M3-UNIT 2: CITY FORMS

MODULE 3: THE CONTEXT OF URBAN SPATIAL

DIMENSION
INTRODUCTION -CITIES
• A CITY IS A GROUP OF PEOPLE AND A NUMBER OF PERMANENT
STRUCTURES WITHIN A LIMITED GEOGRAPHICAL AREA, SO
ORGANIZED AS TO FACILITATE THE INTERCHANGE OF GOODS AND
SERVICES AMONG ITS RESIDENTS AND WITH THE OUTSIDE WORLD

• THE SETTLEMENTS GREW INTO VILLAGES, VILLAGES TRANSFORMED

INTO CITIES

• CITIES CREATED WHEN LARGE NUMBER OF PEOPLE LIVE TOGETHER,

IN A SPECIFIC GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION LEADING TO THE CREATION
OF URBAN AREAS

• CITIES EXIST FOR MANY REASONS, AND THE DIVERSITY OF URBAN

FORMS DEFENDS ON THE COMPLEX FUNCTIONS THAT CITIES
NEW YORK CITY
DUBAI, UAE
CEBU CITY
WHAT IS URBAN FORM?

• URBAN FORM DEFINED AS –” THE SPATIAL PATTERN OF HUMAN

ACTIVITIES AT A CERTAIN POINT IN TIME”

• THE FORM MAY REFERS TO THE;

A. PHYSICAL LAYOUT AND DESIGN OF THE CITY
B. SPATIAL IMPRINT OF AN URBAN TRANSPORT SYSTEM
C. ADJACENT PHYSICAL INFRASTRUCTURES

• JOINTLY, THEY CONFER A LEVEL OF SPATIAL ARRANGEMENT

TO CITIES
FACTORS IN INFLUENCING CITY FORM

GEOGRAPHY

IMPACT OF
PERIOD OF
NATURAL
DEVELOPMENT
ENVIRONMENT

SOCIAL, POLITICAL
TRADE PRACTICE AND ECONOMIC
FORCES
 RADIAL CONCENTRIC/RADIOCENTRIC CITY
• A RADIAL CONCENTRIC
CITY PLAN IS FORMED BY
STREETS THAT EXTEND
OUTWARD FROM A
DEFINED CENTER AND
REACH THE OUTER EDGE THE PEARL,
PARIS
QATAR
OF THE CITY, TOGETHER
WITH CONCENTRICALLY
ARRANGED ROADS THAT
CONNECT THE RADIAL
STREETS TO THE LOTS.
THIS PATTERN TRACES ROTUNDA WEST,
MEXICO CITY
BACK TO ANCIENT TIMES FLORIDA

THE RADIOCENTRIC CITY
• GEOGRAPHICAL POSSIBILITIES OF
SPREADING IN ALL DIRECTIONS
• RADIO CENTRIC – RADIATE
OUTWARD FROM A COMMON
SHARE
• INNER OUTER RINGS LINKED BY
RADIATING ROADS
• CORE HAS BUSINESS AREA
• INDUSTRIAL AREA INTERSPERSED
WITH RESIDENTIAL
ADVANTAGES
• A DIRECT LINE OF TRAVEL
FOR CENTRALLY DIRECTED
FLOWS
• ECONOMICS OF A SINGLE –
CENTRALIZED TERMINAL OR
ORIGIN POINT
DISADVANTAGES
• CENTRAL CONGESTION
• LOCAL FLOW PROBLEMS
• DIFFICULT BUILDING SITES
CASE STUDY: RADIOCENTRIC CITY -
MOSCOW
• MOSCOW, THE WORLD BIGGEST
MEGAPOLIS(RUSSIAN MOSKVA)
IS TH CAPITAL OF RUSSIA

• THE CITY GREW IN A PATTERN

OF RINGS AND RADIALS THAT
MARKED MOSCOW’S GROWTH
FROM ANCIENT TIME TO
MODERN LAYOUT

• THE CENTER OF ALL RINGS IS

MOSCOW KREMLIN AND RED
SQUARE
• SUCCESSIVE EPOCHS OF
DEVELOPMENT ARE
TRACED BY THE
FOLLOWING;
- THE BOULEVARD RING
AND
- THE GARDEN RING,
- THE MOSCOW LITTLE RING
RAILWAY
- AND THE MOSCOW RING
ROAD

