Urban Design

Definition , elements and tools

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 • 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 operates at many scales, from the
macro scale of the urban structure (planning,
zoning, transport and infrastructure networks) to
the micro scale of street furniture and lighting.
Urban Design • Urban design is about making connections
between people and places, movement and
urban form, nature and the built fabric.
• Urban design is derived from transcends planning
and transportation policy, architectural design,
development economics, engineering and
landscape.
Elements of Urban Design
Buildings
• 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.
• The relationship of buildings to the site, street and neighbouring
buildings (alignment, setbacks, boundary treatment) and the
architectural expression of their facades (projections, openings,
patterns and materials).

Example

RESIDENTIALBUILDINGS
Thesearestructureswherepeopledwell.

COMMERCIALBUILDINGS
Intendedtogenerateaprofit

EDUCATIONALBUILDING
Providealargevarietyoflearningspace
 Elements of Urban Design
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.They shape
and articulate space by forming the street walls of the city.
• Public spaces make high quality life in the city possible - they form
the stage and backdrop to the drama of life.
• Public spaces range from grand central plazas and squares, to small,
local neighborhood parks.
• Much of urban design is concerned with the design and management
of publicly used space (also referred to as the public realm or public
domain) and the way this is experienced and used.

Example
St.PeterSquare
SaintPeter'sSquareisalargeplazalocateddirectlyinfront of St.Peter'sBasilicaintheVatican
City

TimesSquare
TimesSquare isamajorcommercialintersection,touristdestination,entertainmentcenter,and
neighborhoodintheMidtownManhattansectionofNewYork
Times Square
 Elements of Urban Design
Streets
• Thesearetheconnectionsbetweenspacesandplaces,aswellasbeingspaces
themselves.
• Theyaredefinedbytheirphysicaldimensionandcharacteraswellasthesize,scale,
andcharacterofthebuildingsthatlinethem.
• Thepatternofthestreetnetworkispartofwhatdefinesacityandwhatmakes
eachcityunique

Example
Boulevard
Awidestreetinatownorcity,typicallyonelinedwithtrees.

Avenue
A broadroadinatownorcity,typicallyhavingtreesatregularintervalsalongitssides.

A Boulevard
 Elements of Urban Design
Transportation
• Transportsystemsconnectthepartsofcitiesandhelpshapethem,andenable
movementthroughoutthecity.
• Theyincluderoad,rail,bicycle,andpedestriannetworks,andtogetherformthe
totalmovementsystemofacity.
• Thebalanceofthesevarioustransportsystemsiswhathelpsdefinethequalityand
characterofcities,andmakesthemeitherfriendlyorhostiletopedestrians.
• Thebestcitiesaretheonesthatelevatetheexperienceofthepedestrianwhile
minimizingthedominanceoftheprivateautomobile

Example

Railways
Arailwayis aroutebetweentwoplacesalongwhichtrainstravelonsteelrails.

Roadways
 A"roadway"is onlythatportionofaroadintendedfornormalvehiculartraffic..
Railway
 Elements of Urban Design
Landscape

• Itisthegreenpartofthecitythatweavesthroughout,intheformofurbanparks,
streettrees,plants,flowers,andwaterinmanyforms.
• Thelandscapehelpsdefinethecharacterandbeautyofacityandcreatessoft,
contrastingspacesandelements.▪Greenspacesincitiesrangefromgrandparksto
smallpocketparks.
• Centralparkisoneofthoseplacesthatmakenewyorksuchagreatplacetolive.The
hugepark,341hectarelarge(843acres),islocatedinthecenterofmanhattan. Its
designhasservedasanexampleforcityparksaroundtheworld

Example

CentralPark
CentralParkisanurbanparkinNewYorkCitylocatedbetweentheUpperWestand
UpperEastSidesofManhattan.Itisthefifth-largestparkinthecitybyarea,covering843
acres.
Central Park, Newyork
Urban Design Elements
By Lynch
▪ PATHS
▪ EDGES
DISTRICTS
▪ NODES
▪ LANDMARKS
 These tools can help in :

