SITE PLANNING

PLANNING 1
Leiron Mark S. De Guzman, UAP, PIEP
9:00 – 11:00 AM
Settlements, Urban Design & Site Planning
Definition of Terms
HUMAN SETTLEMENTS:
‣ Settlement inhabited by man
‣ “Any group of people living in a particular place, a form of human habitation with a
social purpose, where man/woman lives in community, where he/she transforms
the natural environment into a man-made environment, composed of physical,
spatial, and organizational elements whose main purpose is the satisfaction of the
needs of the people… An ecosystem composed of natural and man-made
elements which interact in complex ways within their population dynamics,
environmental dimensions and spatial constraints and alternatives” –– UN
Conference on Habitat, Stockholm, 1972
EKISTICS: the science of human settlements
URBAN DESIGN: Design of the urban environment
CITY: An urban town of significant size and importance
SITE PLANNING
‣ The art of arranging building or other structures in harmony with the landscape
‣ Linked to architecture, engineering, landscaping, and city planning
Ekistics
The science of human settlements
The theoretical pioneer of Area Development Planning
A holistic attempt to study human settlements in its five elements and the relationships between
these elements
Doxiadis
Dr. Konstantinos A. Doxiadis (1913-1975)
He started Ekistics as the science of human settlements
Coined the term “ecumenopolis” or world-wide city
“Ekistics grid” – system for recording planning data and ordering planning
process

Designed Islamabad (1959), Rawalpindi, and Lahore, in Pakistan

Contribution: State problems of modern urbanization with scientific clarity and
proposed a rational method of addressing those problems
Approached town planning as a science which would include contributions from
planner, urban designer, sociologist, geographer, economist, demographer, politician,
anthropologist, ecologist, etc
Became Town Planning Chief of Greater Athens and later Greek Minister of Housing
and Reconstruction
Hierarchy of Settlements
Ekistics_____________
NAMES OF UNITS - POPULATION SCALE
Anthropos – 1
Room – 2
House – 5
House Group (Hamlet) – 40
Small Neighborhood (Village) – 250
Small Polis (Town) – 10,000
Small Metropolis – 500,000
Metropolis – 4 million
Small Megalopolis – 25 million
Megalopolis – 150 million
Small Eperopolis – 750 million
Eperopolis – 7.5 billion
Ecumenoolis – 50 billion
• A hamlet : a neighborhood,
a small village
• A community : a town
• A city : an urban area
• A metropolis
• A conurbation : a
composition of cities,
metropolises and urban
areas
• A megalopolis : merging of
two or more metropolis
with a population of 10
million or more, a 20th
century phenomenon
Hierarchy of Settlements
Ekistics_____________
NAMES OF UNITS - POPULATION SCALE

City_________________
- as defined by RA 7160, a minimum income of P20M, at least 10,000 has in land area or minimum
population of 150,000, a political or legal status granted by the government
• Highly urbanized City
- at least 200,000 population and income of P50M or more
• Component City
- population and income below those of highly urbanized city
• Independent Component City
- a characterized city
• Urban Area
- as defined by NSO, in their entirety, all cities and municipalities with a density of at least
1000/sqkm
-exhibiting a street pattern or street network
History
Human Settlements developed out of our earliest ancestors’ need to live in groups - for
protection from the elements, security against rival tribes, ease in gathering food, and need for
companionship.
Several factors influenced the choice for the settlement area and its growth. These are natural
factors and innovations.
‣ Natural factors included protection from natural calamities (fire, flood, volcano eruptions,
etc); presence of fertile soil, bodies of water, and other natural resources; slope, terrain
and other forms of natural defenses; and climate
‣ Innovations included the plow (agriculture), rectilinear town planning, circular and
radiocentric plans
 Early Settlements
• ANCIENT GREECE
 high places as sacred points, fortified hilltop
• street as leftover space for circulation
• agora: market, place of assembly
• buildings served as facade to form an enclosure
• Greek towns followed gridiron layout
• neopolis: when a town reaches maximum size, a “new town” is built
• paleopolis: old town
 Early Settlements
• ANCIENT ROME
• political power and organization
• streets were built first, for military government, a sense of overpowering
grandeur; buildings came later;
• forum: open space or market place, the administrative and corporate heart
of Rome
• The Roman Forum by Vitruvius
Trends in Settlements
Types of Settlements
ORGANIC PLANNED
organismic, by natural accretion around purposely designed with identifiable core, nodes,
source of life transport network, and edges
dendritic, grows like a feeding fungus result of royal decree (colonial period), statute
(modern legislature), or thorough re-planning by
human adaptation professionals
unplanned addresses “concentration” or “dispersion” concerns
informal process formal process
rural forms city forms
Principles of Human Settlements Planning
Present-Day Issues in Human Settlements
‣ deterioration of buildings/streets in older areas of large cities
‣ hastened by uncontrolled rural-to-urban migration, people flock to cities in search for better life
‣ results from economic polarization
Urban Blight ‣ slums and shantytowns usually surround old industrial districts
‣ when taxes are not paid by inner city residents, LGUs do not have resources to improve urban cores

