THEORY OF URBAN DESIGN

I. Concept of space
Traditional definitions
Oxford English Dictionary:
Two meanings of space:
1. Time or duration
2. Area or extension (more common definition)

In physics, space has three dimensions (x-y-z axes)

and is considered as a volume not an area.

Sir Isaac Newton (17th C) elaborated that space is

absolute.proper to itself..and independent of the
objects it contains (objects fit into space an d not vice-
versa)
 New Approaches
Two main categories of space exist:
1. Mental Space (experiential)
2. Physical Space (existential)

The notion of space is said to originate in an observers

mind and is later imposed as a structure on the
physical world.mental space is an image of physical
space

The concept of space differs from culture to

cultureDifferent cultures have characteristic spatial
designs as expressed in their cities, buildings, and
art(ref. Dogon villages; japanese Mandala e.t.c)

but space itself is universal! (transcends culture)

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.

Order and beauty in a town are a

necessity, not an after thought..they are
as much a prerequisite to human health
as is fresh air.
 Site-City-Observer Relationships
(viewing city from surrounding and vice-versa)

Extracted form: harmony between buildings and nature.e.g

consider basic slopes, angle of hills, vegetation/tree canopies, and rock outcrops.
Reflects dominant and pervasive features of nature
Vistas and site supremacy: view of landscape from the
citybeautifully framed countryside (panorama)
Expression: space markers /symbolgy/ ornamentation/detail e.g
towers and minarets; landmarks; accent of urban landscape and skyline
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 e.t.c
Human scale: how each inhabitant would use space and how
they would feel in it.
 Aspects of Urban Form
(see BUR 203 notes)
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
Theories that have motivated and still inform the
construction of cities are both normative and
functional.

Normative theories attempt to specify

"goodness.what is good city form?... and
discuss in detail the aspects that create good
cities..Prescriptive..What cities ought to be!

Functional theories attempt to explain how cities

perform by concentrating on city form
processes, spatial and social structure, and form
modelsDescriptiveWhat cities are!
 Normative Theories
(selected examples)
1. 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
 2. The Machine Model
The analogy between city and machine has a long
history (ref. Egyptian and classical per strigas, Ron Herons
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.
 3. 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.
 Organic model (contd)
From this flows the notion of the form of the organic
city:
- A separate spatial and social unit made up internally
of highly connected places and people.

- A healthy community of heterogeneous and diverse

nature

- The micro unit is the neighborhood, a small residential

area, defined by Clarence Perry in 1929 as the support
area for an elementary school, to which children, the
most vulnerable of the human species, can safely walk.

- Like organisms, settlements are born, grow and

mature, and if further growth is necessary, a new entity
has to be formed. Thus there are states of optimum size,
beyond which pathological conditions ensue.
 Organic model (contd)
- Greeenbelts not only ensure an intimate contact with
nature but enclose healthy growth.

-A model with typical physical forms, among which radial

patterns, anti-geometrical layouts, and a proclivity for
natural materials.

- Often the organic idea is extended regionally to connect

settlements to valleys, trails and other extended natural
systems.

-There is an attraction to small-scale modes of production

or services as opposed to large-scale synthetic
processes. Often the model aligns itself with a socio-
economic philosophy that sees increases in urban value
as the result of communal rather than individual
endeavor.
 4. 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), with its
corners, divisions/modules, protrusions, and recesses/setbacks e.t.c
creating aspects of interest and surprise.

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

(ref:Imageability (Kevin Lynch); permeability (Jane Jacobs); adaptability/robustness

(Standford Anderson). These ideas were later published as Responsive Environments
(Alcock et al)
 5. 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.
 6. 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
 7. 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

( Ref:Aldo van Eyck, Ralph erskine, Giancarlo De Carlo)

 8. 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 time.

(ref. Robert Venturi, Aldo Rossi, Scott Brown, Colin Rowe, Rob & Leon
Krier)
Functional DescriptiveTheories
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)
 Functional Descriptive Theories (contd)

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)
Design Principles and Techniques
Together these help in the correlation and
synthesis of spaces, functions, circulation, sites,
and orientation

Their choice and application (singly or

combined) will depend on the problem context
(modus operandi)

Overall they facilitate the conceptualizing

process..entailing decisions and choices
 1. Design Principles
i) Scale: refers to any system of measurement
appropriate to the context. Proportion as an aspect of
measurement introduces the aspect of
relativitybetween two objectsthe measured and a
universally known objecte.g headroom describes
space relative to human height.

A module is one part of a system of relative

proportions, where one part can combine with other
parts to form a larger object
(ref. Le corbusiers Modulor)
 Applications of Scale in urban
design
Scale and Human vision: our eyse have two fields of
view general and detailed. General cone of vision 30
deg up; 45 deg down; 65 deg to either side.
The above determines urban scale in several ways: we
cannot see an object that is further from us than 3500
times its size8 feet is normal conversation distance; a
person between 3 and 10 ft is in close relationship to
ususe of normal voices; we can pick facial details up to
about 75ft. Beyond this, there is need to complement
with gesturesup to about 450ftalso maximum for
distinguishing man from womanmaximum viewing
distance for human figures is around 4000ft.
Scale and circulation: scale is determined by
the means we employ for movement around the
city as well as the way we move between cities
across the country.