Urban Design Tools ● understanding the urban

context
● encouraging community
What is it? involvement
● increasing the understanding
of urban design issues
● describing intended design
Urban design tools are specific techniques that can be outcomes
applied at appropriate stages in the design or project
planning process to facilitate quality outcomes. These ● establishing design processes
● and organising people and
tools can help in understanding the urban context, resources.
encouraging community involvement, increasing the
understanding of urban design issues, describing ● They can be used either
intended design outcomes, establishing design individually or collectively in
achieving quality urban design
processes, and organizing people and resources. They
outcomes
can be used either individually or collectively in
achieving quality urban design outcomes.
 SECTION 1 : RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS
TOOLS.

Urban Design Toolkit SECTION 2 : COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION

TOOLS.

What is it?

SECTION 3: RAISING AWARENESS TOOLS

The Urban Design Toolkit is a compendium of tools
that can be used to facilitate high-quality urban
design. For some, the Toolkit will provide an
important resource, assisting them in the application
of quality urban design projects. For others, the
Toolkit may provide increased insight into the breadth SECTION 4 : PLANNING AND DESIGN TOOLS
and depth of urban design and a starting point in
identifying how to achieve quality design.

SECTION 5 : IMPLEMENTATION TOOLS

 How to use Urban Design
Toolkit
It is used to help in an urban design project. To
enable this, the Toolkit has been arranged into
discrete sections. The tools have been grouped
into five sections reflecting the life-cycle stages of
most urban design projects.
These are :
● research and analysis tools for understanding the
urban context
● community participation tools for encouraging
community involvement and informing initiatives ●
raising awareness tools for increasing understanding
of urban design
● planning and design tools for describing intended
design outcomes
● implementation tools for establishing processes
and organising people and resources.
Research and analysis tools are essential A bit of this section:
for understanding the context and • Accessibility assessment
character of the urban environment. A measurement of how easy it is for people to reach
These tools should be used in the first a desired activity, including places of work, health
steps of an urban design project. They care facilities, education facilities, food shops and
identify the qualities that make a place other destinations that are important for participating
special, and enlighten design fully in society.
development and decision-making. The
• Archive research -
wide scope of urban design research
Collecting and analyzing a wide range of historical
encompasses, amongst other things, the data contained in, for example, institutional,
history, physical form and characteristics corporate or public records. Archive research
of towns and cities, and the behaviour of provides historical information about the past
the people who inhabit them. Common environment, activities and structures.
topics for urban design research include
the analysis and aspects of activity, • Assessment of environment effects (aee) -
accessibility and liveability. It is a process of identifying and evaluating the
potential positive and negative impacts that a
proposal may have on the environment. The

