What is urban design
Lecture number (01): February 19, 2012
Definition and debate
The evolution of the term
“Urban Design”

Modern discipline

Josep Lluis Sert: The Architect of Urban
Design
The conference held at the Graduate
School of Design at Harvard University in
the United States 1956
 It’s goal was to find a common basis for the
joint work of the Architect, the
Landscape Architect and the City
Planner in the field of Urban Design

What is urban design?
Architecture

Old practice:
 It involves the
Shaping of the
settlements
which provide
frameworks for
human
existence

Young field:
Civil
engineering
Landscape
 It exists at the
intersection of
 It is still being
defined;
impossible to
define its
boundaries
Urban planning
What is urban design?
Creative process
 Collaborative and interdisciplinary
process
 Place-making process
 Involves creating three-dimensional
urban forms and space to enhance the
experience of towns and cities

What is urban design
What is urban design? - debates
Is it a discipline?
 Has the term “urban designer” any real
meaning?
 The problem of

 the vastness of the field
 Absence of relevant professional bodies that
provide legal definitions;
○ University accreditation
○ Organized testing for qualifications
○ Insurance for urban design as a profession
What is urban design
Future directions
The emergence of “Landscape
Urbanism” over the last 20 year
 Sustainable urbanism must look to
context rather than buildings alone for
solutions
 The decades ahead will be crucial to
balancing human needs with the survival
of the planet.

The cultural monotony
Sun City – Arizona, USA
Del Webb 1960s
‫اسكان الدمام‬
‫‪Sprawling slums‬‬
‫احد عشوائيات القاهرة‬
Optimistic
vision
ktamia city ‫القطاميه‬
(‫)القاهرة الجديدة‬
New Cairo