scholarly journals Waterfront Public Realm Design: Towards a Sustainable Identity Urban Projects in Vancouver and Portland

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 169 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elena Lacilla ◽  
Jose Maria Ordeig

<p>The renovation of the waterfronts, such as those in the main public spaces of large cities, started in 1970s. Core industries had found other places to develop far from the city; thereafter key areas fell out of use and into disrepair. As a consequence, a huge number of urban areas became in urgent need of renewal. However, urban design guidelines to regenerate these open spaces have significantly changed since then. The approach towards returning these parts of the city to its inhabitants has evolved from an emphasis on building new housing in the nineties, to considering the broader aspects of sustainability in the early years of the current century and finally to searching for the areas’ identity in more recent years. Therefore, currently this identity is one of the main aspects designers are looking for. At the same time, the sustainability of the waterfront areas may be achieved through the establishment of this place´s sense of identity. In order to do this, we assess three urban actions undertaken in Portland and Vancouver -False Creek North, South Waterfront and Southeast False Creek-. The article suggests that the interplay between urban design, sustainability and identity is becoming the new driver for the design of the waterfronts.</p>

2003 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-74 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlo Ratti ◽  
Nick Baker

During the past decades, many computer tools have been developed to assist in the environmental design of individual buildings. Heat, light, sound and especially energy consumption can be analyzed in many different packages. This is not generally true for urban design, especially at the medium scale. Although it is widely assumed that urban texture – the pattern of streets, building heights, open spaces and so on – will determine environmental quality both in the buildings and outside, tools for investigating the connections are sparse. The need for medium-scale understanding is confirmed by Givoni (1989):‘The outdoor temperature, wind speed and solar radiation to which an individual building is exposed is not the regional “synoptic” climate, but the local microclimate as modified by the “structure” of the city, mainly of the neighbourhood where the building is located.’This paper describes how novel image-processing algorithms could be applied in urban areas to calculate a wide number of parameters. These parameters allow the construction of what we could call ‘urban infoscapes’: a layered collection of information on cities, that can be successfully used to inform urban design and planning.


2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (139) ◽  
pp. 20170946 ◽  
Author(s):  
Morgan R. Frank ◽  
Lijun Sun ◽  
Manuel Cebrian ◽  
Hyejin Youn ◽  
Iyad Rahwan

The city has proved to be the most successful form of human agglomeration and provides wide employment opportunities for its dwellers. As advances in robotics and artificial intelligence revive concerns about the impact of automation on jobs, a question looms: how will automation affect employment in cities? Here, we provide a comparative picture of the impact of automation across US urban areas. Small cities will undertake greater adjustments, such as worker displacement and job content substitutions. We demonstrate that large cities exhibit increased occupational and skill specialization due to increased abundance of managerial and technical professions. These occupations are not easily automatable, and, thus, reduce the potential impact of automation in large cities. Our results pass several robustness checks including potential errors in the estimation of occupational automation and subsampling of occupations. Our study provides the first empirical law connecting two societal forces: urban agglomeration and automation's impact on employment.


Author(s):  
Vitali Chulkov ◽  
Bakhruz Nazirov

In the process of urbanization of large cities in different countries, there are similar problems of reorganization, involving the demolition of physically and morally obsolete buildings and structures, as well as the subsequent construction reorganization of the territories vacated or re-cut to the city. In the process of demolition of obsolete buildings and structures, as well as the construction of new buildings, inevitably significant amounts of waste and construction debris arise that should be recycled as much as possible into secondary building materials (to carry out the so-called «recycling» of waste). Types of construction reorganization of urban areas are divided into traditional, widely known and standardized (repair, reconstruction, restoration), and innovative, arising in the processes of reorganization of society. Among the innovative types of construction reorganization, renovation is currently the most relevant, meeting the need to renovate the dilapidated housing stock of cities. The article discusses the main types of construction waste generated during demolition and new construction, as well as the technologies used for recycling these wastes during the renovation of territories and pavements of large cities.


Author(s):  
Michael Isnaeni Djimantoro

The development of the city is along with population growth in the city, from low density into a higher density. Along with the development of the population of the city that is denser, it is necessary to change the pattern of development, where the trend today is leading to the vertical development although increasing the density of the area is not an easy thing. This is because an increase in the density of the area must be balanced with an increase in facilities and adequate infrastructure. If it is not fulfilled then it will have a negative impact on the city or region. One of the necessary infrastructure for the development is transportation infrastructure since the development of a city will increase density therefore in turn it will generate the daily trip, both from the region and towards the region. In the field of urban design, the formula for the density limitation is set in the urban design guidelines that functions as the foundation for an architect to design the building. Urban design guidelines is mainly formulated in the numbers BCR, FAR, and the maximum height of buildings that will form the frame of the building mass. Therefore, this paper intends to explain the optimum modeling between the density of a region with the treshold of existing road infrastructure. With the modeling of the optimum, then the negative impacts can be reduced and the modeling results will get the maximum density that can be accommodated in an area.


