Showing papers in "Journal of Urban Design in 2013"
102 citations
Abstract: This paper proposes a conceptual theory of resilience in urbanism and demonstrates its application through a case study. The theory's underpinnings are the attributes of resilience that have been developed in ecological sciences, but have clear parallels in urbanism. They suggest that it may be possible to enhance the resilience of a city through the design of its urban morphology. The paper explores these ideas by examining the relationship between the community's adaptive behaviour and the spaces of the city of Concepcion after its 2010 earthquake. This empirical evidence suggests that the role of the urban designer in earthquake-prone cities is perhaps more critical before an earthquake happens and that the more the idea of a resilient urban morphology is embedded as part of daily life, the more effective it is likely to be in the aftermath of a major earthquake.
100 citations
TL;DR: Dun Dunham-Jones and June Williamson as discussed by the authors describe a century of intensive suburban development, followed by waves of critical think-tanks, and conclude that after more than a century, suburban development has been followed by a wave of critical thinking.
Abstract: Ellen Dunham-Jones & June Williamson, Hoboken, NJ, John Wiley & Sons, 2009, 272 pp., ISBN 0470041234 After more than a century of intensive suburban development, followed by waves of critical think...
92 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a localized analysis of the relationship between zoning and sprawl is presented to answer two main questions: how does zoning contribute to sprawl, and how do form-based codes attempt to mitigate it?
Abstract: 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.
89 citations
TL;DR: The concept of sustainability has been at the forefront of urban design discourse for a very long time: and not with... Timothy Beatley, Washington DC, Island Press, 2009, 200pp, ISBN 978-1-597-265621
Abstract: Timothy Beatley, Washington DC, Island Press, 2009, 200pp, ISBN 978-1-597-265621 The concept of sustainability has been at the forefront of urban design discourse for a very long time: and not with...
64 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a conceptual framework for the understanding and analysis of temporality in urban spaces is proposed, with a focus on place-rhythms and the triad of place-temporal performance, place-tonality, and sense of time.
Abstract: Places are temporal milieus, and the tempo of a place is inherently rhythmical. In an urban place, the patterns of people's movements, encounters, and rest, recurrently negotiating with natural cycles and architectural patterns, merge into expressive bundles of rhythms which give a place its temporal distinctiveness. This paper investigates the aesthetics of place-temporality, focusing on its expression and representation; it explores its principal attributes, experience, and significance. And, building on an analogy with musical aesthetics, the paper brings forward a conceptual framework for the understanding and analysis of temporality in urban space, with a focus on place-rhythms and the triad of place-temporal performance, place-tonality, and sense of time. These are the principal aesthetic processes through which place-temporality expresses and represents itself in urban space.
64 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a comparative analysis of British and Dutch urban spaces, based on a threefold critique of the existing literature on the privatization of public space, is presented, which is governed by a new model of pseudo-public space that consists of four dimensions of "publicness": ownership, management, accessibility and inclusiveness.
Abstract: The increasing involvement of the private sector in the design and management of urban public space has prompted some critical scholars to predict the ‘end of public space’. This study reassesses the implications of private sector involvement through a comparative analysis of British and Dutch urban spaces, based on a threefold critique of the existing literature on the privatization of public space. The analysis is governed by a new model of pseudo-public space that consists of four dimensions of ‘publicness’: ownership, management, accessibility and inclusiveness (OMAI). The findings suggest that, while there are significant differences between the British and the Dutch cases, neither context supports the notion of a possible ‘end of public space’ in any literal sense.
54 citations
TL;DR: Despite being very positive towards the scheme, pedestrians and vulnerable road users had a number of issues and concerns with the design and usability of Widemarsh Street, in particular with nuances of design including the kerbs and vehicular access to the street.
Abstract: The concept of shared space is increasingly being incorporated into urban areas in the UK, promoting a major change in the way streets are designed. Shared space is a design feature that aims to encourage pedestrians, cyclists and drivers to share the same deregulated space. However, there is a lack of evidence underpinning shared space, in terms of attitudes and usability, particularly for vulnerable road users including blind and partially sighted, elderly and wheelchair users. This research used street accessibility audits and focus groups with vulnerable pedestrians and 100 completed on-street questionnaires to investigate attitudes and behaviour towards a shared space scheme in Hereford, UK. The findings have shown that despite being very positive towards the scheme, particularly in terms of aesthetics, pedestrians and vulnerable road users had a number of issues and concerns with the design and usability of Widemarsh Street, in particular with nuances of design including the kerbs and vehicular acce...
