Introduction

to Urban
Design
5th Semester
(3rd year)
 Introduction to Urban Design

URBAN DESIGN AS INTERFACE BETWEEN ARCHITECTURE AND PLANNING

1.1 Urban Design:

 Urban design is the process of designing and shaping cities, towns and villages. In contrast to architecture,
which focuses on the design of individual buildings, Urban Design deals with the larger scale of groups of
buildings, streets and public spaces, neighborhoods and entire cities with the goal of making areas
functional, attractive, and sustainable.
 Urban design is concerned with the arrangement, appearance and function of our suburbs, towns and
cities. It is both a process and an outcome of creating localities in which people live, engage with each other
and engage with the physical place around them. It involves the design and coordination of all that makes
up cities and towns.
 Urban design involves the arrangement, placement and design of buildings, public spaces, transport
systems, services and landscapes and the establishment of framework process that facilities and provides
successful development.
 Urban design is the process of giving form, shape, and character to groups of buildings, to whole
neighborhoods and the city. It 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.

1.2 Urban Planning and Urban Design are Related but Different in Fundamental Ways.
 Urban Planning is the act of planning the structures of a city, including its policies, infrastructure,
neighborhoods, building codes, and regulations. Urban planning, by definition, is the “planning of city
strategies, structures and policies.” The focus is more technical and political, and is on the strategy,
structure, and policy level.
 On the other hand, Urban Design is the creation of city features based on plans. It includes everything from
public space to infrastructure, as well as transportation, landscapes, and community accommodations.
Urban design, by definition, is the “design of city features.” It is focused on design and user experience and
operates at the features and systems level.
 These two different terms operate on a different level with unique focuses, although they share many of the
same goals. They both work towards creating sustainable and flexible spaces that improve the quality of life
for people living, working, and traveling to the area.

1.3 Elements of Urban Design:

 Building:
Buildings are the most pronounced elements of urban design - they shape and articulate space by forming
the street walls of the city. Well designed buildings and groups of buildings work together to create a sense
of place.
 Public spaces:
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. A public space ranges from grand central plazas and squares to small local
neighbourhood parks.

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 Streets:
Streets are the connections between spaces and places, as well as being spaces themselves. They are
defined by their physical dimension and character as well as the size, scale, and character of the buildings
that line them. Streets range from express ways to pedestrian streets. The pattern of the street network is
part of what defines a city and what makes each city unique.
 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 helps to define the quality and character of cities,
and makes them either friendly or hostile to pedestrians.
 Landscape:
The landscape is the green part of the city that weaves throughout - in the form of urban parks, street trees,
plants, flowers, and water in many forms. The landscape helps define the character and beauty of a city and
creates soft, contrasting spaces and elements.

1.4 Objectives of Urban Design:

The 7 objectives of good urban design are well established. They are there to remind us of what to consider
creating successful places. There is considerable overlap between the objectives and they are mutually reinforcing.
These are:
 Character:
A place with its own identity: To promote character in townscape and landscape by responding to and
reinforcing locally distinctive patterns of development, landscape and culture.
 Continuity and enclosure:
A place where public and private spaces are clearly distinguished: To promote the continuity of street
frontages and the enclosure of space by development this clearly defines private and public areas.
 Quality of the public realm:
A place with attractive and successful outdoor areas: To promote public spaces and routes that are
attractive, safe, uncluttered and work effectively for all in society, including disabled and elderly people.
 Ease of movement:
A place that is easy to get to and move through: To promote accessibility and local permeability by making
places that connect with each other and are easy to move through, putting people before traffic and
integrating land uses and transport.
 Legibility:
A place that has a clear image and is easy to understand: To promote legibility through development that
provides recognizable routes, intersections and landmarks to help people find their way around.
 Adaptability:
A place that can change easily: To promote adaptability through development that can respond to changing
social, technological and economic conditions.
 Diversity:
A place with variety and choice: To promote diversity and choice through a mix of compatible developments
and uses that work together to create viable places that respond to local needs.