SECTION 1 purpose of this assessment is to ensure that

decision-makers consider environmental impacts
before deciding whether or not to proceed with a
particular project.
Research and analysis tools
• Behaviour observation -
Observations that track and record on maps and
diagrams the movements, use and interaction of
people with urban spaces and the built environment.
 A bit of this section:
The community and users of our
towns and cities are the ultimate • Community meeting –
clients and beneficiaries of quality A chaired meeting held in a community place and
urban design. Quality urban design is used to present design proposals to a community.
founded on a sound understanding of • Design workshop –
local knowledge, values and needs. A workshop that involves professional designers,
True community participation enables the community and other key stakeholders that is
people to influence, and be part of, focused on generating design ideas for
urban design decision-making development. It usually runs for a defined period of
processes. This involvement time, from several hours to a week, depending on
strengthens their ownership of the the size, complexity of the project and the number
places they have had a hand in of people involved.
• Focus group –
designing. The structured, small group meeting made up of
stakeholders sharing common Demographics or
stakeholder interests, who discuss a specific topic.
Often used to test differences , degrees of
SECTION 2 consensus and deliberating opinions between
groups.
• Interactive display
C o m m u n i t y p a r t i c i p a t i o n t o o l s A Display on urban issues or on a project that
allows the community to make its view on the
issues known by voting, putting post - it notes on
the display, or physically altering the display Best
used as a part of forum , exhibition or design
workshop.
This section contains tools for raising A bit of this section:
awareness and promoting quality urban
• Case studies:
design processes and projects. Knowledge
A selection of written up ‘exemplar urban design
of design possibilities and an
projects’, either posted on the web or published, that
understanding of processes will help people
demonstrate the practical application of urban design
to participate in the future of their town or
principles, or a particular research technique in
city in constructive ways. As people become
creating quality urban design.
aware of what is possible, their
expectations will encourage investors, • Demonstration project :
developers, and local and central A prototype of part of a development site used to
government to provide high-quality urban show how the development will look, or the first
environments. Knowledge encourages stage of a much larger project that is constructed in
people to take responsibility for local issues its entirety to demonstrate how the rest of the
and, ultimately, gain ownership over ‘their’ development will proceed.
place. At the same time, an informed
community is more likely to support and • Design Centre-
insist on high-quality design initiatives. A physical place or building that houses design
services and associated events, including public
lectures, exhibitions, community education and

SECTION 3 information aimed at promoting quality design

within the community.

• Display Model-
Raising awareness tools A three-dimensional model (real or digital) of
a site development or city district that shows
the proposed configuration of buildings and
spaces.
 A bit of this section:
• Asset Management Plan
Planning and design tools create a What it’s useful for: Local authorities manage
vision and set a framework for significant infrastructure and community assets
integrated development. These tools that deliver most of the critical quality-of-life
vary in scale depending on the services to communities. Asset management plans
boundaries of the design framework. are useful for identifying and quantifying assets,
They set out comprehensive design gathering information on their age and condition,
strategies that provide the means to defining the level of service a community wants
describe, coordinate and apply quality those assets to provide and forecasting both
design intentions in complex urban operational and renewal costs. Activities can be
situations. implemented to reduce the use and ongoing
maintenance of the assets and prolong their life
• Community Plan

What it’s useful for:-Bringing local people and

resources together, making better decisions and
SECTION 4 achieving more appropriate results, building a
sense of community, and creating opportunities
for speedier development..
Planning and design tools
• Concept Plan

What it’s useful for:-Showing the potential

development of a site before the masterplan and
for drawing up detailed project plans. Concept
plans are particularly useful at the beginning of
a project and during community consultation.
 A bit of this section:
Implementation tools offer different
mechanisms for the delivery of quality • Business Improvement District
urban design outcomes, and are used by a A defined area in a city or town where a
range of professionals to manage, motivate partnership between public and private interests
and organize urban design projects. While plans and manages events, marketing and the
disparate, the implementation tools focus on public environment in order to enhance local
the means of building quality urban design business. A ‘business improvement district’ or
projects. Implementation can therefore be BID can be used to collect a special differential
considered through all stages of an urban rating that is applied to specific projects within
design project. A number of the tools focus
on discussing and resolving design issues the zone.
before the construction of a project. • Design Advisory Group
Implementation tools can help clear A group made up of design experts and/or
roadblocks in the design process, provide informed decision makers, brought together to
collaborative management structures, and provide high-level design strategy advice and
develop creative design solutions direction. This type of group generally provides
strategy and policy advice, in contrast to an urban
design panel that offers design assessment and

SECTION 5 •
project-based critique.

Design Assessment
An assessment prepared by the designer on the
I m p l e m e n t a t i o n To o l s rationale behind a design proposal for a
project.
Lange, M.D.(May 8 2009). review: Kevin Lynch – The Image of the City.
http://themobilecity.nl/2009/05/08/review-kevin-lynch-the-image-of-the-city/

Londhe, N. (April 19 2019). Urban design toolkit.

https://www.slideshare.net/NikitaLondhe3/urban-design-toolkit

http://www.urbandesign.org/

https://urbandesign.org.au/what-is-urban-design/

References