48 citations
TL;DR: Patrick M. Condon, London, Island Press, 2010, 200 pp., ISBN 978-1-59726-650-5, paperback Global warming and climate change have become serious concerns for the generations on this planet as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: Patrick M. Condon, London, Island Press, 2010, 200 pp., ISBN 978-1-59726-650-5, paperback Global warming and climate change have become serious concerns for the generations on this planet. We are f...
46 citations
TL;DR: The authors analyzes contemporaneous professional and governmental literature in order to understand the context of land planning and development during the time that the neighbourhood unit became a leading idea, between 1912 and 1968, to improve standards in the construction of residential environments by shifting the scale of development to an area as a whole.
Abstract: Although one of the more well-known concepts in planning, both planning scholars and professional communities such as the New Urbanism have neglected the neighbourhood unit concept's historic influence in shaping suburban land planning norms. This paper analyzes contemporaneous professional and governmental literature in order to understand the context of land planning and development during the time that the neighbourhood unit became a leading idea. Between 1912 and 1968 the neighbourhood unit concept bridged planning, design, development and policy-making communities to improve standards in the construction of residential environments by shifting the scale of development to an area as a whole. In this time period the neighbourhood unit concept shaped land planning norms, facilitated execution of policies, framed new institutions, and became associated with the changes that it helped to bring about.
33 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors draw on the concept of affordances from environmental psychology as a way of framing the debate of what young people need in neighbourhood parks and find that while the park is the most important place for this age group to socialise outside the home, young people themselves often feel poorly provided for and unwelcome.
Abstract: This paper is drawn from a larger research project exploring young people, leisure activities and alcohol consumption. The study draws on the concept of affordances from environmental psychology as a way of framing the debate of what young people need in neighbourhood parks. Parks are important to this age group since they provide a setting for physical activity, relaxation and social interaction. However, human development at this life stage also includes indulging in experimental and/or deviant behaviour. In the eyes of the young people involved, however, their behaviour is mostly benign, even if/when it causes conflict with other users. Furthermore, they often take particular measures to avoid other age groups (defined in environmental psychology as ‘retreat’) and while often voluntary, it may also be enforced. The research suggests that while the park is the most important place for this age group to socialise outside the home, young people themselves often feel poorly provided for and unwelcome. The fact that they adopt what they find in parks to suit their needs is motivated by interconnecting aspirations, perceptions and needs. Developing a more sophisticated understanding of these issues may lead to more appropriate and satisfactory design for all users.
TL;DR: Ernie Jowsey, Basingstoke and New York, Palgrave Macmillan, 2011, 498 pp., ISBN 978-0-230-23320-1, paperback A good understanding of real estate economics is essential for any professional involved in real estate transactions.
Abstract: Ernie Jowsey, Basingstoke and New York, Palgrave Macmillan, 2011, 498 pp., ISBN 978-0-230-23320-1, paperback A good understanding of real estate economics is essential for any professional involved...
TL;DR: In this paper, an institutionalist understanding is introduced to the production of public spaces, whereby emphasis is placed on the analysis of structuring forces and actors as a way to apprehend the complexity of the social processes guiding and influencing the planning, design and management of public space.
Abstract: Within urban design there is increasing interest in the close relationship between social, economic and political processes and the production of public spaces. This relationship, however, often remains abstract and is rarely illustrated in empirical studies. This paper introduces an institutionalist understanding to the production of public spaces, whereby emphasis is placed on the analysis of structuring forces and actors as a way to apprehend the complexity of the social processes guiding and influencing the planning, design and management of public spaces. The institutionalist understanding is illustrated in the case study of an urban renewal project in Barcelona. The results of the case study show the contrasts and tensions between the structuring forces and the different actors operating in the project, how structuring forces favoured the interest and claims of some actors over those of others, and the potential risks and challenges that this has for the use and value of the public spaces produced b...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined characteristics that may influence people's use of undesignated open spaces along the stream corridors that form the skeleton of many green infrastructure systems and found that the proximity of stream corridors to local residents, the level of pedestrian access available and tree cover were the best predictor.
Abstract: ‘Green infrastructure’ is a term used to describe systems of parks, greenways, open spaces and other natural landscape elements that provide community benefits. Although we have some understanding of how people use parks and developed greenways, little has been documented about use of the undesignated public and private spaces along green infrastructure features such as stream corridors. The purpose of this research was to examine characteristics that may influence people's use of undesignated open spaces along the stream corridors that form the skeleton of many green infrastructure systems. Data were obtained from a Recreational Use Attainability Analysis (RUAA), an evaluation performed for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. The RUAA was conducted for 85 survey sites along 243 km (151 miles) of streams in Houston's Buffalo Bayou watershed. Results indicate that the proximity of stream corridors to local residents, the level of pedestrian access available and tree cover were the best predictor...