Scale is determined by the different modes of

movement based on their speeds and sizes, but
also characteristics in movementexpress
versus stop-over/interactive

Scale and neighbourhood size: The citizen

numbers and levels of services will determine
the scale of a neighbourhoodthe scale of a
network of neighbourhoods would determine the
scale of the entire town.
 Scale in neighbouring buildings and
spaces:
Buildings and spaces have to be in scale with
people, as well as in scale with each other.this
will also apply to other variables like materials,
colour, bulk, and siting.
Intentional variations in scale could be used to
achieve emphasis and hierarchy in design of
buildings and spaces
Scale and parameters: This is where we use
attributes of familiar and known objects and
details such as cars, trees, humans, light poles
e.t.c to judge the sizes of other things near
them
 Scale versus Age, time, convenience and habit:
Our sense of urban scale varies with our ages and
habits.the world of a child begins with the homeas
one grows the world enlarges and separate parts are
linked togetherthe scale of their world enlarges

Our sense of urban scale is also determined by what we

are accustomed topeople adapt to environments with
timesay getting used to the skyscrapers around us.

Urban scale may also vary with the temporal cycles of

the citythe rush hour with its fast traffic has a different
view of scale to the sluggish period of the day, when
people have all the time to observe and pick details
about the city.
ii) Urban Space: may be isolated or linked; may
be purposely designed to display linkage or to
emphasize buildings and objects they contain.

Space may be linear/corridors; squares; or

reservesbased on their sizes they define the
hierarchy of spatial types..from small intimate
sizes to urban squares and the natural space
within which the city is set.

Spaces may also be enclosed or open.45 deg

is full enclosure; 30deg is optimal; 18 deg is
minimumanything less is lack of it!
iii) Urban Mass; This refers to the arrangement of ground
surface, buildings, and objects to influence the quality of
urban space and to shape urban activity patterns on
both large and small scales.

In terms of massing, buildings may be projecting into

space, be on a space, or in a space.

Our vision and light conditions govern the way we perceive

masses
Vision: 45deg is for details; 30deg is for whole objects;
18deg is for object plus context
Light: under bright, clear sunlight the individual parts of
objects will tend to stand out..as light subdues we tend
to see less of details and more of the overall object.
Sculptured objects are best viewed under even light such
as shadow lightthus northern and southern facades
may transmit details differently..depending our position
in relation to solar patterns.
iv) Responsiveness; these could be sensual or
environmental

Sensual: attempt to cater for all the senses:

Visual,Tactile, Auditory, Olfactory, Kinaesthetic

Environmental; that which provides users with

essentially democratic settings and enrich their
opportunities by maximising the degree of choice
available to them; the available techniques include:

i) Permeability
This refers to the number of alternative routes
through an environment; it affects where people can
go and where they cannot. This offers choice through
accessibility and must be considered at early stages
of design.
ii) Variety
This refers to the range of uses availed to
people in a given environment; it is the
experience of a degree of choice provided by
intermix of uses

iii) Legibility
This refers to the ease with which people can
understand the layout of a given environment
and the kind of opportunities it offers.

iv) Robustness
This refers to the degree to which an
environment can be used for different purposes
as opposed to those with a single fixed use.
v) Visual appropriateness
This refers to the detailed appearance of a place that
makes people aware of the possible uses; it affects the
interpretations people put on places.

vi) Richness
This refers to the degree of choice in sensory
experiences that a place offers to its users.

vii) Personalisation
This refers to the extent to which people can put their
own stamp on a place; decisions about forms and
materials of the scheme must be carefully made to
support personalization but also protect public role.
 Other techniques
Open space technique: where to build versus
where to keep open; a variety of usesparks,
watersheds, public transit lines, airports, e.t.c

An open space structure would be the framework

for relating land development to transportation
and also allow for other decisions related to
community life: schools, churches, playfields
e.t.c.
 Transportation system technique; patterns
of movement as primary land shapers;
morphology of networks against that of the land
parcels they define.density of development
versus intensity of circulation. Varios levels of
network, their hierarchic connectivity, as well as
terminal facilities.

Plug-in Technique; where a modular system

such as that of a grid is created and within these
defined uses and objects can be inserted and
removed with ease (flexibility)initially used as
a technique for design of functions in individual
buildings but later replicated in city-wide design
 Theory Versus Practice
(Why urban design matters)
We design spaces to attract people (public realm)
Urban design creates a framework for our lives.
understanding how humans perceive the
physical scale and form of cities is essential to
mastering design.
We feel and experience urban design every day
Every road width and building height delivers a message
to their users on how to use the public realm
 Design brings order and relation into human
surroundings

Different designs affect residents in different ways, and

make the citys image more vivid and memorable

Embedded in urban design theories is the

fundamental goal of balancing private
development and public good in a way that
incorporates the social, economic, and cultural
needs of a diverse urban population

Urban design must solve practical problems of

functionality first and foremost, as it creates tools for
people and their quality of life.