LECTURE 3

Transportation and Urban Form

Dr. Shahbaz Altaf

Assistant Professor
Department of Urban and Regional Planning
Transport is a key element of place making…..
 Urbanization
• The process of transition from a rural to a more
urban society.
• This is the outcome of three main demographic
trends
• Natural increase, Rural to urban migrations,
International migration.
Urban Hierarchy
Hamlet Small collection of homes – population 10-100
Village Rural in character?
Population less than 10,000
Urban area Defined by land use? E.g. 75% built up
Town Larger than a village but smaller than a city
With town charter!
Less than 100,000 population?
City Legal status in some countries. Over 100, 000?
Conurbation Urban area incorporating adjacent centres e.g. former free-standing towns
and villages. After Geddes 1915
Metropolis Large urban agglomeration, usually over 1 million

Megacity Urban metropolis over 10 million

Megalopolis Chain of adjacent metropolitan areas. After Mumford 1938 The Culture of
Cities
World or global A global centre for finance, culture, political influence (Sassen 1990s)
city
Eperopolis ‘Continental city’ (Doxiadis, 1968)
Ecunemopolis Global City
Perspectives about the Urban Spatial Structure: From
Dichotomy to Continuum

Source: adapted from World Bank (2009) World Development Report 2009:
Reshaping Economic Geography.
World’s Largest Cities, 2022
 Metropolitan Areas of More than 10 Million Inhabitants, 2010

Paris 10.49
Istanbul 10.52
Moskva (Moscow) 10.55
Lagos 10.58 1950
Al-Qahirah (Cairo) 11.00 1975
Osaka-Kobe 11.34 2010
Manila 11.63
Rio de Janeiro 11.95
Beijing 12.39
Los Angeles 12.76
Buenos Aires 13.07
Karachi 13.12
Dhaka 14.65
Kolkata (Calcutta) 15.55
Shanghai 16.58
New York 19.43
Mexico City 19.46
Mumbai (Bombay) 20.04
São Paulo 20.26
Delhi 22.16
Tokyo 36.67
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Copyright © 1998-2018, Dr. Jean-Paul Rodrigue, Dept. of Global Studies & Geography, Hofstra University. For personal or classroom use ONLY. This material (including graphics) is not public domain and cannot be published, in whole or in part, in ANY form (printed or electronic) and on any media without consent. This includes conference presentations. Permission MUST be
requested prior to use.
 Urban Population by Region, 1950-2030 (in millions)

Billions
5

Asia
3
Latin America
North America
Europe
2 Africa

0
1950 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 2025 2030

Copyright © 1998-2018, Dr. Jean-Paul Rodrigue, Dept. of Global Studies & Geography, Hofstra University. For personal or classroom use ONLY. This material (including graphics) is not public domain and cannot be published, in whole or in part, in ANY form (printed or electronic) and on any media without consent. This includes conference presentations. Permission MUST be
requested prior to use.
Urban Form and • Urban form: Refers to the spatial imprint of an
urban transport system as well as the adjacent
Urban Structure physical infrastructures. Jointly, they confer a level
of spatial arrangement to cities.
• Urban form encompasses the nature of the
transportation networks and configuration of
land use such as mono-centric versus
polycentric.
• Urban (spatial) structure: Refers to the set of
relationships arising out of the urban form and its
underlying interactions of people, freight and
information. It tries to evaluate to what extent
specific urban structures can be achieved with
specific transport systems.
• Urban Land Use?
Transportation and Urban Form

Infrastructures

Modes Users

Transportation

imprint
Spatial
Urban Form

Source: Rodriguez et. al. (2006). The geography of transport systems

Spatial Form, Pattern and Interaction
Form Interactions Pattern
 Section I

The Urban Form

Traditional Street Patterns
BARCELONA
BEIJING
BRASILIA
CHANDIGARH
Grammichele, Sicily, Italy
MOSCOW
VENICE
WASHINGTON D.C.
Riyadh,
Saudi Arabia
Vatican City
 Urban Form
• Every human settlement consists of certain elements. Interaction of
these elements form a pattern-the urban pattern.
• The broad overall physical geographic arrangement of land-use and
transportation facilities determines the urban form.
• The more detailed physical aspects and relationships of the urban form
are usually referred to as the urban design or site design
• The urban design structure defines the urban form and the building form
Factors influencing urban form

Urban patterns are influenced by the relationship of;

 Land ownership patterns
 Transportation
 Planning regulations
 Existing land use
 Street patterns
 Climate change, and
 Socioeconomic conditions
Elements of Urban Form
1. Buildings