2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 718
Author(s):  
S Haryani

Large cities still peak the interests of some Indonesian society. Big city development as the center of economic activity is a powerful pull for society, influencing high workforce from both inside and outside of the city, causing a strong current of urbanization. One main problem that always accompanies urban areas development is density population. Urbanization has caused a very rapid explosion in the city population; one implication is the clumping workforce in large Indonesian cities. The high number of people who choose to settle in the city increase the number of both legal and illegal settlements. In the high-density settlement, many houses are not liveable and irregular. The densely populated settlements find many houses unfit for habitation and irregular. The research aims to formulate the sustainability level of Urban communities, Lowokwaru District, Malang City using quantitative method through sustainability level calculation. Jatimulyo Urban Communities is measured by the sustainability criteria of density, diversity, mixed-use, and compactness to formulate the related sustainable urban spatial structure. Interpretation of the calculation results references similar research. The calculation result shows that Jatimulyo Urban Communities is included in the moderate sustainability level, where density is moderate (101.1-200 people/ha), has a moderate building density (20-40 buildings/ha), has a random diversity level (1.0) and an entropy index (0.51), and compactness is near perfect inequality (Gini Coefficient 0.99).


2020 ◽  
pp. 13-18
Author(s):  
Justyna Olesiak

W wielu obszarach miejskich widoczna jest skrajna segregacja przestrzeni publicznej oraz fakt, że wiele dzielnic mieszkaniowych jest przestrzennie odizolowanych od miasta jako całości. Ponieważ tradycyjne metody analiz urbanistycznych dają słabe wytyczne w tym kontekście, podjęta zostanie próba ujęcia problemu i odmiennego podejścia do segregacji w projektowaniu urbanistycznym. Niniejszy artykuł bada, w jaki sposób teorie i metody analizy Space Syntax mogą przyczynić się do stworzenia bardziej dopracowanych opisów relacji przestrzennych w różnych dzielnicach i całym mieście. Przyjęto metodę badawczą: analizę literatury fachowej (krajowej i zagranicznej) oraz dostępnych publikacji. Analiza urbanistyczna oparta na teorii Space Syntax umożliwia wykazanie zasadniczych różnic strukturalnych między dzielnicami i określenie wpływu form urbanistycznych na zalety przestrzenne różnych obszarów miasta. Otwiera to nowe możliwości rozwiązania problemu segregacji w zakresie projektowania urbanistycznego oraz sformułowanie bardziej skutecznych interwencji antysegregacyjnych. Space Syntax analysis in the Face of the Phenomenon of Social Segregation and Spatial Isolation of Residential Areas In many urban areas there is an observable extreme segregation of public space, in addition to the fact that many housing districts are spatially isolated from the city as a whole. As traditional methods of urban analysis provide poor guidelines in this context, an attempt to investigate this problem and present a different approach to segregation in urban design was made. This paper presents an investigation about how Space Syntax theories and methods can contribute to creating more detailed descriptions of spatial relationships in different districts and in the entire city. The research method employed was an analysis of the literature (both domestic and trade). Space-Syntax-based urban analysis enables demonstrating significant structural differences between districts and to determine the impact of urban forms on the spatial advantages of different areas of the city. It provides new opportunities to address segregation in urban design and formulate more effective anti-segregation interventions.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 106-115
Author(s):  
Wildani Pingkan Suripurna Hamzens ◽  
Meidy Widayanto Moestopo

Agribusiness may potentially develop on Palu Riversides. This research aims to formulate a sustainable agricultural spatial innovation for the Development of Agribusiness Places on Palu Riversides. The methods used for this study were field observation, satellite image map observation, and literature review. The results showed that the implementation of sustainable agriculture through the development of agribusiness places in urban areas could take advantage of the open spaces designated as green open space zone on the Palu Riversides, namely the River Green Area which is outside the riparian zone, the river overflow runoff area. To achieve this objective, it requires ability to innovate in spatial planning so that an urban agricultural area that is neatly arranged into an agribusiness places can also be developed into one of the city landmark.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahamd A. Alhusban ◽  
Safa A. Alhusban

