ENCAPSULATED CONCLUSION OF URBAN PLANNING THEORIES AND PRINCIPLES

URBAN DESIGN
• Urban design concerns the arrangement, appearance, and functionality of
towns and cities, and in particular the shaping and uses of urban public space.
• It has traditionally been regarded as a disciplinary subset of urban planning,
landscape architecture, or architecture and in more recent times has been
linked to emergent disciplines such as landscape urbanism.
• Urban design theory deals primarily with the design and management of public
space (i.e. the 'public environment', 'public realm' or 'public domain'), and the
way public places are experienced and used. Public space includes the totality
of spaces used freely on a day-to-day basis by the general public, such as
streets, plazas, parks and public infrastructure
FIVE (5) Physical Elements of A
City According to Kevin Lynch
Lynch argues that people in urban situations
orient themselves by means of mental maps.
A clear mental map of the urban
environment is needed to counter the
always-looming fear of disorientation. Lynch
proposes that these mental maps consist of
five elements:
FIVE (5) Physical Elements of A City According to Kevin Lynch
Paths Edges
• Termination of districts
• Major and minor routes of
circulation to move about.

Nodes
• Centers of Activity
Landmarks
• Points of reference
person cannot enter into
Districts • At least one aspect of
them is unique or
• Components of neighborhoods
memorable in the
or large portions/areas of the
context they exist.
city that are distinct from
another area.
 Performance Dimension
The performance dimension focuses on the actions that need to be taken by anyone doing that job to get the
work done. Performance dimensions are groupings of behavior/actions and are defined based on the
requirements and expectations of the job focuses Source : Lynch, K. (1981). A theory of good city form. Cambridge (Mass.): MIT press..
Vitality Control
The degree to which the form of places The degree to which those who use, or reside in
supports the functions, biological requirements places can create and manage access to spaces
and capabilities of human beings. activities.
STRUCTURES , ENVIRONMENT ENCLOSURES SECURITY, BUFFER AREAS
Sense
The degree to which places can be clearly Efficiency and Justice
perceived and structured in time and space
by users. I. What is the relative cost of achieving a
SIGNAGE WAYFINDING, SIGNS AND SYMBOLS, MENTAL particular degree of vitality, sense, fit,
MAPS access or control?
II. Who is getting how much of it?
Fit
The degree to which the form and capacity of space
matches the pattern of behaviors that people
engage in or want to engage in.
DISTRICT PUBLIC SPACES, LAND USE, FLEXIBILITY OF SPACES
 RESPONSIVE ENVIRONMENTS BY
IAN BENTLY
• Planning should be a product of progressive social and political
attitudes.
• The built environment should be able to provide users with a
democratic setting, enhancing the degree of choices that are
available to them.
• Once this is achieved, the places are responsive.

Permeability
Only places that are accessible to people can offer them a
choice. The quality of permeability (the number of
alternative ways through an environment) is therefore
central to making responsive places.
RESPONSIVE ENVIRONMENTS BY IAN
BENTLY
Variety
Easily accessible places are irrelevant unless they offer a choice of experiences. Variety,
particularly variety of uses is therefore a second key quality.

Legibility
In practice, the degree of choice is offered by a place depends partly on how legible it
is; how easily people can understand its layout. This is considered in the third stage
of design.

Robustness
Places that can be used for many different purposes offer their users more choice
than places whose design limits them to a single fixed use. Environments that offer
this choice have a quality we call robustness.
 RESPONSIVE ENVIRONMENTS BY IAN
BENTLY
Visual Appropriateness Richness Personalization

Focuses on details. Visual The variety of sense Allows people to achieve

appropriateness is experiences that users can an environment that
important because it enjoy. Designing for all bears the stamp of their
strongly affects the sensory choices. own tastes and values
interpretations people makes a person’s pattern
put in places. of activities more clear
Public Space Public Life
Created by Jan Gehl

Observation and analysis of public life within a

public space

Establishing metrics to measure effectivity of

spaces
Public Space Public Life
Public Space Public Life
Public Space Public Life
Public Space Public Life
Public Space Public Life
Public Space Public Life
Public Space Public Life
Public Space Public Life
Public Space Public Life
 Measuring Public Life
1. Individual Data
Public Space Public Life
 Measuring Public Life
1. Observational Analysis
Public Space Public Life
 Measuring Public Life
1. Furnishings, Landscape and Program
Public Space Public Life
 Measuring Public Life
2. Quality Criteria
Public Space Public Life
Measuring Public Life
Measuring Public Life
 Measuring Public Life
2. Building Façade and Activation
Public Space Public Life
 Measuring Public Life
3. Building Façade and Activation
Public Space Public Life
 Measuring Public Life
3. Urban Connectivity
Public Space Public Life
Francis Tibbalds
• Francis Tibbalds was an architect and town
planner with over thirty years of experience in
both the private and public sectors until his death
in January 1992
• He was founding chairman of the Urban Design
Group (1979) and President of the Royal Town
Planning Institute (1988)’
• Established Tibbalds Planning and Urban Design
Ltd.
• Wrote the book “Making People-Friendly Towns”
which explores the way our towns and cities,
particularly their central areas, look and feel to all
their users and discusses their design,
maintenance and management.
Urban Design Framework
Founded by Francis Tibbalds (1989)

Response to the decline of the

public realm in Great Britain

Francis Tibbald suggests that

places as a “whole” matter much
more than the individual
components that make up the urban
environment such as buildings,
roads and parks.
Urban Design Framework Urban Design Framework
1. Places before buildings
2. Context
3. Mixed use
4. Human scale
5. Pedestrian freedom
6. Access for all
7. Build legible environments
8. Build to last and adapt
9. Avoid change in a big scale at the same
time
10. Promote intricacy, joy and visual delight in
the built environment
REFERENCES
Responsive Environments (Bentley et al, 1987)

Arch 231 Lecture (Evangelista, 2015)

Public Places, Urban Spaces (Carmona et al, 2003)

Public Space Public Life Toolkit (Gehl, 2016) Public Life

Diversity Toolkit (Gehl, 2016)