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Week 1: Introduction / Urban Intensification
WORKBOOK
URBD7018: International Urban Design Theories for Design and Planning semester 2
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RJ LEANDER l 19125847
OXFORD BROOKES UNIVERSITY
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Week 1: Introduction / Urban Intensification............................................1
Week 2 Landscape Urbanism...............................................................6
Week 3 Socio-economic and cultural issues.........................................................11
Week 4 Shaping urban identities in a globalising word..............................16
Week 5 Mobility Networks ................................................................20 Week 6 Morphology Methodology............................................26
Week 7 Morphology: Hong Kong...............................................................30
Week 8 Morphology: Ahmedabad.........................................................34
Week 9 Tactical Urbanism...............................................38
Week 10 Debate on Urban Futures/ Big data........................................42
Reflection.............................................................................46
Bibliography................................................47
How do we strike a right balance Between INTENSIFICATION ?
ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITIES W1 Urban Intensification
FOCUS
The task for this semester is to contantly seek for good levels of environmental qualities in our design of spaces and public realm keeping in mind the aspect of urban intensification of
800 people/ hectare
IMPORTANCE
‘The quality of the urban environment with a steady rise in population, will play a significant role in public health with issues ranging from ‘solid waste disposal, provision of safe water and sanitation, and injury prevention, to the interface between urban poverty, environment and health’ (Fatima, 2020). It directly impacts human wellbeing, binding places and people together. This means making the most of existing urban fabric, good maintenance and making incremental and sometimes radical improvements.
An environment that makes people feel at ease Fosters a sense of community Where walking, cycling and public transport are the natural and more attractive choices places that are designed, built and maintained with a motive that people come first They contribute to the quality of life and encourage healthy and sustainable lifestyles Places where people live, work, bring up our children, and spend leisure time Promote economic success and allow people to share in rising prosperity, attracting and retaining successful businesses.
INTENSIFICATION ITS OPPURTUNITIES
(Lambie, 2018)
It is regarded as the prevalent urban strategy in many cities to ease pressures of urban sprawl and deliver sustainable development by increasing density of built forms and activities. In major cities, intensification strategies include establishing an ‘urban boundary to prevent sprawl and directing future development at higher densities to peripheral “greenfield” areas within the boundary, and intensification at existing urban centres’ (Allen, 2017). The latter involves intensified
development at or around existing transit and retail centres of different scales, often
referred to as “transit-oriented • Enhancing community identity through vibrant public spaces • Creating active streets to promote healthier lifestyle options (i.e. walkability and cycling); • Supporting local businesses by increasing foot traffic;
• Decreasing reliance on personal cars by increasing the viability of public transit; • Protecting the natural environment by re-adapting current urban landscape; • Creating more housing choices and affordability • Reducing carbon footprint by incorporating green features into development.
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TARGET DENSITY
Fig 2: Testing densities with varying intensity and environmental quality factors within a testbed of 64 ha with reference to the landuse budget framework (800x800m grid)
SECTION A
Experimentations on how to achieve different urban development forms at 360 units per ha
URBAN DENSITIES ACROSS THE GLOBE
In order to better understand
the aspect of densities in varying contexts, a case study was made studying dense urban built environments across the globe around a
density of 800 people/ha. These case studies have been used to
understand how these projects use block typologies to address urban intensities.
The balance lies in iteration 4,
section A, where the urban forms
include all types of building typologies ranging from low rises, medium rises,
condomiums along with the right amunt of open spaces, green areas, landscapes, parking spaces and vegetation Mi Casa: Being a Mediterranean-themed condominium. It comprise a mix of buildings ranging from 5 to 20 stories of residential towers with a multi story car park, a swimming pool and ancillary facilities’ (Density Atlas, 2021).
Lower East side block, NY: Being part of China town, this block accomodated
much of immigrants around the 20th century with 91% of residents of Asian heritage at present with an average household size of 3.18 residents com-
pared to an average of 2.0 in Manhattan.
Rue de Charonne: From a former artisan
district for carpeting and furniture businesses, this block has been transformed
into offices, lofts and apartments with storefronts, while some remaining as furniture workshops. A courtyard is shared between 8-10 units each floor while
buildings are usually 4-6 floors in height. - Differing densities have their own pros and cons, which is mainly controlled by its context, block sizes, block typology, accessibility and movement network. - Courtyards or open spaces as a central element of blocks act as a successful fea-
ture for activities and bringing in light and better ventilation.
- Higher densities can make services and spaces closer, which reduces time taken to travel and access them, which needs to
be supported by a good transport infras-
tucture.
- Using intensities and the concept of vertical living to make more green spaces that ensure better environmental quality at various levels of the scheme
- Designing better hybrid block typologies adapted from positive attributes of individual design projects and schemes.
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Comparson of three different city blocks and their relatively similar densities (Density Atlas, 2021)
THOUGHTS
W2 Landscape urbanism
A right balance of consideration between social, environmental and economic pressures is required to suit what people need into the planning process in order to improve people’s health. Landscape urbanism aims to maximize natural aspects in schemes to improve the health and wellbeing of communities through an ecological approach.
Social: Cohesion, trust and inclusion among communities for better physical + mental wellbeing Environmental: Focus on eco-responsive design and biodiversity Economic: Overall welfare and accessibility of all locally provided services Land urbanism offers an oppurtunity to regain references to people, place and nature within the design field and urban context. ‘When intertwining concepts of landscape with urbanism there is a new connection with nature and other hidden systems that address current problems of urbanism and could potentially offer novel solutions’ (Gray, 2011).
Having analysed the Liberty village site in Toronto, problems such as large amount of grey spaces, disintegrated green open spaces, high noise levels by surrounding traffic and large amounts of hardscape within the urban setting need to be tackled with the key concepts of landscape urbanism. Advocates for sustainable urban planning say that it is imperative that cities follow WHO’s guideline, at least 9m2 of green space per person and an ideal of 50m2 per person
(ironically low levels of social interaction have kept covid cases in the area to a minimum in comparison to other areas of the city)
4911 parking spaces =70227/ 7% of the sit. 5% of roads have dedicated cycle lanes
IMPORTANCE
Embracing complexity and eco responsive design for health and wellbeing (Prachi, 2021)
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Greenspaces per person (Works, 2019) Liberty village barely meets the minimum criteria and the space available are either of poor quality or not easily accessible
Liberty village is one of the least green area in the city and one of the most poorly connected
Self perpetuated hard landscaping meaning the entire area model needs to shift
When it comes to green space, the City of Toronto has an abundance of natural space in comparison to some other North American cities. Toronto currently owns over 1,600 parks, covering about 13% of the city’s land area. However, access to green spaces is unevenly distributed within the city, with distribution concentrated mainly in the central areas (Pelley, 2017). One example of this is the city’s downtown core, a booming real estate market that makes it difficult to find land for new parks (Harvey, 2010). Furthermore, a rapidly increasing population puts pressure on balancing protection of green spaces with housing and other developmental opportunities (Pelley, 2017). Therefore, while there are plenty of green spaces in Toronto, uneven access and distribution remains a challenge.