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to define the identity, city identity and architectural identity; to review, analyze and synthesize different pieces from literature to explore and define the factors that shape the city identity; to define the strategies of hybridization process that can be used to re-locate (re-define) the city identity; to examine the most effective factors that shape the identity of Amman city from various perspectives, to examine the relationships/interrelationships between all the factors that shape any city identity from the designers’ perspective, finally, to apply the strategies of hybridization process to re-locate (re-define) Amman’s city identity. Design/methodology/approach This research used two research methods to collect data as follows: literature review, content analysis and face-face questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were used to examine the most effective factors that shape the Amman’s identity from different perspectives. The Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient (Pearson r) was computed to assess the relationships between all factors that shape the identity of any city from the perspective of Jordanian designers and experts. Findings This research concluded that the factors that shape the city identity are cultural factors (socio-cultural, historical, economical and globalization factors), environmental factors (geographic, climate and building materials factors) and urban and architectural factors (spatial design organization, architectural style, open spaces and parks, urban structure factors). Additionally, the six urban development factors that responsible for the hybridization process in a city are new architectural typology and new special configuration, urban edges and hybrid textures, public hybridization open spaces, roads highway-scapes, urban redevelopment through super sites by star architects and downtown urban developments. This research found that there are different perspectives about the definition and factors that shape the identity of Amman’s city because of differences in cultures, experiences, knowledge, education level and personal preferences. The city identity is not a constant concept. It is changed according to time, place, people, culture, global trends, economic status and experience. Moreover, the correlation results revealed that the relationships/interrelationships between all the factors that shape the identity of any city have strong/very strong positive linear associations and significant relationships (r > 0.89). Practical implications Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) should provide a vision to redefine the identity of Amman city and control over the development pressure, built form and image of the city. This vision should be based on research, analysis and adoption of the most effective road map. GAM and all stakeholders should establish and enforce using specific architectural styles, urban design guidelines, building codes, policy tools and land use regulations to re-define the city identity. GAM should review, assess, approve and supervise all development projects through all design and construction phases especially in sensitive areas. GAM should focus on building capacity, empower its architects and planners, and re-organize (re-structure) their units and administrations especially planning and licensing departments to improve the city image and guide development. This research recommended that architects should design new, diverse and innovative architectural concepts, typologies and spatial configurations. Rapid development and new edges should be planned, designed and managed from the parts to the whole. The heterogeneous landscape and everyday activities will improve the vitality of urban and open public spaces and form of public culture. Architects and star architects ought not to make a clear and sharp separation between old and new development, architectural styles and typologies. Architects and urban designers ought to design hybrid physical urban environments, urban morphology, urban multi-functional activities, mix-use buildings, open spaces for social life, street patterns and furniture, squares, architectural style and typologies, spatial connectivity, green spaces and landscape entities. The designers and planners should consider how to create a city for living, working and recreation. Originality/value This research defined the identity, city identity, architectural identity and the factors that may shape the city identities. This research proposed and used the hybridization process as a tool to re-locate (re-define) the identity of Amman city and any city to be more obvious. Additionally, this research examined the relationships/interrelationships between the factors that shape the city identity.


2007 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 27-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamad Kashef

This study examines the strands of thought that define the urban design discourse today. One of the common and primary urban design approaches developed an understanding of the visual, perceptual, and psychological dynamics underlying human behavior in urban areas. It associated urban design with the visual characteristics of built forms and their impact on people's perceptions and ability to create clear mental maps or images of their surroundings. Another approach emphasized historical, typological, social, and morphological aspects of built forms. It linked successful urban spaces with mixed-use, traditional urban models and advanced place-making principles that encourage spatially defined, legible, and culturally grounded built environments. Lately, there has been an increased debate about the potential of developing an all-encompassing, holistic urban design approach that synthesizes prior urban design approaches and is predicated on the premise that urban design is an interdisciplinary activity concerned with creating livable/sustainable built environments. However, dialogues with architects, landscape architects, and planners revealed an entrenched professional divide among urban design practitioners based on their educational backgrounds and subsequent experiences. This study is premised on the need to address the contradictory views about the city in design and planning educational curricula in order to bridge the intellectual divide and build a holistic or interdisciplinary urban design approach.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 5105
Author(s):  
Damiano Cerrone ◽  
Jesús López Baeza ◽  
Panu Lehtovuori ◽  
Daniele Quercia ◽  
Rossano Schifanella ◽  
...  

The paper presents a method to operationalize Jan Gehl’s questions for public space into metrics to map Russian monotowns’ urban life in 2017. With the use of social media data, it becomes possible to scale Gehl’s approach from the survey of small urban areas to the analysis of entire cities while maintaining the human scale’s resolution. When underperforming public spaces are detected, we propose a matrix for urban design interventions using Jane Jacobs’ typologies for good city life. Furthermore, this method was deployed to improve the conditions of public spaces in Russian monotowns through a series of architectural briefs for design competitions and urban design guidelines for local administrations.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document