Neighborhood vision.

Some research still outstanding is survey data of the specific daily, weekly, and monthly needs of
people beyond broader categories such as groceries, parks, and errands. Next step research is
finding out more about the types of errands, recreational activities, and shopping habits people
have and their frequency. Another unknown is data supporting how people may have different
walking thresholds for different amenities and activities, which can inform the placement of new
development.
KEY FEATURES , CHARACTERISTICS
● Seattle is a city of distinct neighbourhoods and urban districts that, though close to one another, change from one street to the
next.
● Some neighbourhoods, notably those near the Duwamish Waterway to southwest of the city centre, are industrial in character,
marked by rail yards, wharves, cranes, and low-income housing projects.
● Others, largely outside the city centre, are showcases for the opulence wrought by Seattle’s booming high-technology sector.
● Seattle’s districts have a comfortably prosperous but not ostentatious feel, characterized by neat family homes and townhouses
occupied by industrial workers, artists, academics, professionals, and that odd class of technology workers .
● Seattle is a bustling place that thrives with industrial, commercial, and cultural activity around the clock. Its waters teem with great
oceangoing ships, its streets with automobiles, its rail lines with transcontinental freighters and passenger trains, and its skies
with aircraft of every description.
● Although the city’s image is of a financial and commercial centre, its people place great value on the arts, literature, sports, and
other cultural activities; it boasts large arenas, multistory bookshops, dozens of museums and galleries, and countless examples
of public art.
 QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS
● Area 1. Purchasing Power Index - 127.01 Very High
• City - 142.07 sq mi (367.97 km2) 2. Safety Index - 50.72 Moderate
• Land - 83.99 sq mi (217.54 km2) 3. Health Care Index - 73.67 High
4. Climate Index - 91.73 Very High
• Water - 58.08 sq mi (150.43 km2)
5. Cost of Living Index - 86.15 Moderate
• Metro - 8,186 sq mi (21,202 km2) 6. Property Price to Income Ratio - 4.87 Very Low
● Elevation: 175 ft (53 m) 7. Traffic Commute Time Index - 41.88 Moderate
● Density: 8,973.18/sq mi (3,464.55/km2) 8. Pollution Index - 28.63 Low
● Population(2010) :608,660
Quality of Life Index 182.69 Very High

CITY LAYOUT -
● Seattle has grown from its historic centre of Pioneer Square, the city’s oldest neighbourhood and a federally designated historic district.
● The downtown district is Seattle’s commercial heart.
● To the east and northeast of the downtown district stand First Hill and Capitol Hill, low bluffs covered by office buildings and commercial
properties.
● Beyond them are the Central District, the traditional hub of the city’s African American population, and the large residential Madrona
neighbourhood, which faces Lake Washington.
● To the north of Pioneer Square, downtown, and the popular neighbourhood of Belltown stands Seattle Center.
LAND USE MAP
Transportation of Seattle

● An extensive network of interstate, federal, and state highways and local roads serves Seattle; two interstate highways pass through the city, and pontoon bridges span Lake
Washington into the urban centre.
● The Port of Seattle, established in 1911, is one of the largest container-cargo ports in the United States and in the world. The port encompasses some 570 acres (230 hectares) of
container-handling facilities.
● Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac), 13 miles (21 km) south of the city centre, is a major gateway connecting Asia, Europe, and North America and is among the leading
U.S. airports in international passenger travel.

Culture-

● Seattle has been a regional center for the performing arts for many years. The century-old Seattle Symphony Orchestra has won many awards and performs primarily at Benaroya
Hall. The Seattle Opera and Pacific Northwest Ballet.
● The 5th Avenue Theatre, built in 1926, stages Broadway-style musical shows featuring both local talent and international stars.Seattle has "around 100" theatrical production
companies and over two dozen live theatre venues, many of them associated with fringe theatre;seattle is probably second only to New York for number of equity theaters.