TL;DR: Kasprisin this article is an urban design practitioner who also teaches at the University of Washington and is a co-author of the book "Building Cities: Urban Design and Urban Architecture".
Abstract: Ron Kasprisin, Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group, 240 pp, £29.9 (pb), ISBN 978 0 41559147 8 Ron Kasprisin is an urban design practitioner who also teaches at the University of Washington. This bo...
TL;DR: In this article, the Model of Children's Active Travel (M-CAT) was applied to two field sites in Queensland, Australia, which were selected based on objective physical characteristics, determined as supportive and not supportive of children's active travel.
Abstract: Since Western lifestyles can foster obesity and other problems, attention is turning to active travel (AT) as a means of increasing physical activity for both adults and children. Children's routines regularly focus on trips to and from school which can admit walking and other AT. Yet promoting such an approach encounters a problem around the relative influence on AT of urban form and family decision making. To address it, this study applies the recently-constructed Model of Children's Active Travel (M-CAT). Via its formulations, two field sites in Queensland, Australia, were selected based on objective physical characteristics, determined as supportive and not supportive of children's AT. Parents of 206 children aged 9 to 12 years were surveyed. While 43% reported that their children used AT, a significant difference was observed among children dwelling in areas identified as having high as opposed to low support. Behind this clear result, objective attributes of the physical environment, parents' perceptions and evaluations of urban form and child and family characteristics link in intricate ways to determine children's level of engagement. The inquiry argues for an interdisciplinary approach involving urban designers, planners and health care professionals to address a complex physical and social interaction.
TL;DR: Melrose Arch as discussed by the authors is a self-contained urban enclave disconnected from the surrounding cityscape and accessible only by automobile, this affluent, mixed-used precinct has reinforced the trend toward up-market, stand-alone commercial retail environments for all those w...
Abstract: As city builders in post-apartheid Johannesburg have struggled to attach themselves to a new identity as an African ‘world-class’ city, they point with pride to what leading local architects and design specialists have glowingly hailed as a novel experiment with New Urbanism called Melrose Arch. With its stress on mixed-use facilities, its pedestrian-friendly streetscapes and its ‘small town’ atmosphere, Melrose Arch represents a real-life variant of a ‘utopia in miniature’, a signature place offering the type of authentic community lacking in the sprawling residential suburbs. Yet despite its outward appearance as an exemplar of New Urbanist principles, Melrose Arch actually falls far short of the philosophical ideals embodied in the Charter for New Urbanism. As a self-contained urban enclave disconnected from the surrounding cityscape and accessible only by automobile, this affluent, mixed-used precinct has reinforced the trend toward up-market, stand-alone commercial retail environments for all those w...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the relationship between urban form, socio-economic status, ethnicity, accessibility and pedestrian activity in the Lansing Capital Region, Michigan and found that the traditional relationship between higher densities, mixed land uses, higher connectivity, greater accessibility and walking activity is not as strong in declining inner cities.
Abstract: The paper examines the relationship between urban form, socio-economic status, ethnicity, accessibility and pedestrian activity in the Lansing Capital Region, Michigan. This research explores the burdens of urban environments through a study of accessibility and travel behaviour in an urban region characterized by rapid suburbanization and urban decline. Specifically, the study seeks to answer how socio-economic and ethnic status affect accessibility and travel behaviour in urban environments that have traditionally been viewed as promoting walking; built environments characterized by higher densities, mixed land uses and greater connectivity. The research shows that the traditional relationship between higher densities, mixed land uses, higher connectivity, greater accessibility and pedestrian activity is not as strong in declining inner cities.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors consider how designers and planners might reconcile the aspirations of the green-network as a model and an idea with the actual opportunities on the ground as typically found in post-industrial cities.
Abstract: Many post-industrial cities are infused with ready-made spaces for non-vehicular circulation in the form of webs of linear voids that often result from industrial era infrastructure. There have been many successful conversions of individual linear easements into greenways, although attempting to craft continuous green-networks from these residual spaces is often problematic. This paper considers how designers and planners might start to reconcile the aspirations of the green-network as a model and an idea with the actual opportunities on the ground as typically found in post-industrial cities. Central to the discussion is an extension of Robert Searns' greenway generational rubric, whereby the present generation of greenways is described as complete webs to rival the grey infrastructure of the incumbent city fabric. Within this framework, the paper elaborates on a number of themes: (1) how effective green-networks are at influencing urban form; (2) the green-network as a counterbalance to the city; (3) sp...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that design guidelines and development standards often employ dominant social and cultural norms about "good" and "appropriate" design, while marginalizing those of many middle and upper-middle-class Chinese immigrants.