2. Public Spaces
Elements of Urban Form
3. Streets

4. Transport
Elements of Urban Form
5. Landscape
 Transportation and Urban Form

• Urban form
 The form of a city greatly influences and is influenced by travel
patterns, origins and destinations.
 There is a wide variety of urban forms and urban transportation
systems.
• Impact of the private car
 An increasing number of cities worldwide seem to be
developing at a scale that increases reliance on the privately
owned automobile.
 Dispersion is taking place in many different types of cities.
Typical City Growth and Evolution of Transport

Muller, P.O. (2004) “Transportation and Urban Form: Stages in the Spatial Evolution
of the American Metropolis”, in S. Hanson and G. Giuliano (eds) The Geography of
Urban Transportation, 3rd Edition, New York: Guilford, pp. 59-84. 30
One Hour Commuting According to Different Urban
Transportation Modes

Streetcar line
Freeway

Walking
10 km Streetcar
Cycling
Automobile
Automobile with
freeways
Evolution of Cities
Density is of utmost importance
• Compact vs High-Density
• Compact land use patterns result in fewer vehicle miles traveled, in terms of
both the length and the number of vehicle trips, than do sprawling land use
patterns.
• Land-use densities are so low that public transportation is not viable.

Is this always true?

• Public transport runs successfully in many cities with lower population
densities.
• Any city with sufficient population density to cause traffic congestion has
sufficient population to support a first-rate public transport alternative.
37
 Density and Car Use in Selected Global Cities, 2000s
100
Houston
90

80
Share of Car Use for Commuting

Melbourne
70

60
London
50
Paris
40
Munich
30
Tokyo Hong Kong
20

10

0
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350
Urban Density (People per hectare)
Density is of importance
• Modern cities:
 Inherited an urban form created in the past.
 Can be monocentric or polycentric (more common).
 Movements are organized or disorganized.

• European, Japanese and Chinese:

 Tend to be monocentric.
 Movements tend to be organized.
 30 to 60% of all trips by walking and cycling.

• Australian and American cities:

 Built recently and encourages automobile dependency.
 Tend to be polycentric.
 Movements tend to be disorganized.
 0
10
20
30
50
60
70
90

40
80

7.1

21.2

1910
9.2

24.8

1920
30.8
13.8

1930
1910-2010 (%)

32.5
15.3

1940
32.8
23.3

1950
Central Cities
32.3
30.9

1960
Suburbs
31.4
37.6

1970
30
44.8

1980
31.3
46.2

1990
50

30.3

2000
Areas and Their Central Cities and Suburbs,
American Population Living in Metropolitan

33
51

2010

Copyright © 1998-2018, Dr. Jean-Paul Rodrigue, Dept.

of Global Studies & Geography, Hofstra University.
For personal or classroom use ONLY. This material
(including graphics) is not public domain and cannot
be published, in whole or in part, in ANY form (printed
or electronic) and on any media without consent. This
 Section II

Street Patterns and the Urban

Form
Street Network Types

Conventional Grid Curvilinear Loop Pattern & Conventional

Pattern (c 1900) Beginning of Cul-de-Sacs (1930-1950) Cul-de-Sac Pattern
(since 1950)

Arterial road Local street

Need of Street Pattern
• Interconnectivity is the important component of neighborhood/city/town.
• Connectivity is achieved through network of roads.
• Interconnections provide different routes for automobile traffic.
• There are a number of different approaches to interconnect streets in neighborhoods
and Development Areas.
• Different approaches can be combined depending upon the terrain, density and other
features of the area.
Street Pattern (Neighborhood Level)
A street pattern is unique to each settlement and as a broad framework should
include:
 A main access road linking the settlement to the highway or freeway, providing
entry to the settlement.
 Smaller settlements generally have a single one-way-in, one-way-out main
road.
 Other larger settlements may have the highway passing through the main
street bringing opportunities for increased economic and social benefits.
 Settlements with higher volumes of through traffic may have by-passes that
completely circumvent the settlement such as Lahore, Sialkot, etc
 Street Pattern (Neighborhood Level)