Parks and recreation

● Seattle's mild, temperate, marine climate allows year-round outdoor recreation, including walking, cycling, hiking, skiing, snowboarding, kayaking, rock climbing, motor boating,
sailing, team sports, and swimming.
●
● In town, many people walk around Green Lake, through the forests and along the bluffs and beaches of 535-acre (2.2 km2) Discovery Park (the largest park in the city) in Magnolia,
along the shores of Myrtle Edwards Park on the Downtown waterfront, along the shoreline of Lake Washington at Seward Park, along Alki Beach in West Seattle, or along the
Burke-Gilman Trail.
●
● Gas Works Park features the preserved superstructure of a coal gasification plant closed in 1956. Located across Lake Union from downtown, the park provides panoramic views of
the Seattle skyline.
●
● Also popular are hikes and skiing in the nearby Cascade or Olympic Mountains and kayaking and sailing in the waters of Puget Sound, the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and the Strait of
Georgia. In 2005, Men's Fitness magazine named Seattle the fittest city in the United States.
VANCOUVER
● Vancouver is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia.
● It is the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Canada.
● Vancouver is one of the most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities in Canada: 52% of its residents are not native English speakers,48.9%
are native speakers of neither English nor French, and 50.6% of residents belong to visible minority groups.
● Vancouver is consistently named as one of the top five worldwide cities for livability and quality of life,and the Economist Intelligence Unit
acknowledged it as the first city ranked among the top ten of the world's most well-living cities for ten consecutive years.
● However, Vancouver also ranks as the most expensive city to live in Canada and as the fourth-most expensive housing market globally.

TOPOGRAPHY
● Located on the Burrard Peninsula, Vancouver lies between Burrard Inlet to the north and the Fraser
River to the south. The Strait of Georgia, to the west, is shielded from the Pacific Ocean by Vancouver
Island.
● The city has an area of 114 km2 (44 sq mi), including both flat and hilly ground.

CLIMATE
● Vancouver's climate is temperate by Canadian standards and is classified as oceanic or marine west
coast, that borders on a warm-summer Mediterranean climate .
● While during summer months the inland temperatures are significantly higher, Vancouver has the
coolest summer average high of all major Canadian metropolitan areas.
● Vancouver is one of Canada's warmest cities in the winter.
● The summer months are typically dry, with an average of only one in five days during July and August
receiving precipitation.
● In contrast, the majority of days from November through March record some type of precipitation.
15 MINUTE CITY CONCEPT OF VANCOUVER
15 minute city concept of Vancouver: In Canada, the City of Vancouver is working
towards the goal of a 15-Minute City. Since 2019, the Vancouver Plan team has been
exploring several ideas to move towards this goal, but it became even more of a priority
this year when the City of Vancouver announced their new Climate Emergency Action
Plan.

Vancouver may not totally be the “paradise city” that the Globe called us,
but it is true to say that almost three-quarters of residents enjoy the
benefits of the 15-minute neighbourhood – that is absolutely the result of
aggressive civic planning.
Luckily, most of Vancouver is on a grid, making it easy to create walkable neighborhoods,
and a good portion of neighborhoods already offer daily necessities within walking
distance, but according to LaClaire, we run into trouble in more suburban areas.In that
plan, transportation and buildings were top of mind, and according to the city’s General
Manager of Engineering Services, Lon LaClaire, the first order of business was to create a
city where 90 percent of one’s daily needs are within a walking distance.

In Vancouver, There has been much talk about what work will look like in the
post-pandemic world. The 15-minute city provides one potential model and with its focus
on neighbourhood coworking spaces, it ties in neatly to discussions about work near home
and suburban flexible workspaces. By making workspace convenient and community
focused, it helps work fit around people’s lives - and that’s something we can definitely get
on board with.
KEY FEATURES , CHARACTERISTICS
● Urban planning in Vancouver is characterized by high-rise residential and mixed-use development in urban centres, as an
alternative to sprawl.
● As of 2019, Vancouver has been ranked as having the third-highest quality of living of any city on Earth.
● Vancouver has also been ranked among Canada's most expensive cities to live in.
● Vancouver's characteristic approach to urban planning originated in the late 1950s, when city planners began to encourage the
building of high-rise residential towers in Vancouver's West End, subject to strict requirements for setbacks and open space to
protect sight lines and preserve green space. The success of these dense but liveable neighbourhoods led to the redevelopment
of urban industrial sites, such as North False Creek and Coal Harbour, beginning in the mid-1980s.
● The result is a compact urban core that has gained international recognition for its "high amenity and 'livable' development".
 QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS
● Area
• City 114.97 km2 (44.39 sq mi) ● Purchasing Power Index - 92.44 Moderate
• Urban 876.44 km2 (338.40 sq mi) ● Safety Index - 63.35 High
● Health Care Index - 75.44 High
• Metro 2,878.52 km2 (1,111.40 sq mi)
● Climate Index - 91.15 Very High
● Elevation: 0–152 m (0–501 ft) ● Cost of Living Index - 74.31 Moderate
● Density: 5,492.6/km2 (14,226/sq mi ● Property Price to Income Ratio - 11.49 Moderate
● Pop. (2016) : 631,486 ● Traffic Commute Time Index - 37.41 Moderate
● Pollution Index - 24.54 Low

