THEORY, RULES & PROCESS IN

URBAN DESIGN
THEORY IN URBAN DESIGN
 I. CONCEPT OF SPACE
 OXFORD ENGLISH DICTIONARY:
 TWO MEANINGS OF SPACE:
 TIME OR DURATION
 AREA OR EXTENSION (MORE COMMON DEFINITION)
 TWO MAIN CATEGORIES OF SPACE EXIST:
 MENTAL SPACE (EXPERIENTIAL)
 PHYSICAL SPACE (EXISTENTIAL)
 II. THE CONCEPT OF AESTHETICS
  AESTHETICS IN URBAN DESIGN REFERS TO THE CREATIVE ARRANGEMENT OF THE
ELEMENTS OF A TOWN IN A BEAUTIFUL AND FUNCTIONAL MANNER.
SITE-CITY-OBSERVER RELATIONSHIPS
  EXTRACTED FORM: HARMONY BETWEEN BUILDINGS AND NATURE
  VISTAS AND SITE SUPREMACY: VIEW OF LANDSCAPE FROM THE
  EXPRESSION: SPACE MARKERS /SYMBOLGY/ ORNAMENTATION/DETAIL
ENTRANCE/APPROACH: PROFOUND IMPACT OF CITIES ON THE VISITOR WHO
TRAVERSES LONG, CROWDED STREETS/WATER.
  COLOUR AND LIGHT: CHOICE OF COLOUR TO REFLECT AESTHETIC
SENSIBILITY; QUALITY OF NATURAL LIGHT AN IMPORTANT VISUAL FACTOR.
  WATER: PROXIMITY TO WATER AND POSSIBLE INTERPLAY A NATURAL ASSET;
WATER EDGES, HARBOURS, SHORELINES, ISLANDS, CANALS E.T.C
  GEOMETRY: FORM AND RELATIONSHIPS OF ANGLES, LINES, CURVES HUMAN
SCALE: HOW EACH INHABITANT WOULD USE SPACE AND HOW THEY WOULD
FEEL IN IT.
Aspects of Urban Form

 IMAGEABILITY: PHYSICAL IMAGE V/S FUNCTIONAL IMAGE

 FORM-FUNCTION RELATIONSHIP
 MAIN VARIATIONS OF URBAN FORM AND STRUCTURE: LINEAR, RADIAL, GRID,
CLUSTER E.T.C
 OBJECTIVES OF URBAN FORM (INCLUDES GROWTH; MEANING AND IDENTITY
E.T.C)
 GROWTH AND DECLINE
 EXISTING THEORIES AND
PRACTICE

 NORMATIVE THEORY
 FUNCTIONAL THEORY
 CENTRAL PLACE THEORY
 PUBLIC CHOICE THEORY
A. NORMATIVE THEORY

 ATTEMPT TO SPECIFY "GOODNESS”

 WHAT IS GOOD CITY FORM?
 DISCUSS IN DETAIL THE ASPECTS THAT CREATE GOOD CITIES
 PRESCRIPTIVE
 WHAT CITIES OUGHT TO BE!
TYPES OF NORMATIVE THEORY:

