URBAN DESIGN POLICIES

URBAN DESIGN POLICIES FOR CITIES

New developments of importance should contribute

to the image of a prosperous City – GATEWAYS,
LANDMARKS,

Gateways & route enhancements

City edges should provide integration and visual

continuity from urban to rural areas.
Enhancing urban corridors by
managing built & unbuilt or towards
scenic vistas
POLICIES FOR BUILT FORMS

Mixed uses and human scale can give

vitality and create attractive places that
to promotes safe and sustainable
communities.

range of work, service, shopping,

educational and leisure opportunities.
Together with quality in the public realm

Providing human scale

Legible environments with enhanced built

character for visual identity
POLICIES FOR BUILT FORMS

Shaping Distinctive Form

Urban design is about creating a ‘place’ in which every

building recognizes that it is part of a greater whole in which
“development either contributes to making the urban fabric
coherent or undermines it”

Clear & permeable layout

Appropriate building spacing and vistas to focal points help
people to orientate themselves

Landmarks and meeting places

Many developments lack civic space, landmark buildings or
public uses to mark their centres.
focal points give activity and ‘life’, ‘punctuation’ in built
form

Respecting heritage
New developments should interpret heritage
 POLICIES FOR BUILT FORMS

• Relation of buildings to adjacent

mass & proportions

• Complement surrounding
townscape

• Human scale- street to built ratio

• Respect prevailing built- plot size,
shape, spacing

• new build should not be higher

nor of greater mass than
adjacent existing development
unless there are special
townscape reasons
POLICIES FOR BUILT FORMS

Coherent layouts
New developments should recognize the context &
demonstrate the relationship with the surroundings

Perimeter blocks in large developments

They accommodate a range of land uses, building
types, densities, or open space, making successful
connections between adjacent areas.

Avoid standalone developments like

1. islands
commercial, retail and housing developments appear
as stand alone and isolated

2. culdesacs
presenting fences to the public view

increasingly fragmented urban fabric where

relationships with the street, distinctions between public
and private and ultimately the identity of an area is lost

• Marine Walkway
• Rainbow Bridge
• House boat Bridge
• China Net Bridge
• GCDA Shopping Complex
• The Asoka-Tharangini Apartments
adjoining areas are:
• Public Ground,
• Skyline apartments,
• Federal Bank Building,
• GCDA Shopping Complex,
• Kerala Trade Centre,
• Abad Bay Pride Mall,
• Pioneer Towers,
• Hotel Taj Gateway,
• Alliance Residency,
• DD Samudra Darshan apartment,
• India Priyadarshini Children's Park
POLICIES FOR BUILT FORMS

Maintain enclosure quality

to create a satisfactory enclosure of space

with human scale it is necessary to establish
a suitable ratio between the width of the
space and its enclosing buildings.

height to width enclosure ratios - ensure

daylight, sunlight and privacy standards
Variation in the enclosure ratios of the street
Block size Street Frontage
• Road alignment & building line
ease of access • Elements in street facade
ability to encompass a variety of building sizes and uses • Plot width-scale proportions
• By keeping blocks small a more human scale,
‘walkable’ and user friendly public realm is created. Street corner
Building line
• Numerous pedestrian accesses give permeability and Effective Corner turning
make walking and cycling easy, convenient and safe.

• They minimize car dependency and maximize the use

of public transport.

Block definition

Continuous building lines provide good enclosures to streets

or squares.
Frequent doors onto the street and windows are crucial
to provide animation and security to the public realm.
UD POLICIES FOR LANDSCAPE
outdoor spaces as a means of integrating and linking development to
OPEN SPACE NETWORK IN THE CITY. provide structure and a shared community focus

• soft outdoor spaces, rivers, hills, a canal,

a burgeoning urban forest, beaches and
coastline, gardens, squares, parks, areas
of great landscape value and wildlife sites
occur in different parts of the city

• combined effect of private and communal

gardens visually creates green structures
within the urban fabric.

• Networking can be made through

landscaped routes or sites for footpaths,
cycle ways and bridgeways at coast, river,
stream and canal Edges

• Links to major city assets can be physical

and visual. They re-inforce the feeling of
inclusion and aid orientation
UD POLICIES FOR LANDSCAPE

create new outdoor spaces and links to green and civic

space networks

strengthen and increase links between existing and new

development

extend the network of cycle ways and footpaths

Connectivity between built spaces – integration of public

& pedestrian modes

450 to 500m walking distance could be recommended to

access community facilities, mixed uses and recreational
open space
UD POLICIES FOR LANDSCAPE
UD POLICIES FOR LANDSCAPE

Connections

• The connections between a site and its surroundings are

important

• Connections should be designed in favor of walking and

cycling and give convenient access to public transport.

Linkages

• All routes, including public transport, cycling and

pedestrian routes should be designed as an integral part
of the street layout.

• to enhance existing views and vistas, or create new

ones, is valuable to the streetscape and helps people to
find their way
UD POLICIES FOR LANDSCAPE

OPEN SPACE CATEGORIZATION

• Open space can provide a range of

functions including both visual and
local amenity

• They can combine both hard and soft

landscape elements.

• Specification for materials, street sign,

lighting and furniture's
UD POLICIES FOR LANDSCAPE

Planning of parks- based on hierarchy and distance of placement

UD POLICIES FOR LANDSCAPE

Versatile and Barrier Free Spaces open spaces

Different age and cultural groups will use spaces in different ways.

design versatile spaces that enable different people to enjoy

different activities in the same space through the creation of
inclusive environments

integrate the site’s landscape and natural features

integrate for parking – on street, off street, underground, multistory
Provision for Active public space

• Visibility - enabling people to have views across spaces

• Orientation - south facing, sunny and shaded spots for sitting
• Facilities for sitting and stopping
• Accessibility - directly from surrounding
• buildings Opportunities - to incorporate art
UD POLICIES FOR INFRASTRUCTURE

Amenity, Interest and Safety

Careful siting and orientation of streets, buildings, open

spaces and pedestrian routes.
Interest and safety should be given by:
• offering choice –pedestrian movement, recreation
• maintaining views,
• providing well designed hard and soft landscaping,
• good quality lighting and public art.
Provision of infrastructure utilities :

• Waste disposal services –Eg: reduce, recycle, reuse

• Measure to mitigate flash floods
• Integrated communication & IT infrastructure for the city
• Reduce water demand – rain water harvesting & waste water treatment
• Sewerage services – eg: centralized sewerage systems
• Management of –chemical, toxic & clinical wastes
• Electric supply-
• Piped gas supply, etc..
• addresses City’s vulnerability to coastal
flooding with a protective ribbon

• infrastructural barrier incorporates public

space with the high-water barrier doubling as
parks, seating, bicycle shelters or skateboard
ramps.

• Embankments add green areas and spaces

beneath elevated roadways are built out with
pavilions for public use. In an emergency, the
shutters close forming a floodwater barrier.