THE GRID IRON CITY
• IT IS COMPOSED OF STRAIGHT
STREETS CROSSING AT RIGHT
ANGLES TO CREATE MANY
REGULAR CITY BLOCKS
• THIS FORM IS TYPICAL OF CITIES
BUILT AFTER TH INDUSTRIAL
REVOLUTION – BECAUSE ONLY
THEN DID CITIES PLACE SUCH AS
IMPORTANCE ON ECONOMIC
ACTIVITY
• A CITY GRID IRON PLAN
FACILITATES THE MOVEMENT OF
ADVANTAGES
• HIGH ACCESSIBILITY
• MINIMUM DISRUPTION OF
FLOW
• EXPANSION FLEXIBILITY,
• EXCELLENT PSYCHOLOGICAL
ORIENTATION, ADAPTABILITY
TO LEVEL OR MODERATELY
ROLLING TERRAIN
DISAVANTAGES
• REQUIRES FLOW HIERACHIES
• LIMITED IN ITS ADAPTABILITY
TO THE TERRAIN,
• POTNTIALLY MONOTONOUS
 CASE STUDY:GRID IRON PATTERN -
CHANDIGARH
• THE PRIMARY MODULE OF CITY’S DESIGN IS A SECTOR, A
NEIGHBORHOOD UNIT OF SIZE 800M X 1200M

• IT IS A SELF-SUFFICIENT UNIT HAVING SHOPS, SCHOOL, HEALTH

CENTERS AND PLACE FOR RECREATIONS

• THE POPULATION OF A SECTOR VARIES BETWEEN 3,000 – 20,000

DEPENDING UPON SIZES OF PLOTS AND TOPOGRAPHY OF THE AREA

• THE SHOPPING STREETS OF EACH SECTOR IS LINKED TO THE

ADJOINING SECTORS THUS FORMING ONE LONG, CONTINUOUS
RIBBON

• THE CENTRAL GREEN OF EACH SECTOR ALSO STRETCHES TO THE

THE GRID IRON CITY: SAN FRANCISCO
• SAN FRANCISCO AS DESIGNED TO ACCOMMODATE OUTRAGEOUS
NUMBER OF PEOPLE THAT CAME TO THE CITY DURING THE GOLD
RUSH
• IT WAS LAID OUT IN A GRID PATTERN IMPOSED ON A CITY OF HILLS
BUILT ON THE END OF A PENINSULA
• BOTH GRIDS AN IRREGULAR FORMS CAN BE SEEN IN SAN FRANCISCO
• DOWNTOWN SAN FRANCISCO IS EXTREMELY DENSE. THE PLANNING
COMMISSION SPLIT DOWNTON INTO FOUR SEPARATE ZONES WITH
DIFFERENT PURPOSES
- OFFICE DISTRICT
- RETAIL DISTRICT
- GENERAL COMMERCIAL DISTRICT
URBAN VECTOR MAP - DAVAO METRO MANILA
THE LINEAR CITY ADVANTAGES

• INITIALLY PROPOSED BY SORIA Y
MATA
• EXPAND THE CITY ALONG A SPINE
OF TRANSPORT
• THE LINEAR CITY CONCEPT IS A
CONSCIOUS FORM OF URBAN
DEVELOPMENT WITH HOUSING AND
INDUSTRY GROWING THE
HIGHWAY BETWEEN EXISTING
CITIES AND CONTAINED BY THE
CONTINUOUS OPEN SPACE OF THE
• HIGH ACCESSIBILITY
• ADAPTABILITY TO
LINEAR GROWTH
• USEFUL ALONG THE
LIMITED EDGE
DISADVANTAGES
• VERY SENSITIVE TO
BLOCKAGE REQUIRES
CONTROL OF GROWTH
• LACK FOCUS
• THE CHOICE OF
CONNECTION OR OF
DIRCTION OF MOVEMENT
ARE MUCH LESS
LINEAR CITY: NAVI MUMBAI
• THE GROWTH OF MUMBAI CITY IS
CONSTRAINE BY SEA AT THE SOUTH, EAST
AND WEST. AS A RESULT TOTAL LAND AREA
AVAILABLE FOR DEVELOPMENT OF MUMBAI
IS LIMITES
• THE COAST OF REAL ESTATE AND HOUSING IN
NAVI MUMBAI IS MUCH LESS THAN COSTS IN
MUMBAI AND SUB-URBAN AREAS
• MANY GOVERNMENT AND CORPORATE
OFFICES HAVE BEEN SHIFTED FROM MUMBAI
TO NAVI MUMBAI
• THE TALOJA AND THANE BELAPUR
INDUSTRIAL BELT OF NAVI MUMBAI OFFER
JOB OPPURTUNITIES OF VERY CONCIEVABLE
KIND – FROM ENGINEERS TO MECHANICS TO
Linear Settlement, Norfolk England

Linear Development- Canada