THE COSMIC MODEL

 IT ASSERTIONS THAT THE FORM OF A PERMANENT SETTLEMENT SHOULD BE A
MAGICAL MODEL OF THE UNIVERSE AND ITS GODS.
 SUCH A CRYSTALLINE CITY HAS ALL OF ITS PARTS FUSED INTO A PERFECTLY
ORDERED WHOLE AND CHANGE IS ALLOWED TO HAPPEN ONLY IN A
RHYTHMICALLY CONTROLLED MANNER
 SPECIFIC PHENOMENA INCLUDED: SUCH AS RETURNING, NATURAL ITEMS,
CELESTIAL MEASUREMENT, FIXING LOCATION, CENTEREDNESS, BOUNDARY
DEFINITION, EARTH IMAGES, LAND GEOMETRY, DIRECTIONALITY, PLACE
CONSCIOUSNESS, AND NUMEROLOGY
 THE MACHINE MODEL
 THE ANALOGY BETWEEN CITY AND MACHINE HAS A LONG
 HISTORY (REF. EGYPTIAN AND CLASSICAL “PER STRIGAS”, RON HERON’S INSECT
CITY; ARCHIGRAM MOVEMENT; PLUG-IN CONCEPT)
 IT OCCURS OFTEN WHEN THERE IS NO LONG-TERM GOAL IN MIND BUT THE
SETTLEMENT HAS TO BE CREATED HURRIEDLY AND ITS FUTURE GROWTH WILL
BE DETERMINED BY STILL UNFORESEEN FORCES
 ITS FORM REQUIRES A FEW SIMPLE RULES OF URBANIZATION AND THE
OUTCOME IS FACTUAL, FUNCTIONAL AND DEVOID OF THE MYSTERY OF THE
UNIVERSE.
 AMONG ITS ATTRIBUTES ARE CONVENIENCE, SPEED, FLEXIBILITY, LEGIBILITY,
EQUALITY, AND SPECULATION.
 THE ORGANIC MODEL
 THE ANALOGY BETWEEN CITY AND LIVING ORGANISM IS FAIRLY RECENT ARISING
WITH THE GROWTH OF BIOLOGY IN THE 18TH AND 19TH CENTURIES ( REF.
METABOLISTS )
 MODEL IS CRITICAL OF OTHERS, ESPECIALLY THE MACHINE MODEL WITH ITS
"SIMPLE GRIDS" AS “STATIC”
 IT ASSERTS THAT AN ORGANISM:
 IS AN AUTONOMOUS BEING, WITH A DEFINITE BOUNDARY AND IS OF A SPECIFIC
SIZE.
 DOES NOT CHANGE MERELY BY ADDING PARTS BUT THROUGH REORGANIZATION
AS IT REACHES LIMITS OR THRESHOLDS.
 CONTAINS DIFFERENTIATED PARTS BUT FORM AND FUNCTION ARE ALWAYS LINKED.
 IS HOMEOSTATIC, SELF-REPAIRING AND REGULATING TOWARD A DYNAMIC
BALANCE.
 UNDERGOES CYCLES OF LIFE AND DEATH AS IS RHYTHMIC PASSAGE FROM ONE
STATE TO ANOTHER.
 THE CONTEXTUAL MODEL
 THIS RELATES NEW DEVELOPMENT TO AN ANALYSIS OF EXISTING URBAN
STRUCTURE.
 A PROMINENT CONCEPT OF THIS CANON IS THAT OF “SERIAL VISION”
 THE SEQUENTIAL AND UNFOLDING NATURE OF URBAN EXPERIENCE
 ( FOREGROUND/MIDDLE GROUND/BACKGROUND )
 CONTEXT IS SOMETHING THAT HAS NO CLEAR OR COMMON SPATIAL DEFINITION;
THUS THE IMPACT OF CONTEXTUALISM WILL VARY WITH GEOGRAPHICAL
LOCATION AND CULTURAL INFLUENCE.
 THE MAINSTREAM URBAN DESIGN HAS BEEN STRONGLY INFLUENCED BY
CONTEXTUALISM IN TERMS OF A NEW RESPECT FOR THE OVERALL FORM OF THE
TRADITIONAL URBAN STREET AND BLOCK AND A CONCERN FOR PUBLIC REALM
 THE PRAGMATIC MODEL
 THIS IS WHEREBY URBAN DESIGN IS DEFINED ACCORDING TO THE NEEDS OF THE
EPOCH….. WHERE THE TOOLS AND CONCEPTS ARE USED SELECTIVELY AND
EXCLUSIVELY IN REGARD TO THE LOCALITY.
 THE DANGER WITH THIS MODEL LIES IN:
 LIKELY LOSS OF UNDERSTANDING OF THE LARGER PROCESSES AFFECTING
URBAN FORM
 POSSIBLE INABILITY OF MAKING INFORMED DECISIONS AT URBAN SCALES
 FAILURE TO EMBRACE ENVIRONMENTAL DISCIPLINES THAT ARE CURRENTLY
EXCLUDED AND ISOLATED FROM MAINSTREAM URBAN DESIGN.
 THE CONSTRUCTIVIST MODEL
 THIS EXPLORES TECHNIQUES OF FORM TO CREATE URBAN INTERVENTIONS
THAT EXPRESS THE SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL COMPLEXITY OF A GIVEN AGE.
 “DECONSTRUCTIONISTS” ARE CONSTRUCTIVISTS WHO USE UNCONVENTIONAL
TECHNIQUES OF FORM TO EXPRESS THE ESSENTIAL FRAGMENTATION IN CITY
ENVIRONMENTS.
 REF.
 PETER EISENMAN APPLIES AN APPROACH THAT IS MORE MATHEMATICAL AND
RATIONAL IN NATURE, WHICH TENDS TO REJECT ANY HINT OF HISTORICAL
CONTEXTUALISM.
 REM KOOLHAAS MAKES FREE USE OF THE TYPOLOGIES OF MODERNISM,
RECOMBINING THEM IN NEW AND IRONIC WAYS
 BERNARD TSCHUMI, EXPLOITS THE RANDOM COLLISIONS THAT RESULTS FROM
THE LAYERING OF UNRELATED ACTIVITY FRAMEWORKS.
 FRANK GHERY AND ZAHA HADID USE UNCONVENTIONAL TECHNIQUES OF
FORM TO EXPRESS ORDER AMONG CHAOS OF MODERN CITIES
 FUNCTIONALIST MODEL
 This was dedicated to exploring new interwoven urban structures that would
allow opportunities for social encounter/contact and exchange whose end
result is a humanising influence.
 The interpretation of this philosophy, however, varied widely in practice:
low-, medium-, and high- density; vehicular and pedestrian segregation e.t.c
 RATIONALIST MODEL
 THIS OFFERED A MORPHOLOGICAL/STRUCTURAL APPROACH TO URBAN DESIGN
THAT RELATED NEW URBAN DEVELOPMENT TO THE HISTORICAL STRUCTURE OF
THE CITY AND TYPOLOGIES OF URBAN SPACE.
 THE FIGURE-GROUND DRAWING WAS WIDELY USED AS A DESIGN TOOL.
 AS “CRITICAL RECONSTRUCTION”, THIS METHOD WAS USED TO MAINTAIN AND
RESTORE THE TRADITIONAL 19TH CENTURY STREET PATTERN AND FORM OF THE
URBAN BLOCK, STREET AND SQUARE, WITHOUT CONSTRAINING THE
CONTEMPORARY ARCHITECTURAL EXPRESSION OF NEW BUILDING ADDITIONS.
 THIS WAS NOT A PLEA FOR UNTHINKING PRESERVATION OR FOR REGARDING
THE CITY AS A MUSEUM; RATHER, THE AIM WAS TO EXPLORE THE DEEP
STRUCTURE INHERENT IN BUILDING TYPES AND HOW BUILT FORMS
ACCOMMODATE CHANGING, LIVING USES OVER .
B. FUNCTIONAL THEORY
 ATTEMPT TO EXPLAIN HOW CITIES PERFORM BY CONCENTRATING ON CITY FORM
PROCESSES, SPATIAL AND SOCIAL STRUCTURE, AND FORM MODEL  DESCRIPTIVE
 WHAT CITIES ARE!

