Elements Of Urban Design.docx

RIZAL TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY

MANALAYSAY, VENSON PAYNOR, JON CARLO PLANNING 2

PROF. ARCH’T. EFREN BERME JR., UAP

WHAT IS URBAN DESIGN? 

Urban design is concerned with the arrangement, appearance and function of our suburbs, towns and cities.

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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.

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It involves the design and coordination of all that makes up cities and towns.

ELEMENTS OF URBAN DESIGN:     

BUILDINGS PUBLIC SPACES STREETS TRANSPORT LANDSCAPE

BUILDINGS Buildings are the most pronounced elements of urban design - they shape and articulate space by forming the streetwalls of the city. Well designed buildings and groups of buildings work together to create a sense of place.

EXAMPLES:

RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS These are structures where people dwell.

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COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS

Alphaland Makati Tower

Twin Oaks Place, Mandaluyong City

INSTITUTIONAL BUILDING

Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) Pasay City, Metro Manila

EDUCATIONAL BUILDING

University of San Carlos Main Campus, Cebu City

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. Public spaces range from grand central plazas and squares, to small, local neighborhood parks.

EXAMPLES: Market Square: Pittsburgh, PA

Washington Square Park: New York, NY

New York’s famous city square, Times Square is located at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Streets.

The best known plaza in Madrid, Spain, this impressive city square is one of the main stops on any tourist visit.

Ayala Triangle Garden, Makati City, Philippines

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 grand avenues such as the Champs-Elysees in Paris to small, intimate pedestrian streets. The pattern of the street network is part of what defines a city and what makes each city unique.

EXAMPLES: MAIN STREET It is usually a focal point for shops and retailers in the central business district, and is most often used in reference to retailing and socializing. The term is commonly used in Scotland and the United States, and less often in Canada, Australia and Ireland.

HIGH STREET Frequently used for the street name of the primary business street of towns or cities, especially in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth of Nations.

OVERPASS In the US, an overpass is normally a bridge for motor vehicles to pass over other road or rail traffic.

It would introduce confusion to call a pedestrian bridge or footbridge an overpass.

SKYWAY Skyway is usually used in the US for long or high bridges for traffic.

FREEWAY An express highway, especially one with controlled access.

BOULEVARD A type of large ROAD, usually running through a city. Multilane arterial thoroughfare, divided with a median down the center, and perhaps with roadways along each side designed as slow travel and parking lanes and for bicycle and pedestrian usage, often with an aboveaverage quality of landscaping and scenery.

AVENUE Is traditionally a straight route with a line of trees or large shrubs running along each side.

ALLEY A narrow passageway between or behind buildings. A narrow street between the fronts of houses or businesses. This type of alley is found in the older parts of many cities, including American cities like PHILADELPHIA AND BOSTON. It can refer to a narrow, usually paved, pedestrian path, often between the walls of buildings in towns and cities.

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.

EXAMPLES: TRAIN A train is a form of rail transport consisting of a series of vehicles that usually runs along a rail track to transport cargo or passengers although magnetic levitation trains that

float above the track exist too.

TRAIN STATION Nichols station in Taguig City

BUS A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry many passengers. Buses have utilitarian fittings designed for efficient movement of large numbers of people, and often have multiple doors.

BUS STATION

JEEPNEYS Jeepney Bus Manila Philippines. pimped out Jeepney – one of the many forms of public transportation.

TAXI A taxi is an automobile that carries passengers for a fare usually determined by the distance traveled.

TRICYCLE A tricycle is a public utility vehicle consisting of a motorcycle and an attached passenger sidecar.

PRIVATE AUTOMOBILES

BICYCLE

BICYCLE LANE

SIDEWALKS Sidewalks are also considered transport since it allows pedestrian to go to other places.

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. Green spaces in cities range from grand parks such as Central Park in New York City and the Washington DC Mall, to small intimate pocket parks. EXAMPLE: Central Park is one of those places that make New York such a great place to live. The huge park, 341 hectare large (843 acres), is located in the center of Manhattan. Its design has served as an example for city parks around the world.

The park boasts several lakes, theaters, ice rinks, fountains, tennis courts, baseball fields, many playgrounds and other facilities. It is also home to the Central Park Zoo and the METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART. Especially during the weekends, when cars are not allowed into the park, Central Park is a welcome oasis in this hectic city.