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 Introduction to Urban Design

1.5 Aspects of development form

The urban design objectives are by themselves abstract. They only have an impact on people's lives when translated
into physical development. The form of buildings, structures and spaces is the physical expression of urban design.
There are 8 recognised features that form the main characteristics of physical development i:e the 'Aspects of
development form'. They are:

 Layout - urban structure:

The framework of routes and spaces that connect locally and more widely and the way developments,
routes and open spaces relate to one other. The layout provides the basic plan on which all other aspects of
the form and uses of a development depend.
 Landscape:
The character and appearance of land including its shape, form, ecology, natural features, colours and
elements, and the way these components combine. This includes all open space, including its planting,
boundaries and treatment.
 Density and mix:
It means the amount of development on a given piece of land and the range of uses. Density influences the
intensity of development and in combination with the mix of uses can affect a place's vitality and viability.
The density of a development can be expressed in a number of ways such as: plot ratio (particularly for
commercial developments), number of dwellings, or the number of habitable rooms (for residential
developments).
 Scale – height:
Scale is the size of a building in relation to its surroundings. (In detail it is the relation to the size of a
person). Height determines the impact of development on views, vistas and skylines. Height can be
expressed in terms of: the number of floors; height of parapet or ridge; overall height. It also includes the
ratio of building height to street or space width; height relative to particular landmarks or background
buildings; or strategic views.
 Scale – massing:
It includes the combined effect of the arrangement, volume and shape of a building or group of buildings in
relation to other buildings and spaces. Massing is the three-dimensional expression of the amount of
development on a given piece of land.
 Appearance:
The details are the texture, colour, pattern and durability of materials, and how they are used. The richness
of a building lies in its use of materials which contribute to the attractiveness of its appearance and the
character of an area.

1.6 Urban Design Principles

World require a shift in our current understanding of what constitutes good urban design and planning. Many of the
practices that we now take for granted, such as planning cities around automobile transportation, and zoning for
single uses, will no longer be economically, environmentally, or culturally viable. To address the changes in urban
design and planning, we are putting forward the following principles for resilient built environment.

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 Density, diversity and Mix:

i. Resilient Cities and neighborhoods will need to embrace density, diversity and mix of uses, users,
building types, and public spaces.
ii. Creating resiliency and reducing the carbon footprint of urban development requires us to
maximize the active use of space and land. Dense mixed use neighborhoods allow for the effective
functioning of all types of business, social and cultural activities with very low inputs of energy for
transportation and logistics, thus increasing the resilience of these neighborhoods. These aspects
enhance an urban lifestyle.
 Pedestrians First:
i. Resilient cities prioritize walking as the preferred mode of travel, and as a defining component of a
healthy quality of life.
ii. Reducing car-dependency is a key objective and imperative. Alternative modes of transportation
such as walking, cycling, and transit – result in more sustainable urban environments and improve
quality of life.
 Transit Supportive:
i. After walking and cycling, transit is the most sustainable mode of transportation. Resilient cities will
need to re-orient their way of thinking, by shifting from car oriented urban patterns (e.g. cul-de-sacs
and expressways) to transit oriented urban patterns and developments (e.g. mobility hubs,
intensified corridors, and TODs).
 Place Making:
i. All successful cities include vibrant places, with a strong sense of identity, which are integral to
community life and the public realm: parks, plazas, courtyards, civic buildings, public streets, etc.
ii. A resilient post-carbon community, which reorients city-life to the pedestrian scale (a 500 m
radius), must focus its efforts to creating a number of local destinations, which attract a critical-
mass of users and activities.
iii. Heritage resources represent a significant opportunity for place-making for cultural significance and
identity. It is a significant environmental investment (i.e. through their embedded energy) that
should be conserved and leveraged.
 Integrated Natural System:
i. The health and integrity of wildlife and vegetation are also a priority. Protecting existing
biodiversity, indigenous or endangered species, wetlands, the tree canopy, connectivity, are all a
necessary aspect of securing healthy natural systems.
 Integrated Technical and Industrial System:
i. The industrial system includes manufacturing, transportation, communications and construction
infrastructure and systems to increase their energy efficiency, and reduce their environmental
footprint.
ii. Technical and industrial uses need to be integrated into the city in ways that allow them to make
the most efficient and synergistic connections and associations with similar and complementary
uses that will design for waste products from one industry or technical process (such as heat
energy) to be effectively used as a beneficial input in another industry.
 Local Sources:
i. The environmental cost of the movement of goods and energy increases every day. Thus,
populations must seek to satisfy their consumption needs from local and regional sources. The
‘100-mile diet’ and local-food movement has increased awareness of the importance of consuming
local products, to decreasing our carbon footprint.