 THESE ARE FOUNDED ON THE FOLLOWING CHARACTERISTICS:

 URBAN HISTORY: THE CITY IS REGARDED AS A UNIQUE HISTORIC PROCESS... EXPLAINING
CITIES AS DERIVATIVE OF THEIR OWN CULTURE ( REF SJOBERG, RAPOPORT ).
 URBAN ECOLOGY: CITY IS REGARDED AS AN ECOLOGY OF PEOPLE, EACH SOCIAL GROUP
OCCUPYING SPACE ACCORDING TO ECONOMIC POSITION AND CLASS. (REF. BURGESS
[CONCENTRIC MODEL], WEBER, SIMMEL AND SPENGLER)
 CITY ECONOMY: REGARDS THE CITY AS AN ECONOMIC ENGINE IN WHICH SPACE, UNLIKE IN
THE PREVIOUS CATEGORY, IS BOTH A RESOURCE AND AN ADDITIONAL COST IMPOSED ON
THE ECONOMY FOR PRODUCTION OR CONSUMPTION….LOCATION OF CITIES AN
 OPTIMIZATION OF RAW MATERIALS, LABOUR AND MARKET LOCATIONS
 ( REF. ISARD,VON THUNEN,CHRISTALLER )
 URBAN COMMUNICATION: REGARDS THE CITY AS A FIELD OF FORCES, A
COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK OF PARTICLES WHICH ATTRACT AND REPEL EACH
OTHER MUCH AS THEY DO IN PHYSICS.
 SUB-SETS OF THESE IDEAS INCLUDE POPULATION POTENTIAL MAPS, GRAVITY
MODELS, COMMUNICATIONS FLOWS, AND VARIOUS TOPOLOGICAL MODELS.
 URBAN POLITICS/GOVERNANCE: UNDERSTANDING THE CITY AS A SYSTEM OF
LINKED DECISIONS...AFFLUENCE, IMMINENT DOMAIN, CITIZEN PARTICIPATION IN
A DEMOCRATIC CITY; THE GAME THEORY, IN WHICH PEOPLE INTERACT
TOGETHER ACCORDING TO FIXED RULES AND PRODUCE AGREED-UPON
OUTCOMES
 URBAN CHAOS: REJECTS PREVIOUS THEORIES OF COMPETITION AND POSITS
THE CITY AS AN ARENA OF CONFLICT, IN WHICH THE CITY'S FORM IS THE
RESIDUE AND SIGN OF STRUGGLE, AND ALSO SOMETHING WHICH IS SHAPED AND
USED TO WAGE IT. (CASTELLS, HARVEY.
 LEFEBVRE, GORDON)
C. CENTRAL PLACE THEORY
 AN ELEMENT OF LOCATION THEORY CONCERNING THE SIZE AND
DISTRIBUTION OF CENTRAL PLACES(SETTLEMENTS) WITHIN A SYSTEM.
 CENTRAL PLACE THEORY ILLUSTRATE HOW SETTLEMENTS LOCATE IN RELATION
TO ONE ANOTHER, THE AMOUNT OF MARKET AREA A CENTRAL PLACE CAN
CONTROL, AND WHY SOME CENTRAL PLACES FUNCTION AS HEMLETS,
VILLAGES,TOWN, OR CITIES
 IT IS A SPATIAL THEORY IN URBAN GEOGRAPHY THAT ATTEMPTS TO EXPLAIN THE
REASON BEHIND THE DISTRIBUTION PATTERN,SIZE AND NUMBER OF CITTIES
AND TOWNS AROUND THE WORLD
 THE THEORY WAS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN A BOOK ENTITLED THE CENTRAL
PLACES IN SOUTHERN GERMANY (1933) BY A GERMAN GEOGRAPHER WALTER
CHRISTALLER WHO STUDIED THE SETTLEMENT PATTERNS IN SOUTHERN
GERMANY.
 WALTER CHRISTALLER ATTEMPTED TO DESIGN A MODEL THAT WOULD SHOW
HOW AND WHERE CENTRAL PLACES IN THE URBAN HIERARCHY WOULD BE
FUNCTIONALLY AND SPATIALLY DISTRIBUTED.
 IN THE FLAT LANDSCAPE OF SOUTHERN GERMANY CHRISTALLER NOTICED THAT
TOWNS OF A CERTAIN SIZE WERE ROUGHLY EQUIDISTANT. BY EXAMINING AND
DEFINING THE FUNCTIONS OF THE SETTLEMENT STRUCTURE AND THE SIZE OF