‣ visual pollution that undermine overall beauty & architecture of the city
‣ oversized billboards, superfluous signages, political banners, disorderly utility lines
Visual Blight ‣ pose serious hazards to life, limb and property especially during natural hazards
‣ distracting the attention of motorists
‣ scattered development, low-density fragmented use of land for consumptive urban purposes at a scale expanded faster than
what population growth requires and occurring along margins of existing metropolitan areas in a generally amorphic (formless)
Amorphic Sprawl manner
‣ distances become too great for walking, forcing dependence on cars
‣ process of suburbanizing, population movement from cities to suburbs
‣ represents a desire to escape perceived ills and problems in the central city
‣ companies moved out of inner cities together with their employees and educated middle class
Sub-urbanization
‣ consumes more land resources and expands human ecological footprint what what is necessary

Leapfrog or ‣ discontinuous pattern of urbanization, with patches of developed lands that are widely separated from each other and from the
boundaries of recognized urbanized areas
Checkerboard ‣ costliest development with respect to providing urban services (power, water)
Development
 LEAPFROG
VISUAL DEVELOPMENT
BLIGHT

SUBURBANIZATION &
AMORPHIC SPRAWL

URBAN
BLIGHT
URBAN DESIGN
 Is concerned with the arrangement, appearance, and functionality of
whole towns and cities
‣ shape and form of city blocks
‣ uses of urban public space
‣ articulation of physical features in four dimensions

 Creates places for people while respecting/enhancing natural

environment and use of resources efficiently
 In between planning and architecture; a disciplinary subset of landscape
architecture and urban ecology
ELEMENTS AND PRINCIPLES
Urban design analysis looks at relationship between buildings, streets, land use, open space, circulation, height, natural
features, and human activity.

Function and Fit – shaping places to support their varied intended uses; clearly identifiable function for each area (Principle
of Scale and Proportion)

Complementary Mixed Uses – locating activities to allow constructive interaction between them (Principle of Unity and
Cohesion)

Order and Incident – balancing consistency and variety in the urban environment in the interests of appreciating both;
establish form characteristics (Principle of Symmetry and Balance)

Legibility and Wayfinding – helping people to find their way around and understand how a place works; order that is easily
understood (Principle of Simplicity)

Human Scale and Perspective – human, pedestrian orientation

ELEMENTS AND PRINCIPLES
Civic Space – making places where people are free to encounter each other as civic equals, an important component in
building social capital

Accessibility – providing for ease, safety, and choice when moving to and through places.

Visual Appeal, Principles of Color, Line, Form, Texture

Character and Meaning – recognizing and valuing the differences between one place and another; distinctive identity

Continuity and Change – locating people in time and place, including respect for heritage and support for contemporary
culture (Principle of Transition)

Animation – designing places to stimulate public activity (Rhythm and Repetition)

Density and Sustainability – spatial types and morphologies related to intensity of use, consumption of resources and
production and maintenance of viable communities (Principle of Intensity)
IMAGE OF THE CITY – Kevin Lynch
A COLLECTIVE IMAGE MAP OF A CITY, A COLLECTIVE PICTURE OF WHAT PEOPLE EXTRACT FROM THE
PHYSICAL REALITY OF A CITY.
Five (5) basic elements which people use to construct their mental image of a city:

1. PATHS: connectors; channels along which the observer moves

2. EDGES: elements that delineate; linear elements not considered as paths
3. DISTRICTS: medium to large sections of a city; recognizable as having some common, identifying character; areas
which have uniformity
4. NODES: points, strategic spots which an observer can enter; junctions and concentrations; highlighted points of space
(e.g. pocket parks, intersections)
5. LANDMARKS: point references considered to be external to the observer; physical elements that may vary widely in
scale (e.g. monuments and gateways)
URBAN DESIGN AND IMAGE OF THE CITY