A centrally located main street defining the commercial and social center
and acting as the main public transport route
 Edge streets fronting reserves and open spaces, defining the boundary of
the settlement and providing asset protection zones
 Residential streets with limited traffic flows
 Laneways serving residential and commercial lots
 Pedestrian pathways on all streets except freeways, highways and cycle-
ways.
Types of Street Pattern
 The Rectilinear Grid Pattern
 The Diamond Grid Pattern
 The Picturesque Landscape Pattern
 The Stem Pattern
 The Curvilinear Grid Pattern
 The Spider-web or Star Pattern
 The Rectilinear Grid Pattern
• Definition: The rectilinear grid pattern is a
street system providing maximum road
connections and some road hierarchy.
• It represents the classic grid street pattern used
in many street systems laid out at the turn of
the century.
• This pattern is the preferred pattern in the
absence of natural features to prevent its use.
The Rectilinear Grid Pattern
Characteristics:
 Provides opportunities for the creation of blocks.
 It allows for and promotes a variety of lot types
A hierarchy of thoroughfares can provide opportunities for architectural
treatment of buildings at corners.
 Alleys can be loaded on both sides, providing efficiency in infrastructure.
 Some streets may terminate at T-intersections, especially in General Areas
and Edges.
The Rectilinear Grid Pattern
Characteristics:
 It may have park spaces interspersed at regular intervals or more
randomly.
 Straight thoroughfares can enhance the character of rolling terrain.
 The pattern is easily expandable.
 Unless it is interrupted periodically, it can be monotonous.
 It does not work well on steeply sloping terrain in cold climates.
54
Barcelona Plans
 The Diamond Grid Pattern

Definition:
The diamond grid pattern is a
grid street system characterized
by interconnections at angles.
The Diamond Grid Pattern
Characteristics:
 It can work well with steep grades; at extreme grades, a discontinuous pattern may be justified.
 A variety of lot sizes are possible.

 It can produce spectacular and dramatic hill towns.

 It can result in awkward and dangerous intersections.

 Some lots may be awkward in shape and in terrain, making building difficult and expensive.

 Alleys may be difficult to accommodate.

 Siting of buildings relative to streets can be difficult.

 The Picturesque Landscape Pattern
Definition:
• Inspired by American landscape architect
Frederick Law Olmsteds plan
• Is a loose and warped (partial) grid
• It is able to respond easily to terrain and
natural conditions.
• Focus on natural landscape
The Picturesque Landscape Pattern
Characteristics:
 It works well with steep grades and is highly responsive to terrain by
absorbing environmental features.

 The monotony of the grid is broken by deflected vistas.

 It provides for even dispersal of traffic throughout the network.

 Blocks are not easily created which makes it appropriate only for single-family
detached houses.

 It can be very disorienting to motorists, making it easy for them to get lost.

 There is no hierarchy of streets intrinsic to the concept.

 Lot sizes cannot be controlled.

The Curvilinear Grid Pattern
Definition:
• The curvilinear grid pattern is a
modified grid that provides fewer
connections than the Rectilinear and
Diamond Grid and more easily adapts to
the terrain.
The Curvilinear Grid Pattern
Virginia
The Curvilinear Grid Pattern
Characteristics:
 It can be used with new and existing development patterns.

 Thoroughfares are curved and run parallel to the topography to accommodate moderately sloped terrain.

 A variety of lots can be accommodated and designed.

 A hierarchy of thoroughfares can provide for architectural treatments on corners for higher design speeds
(chamfering) .

 Alleys are loaded on both sides, providing efficiency in infrastructure.

 Curving streets can provide another way to create visual interest.

 The system is easily expandable.

 Curvilinear blocks can be challenging to the creation of lots for townhouses and are more difficult to plat.
The Spiderweb/radial or Star Pattern
Definition:
• The Spiderweb/radial Pattern
is a grid pattern of streets
radiating from a center and
interconnected mostly at right
angles.
• It is a geometrically pure
pattern with a central focus.
The Spiderweb or Star Pattern
Characteristics:
• It creates formalized central space.

• Diagonal streets can create hierarchy for through traffic.

• Streets may be positioned to respond to ridges and swales of terrain.

• Traffic is dispersed evenly through the network.

• The monotony of the grid can be interrupted by deflected vistas.

• The street system can be disorienting and difficult for drivers to use.

• It requires many special buildings, particularly at the center, in order to

achieve spatial definition.
The Stem Pattern
Definition:
• The stem pattern is characterized by a
series of cul-de-sac streets feeding onto
collector streets and arterials.
The Stem Pattern
Characteristics:
 It can be responsive to steep terrain.
 It can provide for a maximum number of lots on discontinuous streets.
 It offered a secondary system of pedestrian paths behind each stem of houses to
separate pedestrian from vehicular traffic.
 It can contribute to traffic congestion by the absence of an interconnected network.
 A complete separation of land uses and housing types is intrinsic to the pattern.
 High design speeds and wide roadways can lead to excessive speed.
Brondby, Garden city, Denmark
A Game of Cul-de-Sacs
Thank You!

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