THE HINTERLAND HE FOUND IT POSSIBLE TO MODEL THE PATTERN OF
SETTLEMENT LOCATIONS USING GEOMETRIC SHAPES.
 THE PRIMARY PURPOSE OF THE SETTLEMENT OF MARKET TOWN, ACCORDING
TO CENTRAL-PLACE THEORY, IS THE PROVISION OF GOODS AND SERVICES FOR
THE SURROUNDING MARKET AREA. SUCH TOWNS ARE CENTRALLY LOCATED
AND MAY BE CALLED CENTRAL PLACES.
 HIGHER-ORDER CENTRAL PLACES- SETTLEMENTS THAT PROVIDE MORE GOODS
AND SERVICES THAN DO OTHER PLACES
 LOWER-ORDER CENTRAL PLACES- HAVE SMALL MARKET AREAS AND PROVIDE
GOODS AND SERVICES THAT ARE PURCHASED MORE FREQUENTLY THAN HIGHER
- ORDER GOODS AND SERVICES.
 HIGHER-ORDER PLACES -ARE MORE WIDELY DISTRIBUTED AND FEWER IN
NUMBER THAN LOWER-ORDER PLACES.
 DISTINCT RULES
 THE LARGER THE SETTLEMENT, THE LESS NUMBER OF
SETTLEMENTS AND FATHER APART THEY ARE.
 THE LESS THERE ARE OF A SETTLEMENT, THE LARGER THE
HINTERLAND, OR SPHERE OF INFLUENCE, OF ITS GOODS AND
SERVICES.
 PLACES OF THE SAME SIZE WILL BE SPACED THE SAME DISTANCE
APART.
 EVALUATION OF CENTRAL PLACE THEORY
 THE PATTERN OF CITIES PREDICTED BY CENTRAL PLACE THEORY
MAY NOT HOLD BECAUSE OF THE FAILURE TO MEET INITIAL
ASSUMPTIONS
 1. PRODUCTION COSTS MAY VARY NOT ONLY BECAUSE OF
ECONOMIES OF SCALE BUT ALSOBY NATURAL RESOURCE
ENDOWMENTS. 2.TRANSPORTATION COST ARE NOT EQUAL
IN ALL DIRECTIONS.
 RURAL MARKETS ( INITIALLY HOUSE HOLDS ) ARE NOT
EVENLY DISTRIBUTED.
 NON ECONOMIC FACTORS ( CULTURE, POLITICS,
LEADERSHIP) MAY BE IMPORTANT BUT NOT EVENLY
DISTRIBUTED.
 COMPETITIVE PRACTICES MAY LEAD TO FREIGHT
ABSORPTION AND PHAMTOM FREIGHT. (OTHER FORMS OF
IMPERFECT COMPETITION).
ADVANTAGE
 THE THEORY DOES A REASONABLY GOOD JOB OF DESCRIBING THE SPATIAL
PATTERN OF URBANIZATION. NO OTHER ECONOMIC THEORY EXPLAINS WHY
THERE IS A HIERARCHY OF URBAN CENTERS.
 CENTRAL PLACE THEORY DOES A GOOD JOB OF DESCRIBING THE LOCATION OF
TRADE AND SERVICE ACTIVITY.
 IT ALSO DOES A GOOD JOB OF DESCRIBING CONSUMER MARKET ORIENTED
MANUFACTURING.
 SMALL TOWN COMMUNITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPERS CAN SECURE QUITE
SPECIFIC, RELEVANT INFORMATION ABOUT WHAT KIND OF TRADE OR SERVICE
ENTERPRISE WILL LIKELY WORK AND WHAT KIND OF WILL NOT LIKELY WORK IN
GIVEN SMALL COMMUNITY.
LIMITATIONS:
 LARGE AREAS OF FLAT LAND RARELY EXIST- TRANSPORT IS UNEVEN.
 THERE ARE MANY FORMS OF TRANSPORTATION - COST CANNOT BE
PROPORTIONAL TO DISTANCE.
 PEOPLE AND WEALTH ARE NOT EVENLY DISTRIBUTED.
 PEOPLE DO NOT ALWAYS TO THE NEAREST PLACE.
 PURCHASING POWER OF PEOPLE DIFFERS.
 PERFECT COMPETITION IS UNREAL-SOME MAKE MORE MONEY THAN OTHERS.
 SHOPPING HABITS HAVE CHANGED
 THEORY SEES THE CENTRAL AS HAVING A PARTICULAR FUNCTION- IN REALITY,
PLACES HAVE SEVERAL WHICH CHANGES OVERTIME.
URBAN DESIGN PROCESS
INTRODUCTION