Creating a clearly defined urban edge

URBAN DESIGN AND IMAGE OF THE CITY

Skylines are sensitive to being

obscured by high buildings in
front of existing buildings or
having their silhouette spoiled
by high buildings behind them.
Sense of Place
 Place has distinctive and distinguishing physical and human
characteristics of locale
 Place is characterized by unique site and situational endowments (a
material setting that is located somewhere)
 The key elements of Sense of Place are:
 Distinct identity
 Recognition of Subjective Meaning
 Connection or Emotional Attachment to the Area
 Place is imbued with subjective meanings and attachments, It is the
context of IDENTITY. Place is a social and symbolic setting that has
meaning and value for individuals.
 Place is a node within the web of flows
 Places are interdependent, tied into wider regional and global processes.
 Places exhibit variability -- evolve over time as people create and modify
them
TYPES/FORMS OF URBAN DESIGN
Formal Emphasizes form over function
Baroque urban design
Beaux Arts tradition or City Beautiful Movement
Aesthetics/beauty
Civic-centered Deals with the management of public space and the way public spaces are experienced and used
Public spaces and public assembly areas as anchors; some aspects of privately owned spaces (building facades or
domestic gardens) are considered in urban design
Form has to meet function
Open air environments
New Urbanism
Smart Growth USA
Customer-centered Post-industrial urban design
Focuses on the convenience and comfort of the end-users
Emphasizes on direct access by customers
Mixed-use environments
Transit-oriented Development (TOD)
Eco-centric Centers on the experience of nature and the experience of humankind as part of nature; co-existence
The natural environment is the basis of all human activities
Urban design safeguards natural systems and uses resources efficiently
Environmentally-responsive developments or green buildings
FORMAL URBAN DESIGN
BAROQUE URBAN DESIGN
 1600-1800
 symmetry, cohesiveness, grandeur, monumentality, exuberance
 began during the Renaissance
 energetic, theatrical, flowing lines
 beauty, form and function combined
FORMAL URBAN DESIGN

CITY BEAUTIFUL MOVEMENT

 1890-1930
 Golden Age of urban design
 Proponent, Daniel H. Burnham
CIVIC CENTER URBAN DESIGN
NEW URBANISM
 Principles
Walkability
Connectivity
Mixed-Use and Diversity
Mixed Housing
Quality Architecture and Urban Design
Traditional Neighborhood Structure
Increased Density
Smart Transportation
Sustainability
Quality of Life
 Or Neo-Traditionalism
 Andres Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk
CIVIC CENTER URBAN DESIGN
SMART GROWTH USA

 Principles
Mix land uses
Take advantage of compact building design
Create a range of housing opportunities and choices
Create walkable neighborhoods
Foster distinctive, attractive communities with a strong sense of place
Preserve open space, farmland, natural beauty, and critical environmental areas
Strengthen and direct development towards existing communities
Provide a variety of transportation choices
Make development decisions predictable, fair, & cost effective
Encourage community and stakeholder collaboration in development decisions
CUSTOMER-CENTERED URBAN DESIGN

TRANSIT-ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT (TOD)

 A mixed-use residential or commercial area designed to maximize

access to public transport, incorporates features to encourage transit
ridership

 Typically has a center with a transit station or stop (train station, metro
station, tram stop, or bus stop)

