Assignment-1

Urban Design

Submitted By: Aniket Aggarwal

Submitted To: Moksha Bhatia
UID: 20BAR1119
1. Urban design is concerned with the arrangement, appearance
and function of our suburbs, towns and cities. It is both a
process and an outcome of creating localities in which people
live, engage with each other, and engage with the physical place
around them.
Urban design determines the physical scale, space and ambience
of a place and establishes the built and natural forms within
which individual buildings and infrastructure are sited. As such,
it affects the balance between natural ecosystems and built
environments, and their sustainability outcomes.

2. Kevin Lynch classified the contents of the city images into five
types of elements which are paths, edges, districts, nodes and
landmarks.

 Paths are the channels which the observer moves. They

can be streets, walkways, transit lines, canals and
railroads.
 Edges are the boundaries between two phases, linear
breaks in continuity. For instance, shores, railroad cuts,
edges of development and walls.
 Districts are large city areas which observer can mentally
go inside of. The physical characteristics that determine
districts are texture, space, form, detail, symbol, building
type, use, activity, inhabitants, degree of maintenance,
topography.
 Nodes are the strategic foci into which the observer can
enter either junctions of paths or concentrations of some
characteristic. 
 Landmarks are the point references which are external to
the observer and simple physical elements vary in scale.

3. Urban pattern is the overall framework of a region, town or

precinct, showing relationships between zones of built forms,
landforms, natural environments, activities and open spaces. It
 encompasses broader systems including transport and
infrastructure networks.

The term “urban form” is used to describe a city’s physical

characteristics. It refers to the size, shape, and configuration of
an urban area or its parts.

Types of Urban Structures/Patterns

 Grid Iron/Rectangular Pattern: The grid plan, grid
street plan or gridiron plan is a type of city plan in which
streets run at right angles to each other, forming a grid. 
 Radial/Concentric system: Radial design offers a method
for organizing visual material by arranging it around a
central point.
  Linear System: The linear city was an urban plan for an
elongated urban formation. The city would consist of a
series of functionally specialized parallel sectors.
 Multi Centred System: City grows from several
independent points rather than from one central business
district.
 Irregular System: No set patterns. It develops due to
relief. e.g., goes around hilly areas.

4.
 Urban grain: The balance of open space to built form, and
the nature and extent of subdividing an area into smaller
parcels or blocks. 
a. Fine-grain Street pattern
b. Coarse-grain Street pattern
 Urban texture:  urban texture definition can be given as
the geometrical structure formed by the spatial distribution
of urban elements as buildings, roads and green areas.
 Urban density: Urban density is a term used in urban
planning and urban design to refer to the number of people
inhabiting a given urbanized area. 
  Imageability: It is the quality of a place that makes it
recognizable and memorable. A place has high
imageability when specific physical elements and their
arrangement evoke distinct images or positive feelings.
 Urban morphology: It is the study of urban spatial form –
the assemblage of buildings and public spaces that
comprise the city. It also entails analysis of the forces that
produce such an assemblage and the spatial practices that
are produced therein.
 Placemaking: It means creating places and focuses on
transforming public spaces to strengthen the connections
between people and these places.

5. Difference Between Urban Design and Architecture

 Urban design deals with the overall layout and functioning of

a city, while architecture deals with the design and
construction of individual buildings.
 Urban design is a wider field of study that encompasses
planning, landscape architecture, engineering, and interior
design, while architecture focuses primarily on the design and
construction of buildings.
 Urban design is about creating and shaping cities, towns,
neighbourhoods, and public spaces, while architecture is
about designing and constructing individual buildings.
 Urban design is concerned with the physical form of cities
and the social, economic, and environmental issues
associated with them, while architecture focuses more on the
aesthetic and practical aspects of buildings.
 Urban design is concerned with the spatial organization of
cities and the integration of public and private spaces, while
architecture is concerned with the design of individual
buildings and their relationship to their surroundings.
 Urban design is concerned with the design of public spaces
and the management of urban development, while
architecture is concerned with the design and construction of
individual buildings.
   Urban design focuses on the physical form of cities and
towns, while architecture focuses on the design and
construction of individual buildings.
 Urban design is concerned with the design of cities and
towns, while architecture is concerned with the design and
construction of individual buildings.
 Urban design is concerned with the larger picture of how a
city is laid out and how it functions, while architecture
focuses on the individual buildings.

6. A landmark may not only be a historic structure it can also be a

recent creation by man such as theatre, recreational space, social
gatherings, etc., It helps people to connect themselves with the
city. Even, a city’s skyline seen from a particular place can
create a strong impact. A landmark is something that can either
be built or be made depending on its characters and functions. It
enriches and enhances the Urban quality of a city. Although
planning and architectural factors play a vital role in an urban
context, the landmarks also have an equal role to play. Hence, a
city is well perceived and remembered by the landmarks it has.

7. Based on the density of population, development, amenities,

employment opportunities, education, etc. human settlement is
majorly divided into two categories i.e. Urban and Rural. Urban
refers to a human settlement where the rate of urbanisation and
industrialisation is high. On the other hand, in a rural settlement,
is one where the rate of urbanisation is quite slow.

8. Urban form is the physical characteristics that make up built-up

areas, including the shape, size, density and configuration of
settlements. It can be considered at different scales: from
regional, to urban, neighbourhood, ‘block’ and street.

There are three determinants derived from the nature of

geographical locations. They are climate, topography and
 available construction materials. The natural determinants have
played important roles in the shape of urban forms for both
historical and present settlements. The climate of a region in the
world is determined by its latitude, longitude and terrain. There
was no doubt that different cities have their climate feature.
Climate is a determinant for the form of settlements due to the
shelter is the fundamental need of people. Some houses of a city
were built according to the climate. The forming of urban
settlements influenced the street network, and then determined
the urban underlying pattern.

9. There is a strong relationship between regions of the brain and

the value of space enclosure by Neurophysiological research.
Ratio and scale is an important factor for enclosure and direct
impact on the user's perception of comfort. The sense of
enclosure is produced by proportions between the height and
width ratio of areas that are comfortable to the observers.
According to this, the sense of enclosure is based on user
perception of what makes a satisfying place.

Enclosure, according to the literature, is a function of ratio and

scale. Enclosure degree promotes public spaces in an area that
influences the participator's sense of feeling. There is a slice
difference between the scholars suggested ideal height-to-width
ratios. They suggested minimum ratios of 1: 2 and maximum
ratios of 4:1 for urban street spaces.

10. Landscape is an integral part of urban design as it plays a

critical role in shaping the physical, social, and ecological
aspects of the urban environment. Landscape design involves
the careful consideration and arrangement of natural and built
elements, such as plants, trees, water features, paths, and
structures, to create functional and aesthetically pleasing
outdoor spaces. Here are two case studies that illustrate how
landscape can be considered part of urban design:

 The High Line, New York City: The High Line is a public
park built on an abandoned elevated railroad line in
 Manhattan. The park features a linear landscape design that
incorporates a variety of natural and built elements, such as
trees, grasses, wildflowers, benches, and lighting.
 Gardens by the Bay, Singapore: Gardens by the Bay is a
public park in Singapore that features a unique landscape
design that combines nature and technology. The park
includes a variety of themed gardens, such as the Flower
Dome and the Cloud Forest, as well as a Super tree Grove,
which is a collection of vertical gardens that are up to 50
meters tall.