Quality of Life Index: 175.22 Very High

Transportation
● Vancouver's streetcar system began on June 28, 1890, and ran from the (first) Granville Street Bridge to Westminster Avenue (now
Main Street and Kingsway). Less than a year later, the Westminster and Vancouver Tramway Company began operating Canada's first
interurban line between the two cities (extended to Chilliwack in 1910). Another line (1902), the Vancouver and Lulu Island Railway,
was leased by the Canadian Pacific Railway to the British Columbia Electric Railway in 1905 and ran from the Granville Street Bridge to
Steveston via Kerrisdale, which encouraged residential neighbourhoods outside the central core to develop.
● While the number of cars in Vancouver proper has been steadily rising with population growth, the rate of car ownership and the
average distance driven by daily commuters have fallen since the early 1990s.
● TransLink is responsible for roads and public transportation within Metro Vancouver . It provides bus service, including the RapidBus
express service, a foot passenger and bicycle ferry service (known as SeaBus), an automated rapid transit service called SkyTrain, and
West Coast Express commuter rail.
LAND USE MAP
Art and Culture
Theatre-Prominent theatre companies in Vancouver include the Arts Club Theatre Company on Granville Island, and Bard on the Beach.
Smaller companies include Touchstone Theatre, and Studio 58. The Cultch, The Firehall Arts Centre, United Players, Pacific and Metro
Theatres, all run continuous theatre seasons. Theatre Under the Stars produces shows in the summer at Malkin Bowl in Stanley Park. Annual
festivals that are held in Vancouver include the PuSh International Performing Arts Festival in January and the Vancouver Fringe Festival in
September.The Vancouver Playhouse Theatre Company operated for fifty years, ending in March 2012.

Dance - The Scotiabank Dance Centre, a converted bank building on the corner of Davie and Granville, functions as a gathering place and
performance venue for Vancouver-based dancers and choreographers. Dances for a Small Stage is a semi-annual dance festival.

Film- The Vancouver International Film Festival, which runs for two weeks each September, shows over 350 films and is one of the larger
film festivals in North America. The Vancouver International Film Centre venue, the Vancity Theatre, runs independent non-commercial films
throughout the rest of the year, as do the Pacific Cinémathèque, and the Rio theatres.

Libraries, Galleries , Museums

● Libraries in Vancouver include the Vancouver Public Library with its main branch at Library
Square, designed by Moshe Safdie. The central branch contains 1.5 million volumes. The
Vancouver Tool Library is Canada's original tool lending library.
● The Vancouver Art Gallery has a permanent collection of nearly 10,000 items and is the
home of a significant number of works by Emily Carr.However, little or none of the permanent
collection is ever on view. Downtown is also home to the Contemporary Art Gallery
(Vancouver), which showcases temporary exhibitions by up-and-coming Vancouver artists.
The Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery with a small collection of contemporary works is part
of the University of British Columbia.
● In the Kitsilano district are the Vancouver Maritime Museum, the H. R. MacMillan Space
Centre, and the Vancouver Museum, the largest civic museum in Canada.
QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS
AREA POPULATION SAFETY COST OF POLLUTION TRAFFIC COMMUTE
DENSITY INDEX LIVING INDEX TIME INDEX
INDEX

LONDON 1,572 46.85 86.52 58.67 43.81 (Moderate)

km² 5,701/km² (Moderate) (Moderate) (Moderate)

PHILADELPHIA 347.78 4,554.76/km² 38.10 77.26 53.72 39.20 (Moderate)

km² (Low) (Moderate) (Moderate)

SEATTLE 367.97 3,464.55/ 50.72 86.15 28.63 41.88 (Moderate)

km² km² (Moderate) (Moderate) (Low)

VANCOUVER 114.97 5,492.6/km² 63.35 74.31 24.54 (Low) 37.41 (Moderate)