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 Engaged Communities:
i. From the seemingly trivial activities of everyday life (e.g. using a plastic bag) to the overtly
transformational (e.g. growing the city), citizens have a role to play and a responsibility. It is only
through the sum total of individual choices, of individual actions, that change will come about.
ii. Residents and stakeholders must be part of delivering a new vision: by choosing to walk, by
engaging each other, by generating awareness, and by demanding higher standards.
 Redundant and Durable Life Safety and Critical Infrastructure System:
i. The physical, social and economic health of the Resilient City and its citizens is directly connected
to the city’s ability to maintain the effective functioning of its key life safety and critical infrastructure
systems – especially during episodes of intense environmental stress (such as during severe
storms, floods, or other weather related events).
ii. Key infrastructure systems such as drinking water supply, electrical power, and residential heating
in winter, and key life safety systems, such as police, fire, and emergency response services and
their support systems, must be planned and designed for a level of redundancy and durability that
will allow being durable enough to resist present and future environmental stresses. It should have
enough redundancy built into their design to allow the system as a whole to remain sufficiently
functional and intact that if one or more constituent parts of the system are compromised, the
system as a whole will nevertheless remain operational and able to provide the necessary outputs
or services.
 Resilient Operations:
i. Resilient cities develop building types and urban forms with reduced servicing costs and reduced
environmental footprints.
ii. A compact, mixed-use urban environment is far more efficient in its demand for municipal services
and infrastructure requirements. Resilient cities will not subsidize inefficient forms of development
(e.g. building roads and assuming operating costs) and instead prioritize city patterns and built
forms that have a reduced footprint on the environment and a reduced burden on municipal
resources.

1.7 City as 3 Dimensional Entity

CITY AS A 3D MODEL:

 When a building is taken as volume, the overhead plane is considered as the roof, wall plane as walls and
base plane as floor.
 Similarly for a city, skyline is referred as the roof, height of the building is referred as the walls and land is
referred as floor.
 These are the roofing, vertical and horizontal elements of a city which creates the whole city as a model.
 A virtual 3D city model is a digital model of urban areas. It represents terrain surfaces, sites, buildings,
vegetation, infrastructure and landscape elements, and other related objects belonging to an urban space.
 This technique is used to spatially design and visualize development in relation to the existing urban
environment.
 It can also be used to compare different urban design strategies. These can be evaluated against measures
such as land use, population and housing densities, building height, floor area ratio, and development costs.

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 Planners use 3D modeling to analyze and communicate the impact of both existing and new
redevelopment plans. They can look over the aspects such as overshadowing, sunlight exposure, view
corridors, compliance with zoning regulation, traffic gravity and solar potential of buildings.
 It also offers a new platform to involve citizens in urban planning. It is imperative that public concerns,
needs and values are part of government decision-making.
 It offers new possibilities in designing planning solutions. City dwellers must be included in this process to
develop strategies that are more responsive to sustainability challenges such as urban population growth.

1.8 Important Consideration of Urban Design:

 Urban structure:
It emphasise how a place is put together in relation to adjoining places.
 Accessibility:
It provides easy and safe movement to, between and through the places.
 Legibility:
Helping the people to find their way around and understand how the place works.
 Automation:
Designing the places in such a way to simulate the design attributes and it should also promote activities.
 Mixed use:
It helps in locating the activities to allow interaction between them.
 Character of the place:
It also includes the respect of the heritage and support for the culture.
 Public interaction:
Making happening places where people are free to interact with each other and which is an important
component in building the social component.

