Urban space

• Urban spaces are self-contained islands,

unrelated to neighboring spaces, or may be
interconnected and best appreciated by
moving from one another
 Concept of Urban Space
• All types of space
between buildings in
towns and other
localities as urban space
• This space is bounded by
variety of elevations
• External space as urban
space
• The two basic elements
are square and streets
The square and Street
• The square was the first way
man discovered of using
urban space. Grouping
houses around an open
space. Eg- Agora, Forum,
Cloister, mosque courtyard
• The street is a product of
the spread of settlement,
once houses have been built
on all available space around
the central square.
 Typology of urban space
• According to geometric
pattern of their ground plan
– square, circle or triangle.
• Scale of an urban space is
also elated to its geometric
qualities.
Quality of enclosure
• The fundamental requirement of urban space is actual
physical enclosure.
• Urban spaces up to 80 feet induce an intimate feeling.
Distinguish an human face.
• Grand urban spaces cannot exceed 450 feet.
• Plaza enclosure on all side and streets on both sides.
Urban Massing
• The second basic design
element
• The ground surface,
buildings and objects in
space
• We can arrange them to
form urban space and to
shape urban activity
patterns, on both large and
small scales.
Urban spatial structure
• Urban spatial structure or urban structure is the
arrangement of urban public space. The way that
urban public space is arranged affects many
aspects of how cities function and has
implications for accessibility,
environmental sustainability, safety, social
equity, social capital, cultural creativity and
economics.
• Urban structure concerns the arrangement of
public and private space in cities and the degree
of connectivity and accessibility.
Theories of Urban Spatial Structure
Theories of Urban Spatial Structure-
Roger Trancik
1.Figure ground theory
2.Linkage theory
3.Place theory
Theories of Urban Spatial Structure
Figure ground theory
• The city is system of solids and voids
• The building coverage is denser than
the exterior space, thereby giving
shape to public openings
• Understand the Urban form from the
analyses of relationships between
building mass and open space
Theories of Urban Spatial Structure
Linkage theory
• Involves the organization of line that
connect the parts of the city and the
design of spatial datum from these
circulation become generator of form.
Place theory
• Represents the third category of urban
design theories.
• the essence of place theory in spatial
design in understanding the cultural
and human characteristics of physical
space
• Space is bounded or purposeful void
with the potential of physical linking
things
 Space syntax
• The term space
syntax encompasses a set of
theories and techniques for
the analysis of spatial
configurations. It was
conceived by Bill
Hillier, Julienne Hanson and
colleagues at The
Bartlett, University College
London in the late 1970s to
early 1980s as a tool to help
architects simulate the likely
social effects of their designs.
 Space syntax
• The general idea is that spaces can be broken down into
components, analyzed as networks of choices, then
represented as maps and graphs that describe the relative
connectivity and integration of those spaces.
•  It rests on three basic conceptions of space:
an isovist, axial space, convex space
• The three most popular of analysing a street network
are Integration, Choice and Depth Distance.
 Space syntax
• From these components it is thought to be possible to
quantify and describe how easily navigable any space is,
useful for the design of museums, airports, hospitals, and
other settings where way finding is a significant issue. Space
syntax has also been applied to predict the correlation
between spatial layouts and social effects such as crime,
traffic flow, and sales per unit area.