Abstract: Globalization and immigration have changed American suburbs both socially and spatially. In Fremont, California, a suburb of Silicon Valley, neighbourhoods that were once primarily the domain of single-family tract homes and white, middle- and upper-middle-class residents have given way to high-income Asian immigrant families and custom-built "McMansions". While most scholars advocate strict regulation of these properties, this paper questions the seeming mechanistic neutrality of the design reviews, guidelines, and development standards used to regulate large-home development. In an analysis of Fremont's pro- and anti-McMansion debates and McMansion policies, this paper argues that design guidelines and development standards often employ dominant social and cultural norms about "good" and "appropriate" design. Planning and design professionals, public processes, and policies tended to privilege established, white residents' values and meanings for their homes and neighbourhoods, while marginalizing those of many middle- and upper-middle-class Chinese immigrants. The paper shows how dominant social and cultural norms regarding the proper use and design of suburban space are often reinforced through planning, design, and public policy, and shape the built environment as well as non-white residents' sense of place and belonging in it, even for those of means.
TL;DR: The authors examines the meaning and significance of place diversity and explores how its achievement may well depend on specific institutional relations between different actors in the real estate development process, while emphasizing the need to link development and design considerations in future policy and research agendas.
Abstract: This paper examines the meaning and significance of place diversity and explores how its achievement may well depend on specific institutional relations between different actors in the real estate development process. It calls for master developers to engage in the ‘smart parcelization’ of large development sites through design-sensitive subdivision, reflected in conditions attached to plot sales or leases. By looking at practical examples, it explores how this concept could refashion speculative housebuilding in the UK. The paper highlights the potential and limitations of ‘smart parcelization’, while emphasizing the need to link development and design considerations in future policy and research agendas.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that the design, layout and everyday use of social space, including public and private spaces, is of key importance in understanding the experiences and perspectives of social-mix policies among urban practitioners.
Abstract: Throughout recent decades, socially-mixed neighbourhoods have become a key element of urban policy and debate. This paper argues, with Amsterdam as an empirical case, that the design, layout and everyday use of social space—including public and private space—is of key importance in understanding the experiences and perspectives of social-mix policies amongst ‘urban practitioners’, such as planners, architects and management personnel. While the promotion of ‘liveability’, through the management of social problems, is often highlighted as a key element of social-mix policies, the findings presented indicate the degree to which the mixing of different groups according to ethnicity, race and social class presents a number of new challenges for liveability and management within both public and private space. Furthermore, it is argued that these challenges play a significant role in dictating the scale at which social mixing takes place, from the urban block to the street and at the neighbourhood level. It is ...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors look at three different Brazilian cities: Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and Belo Horizonte to understand the different models of favela upgrade, the opportunities and the challenges that each model entails.
Abstract: This paper looks at three different Brazilian cities: Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and Belo Horizonte to understand the different models of favela upgrade, the opportunities and the challenges that each model entails. The recent ‘left-turn’ on Latin American politics created several opportunities for architects to help improve the informal sector that comprises a significant portion of every major city in the continent. In Brazil, the Lula government invested billions in the infrastructure upgrade of the infamous favelas. This paper will argue that the two traditional contractual models, the construction bidding (by metrics and values) and the commission by ‘reputation’ (opaque political process of choice), are not sufficient. A third model based on popular participation was tested in the early 2000s but it was gradually marginalized as the country speeded up investment in preparation for the FIFA World Cup in 2014 and the Summer Olympics in 2016.
TL;DR: This article explored methods of gauging downtown sense of place by gathering downtown stories and conducting semi-structured interviews in the post-industrial city of Middletown Ohio, which a national magazine named as one of America's Fastest Dying Towns.
Abstract: Integrating place perceptions in context-sensitive development remains a challenge for planners and designers, particularly in de-industrialized cities desperate for downtown revitalization. Writings abound on sense of place and participatory planning, but often underestimate the challenges of linking them in practice. This study explores methods of gauging downtown sense of place by gathering ‘downtown stories’ and conducting semi-structured interviews in the post-industrial city of Middletown Ohio, which a national magazine named as one of ‘America's Fastest Dying Towns’. Through public forums it also begins articulating ‘downtown visions’—place perceptions and hopes for revitalization—in the language of planning and design. While the study suggests gauging such perceptions is essential for any meaningful framework for community participation, doing so is fraught with difficulties that urban designers must confront.
