16AR406 - URBAN DESIGN & RENEWAL

Unit -1
1.1 Emergence of Urban Design as a
Discipline
1.2 Need for Urban Design

Prepared by : Ar.Swethini Ramamurthy | Assistant Professor | SAID, SRMIST

 OVERVIEW

• 3000 B.C – 18th Century - Development of cities from the ancient times to the Renaissance

• Late 18th – Early 20th Century - Industrial Age and its impact on Urban spaces

• Early 20th – Late 20th Century - Post War world and the Modernist Movement

• Late 20th – Early 21st Century - Contemporary urban design

• Current context & the need for Urban Design

Prepared by : Ar.Swethini Ramamurthy | Assistant Professor | SAID, SRMIST

 Ancient times – Renaissance
300 B.C – 18th Century

Cities during this period -

• Mostly grew organically
• Some built on certain principles
• Main characteristics of cities during this period:
– rectilinear or radial pattern
– demarcation of public and private spaces
– development around a central public space
– Shastric principles in India
• Villages and cities developed based on functional requirements

1. Greek colony
2. Shahjahanabad
3. Church town
4. Temple town – Srirangam
Prepared by : Ar.Swethini Ramamurthy | Assistant Professor | SAID, SRMIST
 Ancient times – Renaissance
300 B.C – 18th Century
In the U.S, influence of the Renaissance’ focus on the aesthetic appeal of cities can be seen in the
Washington D.C plan by Pierre L’Enfant – 1971

L’Enfant’s vision was to create a "magnificent city, worthy of the nation, free of its colonial
origins, and bold in its assertion of a new identity."

Prepared by : Ar.Swethini Ramamurthy | Assistant Professor | SAID, SRMIST

 Ancient times – Renaissance
300 B.C – 18th Century
While in much of the world city plans were based on the concept of a centrally located public
space, the prescriptions for residential development varied from region to region.

Clockwise from top left

1) U.S – single family house
2) Europe – attached house
3) African & Asian regions –
courtyard house
4) Mediterranean region –
fenced houses

Prepared by : Ar.Swethini Ramamurthy | Assistant Professor | SAID, SRMIST

 Ancient times – Renaissance
300 B.C – 18th Century

During the Renaissance, the aesthetic appeal of cities started being

given importance. But the role of the city in providing for the needs of
the citizens in terms of comfortable homes, good sanitation and open
spaces for good health or even the capacity of the city to contribute to
efficiency in production and distribution was not considered.

Prepared by : Ar.Swethini Ramamurthy | Assistant Professor | SAID, SRMIST

 INDUSTRIAL ERA & ITS IMPACT
1760 – 1920
1760 – 1840 – First Industrial Revolution
1870 – 1919 – Second Industrial Revolution

• Setting up of factories and industries

• A new and vast job market
• Migration of people
• Cities grew exponentially
• Overcrowding
• Formation of slums
• Poor sanitary conditions
• Threat of disease

Prepared by : Ar.Swethini Ramamurthy | Assistant Professor | SAID, SRMIST

 INDUSTRIAL ERA & ITS IMPACT
1760 – 1920
1760 – 1840 – First Industrial Revolution
1870 – 1919 – Second Industrial Revolution
The industrial revolution had its impact on cities in the following ways:

• Housing reforms

• Forming of parks

• Haussmann approach

• City Beautiful movement

• Garden cities

• Streetcar suburbs

• Planning around transportation technology

• Impact in the Colonized world

Prepared by : Ar.Swethini Ramamurthy | Assistant Professor | SAID, SRMIST

 INDUSTRIAL ERA & ITS IMPACT
1760 – 1920
1760 – 1840 – First Industrial Revolution
1870 – 1919 – Second Industrial Revolution
Housing reforms (1848, 1879)
• Threat of disease provoked a reaction in which sanitation improvement was made
• Minimal standards for housing construction through regulatory laws
– Great Britain’s Public Health Act of 1848
– New York State Tenement House Act of 1879

It is only now that housing is starting to gain attention from a governing body.
But even at this point, the Government did not provide any funding to upgrade
existing dwellings. That responsibility fell on the landlords.

Prepared by : Ar.Swethini Ramamurthy | Assistant Professor | SAID, SRMIST

 INDUSTRIAL ERA & ITS IMPACT
1760 – 1920
1760 – 1840 – First Industrial Revolution
1870 – 1919 – Second Industrial Revolution
Formation of Parks (1843 onwards)
While considering the need to upgrade the urban environment, recognition for the need for
recreational areas came up and parks were seen as a solution.