 In Metro Manila, examples include Trinoma North EDSA and Gateway

Mall Cubao
ECO-CENTRIC URBAN DESIGN
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENTS OR GREEN
BUILDINGS
 A green building is an environmentally sustainable building, designed,
constructed and operated to minimize the total environmental impacts.
 In the Philippines, examples include Marikina River Park and Plantation Bay in
Cebu
 Plantation Bay “green” features
‣ locally-sourced/indigenous materials (e.g. bamboo, banig, Mactan marble,
plants, etc.)
‣ avoiding use of plastics
‣ asphalt and gravel for roads to allow water absorption and generate
groundwater
‣ instead of extracting sand, readily available limestone was used
‣ seaweeds are placed on top of plants to reduce re-watering
‣ used tea bags/coffee are scattered on ground to drive away ants/pests
AREA DEVELOPMENT PLANNING (ADP)
 provides an important link between the Physical
Framework Plan and Site Planning for the
individual projects
 provides a detailed framework for decisions on
Proposals contained in the Long Range Plan
for functional areas of the territory.
 was originally focused on ‘economic
development’ but now encompasses
‘environmental sustainability,’ ‘social viability,’
‘cultural vitality,’ and ‘design/architecture’.
Area Ecological Profile
Slope and Structures
Site
Reconnaissance
Checklist
SURROUNDING AREAS
Site
Reconnaissance
Checklist
THE SITE
Site Evaluation Criteria
Circulation
Movement of people and vehicles within the site
Information on existing circulation patterns is critical in
order to minimize, if not eliminate, potential increase in
the level of congestion, traffic hazards, and other
inconveniences related to the proposed development
Traffic hazards are associated with high speed, heavy
circulation and dangerous roads and intersections
Vehicular Circulation should have adequate width and
slope to accommodate anticipated number and types of
vehicles
Pedestrians should be wide enough to accommodate
two-way traffic
Road hierarchy helps define zones
‣ Road Right-of-Way (RROW): carriageway + sidewalk/s
Traffic Impact Analysis
Site Planning & Land Use Plans
“Site Planning” involves planning for a smaller urban area already defined for commercial,
residential, industrial, recreational, or mixed-use development.
While land use planning deals with broad policy areas on land use utilization, site planning
focuses more on the intimate relationship between man and space and between building and
space.
Site planning determines the detailed layout of an area so that it functions effectively in relation
to a given range of land uses on the site and others around it.
Site planning is working out the detail of:
• 1) what should happen on a given area of land;
• 2) how it should happen;
• 3) what it will cost to implement and manage proposed developments on the area of land
Site Planning References include PD 957, BP 220, HLURB Guidelines, National Building
Code, LGU Ordinances and CLUP Handbooks
‣ Density: the intensity of development; Floor-Area-Ratio is one measure/control of density;
FAR= total building GFA/lot area
‣ Easement: building setback
‣ Building Height
Clustered vs Planned Unit Development (PUD)
CLUSTERED DEVELOPMENT
masterplan that integrates commercial,
residential & other compatible mixed uses
characteristics
‣ quality exterior design; architecturally compatible structures
‣ located along an arterial roadway and transit corridor and near
commercial center, community, or employment centers
‣ minimal negative impact on surrounding properties
‣ separation and screening between buildings so that residents will enjoy
privacy in their living units
‣ building heights, noise, traffic and other development-related impacts are
adequately mitigated to protect adjacent property development
‣ also provide for non-motorized and pedestrian circulation, access and
facilities.
‣ substantial ground level landscaping and buffering, preservation of
natural areas, substantial stands of trees. Landscaping should be a
substantial element of the total exterior appearance, creates an
interesting and inviting environment for residents, and softens the
appearance of concrete structures.
‣ Has a variety of recreational facilities
mostly new residential developments on
suburban fringes are developed as
complete neighborhoods by private
developers
PUD
integrated development scheme wherein a project
site is comprehensively planned as a unitary entity
such that innovations in site and building design merit flexibility in
zoning category, usually suspension of standard zoning and its
replacement by negotiated agreements with the LGU
requires a comprehensive development plan for the
entire area, usually including residences, roads, schools,
recreational facilities and service areas, plus commercial, office
and industrial areas, building siting, complementarity of building
types and land uses, usable open spaces and the preservation of
significant natural land features designed within the context of
balance ecology.”
• density bonuses
• purpose of PUD is to provide property owners the
flexibility to plan for the development of their land in a manner
that clusters new homes onto small lots while preserving large
areas for agricultural use or as undeveloped open space.
 PUD Provisions

•PUD provisions can specify the percentage of land that should be set aside (not subdivided into building lots or developed).
•The minimum set aside is typically 40% or more of the original parcel.
•PUD standards may include requirements for easements and/or deed restrictions to prevent additional development.
•Municipalities can require a management plan for open spaces or natural areas to be held in some form of common ownership.

PUD Density Bonuses

 PUD Projects

Clustered Developments
Site
Planning
Template
FOR A SAMPLE
RESIDENTIAL
DEVELOPMENT
Site
Planning
Template
FOR A SAMPLE
RESIDENTIAL
DEVELOPMENT
THANK YOU
CREDITS TO ARCH RB BIANDO