Urban form breeds neighborhood vibrancy: A case study using a GPS-based activity survey in suburban Beijing

Despite widespread recognition of the dual problems of sprawl and conventional zoning, the specific nature of the relationship between sprawl and zoning is not well specified. In part this is because aggregate and economic analyses of sprawl and zoning miss the larger point that zoning has a significant detrimental impact on urban pattern and form at the local scale. In addition, little systematic research has been done on the contrast between conventional zoning and coding reform efforts such as form-based codes. This paper uses a localized analysis of the relationship between zoning and sprawl to answer two main questions: how does zoning contribute to sprawl, and how do form-based codes attempt to mitigate it? The paper also includes a descriptive analysis of the current status of form-based code efforts in the US.

Zoning For and Against Sprawl: The Case for Form-Based Codes

Exploring the relationship between landscape characteristics and urban vibrancy: A case study using morphology and review data

Qatar is making large investments for the development of the urban fabric and public transport systems of Doha (i.e. the Msheireb downtown Doha, the Doha metro, and the Lusail light rail transit). It has also already been publicly announced that the population has undergone markedly faster growth over the past few years. According to data from the Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics (MDPS), the population grew over 5% each year, between 2008 and 2013 and then 12.5% between December 2012 and November 2013 (2.05 m). This large increase in the population growth is the result of expatriate workers arriving to Qatar for the construction of new infrastructure and buildings underway in advance of the 2022 World Cup. A massive influx of foreign labor, namely another half-million blue-collar workers, technicians, and managers, is expected to be recruited. Also, due to the fast growth of the population, real estate agencies highlighted the need to build more affordable housing in Doha. This paper argues that, for the construction of residential complexes in the Islamic city of Doha, livability and integration of new developments within the existing urban fabric are criteria to be evaluated and considered. A method centered on the interpretation of the pre-existent context is proposed: the old urban fabric is a source of generative ideas and design principles, which are embedded into the historical layering of design concepts.

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Affordable housing for middle income expats in Qatar: Strategies for implementing livability and built form

The relationship between urban morphology and walkability is central to urban design theory and practice. In this paper, we develop new measures for pedestrian permeability and catchment areas, suggesting that their joint use can progress our understanding of the ways urban morphology mediates walkability. Existing measures of permeability do not account for heterogeneous morphologies. Likewise, measures of pedestrian catchment do not account for what it is that is caught. The proposed “area-weighted average perimeter” and “interface catchments” together integrate both street width and block size, measuring both walkable access and what one gets access to. What is at stake is not only correlations with health and transport, but also measures of walkable access that are geared to the social and economic productivity of the city.

Permeability and interface catchment: measuring and mapping walkable access

Leon Krier is one of the best-known - and most provocative - architects and urban theoreticians in the world. Until now, however, his ideas have circulated mostly among a professional audience of architects, city planners, and academics. In "The Architecture of Community", Krier has reconsidered and expanded writing from his 1998 book "Architecture: Choice or Fate". Here he refines and updates his thinking on the making of sustainable, humane, and attractive villages, towns, and cities. The book includes drawings, diagrams, and photographs of his built works, which have not been widely seen until now. With three new chapters, "The Architecture of Community" provides a contemporary road map for designing or completing today's fragmented communities. Illustrated throughout with Krier's original drawings, "The Architecture of Community" explains his theories on classical and vernacular urbanism and architecture, while providing practical design guidelines for creating livable towns. The book contains descriptions and images of the author's built and unbuilt projects, including the Krier House and Tower in Seaside, Florida, as well as the town of Poundbury in England. Commissioned by the Prince of Wales in 1988, Krier's design for "Poundbury in Dorset" has become a reference model for ecological planning and building that can meet contemporary needs.

The Architecture of Community

Windsor Forum on Design Education

The final word on the language of urban planning and design. The Language of Towns & Cities is a landmark publication that clarifies the language by which we talk about urban planning and design. Everyday words such as "avenue," "boulevard," "park," and "district," as well as less commonly used words and terms such as "sustainability," "carbon-neutral," or "Bilbao Effect" are used with a great variety of meanings, causing confusion among citizens, city officials, and other decision-makers when trying to design viable neighborhoods, towns, and cities. This magnificent volume is the fruit of more than a decade of research and writing in an effort to ameliorate this situation. Abundantly illustrated with over 2,500 photographs, drawings, and charts, The Language of Towns & Cities is both a richly detailed glossary of more than seven hundred words and terms commonly used in architecture and urban planning, and a compendium of great visual interest. From "A" and "B" streets to Zero Lot and Zeitgeist, the book is at once comprehensive and accessible. An essential work for architects, urban planners, students of design, and all those interested in the future of towns and cities, this is destined to become a classic in its field.

Dhiru A Thadani

Papers

The Architecture of Community

Windsor Forum on Design Education

The Language of Towns & Cities: A Visual Dictionary