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Urban design involves the arrangement and
design of buildings, public spaces, transport
systems, services, and amenities.
Urban design is the process of giving form,
shape, and character to groups of buildings, to
whole neighborhoods, and the city.
It is a framework that orders the elements into a
network of streets, squares, and blocks.
Urban design blends architecture, landscape
architecture, and city planning together to make
urban areas functional and attractive.
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Urban design is about making connections between
people and places, movement and urban form, nature
and the built fabric. Urban design draws together the
many
strands
of
place-making,
environmental
stewardship, social equity and economic viability into
the creation of places with distinct beauty and identity.
Urban design is derived from but transcends planning
and transportation policy, architectural design,
development economics, engineering and landscape. It
draws these and other strands together creating a vision
for an area and then deploying the resources and skills
needed to bring the vision to life
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Buildings
The most pronounced
elements
of urban
design – they shape
and articulate space
forming
the
streetwalls of the city.
Well-designed
buildings and group
of
buildings
work
together to create a
sense
of
place.
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Public Space
Great public spaces
are the living room of
the city - the place
where people come
together to enjoy the
city and each other.
Public spaces make
high quality life in the
city possible - they
form the stage and
backdrop
to
the
drama of life.
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Streets
The
connections
between spaces and
places, as well as
being
spaces
themselves.
Defined
by
their
physical
dimension
and character as well
as the size, scale,
and character of the
buildings that line
them.
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Transport
Transport systems connect the parts
of cities and help shape them, and
enable movement throughout the
city. They include road, rail, bicycle,
and
pedestrian
networks,
and
together form the total movement
system of a city.
The balance of these various
transport systems is what helps
define the quality and character of
cities, and makes them either
friendly or hostile to pedestrians.
The best cities are the ones that
elevate the experience of the
pedestrian while minimizing the
dominance
of
the
private
automobile.
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Landscape
The green part of the
city
that
weaves
throughout - in the
form of urban parks,
street trees, plants,
flowers, and water in
many forms.
Landscape helps define
the
character
and
beauty of a city and
creates
soft,
contrasting spaces and
elements.
This is the most
prominent aspect
of urban design.
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following
artistic principles
are an integral
part of creating
form and spatial
definition:
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-Order
-Unity
-Balance
-Proportion
-Scale
-Hierarchy
-Symmetry
-Rhythm
-Contrast
-Context
-Detail
-Texture
-Harmony
-beauty
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Pedestrian zones
Incorporation of nature within a city
Aesthetics
Urban structure – How a place is put together and
how its parts relate to each other
Urban typology, density and sustainability - spatial
types and morphologies related to intensity of use,
consumption of resources and production and
maintenance of viable communities
Accessibility – Providing for ease, safety and choice
when moving to and through places
Legibility and way-finding – Helping people to find
their way around and understand how a place works
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Animation – Designing places to stimulate public activity
Function and fit – Shaping places to support their varied
intended uses
Complementary mixed-uses – Locating activities to allow
constructive interaction between them
Character and meaning – Recognizing and valuing the
differences between one place and another
Order and incident – Balancing consistency and variety in the
urban environment in the interests of appreciating both
Continuity and change – Locating people in time and place,
including respect for heritage and support for contemporary
culture
Civil society – Making places where people are free to
encounter each other as civic equals, an important
component in building social capital
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According to Kevin Lynch, there are five
basic elements or skeletal framework, which
people use to construct their mental image
of a city. The following are:
Pathways – major and minor routes of
circulation which people use to move about
principally on foot
Districts – component neighborhoods
consisting of the center, uptown, midtown,
in-town residential areas
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Edges – termination of a district which may
not be distinct but may blend into another
district or joined together to form a seam
Landmarks – prominent visual-features of
the city which may be large or small, and
may help people identify an area or orient
themselves
Nodes – a center of public activity which
may also be considered as a landmark
except for its being a district hub of activity