1.9 Study of Volumes and Open Spaces at All Spatial Levels

 Roads:
i. The routes people used to take are a key element in the way the city is to be perceived.
ii. Careful considerations must be given to the sequence of experience; the city offers its residence as
well as visitors while moving through.
iii. A clear hierarchy of street should be established to evaluate the people to orient themselves within
the city.
 Landmark and views:
i. These are a kind of reference points that help people to orient themselves within the city.
ii. Landmark includes a public space with public earth, culture, traffic signal, unique buildings, a
strong element of urban character such as building etc.
iii. Some landmarks are often visible from many angle and places.
iv. The main motive is to protect the key landmarks and views to help people to locate themselves
within the city and its intermediated area.
 New Development:
i. It should reinforce the legibility of the local area by including some local features that relates to its
local circumstances.
 Signage :
i. Provision of good signage is a key point in orientation.

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ii. Direction & sign is always playing helping roles that are unfamiliar with the place & helps them in
act of finding their way.
 Adaptability :
i. Create a city that can adapt to the changes so that buildings may come and go but the streets will
best for the life time.
ii. Successful cities accept changes and adopt to remain vibrant over time but in addition to new
development and public realm developments should be designed both to respect the existing
context and to accommodate the future changes.
 Diversity:
i. Create a city with a lot of variety and choices that encourage a mix of use (like residential,
institution area etc.) and architectural style to create a vibrant city.
ii. Housing, recreation, places to work (work places) should interrelate to each other and to meet the
needs of residences which also reinforce the sense of the community.
 Sustainability:-
i. Create a social economical &environmentally sustainable city for a future and the vision of the city
encourages the sustainable and innovative approach to the development that makes use of
current the city waste practices and to make more energy and resource efficient at the same time
encourage economic development and social equity.

1.10 Social & Environmental Benefits of a Good Urban Design

 More of social enclose and interaction.
 Enhance heritage and ecological value.
 Increase energy efficiency and reduced waste and pollution.
 Encourage a vibrant and minimum of self supporting use and activities within the cities.
 Enhance the quality and urban living and culture.

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Elements of Urban Design

2.1 Urban Form and Urban Structure

 The term “Urban Form” is used to describe a city’s physical characteristics. It refers to the size, shape,
and configuration of an urban area or its parts. . Characteristics of the urban form range from, at a very
localized scale, features such as building materials, facades, and fenestration to, at a broader scale,
housing type, street type, and their spatial arrangement or layout. The concept of urban form
encompasses also nonphysical aspects such as density. Urban form refers to the spatial arrangement of
different element of the city. It is also defined by the inter-relationship between the built and un-built spaces.
This inter-relationship can be easily described as the figure ground theory.
 Figure Ground Theory
i. It is also known as urban spatial design theory.
ii. The figure ground diagram is a 2-dimensional map of an urban area or space that shows the
relationship between the built and un-built space in the city.
iii. According to this theory: solid masses of the figure are known as buildings and open voids
are considered as parks and public squares.
iv. The figure-ground approach to spatial design is an attempt to manipulate the solid-void
relationships by adding to, subtracting from, or changing the physical geometry of the pattern.
v. The figure-ground drawing is a graphic tool for illustrating mass-void relationships; a two-
dimensional abstraction in plain view that clarifies the structure and order of urban spaces.

 Urban Structure refers to the pattern or arrangement of development blocks, streets, buildings, open
space, and landscape which make up urban areas. It is the interrelationship between all these elements,
rather than their particular characteristics that bond together to make a place.