URBAN DESIGN IS PREOCCUPIED WITH PHYSICAL FORM AND FUNCTIONAL

QUALITY OF THE CITY.
 IN TERMS OF APPROACH, IT CAN BE VIEWED AS PURE TECHNIQUE AND/OR CITY
BUILDING PROCESS AMONG VARIOUS ACTORS
 THE NATURE OF OBJECTIVES WILL DEPEND ON THE CONTEXT AND SCALE/LEVEL
OF CONCERN
 THUS, AT ONE EXTREME AN URBAN DESIGN PLAN MAY BE SPECIFIC INCLUDING
CONSTRUCTION AND FINANCING DETAILS (PROJECT LEVEL); ON THE OTHER
EXTREME, URBAN DESIGN MAY BE GENERIC; SIMPLY ENTAIL A SET OF
GUIDELINES OR RULES, USED TO FORMULATE A POLICY THAT AFFECTS THE
DECISIONS OF OTHERS
URBAN DESIGN AS TECHNIQUE

I. FORMAL /LINEAR PROCESS

 -THIS IS A LOGICAL PROCESS, THROUGH SPATIAL AND FORMAL MEANS, THAT
ENTAILS THE FOLLOWING MAIN STAGES:
-PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION
-GOAL AND OBJECTIVE-SETTING
-SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS
-SYNTHESIS
-EVALUATION
-IMPLEMENTATION
REFERENCES:

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URBAN-DESIGN-1pptx/