Birkenhead park in Liverpool, England New York’s central park

• first urban park in the world for public • designed by architects Calvert
use Vaux and Frederick Law Olmsted in
• designed by Joseph Paxton in 1843 1850
• became a widely imitated model
Prepared by : Ar.Swethini Ramamurthy | Assistant Professor | SAID, SRMIST
 INDUSTRIAL ERA & ITS IMPACT
1760 – 1920
1760 – 1840 – First Industrial Revolution
1870 – 1919 – Second Industrial Revolution

Up until this point, parks were not a feature of the urban environment. Gardens were
designed during the Renaissance and were a prominent feature of the Mughal towns
too. But these were meant for the royals. They were not accessed by the common
people. Parks as public open spaces for the common man’s recreation started during
the 19th century.

Prepared by : Ar.Swethini Ramamurthy | Assistant Professor | SAID, SRMIST

 INDUSTRIAL ERA & ITS IMPACT
1760 – 1920
1760 – 1840 – First Industrial Revolution
1870 – 1919 – Second Industrial Revolution
Haussmann Approach (1852-1870)
• renewal of Paris from 1852 – 1870
• Under the directive of Napoleon III
• Transforming the city center from being overcrowded,
dark, dangerous and filthy to a new imperial city that
was beautiful and reflected the glory of the French Empire
• The approach:
– demolition of antiquated tenement structures
– replaced by new apartment houses intended for
the wealthy
– tree lined boulevards
– transportation corridors
– Knocked down 12000 buildings
– Poor people dislodged from their homes

Prepared by : Ar.Swethini Ramamurthy | Assistant Professor | SAID, SRMIST

 INDUSTRIAL ERA & ITS IMPACT
1760 – 1920
1760 – 1840 – First Industrial Revolution
1870 – 1919 – Second Industrial Revolution

This template for Urban redevelopment programs – bulldozing an area and starting
off on a clean slate without any consideration for the existing urban fabric –
continued to be the methodology followed throughout Europe and the United States
until the end of the 20th century and continues to be the practice in much of the
‘developing world’

Prepared by : Ar.Swethini Ramamurthy | Assistant Professor | SAID, SRMIST

 INDUSTRIAL ERA & ITS IMPACT
1760 – 1920
1760 – 1840 – First Industrial Revolution
1870 – 1919 – Second Industrial Revolution
The City Beautiful Movement (1890s – 1920s)
• The visual grandeur of the European cities with its arterial boulevards, radiating roads and
symmetrical squares inspired the City Beautiful Movement in the United States.
• Based on principles set out by American architect Daniel Burnham
• The archetype of the City Beautiful was characterized by
– grand malls
– majestically sited civic buildings
– Greco-Roman style of architecture
• Replicated in civic centers throughout the country

The concept of the City

Beautiful Movement was
showcased in the World’s
Columbian Exposition of
1893.

Prepared by : Ar.Swethini Ramamurthy | Assistant Professor | SAID, SRMIST

 INDUSTRIAL ERA & ITS IMPACT
1760 – 1920
1760 – 1840 – First Industrial Revolution
1870 – 1919 – Second Industrial Revolution
The Garden City (1902)

• The utopian concept of the garden city was first

described by British social reformer Ebenezer Howard in
his book Garden Cities of To-Morrow (1902).
• vision of towns free of slums
• benefits of both town and country
• a “cooperative commonwealth”
• essentially a suburban form
• Examples - Letchworth and Welwyn
• vision of the garden city was adopted without its
socialist ideals
• shaped the appearance of residential areas in the U.S &
Britain

Prepared by : Ar.Swethini Ramamurthy | Assistant Professor | SAID, SRMIST

 INDUSTRIAL ERA & ITS IMPACT
1760 – 1920
1760 – 1840 – First Industrial Revolution
1870 – 1919 – Second Industrial Revolution
Streetcar suburbs (1890s – 1930s)

• Residential suburbs planned around a

• a form of neighbourhood center
• around a commuter rail or
streetcar station
• surrounded by a network of
streets
• variety of different types of
housing
• Commercial use buildings framed
public spaces
• Parks and other green spaces
integrated into the neighbourhoods
• adequate provision of sunlight

Prepared by : Ar.Swethini Ramamurthy | Assistant Professor | SAID, SRMIST

 INDUSTRIAL ERA & ITS IMPACT
1760 – 1920
1760 – 1840 – First Industrial Revolution
1870 – 1919 – Second Industrial Revolution

The urban sprawl of the industrial age along with needing to make provision for the
commuter rail, inspired the beautification process of cities exemplified by the
Haussmann approach and the City Beautiful Movement. The poor living conditions in
the industrial cities inspired thoughts on the design of residential areas - the concept
of the garden city and the formation of the streetcar suburbs.