2.2 Urban Solids and Urban Voids

 Urban Solids: It includes:
i. Public Monuments or institutions (Ziggurat, Pyramid, Gothic or Baroque Churches etc.)
ii. Urban Blocks (Krier’s mission is to reconstruct the traditional urban block as the definer of streets
and square)
 Urban Voids: It consists of:
i. Entry foyer space-(establishes the important transition from personal domain to common territory)
i:e (fore court, mews, niche, lobby, front yard).
ii. Inner block void -a semi private residential space for leisure or utility (courtyard and covered
passage)
iii. Network of streets and squares -places to spend time in and corridors through which to move-
iv. Public parks and gardens -nodes for the preservation of nature in the city, places for recreation.
v. Linear open-space system commonly related to major water features such as rivers, waterfronts,
and wetland zones.
2.3 Types of Urban Voids
 Planning Voids
i. These are the voids created due to inefficient and improper planning process

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ii. These are created due to planning isolation without understanding the city fabric
iii. Improper planning techniques when done, voids are formed.
 Functional Voids
i. These are the dead vacant spaces in the city when a place is not used like it was designed to use
are known as functional.
ii. These occupy precious land in the city and make the environment unpleasant.
 Geographical Voids
i. These are the linear open spaces like river, water front, wetland etc.
 Voids Related To Public Realm
i. These are the essential element of city planning.
ii. These are the open spaces where social and economic activities take place.
Types of Voids Related to Public Realm
i. Edge Spaces: Entry fair spaces, front lobby, courtyard, space between two building, setback of
large scale plates, frontage etc.
ii. Inner Block Voids: These are the private or semi-private spaces of a public or residential building
for example- open courtyard, cover passage etc.
iii. Network of Streets and Squares: All the transportation corridor, street, railway lines, public
squares, public realm etc.
iv. Recreational Voids: All types of recreational areas, public parks, garden etc.
v. Infrastructural Voids: Informal sectors includes in this type of voids.

2.4 Organization of Spaces and Their Articulation in the Form of Squares, Streets, Vistas and Focal Point.
 Building
i. Buildings are the most important element of urban design.
ii. The shape that articulate the spaces by forming the street wall of the city
iii. Well designed building and group of building work together to create a good sense of the city.

 Public Spaces
i. Public spaces are referred to as the living room of the city.
ii. It is the city where people come together to enjoy the city and interact with each other.
iii. They may sometimes form the stage to the drama of life.
iv. Public spaces can range from grand central plaza or square to a local neighbourhood park.

 Streets
i. Streets are the connections between the places and places.
ii. They are defined by their physical dimensions and character as well as scale and character ofthe
building within that line.
iii. Streets can range from grand avenues to small intimate pedestrians.

 Transport
i. Transport system connects the parts of the city and helps to shape them, enabling the movement
throughout the city.
ii. These include roads, railways, bicycle, pedestrian network, etc.

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iii. The balance of the transport system helps in defining the quality and character of the city making
them either hostile or friendly to the [pedestrian.
iv. The best city is the ones that show the experience of pedestrian workers while minimizing the
dominance of private automobiles.

 Landscape
i. Landscape is the green part of the city in the form of water bodies, urban park, flower plants, tress
,shrubs ,etc.
ii. A landscape element defines the character and beauty of city and creates soft and contrasting
spaces.
iii. Green spaces in city can range from central park in New York to small intimate pocket parks.
iv. Overall Urban Design binds together all these elements into a coherent organised designed
structure. The creative articulation of spaces is the most prominent aspects of Urban Design.

2.5 Artistic Principles

The following artistic principles are an integral part of the creating form and special definition:
 Order: It’s the arrangement or disposition of people or things in relation to each other according to a
particular sequence pattern or method.
 Unity: It’s the effective use of elements in a design to convey a theme. Unity is achieved by implementing a
design consistency over a landscape through mass planting or imitation.
 Balance: Balance refers to a state of equilibrium real or perceived. Traditionally we think of balance in the
landscape as being either symmetrical or asymmetrical, symmetry being elements arranged identically
around a central axis and asymmetry , when elements appear equally weighted but aren’t identically
arranged .
 Scale: It refers to the size of landscape element in relation to their surroundings.
 Proportion: It refers to the size relationship that parts of the design have to each other and design as as a
whole.
 Hierarchy: Hierarchies are important for categorization and organization of large number of objects. It also
occurs in the definition and arrangement of spaces in special designs such as landscape architecture and
urban planning . It unifies the design and allows our eyes to move from the most of the least important part.
 Symmetry: It means having identical images on both the sides, a mirror effect. Symmetrical design works
best in formal and traditional homes that will help strike a balance in overall appearance as well as balance.
Symmetrical landscape can awake a feeling of order and stability.
 Rhythm: It is achieved when the elements of a design creates a feeling of motion which leads the viewers
eye through or even beyond the design area. It includes colour schemes, lines and form which can be
prepared to attain rhythm in landscape design.
 Contrast: Contrast is an important element of both landscape and urban design. It can make all the
differences like contrasting texture, colour, plant sizes and contrasting leaf structure all added interest.

