Asst. prof. Sabah Mohammed Abed Mosehab<br />Al- Mustaqbal University<br />College of Engineering & Technology<br />The purpose of this lecture is to define contemporary urban design theory, its principles and to discover their origins. Urban design has evolved تطور with human civilisation over thousands of years . The principles governing urban design theory have been shaped and moulded by society, economics, environment and politics. This lecture aims to discover what where the catalysts and reasons for the formation and origins of the principles of contemporary urban design theory.<br />This lecture look at what urban design is ; its function and purpose. The lecture will move on to define contemporary urban design and will then explore its principles. The main body then focus on the origins of each of the principles of contemporary urban design theory. This paper will aim to conclude with what where the social, environmental, economic and political catalysts for the origins of the principles of contemporary urban design theory.<br />What is Urban Design?<br />Cities and urbanized areas are the results of the process of civilisation ة. Urban areas can be described as physical manifestations of human ecologies The method of creating these “physical manifestations” of civilisation is known today as “Urban Design”.<br />Urban design can be defined as the art of place making in cities and towns . Today, the purpose of Urban Design is to improve the social interactions within urbanized spaces, while satisfying ecological and economic needs. It enhances the quality of city life . However, the purpose of urban design was not always so. Through history, urban design has been used to/for :<br /> Demonstrate man’s power over fellow man and nature<br /> Economic growth<br /> Defence from militaristic attack and :<br /> To compensate for loss of nature<br />These uses of urban design arose from social, economic, cultural, political and ecological changes and events in society .<br />Urban design is garnering increased importance as time progresses, with nearly half the population living in cities and heavily urbanized areas.<br />What is Contemporary Urban Design Theory?<br />Contemporary urban design exists at a crossroads of architecture, landscape architecture and city planning. It functions as a collaborative, creative process between several disciplines and results in three dimensional urban forms and space, enhancing the life of the city and its inhabitants , Urban design is concerned with how places function, not just how they look.<br />Urban design has historically been the domain تحكم of the architecture and planning professions . It was not until the 1960’s that landscape architecture secured a significant role in the urban design process . This was due to the evident failures that were unintentionally created by the garden city and city of tomorrow movements. These failures created a lack of street life , segregation of traffic types , fragmentation and underutilisation of urban spaces and anti-social.<br />Also, up to this time, urban design did not account or satisfy the human experience or scale. This led to the appearance of “dead spaces” in urban centres. Another failure of urban design from the modernist period was discrimination against people with physical disabilities. This was caused by the medical model of understanding of physical disabilities, instead of a social model, which saw the problem not with the person, but with the built environment<br />Until recently, urban design did not address ecological needs or concerns. Very rarely was mitigation to the negative effects of urbanization considered. This was evident in the flooding of the Jersey Shore in the early 60’s . During this same period, the birth and growth of the green movement occurred; bringing ecological concerns into the decision making process of urban The social, economic and ecological problems caused by rapid urbanization and urban design policies that exacerbated existing issues, came to shape contemporary urban design theory . <br />Contemporary urban design theory is concerned with shaping city and urban spaces to :<br /> Encourage social activities within the urban fabric<br /> Create positive social interactions<br /> Satisfy ecological needs<br /> Mitigate negative effects of urbanisation<br /> Promote economic growth<br />Principles of Contemporary Urban Design Theory<br />There are many names and terms used to label ( تصنيف ) and describe the principles of contemporary urban design.<br />Places for People :<br />Urban spaces and places must be safe , have a sense of identity, provide a variety of use and be vibrant Successful urban spaces allow for social interactions to occur .<br />Enrich the Existing :<br />Urban spaces must respond to their surrounding context and create a mutual relationship between the areas. The spaces should complement one another’s strengths and minimize their weaknesses<br />Connect to the Surrounding Urban Fabric :<br />Urban places must be permeable, accessible and connected to surrounding transportation and traffic routes. The spaces must function with the surrounding circulation routes. However, the site must not only be physically, but visually accessible and connected from the surrounding context .<br />Work the Landscape Urban spaces should work with the landscape , its form , ecology , micro climate and natural functions . This will maintain the landscape character of the area and minimize energy input and the level of disturbance caused to the site .<br />Mixed Use<br />A variety of forms , uses and activities will attract a large diversity of users from various ethnic groups , social classes and age groups . This will result maximum use of the space throughout the day and .<br />Management<br />Urban places must be sustainable, economically viable ا and maintained to continue success and function of the space .<br />Design for Change<br />Urban spaces must be responsive to changes in the urban fabric to continue to function and be used. A great degree of flexibility is needed for a change of purpose / use of the space in future .<br />Reasons for Change in Urban Design Theory & Origins of Contemporary Principles<br />A - Social Problems<br />Much of urban planning theory, post-world war two, ignored the human scale and societal factors. The rebuilding of urban centres in Europe, and especially Britain, led to a process of un-slumming , which is the relocation of communities from socially / economically disadvantaged areas to new suburbs and districts . This led to the dispersal of ethnic groups and established vibrant communities . The new suburbs did not function and failed to establish new, functioning communities. This was due to a loss of connection (historical and social) between residents and their new districts .