Prepared by : Ar.Swethini Ramamurthy | Assistant Professor | SAID, SRMIST

 INDUSTRIAL ERA & ITS IMPACT
1760 – 1920
1760 – 1840 – First Industrial Revolution
1870 – 1919 – Second Industrial Revolution
Planning around Transportation Technology
• In the industrial age with the development of mechanized vehicles, development patterns
began to change.
• Subway systems were constructed
• increase in individual car ownership
• the elements of city life could be more widely spaced apart
• automobiles and buses rapidly congested the streets
• widening and extending roads

Prepared by : Ar.Swethini Ramamurthy | Assistant Professor | SAID, SRMIST

 INDUSTRIAL ERA & ITS IMPACT
1760 – 1920
1760 – 1840 – First Industrial Revolution
1870 – 1919 – Second Industrial Revolution

No longer was it important to construct tightly organized, mixed-use and walkable

communities. We start to see a decline in the importance given to pedestrian
friendly spaces.

Prepared by : Ar.Swethini Ramamurthy | Assistant Professor | SAID, SRMIST

 INDUSTRIAL ERA & ITS IMPACT
1760 – 1920
1760 – 1840 – First Industrial Revolution
1870 – 1919 – Second Industrial Revolution
Impact on the Colonized World
• The colonial powers transported European concepts of city planning to the cities of the
colonized countries
• Western principles of beauty and separation of uses, adjacent to unplanned settlements both
new and old
Example:
Development of the City of New Delhi
• Designed by British planners Edwin Lutyens and
Herbert Baker
• 1911 – 1931
• Old city offered its inhabitants
– A sense of community
– historical continuity
– A functionality more suited to their way of life

Prepared by : Ar.Swethini Ramamurthy |

Assistant Professor | SAID, SRMIST
 INDUSTRIAL ERA & ITS IMPACT
1760 – 1920
1760 – 1840 – First Industrial Revolution
1870 – 1919 – Second Industrial Revolution

In countries like India, this pattern of development that happened during the Imperial
rule - development of new cities based on western principles of city planning next to
the old cities - still poses issues and is an additional challenge faced in the
development of our urban areas.

Prepared by : Ar.Swethini Ramamurthy | Assistant Professor | SAID, SRMIST

 MODERNIST MOVEMENT
1920S-1980S
The Utopian Idea
• The Modernist Urban design movement was actually a response to the cramped, polluted
and disease ridden industrial city
• The vision was to create bright, new, healthy environments full of sun, fresh air, open space,
and greenery
• Le Corbusier, Walter Gropius, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Ludwig Hilbersheimer – prominent
designers who spearheaded this movement
The Charter and the Principles
• Started in 1928
• Published in 1942 in the Charter of Athens
• defined the modern city under four categories
– Dwelling
– Work
– Recreation
– Transportation
• A fifth heading briefly discussed historic buildings
• The Charter however did not have any details regarding the social, economic, or architectural
character of existing residential or mixed use neighborhoods.
Prepared by : Ar.Swethini Ramamurthy | Assistant Professor | SAID, SRMIST
 MODERNIST MOVEMENT
1920S-1980S

A. Housing
B. Hotels and
embassies
C. Businesses
D. Industries
Theorization
E. Heavy of the
industry functional city
F & G. universities,
government
centers, etc.
H: Train station
and airport.

Prepared by : Ar.Swethini Ramamurthy | Assistant Professor | SAID, SRMIST

 MODERNIST MOVEMENT
1920S-1980S

Industrial Age thinking translated into the Built environment

It’s interesting to observe how the thinking of the industrial age has translated into the
shaping of our cities. Industrial age began and progressed with the development of
machines running on steam power and later electric power. Machines are nothing but
varied parts put together to make a whole and perform a specific function. They do
not have additional complex layers of thoughts and feelings to them. If they (the parts)
are put together right and have a power supply, they (the machine) function(s). The
abstraction of the city into 4 different functions and placing them apart connected
by road networks and expecting them to create vibrant cities is the epitome of this
kind of thinking.
Moreover, during the industrial age with the evolution of machines, the concept of
‘efficiency’ became the central theme of all activities – efficiency in production;
efficiency in distribution; and the same thinking extended to efficiency in building
cities. Efficiency became synonymous with simplicity. And simplicity expressed itself as
specializations and single use zoning in the urban context.