2.6 Image of the City and its Components

Image of the City:

 Kevin Andrew Lynch was an American urban planner and author. His most influential book include image of
the city in the year 1960.

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 The book is about the look of the city. It has two concepts: Legibility and Imageability.
 It gives the perception of 3 American cities: Boston, New Jersey and Los Angeles.
 It consists of 3 phases:
i. First phase or section, new concept of legibility and imageability is presented showcasing the
examples of 3 American cities.
ii. Second section shows the outcome of reconnaissance survey and made the comparison between
each of the city.
iii. In the third section, five elements of urban design and interrelationship are explained.

Legibility

 It means the ease with which the part of the city can be recognized or organised in a coherent pattern.
 A legible city is one where districts, landmarks, pathways are easily identifiable and grouped into coherent
pattern.
 The principle for effective legibility include:
i. Create an identity at each location which is different from all others.
ii. Use landmarks to provide orientation or memorable location.
iii. Create well structured paths using navigation for visual survey i.e. GPRS.
iv. Providing signage to help find the way, decisions etc.

Imageability.

 It is the quality of physical aspect which gives the higher probability of evoking a strong image in an
observer.
 Physical qualities which relates to attributes of identity or structure in the image of the city.
 It is that shape, colour or arrangement which facilitates the making of vividly identifiable, powerfully
structured and highly useful for mental images of the environment.

2.7 Basic 5 Elements for Image of the City

Kevin Lynch (1960) has introduced the urban design elements from his research over a five-year study of
Jersey City, Los Angeles and Boston on his observation towards information of a city and uses it to
create a mental map. Lynch's conclusion was that people formed mental maps of their surroundings
consisting of five basic elements. The five kinds of basic urban design elements which people create
their mental images of a city are paths, edges, districts, nodes and landmarks.

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 Path is defined as the passages that experiences from the people moves: walkways, streets,
transit line, railroads and canals. This is the most important element in people's mental image
toward the city. The importance of paths can be identified through their identity. This could be
achieved by the strength in building facade along the paths as well as specifies features such as
pavement textures and plantings.

Paths: routes along which people move throughout the city.

 Edges are defined as the boundaries that separate the continuity which is not use as paths:
shores, railroad cuts, edges of development, walls. Edge is a separation between two sections
that breaks its continuity such as sewers, or by a sharp contrast in density or the built
environment. Edges are the boundary of an area which is topological, something which an
observer can position themselves, rather than the district.

Edges: boundaries and breaks in continuity.

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 Districts are the medium-to-large sections of the city which the observer mentally enters "inside
of," and which are recognizable as having some common, identifying character. Usually, some
unique arrangements of the paths or districts become the common practice. The division of the
district is generally based on the function of the land use. The classification some parts of the
areas have different functions of land use such as residential (yellow), educational (pink), public
amenities (blue) and green spaces (green).

Districts: areas characterized by common characteristics.

 Node is a point, the strategic and important spot which are the intensive foci in a city. They may
be primarily concentrations or junctions. In another word, nodes can be defined as the
gathering point in the city. In addition, the location of nodes determines their utilization as
placing nodes on the main routes can make the movement more efficient than those located far
away from the main routes.

Nodes: strategic focus points for orientation like squares and junctions.

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 Landmarks also can be defined as another type of point-reference, but it does only can be seen
from the external. They are usually symbol, physical objects. Eg- May be a building, temple, signage,
stone, statue, etc.

Landmarks: external points of orientation, usually a easily identifyable physical object in the urban landscape.

Landmark, Paths, Districts, Edges and Nodes.

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