<br />The layout of urban areas during this period , were not conducive to social interactions or safety . The introduction of superblocks led to fewer streets and less permeability. This resulted in low levels of pedestrian traffic on streets without social / economic “magnets”, creating dead zones and lower passive surveillance against anti-social behaviour . Another issue of urban planning that damaged the social realm of city areas was the segregation of traffic . This led to the death of the street. The creation of roadways exacerbated urban fragmentation , while further limiting permeability in urban areas. This was due to the road system acting as physical and psychological deterrents<br />The principle of “places for people”, “connect to the surrounding fabric” and “mixed use” originated as a result of the problems previously described. These principles allowed for the occurrence حدوث of passive surveillance on the street, which acted as a psychological deterrent to anti-social behaviour .<br />B - Contemporary Thinking :<br />It has already been discussed how urban planning theory (1918-1960) ignored the human experience and did not create opportunities for positive social interactions. But it was not<br />until research and literature on how the physical environment can enhance social interactions was published, did the principal “quality of the public realm” come into being<br />Work by Gehl, J. (1992) showed how social interactions can occur at a maximum distance of 12m, with the optimum distance being 3m. This was in stark contrast to the scale of “superblocks” in urban areas. The “superblock” was further critiqued by Jacobs (1993) for the limitations it placed on permeability in urban areas.<br />Jacobs proposed more routes to give a greater range of options to urban dwellers. Increased permeability would also provide more “eyes on the street”, increasing pedestrian safety and acting as a psychological deterrent to anti-social behaviour. These are the origins of the principle of “connecting to the urban fabric” and “permeability”. It can be concluded from these views and findings, that urban planning/design theory from 1918 to 1960 was “anti-urban” in nature as it worked against the very processes which created city and urban life (Taylor, 1998).<br />{ As defined by Marshall, "connectivity" refers solely فقط to the number of connections to and from a particular place, whereas بينما<br />"permeability" refers to the capacity of those connections to carry people or vehicles.} //////<br />C - Environmental :<br />The inclusion of ecological principles in urban design theory can be traced back ارجاعه to the picturesque and landscape movements of the (17th and 18th) centuries . This was in response to لل the industrial revolution and the lament over the absence of nature from urban areas . However, the picturesque intentions in this regard were purely aesthetic and not ecological . It was not until the birth of the “green” movement in the 1960’s that ecology became an important element in urban design theory .<br />Edwards, 2011). This was due to several reasons; increasing ecological awareness among society, arrival of the climate change debate on the social and political scene, publication of Rachel Carson’s “Silent Spring” (1962) and Ian McHarg’s “Design with Nature” (1993) (Clifford &<br />“Design with Nature” proposed a new approach to urban land use planning . Dubbed the “Ecological” or “McHargian” method, it was the first time that the function of the landscape and the impacts caused by urban development was considered . The work of McHarg proposed working with the landscape and its natural attributes. ة This was completely in the face of modernism and traditional urban planning theory and the “form follows function” principle, the author of “Design with Nature” was instrumental in the invention of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), a tool that assists in the “ecological method” and that changed the process of urban design and planning forever .<br />Another factor that influenced urban design was the setting up of the environmental protection agency (EPA) in the United States in 1967. This lead to new planning laws and mandatory environmental impact assessments which would assess , predict and mitigate against the effects of urbanization .This gave increased importance to the principle of “working with the landscape”, as following the principle would result in less impact upon the landscape and hence, fewer mitigation measures would be needed, lowering development costs .<br />Climate Change was another catalyst for the formation of the “design with nature” principle of contemporary urban design. With research proving the negative effects of urbanisation on the environment, such as the “urban heat island effect”, loss of habitat, lower levels of biodiversity and flooding, mitigating efforts to improve the urban environment entered contemporary theory .<br />These events clarified the connection between man, his actions and the landscape. These events lead to the formation of the “work with landscape” principle .<br />D - Economics :<br />Historically, economics has been the decisive factor in urban design theory. After all, cities manifest by economic means and so the location of economic areas within cities is paramount to their success . With the advent of Rationalism , urban designers began organizing cities into single land use zones . City plan became diagrammatic in appearance, with the city divided into food production, housing and economic zone, with government/religious buildings at the core ز. These zones where then further divided. . This trend continued in modernist urban planning (1918-1960) .<br />Single land use planning had numerous problems, in social and economic terms. With districts having a high number of businesses, but a low level of diversity, they attracted only a specific group of people, at a specific time of the day, for a specific duration. This led to the districts becoming “dead” outside of their peak times<br />The occurrence of “dead” zones at specific times of the day also resulted in anti-social behaviour, which in turn lowered land value and increased maintenance costs. Single land use planning was also prone to failure , due to change in the urban fabric or social, economic and political factors. This was because of the districts low level of diversity in uses and businesses.<br />These factors were the catalysts and origins of the “mixed use”, “management”, “enrich the existing” and “design for change” principles of contemporary urban design . Areas of mixed use attracted a greater variety of people than single use land planning . This resulted in spaces being used at different times of the day by people from different social classes and situations, which in turnا created a larger time frame for economic activities. This also resulted in greater passive surveillance which countered anti- social behaviour