km² (High) (Moderate)
PLANNING
LONDON
OPEN SPACES/ 1.The City has no sizeable
parks within its boundary,
RECREATIONAL but does have a network of
SPACES a large number of gardens
and small open spaces.
2.They are featured with
bowling green and
bandstand, water features
and artwork in courtyards
and pedestrianised lanes.
TRANSPORT 48.4% go on foot; 19.5%
via light rail, ; 9.2% work
mainly from home; 5.8%
take the train; 5.6% travel
by bus, minibus, or coach;
and 5.3% go by bicycle;
with just 3.4% commuting
by car or van, as driver or
passenger.
PHILADELPHIA
1.The original city plan was
designed to allow for easy
travel and to keep
residences separated by
open space that would help
prevent the spread of fire.
2.creation of five public parks
in the city.
Philadelphia is served by
the Southeastern
Pennsylvania Transportation
Authority (SEPTA) which
operates buses, trains, rapid
transit (subway and
elevated trains), trolleys, and
trackless trolleys (electric
buses) throughout
Philadelphia
SEATTLE
Seattle's mild, temperate,
marine climate allows
year-round outdoor
recreation, including
walking, cycling, hiking,
skiing, snowboarding,
kayaking, rock climbing,
motor boating, sailing, team
sports, and swimming.
Services available in seattle
- trolleybuses, well laid rail
network, water taxi , ferries,
air ways, most popular
means of transport is streett
ways.
VANCOUVER
1.The mild climate of the
city and proximity to
ocean, mountains, rivers
and lakes make the area a
popular destination for
outdoor recreation.
2.Recreational activities
observed are - water
sports, boating , hiking ,
skiing, cycling and horse
races.
Services available in
vancouver are -
Tramway , railway , express
bus , seabus,skytrain.
It has the worst traffic
congestion in north america,
making bicycle the fastest
growing means of transport.
PLANNING
LONDON PHILADELPHIA SEATTLE VANCOUVER

ARTS AND Rich in culture , londune Historical sites(such as, Performing arts and Theatre,
home many historical parks, museums, libraries tourism dance,
CULTURE buildings and etc) film and television
skyscrapers Arts Libraries and museums
music Visual arts.

EDUCATION 1. The City is home to a 1. Education in 1. A 2008 United States It is the second-largest
number of higher Philadelphia is Census Bureau survey school district in the
education institutions. provided by many showed that Seattle had province, with:
2. The City controls three private and public the highest percentage 76 elementary schools,
independent schools. institutions. of college and university 17 elementary annexes,
3. City residents send 2. Philadelphia has the graduates of any major 18 secondary schools, 7
their children to schools third-largest student U.S. city. adult education centres,
in neighbouring Local concentration on the 2. The public school 2 Vancouver Learning
Education Authorities. East Coast. system is supplemented Network schools,5
by a moderate number public universities.
of private schools.
15 MINUTES FEATURES
LONDON PHILADELPHIA SEATTLE VANCOUVER

1. Large numbers of 1. Gridiron street pattern 1. Designed to be walkable 1. Layed on a grid plan.
residents within 2. Central public square for future and accessible by 2. Has high rise
walking distance of the public building transit. structures.
2. Availability of affordable 3. 90% of the
town centre. 3. Street widths appropriate to the
housing. necessities are
2. A large number of local street's functions 3. Fostering small available in walkable
amenities. 4. Open public squares independent business distance itself.
3. Very good access to 5. Foresight to provide ample land growth not only adds 4. high amenity and
public transport. for future development within appealing character to a 'livable' development.
4. Easily the plan . neighborhood but in
walkable/cyclable high 6. This city plan provided mixed-use development,
there is more opportunity
street and town centre. American city planners with a
for residents to live where
5. Wide range of culture new model for the use of a they work and be that much
is observed . gridiron street pattern featuring more invested in their
open public squares and community.
varying widths for streets. It
also provided city planners with
an example of long-range
planning and the benefits it can
provide.
15 MINUTES FEATURES YET TO INCORPORATE
LONDON
1. Improving walking and 1.
cycling routes into the
local high streets. 2.
2. Improving conditions
on the high streets –
traffic calming,
frequent crossings, 3.
wide uncluttered
pavements, protected
cycle lanes, trees and
4.
greenery.
3. Making the most of
green space.
4. Creating attractive
walking and cycling
links to local parks.
PHILADELPHIA SEATTLE VANCOUVER
Bring back the local 1. Walkability is to be 1. Need to be increasing
school culture. promoted. the commercial areas in
Make amendments 2. Well connection to be the suburb regions.
with respect to the laid between 2. Cities have to be made
covid situation which neighbourhood, by less convenient to
was proposed in 2020 removing both drive.
August. geographical and 3. Some people can still
Reduce the carbon human made barriers. not afford to live next to
print in localities where 3. Reduce the reliance on there work place,
there is residential fossil fuels. hence , public transport
prominence. system is to be
Create more developed .
accessible green
spaces.
THANK YOU
SUGATRI - 16041AA060
DANIA - 17041AA026
AKSHARA - 17041AA062