MARASIGAN, BEA ROSE ANN A. AR.

PHILIP NOLAN DE CASTRO

ARC - 4102

REACTION PAPER
URBAN PLANNING

Many regions around the world are facing the urban sprawl issue today. This
refers to the cities that are not controlled in continuous expansion into rural areas, often
resulting in inefficient land use, increased reliance on automobiles, and negative
environmental and social consequences. In this video, human behavior is not only the
driving problem but also the government policies, economic incentives, and
infrastructure investments play crucial roles.

Urban sprawl is caused by traffic congestion, environmental impact, infrastructure

costs, social isolation, health concerns, resource consumption, housing affordability, and
resilience to shocks. It says that we are not sure that all the climate solutions in the
world will save mankind. If we build cities for 3 billion people we need to double the
urban environment. In traffic congestion, cities tend to have longer commutes that lead
to an increase of air pollution, congestion, and time waste. Second is the Environmental
Impact, sprawling can contribute to habitat loss, increased carbon emissions, and the
destruction of green spaces, harming local ecosystems. Third is Infrastructure Costs,
expanding cities require costly infrastructure development, such as roads, utilities, and
public services, which can strain municipal budgets. Fourth is Social Isolation,
low-density suburban developments often lead to social isolation, as residents may
have to rely on cars to access basic services and interact with others. Fifth is Health
Concerns, lack of walkability and green spaces in sprawling areas can lead to sedentary
lifestyles and associated health problems. Sixth is Resource Consumption, urban
sprawl can result in inefficient land use, consuming more land and resources per capita
than compact urban development. Seventh is the Housing Affordability as land
becomes scarcer in sprawling areas, housing costs can rise, making it difficult for some
people to afford homes. And the last is Resilience to Shocks, sprawling cities may be
less resilient to economic downturns, natural disasters, or other shocks due to their
dispersed nature.

The talk is about opening our minds to the future that we might experience if we
cannot solve the problems that we are facing today. As the world keeps revolving and
rotating we must also know as a student how we can help the people and nature. As an
architecture student we must focus on urban planning, investment in public
transportation, mixed land-use developments, focusing on sustainability and resilience
in urban designs, and compact urban development to mitigate the impact of human
behavior on sprawl. There are also some ways that we can encourage people, a sample
is to promote sustainable building practices and green design principles that can help
combat urban sprawl. We, students can learn about energy-efficient building
technologies, green building materials, and passive design strategies that reduce the
environmental impact of new construction. We also can encourage the adaptive reuse
of existing buildings and revitalize urban areas without the need for further sprawl. Here
we can explore how to repurpose old factories, warehouses, or other structures into
modern and functional spaces. We can also work with local communities to understand
their needs and preferences. Engaging with residents can help design solutions that are
more in line with the desires of the people living in the affected areas. Through our
design abilities, research, lobbying, and community involvement initiatives, students
have the ability to have a substantial impact on the issue of urban sprawl. We can help
create more responsible and livable urban settings by emphasizing sustainable,
community-focused, and mindful design concepts.
MARASIGAN, BEA ROSE ANN A. AR. PHILIP NOLAN DE CASTRO
ARC - 4102

URBAN DESIGN AND URBAN SPACES

● 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.
● It involves the design and coordination of all that makes up the cities and towns.

Urban space is actual physical enclosure or its strong articulation by urban forms.

Open space is an area of greenery in or near the city.

PUBLIC SPACES

● External public space is a piece of land that lies between private hand holding such as
public squares, streets, parks, stretches of coastline, rivers.
● Internal public spaces are public institutions such as libraries, museums, town halls,
train or bus stations, hospitals and post offices.
● External and internal quasi-public spaces are places such as university campuses,
sports grounds, restaurants also form part of the public realm, if only nominally, because
their owners and operators retain rights to regulate access and behavior there.

TYPES OF URBAN SPACES, SQUARES AND PRECINCTS

● Streets are dynamic spaces with a sense of movement.

● Squares are static spaces with less sense of movement.
● Plaza is a Spanish word that describes an open public space.

3 elements of an urban square: surrounding structures, floor and the imaginary sphere of the
sky above.

5 classifications of a square: closed square, dominated square, nuclear square, grouped

square and the amorphous square.

● Precincts are well-defined large urban zones that include several urban spaces but have
certain consistent visual or use of characteristics, which are enclosed by walls, closed to
traffic and are districts for a city which is divided for election purposes.
● Spatial Structure - a given by the hierarchy and connections between series of like &
unlife spaces.

Kevin Lynch is an urban thinker who was able to establish a notation of city elements which can
be districts, paths, edges, nodes, landmarks, landscapes and accessories.

Paths, Nodes, Edges, District, Landmarks, Building, Public Spaces, Streets, Transport,
Landscape

● Zoning helps in creating identity to the place, security and enrich private and social
behavior.

ELEMENTS of urban design

Buildings - shape and articulate space by forming the street walls of the city

Public spaces - great public spaces are living room of the city

Streets - connections between spaces

Transports - connect the parts of cities and help shape them and enable movement
throughout the city

Landscapes - green part of the city that weaves throughout, in the form of urban parks,
street trees, plants, flowers, and water in many form

The phenomenon of urbanization is due to the growth of cities, both because it has increased
the number of inhabitants and the new economic activities conducted there.