Prepared by : Ar.Swethini Ramamurthy | Assistant Professor | SAID, SRMIST

 MODERNIST MOVEMENT
1920S-1980S
Development in the Post War World (1945-1980s)

• During the postwar period European

governments mounted massive housing and
rebuilding programs within their devastated
cities.
• The modernist planning principles were being
made popular by the CIAM

need (of the governments) to produce large-

scale, relatively inexpensive projects within the
shortest time span possible

concepts of efficiency and simplicity reflected in

the Modernist principles of the Athens Charter

• modernist principles became the widely

adopted methodology for development
during the post war period

Prepared by : Ar.Swethini Ramamurthy | Assistant Professor | SAID,

SRMIST
 MODERNIST MOVEMENT
1920S-1980S
In the Colonized worlds (post WW II)
• Post world war II most countries started gaining their independence
• Planning structures became highly centralized within the newly formed governments
• They typically laid down the framework for city planning
• The plans were very much based on the modernist principles which had been brought into
these countries by their colonial rulers

Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru

presenting the First Five-Year
Plan to the Parliament in the
year 1951

Prepared by : Ar.Swethini Ramamurthy | Assistant Professor | SAID, SRMIST

 MODERNIST MOVEMENT
1920S-1980S
Effects of the Modernist Urban Design
• Mixed use neighbourhoods became single use zones
• Open spaces became the breeding ground for crime
• The focus of streets shifted from being pedestrian friendly to accommodate automobiles
• The promotion of the International Style of Architecture by the CIAM resulted in
monotonous and characterless urban spaces

The failing of the modernist approach

lies in its perception of the city as merely
4 abstract functions that when put
together would form a town. It failed to
see the interconnectedness and the
complex ways in which these primary
aspects function together.

Prepared by : Ar.Swethini Ramamurthy | Assistant Professor | SAID, SRMIST

 CONTEMPORARY URBAN DESIGN
1960S – TO DATE
The period from 1960s – 1980s is a period of transition from modernist ideals to a more
humanistic and socialistic approach to urban design. Varied groups and individuals contributed to
this thought process to identify the desirable qualities of successful urban places.

Some of them are:

• Team X (1958)

• Kevin Lynch – Image of the city (1960)

• Jane Jacobs – The death and life of American cities (1961)

• Charter of the New Urbanism (1993)

• Francis Tibbalds (1992)

Contents of the book –

The death and life of
American cities

Prepared by : Ar.Swethini Ramamurthy | Assistant Professor | SAID, SRMIST

 CONTEMPORARY URBAN DESIGN
1960S – TO DATE

Some of the common themes that emerged from the various frameworks put forth
during the late 20th century:
• Mixed use neighbourhoods
• Human scaled development
• Recognizing the street as a significant contributing factor to the enrichment of
social life
• Pedestrian friendly spaces
• Building legible environments
• Ease of access
Thus towards the end of the 20th century we see a shift from the purely physical and
functional approach of the modernist model to a more socialist approach to urban
design. This has paved way for the ‘place-making’ approach in urban design.

Prepared by : Ar.Swethini Ramamurthy | Assistant Professor | SAID, SRMIST

 NEED FOR URBAN DESIGN
21ST Century
Current focus of city building/planning
• Earlier times – reflect the power of the
State
• Post the first industrial revolution – to
address the squalor living conditions
• Post war period – to resurrect the
devastated cities
• 21st century – economic growth and
development

Current world issues

• The way our cities have been developed
since the industrial revolution has led to a Investment in
disturbance in the ecological balance smart cities for
economic
leading to climate change and the growth
increased occurrence of natural disasters.
• The environmental impact of Impact of
climate change
developments has become a crucial factor
to be considered in the development
process.
Prepared by : Ar.Swethini Ramamurthy | Assistant Professor | SAID, SRMIST
 NEED FOR URBAN DESIGN
21st Century
Current planning process
To a large extent our current urban planning models are still based on some of the modernist
principles. Apart from this aspect, in the current scenario, a number of varied people are involved
in the shaping of our urban environments.

More often than not, these

Urban and town planners surveyors varied professional and
departments are working and
creating in isolation rather
investors than in congruence.
Architects
Urban Environment
The urban space created is in
politicians spite of all these varied
factors instead of because of
Developers
all these factors.

Environment professionals This evidently expresses the

Landscape architects
need for urban design as a
discipline and profession
Transportation & road engineers

Prepared by : Ar.Swethini Ramamurthy | Assistant Professor | SAID, SRMIST