Journal Article•
TL;DR: Philippa Howden-Chapman, Keriata Stuart and Ralph Chapman as discussed by the authors, 2010, Steele Roberts Publishing, New York, USA; p. 6.1.
Abstract: Philippa Howden-Chapman, Keriata Stuart & Ralph Chapman (Eds) Wellington, Steele Roberts Publishing, 2010
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examine all 14 elevated and freeway-median light rail stations along the Green and Gold lines in Los Angeles and document the challenges of integrating them to the surrounding urban fabric, and suggest remedies based on a review of good urban design practices and interventions for different contexts that have been successful in improving station access.
Abstract: Good urban design is essential if transit stations are to successfully connect to the communities that surround them. Increasingly, transit agencies in the US are constructing light rail systems in and above freeway medians to reduce land acquisition costs, minimize traffic conflicts and increase train speeds. Elevated stations, however, are difficult to physically link to surrounding communities, resulting in lost opportunities for transit-oriented development (TOD). This study examines all 14 elevated and freeway-median light rail stations along the Green and Gold lines in Los Angeles and documents the challenges of integrating them to the surrounding urban fabric. It suggests remedies based on a review of good urban design practices and interventions for different contexts that have been successful in improving station access. The study tests some of these interventions using as case studies four elevated Green Line stations.
TL;DR: In this paper, a study in a low-income urban neighbourhood in Jakarta, Indonesia, illustrates how the waste disposal practice in everyday life could be understood in terms of how they are connected to the actors and to the space.
Abstract: This paper argues that the ideas of self, waste and space are interconnected and that they influence each other in a society's everyday life. It addresses the issues of belonging and identity to explain how the connection among self, waste and space could determine waste disposal practice. A study in a low-income urban neighbourhood in Jakarta, Indonesia, illustrates how the waste disposal practice in everyday life could be understood in terms of how they are connected to the actors and to the space. The connection among self, waste and space is illustrated through various waste disposal practices in spaces with various degrees of ownership. Waste disposal practices in shared spaces are particularly problematic since these practices occur in the spaces with unclear ownership and unclear boundaries. The findings suggest the need to take into account the understanding of ownership towards waste (‘whose waste?’) as a key aspect in comprehending waste disposal practice in the urban context.
TL;DR: The Apollo Pavilion, Peterlee as discussed by the authors is a large sculpture built to the designs of artist Victor Pasmore, and it was recently restored and in December 2011 it was granted Grade II* listing.
Abstract: The Apollo Pavilion, Peterlee, is a large sculpture built to the designs of artist Victor Pasmore. Always controversial, the pavilion has been under threat for much of its life. However, it is recently restored and in December 2011 it was granted Grade II* listing. This might be seen as a story of an artwork and monument rescued from ruin by an artistic and cultural elite similar to the one which created it, as part of a wider “authorized heritage discourse” that has sought to revalorize avant-garde modernist structures despite public hostility. However, the paper argues that the pavilion also needs to be understood in other ways. First, the impetus for creating a positive future for the pavilion has been generated locally. Second, there is a need to understand it in the wider context of the landscape in which it sits; as the visual culmination of an ambitious collaboration between artist and architect. Third, the pavilion should be seen as a monument embodying progressive values, as part of the post-war ...
TL;DR: In this paper, a morphological investigation of three "twice-cleared" urban sites in three American cities (Boston, Chicago, and New Orleans) was conducted to measure the changes occurring in eight morphological variables.
Abstract: In the United States, urban form and design changed tremendously during the twentieth century. From the early twentieth century, a time when small-scale, highly diverse city blocks or what Douglas Rae called “urbanism” predominated, urban redevelopment came to be dominated by large-scale modernist superblocks, often promoted by federal policy. In the last two decades of the century, some urban designers argued for recapturing the physical qualities of the premodern city, while others argued that large-scale, autonomous city areas were both inevitable and ideal. This study undertakes a morphological investigation of three “twice-cleared” urban sites in three American cities—Boston, Chicago, and New Orleans—to measure the changes occurring in eight morphological variables. The study examines three eras: 1910, when all three sites were dominated by small-scale buildings and city blocks, or premodern development; 1950, when all three sites had been redeveloped for Modernism-inspired public housing; and 2010, ...