Urban Design Criteria

The Holistic Approach for Design Assessment

Lecture: December 11, 2009

Prof. Ar. Nick K. Latogan. MS Arch., UAPCor.

Contents:

I. IntroductionII. TerminologyIII. Urban Design Benchmark

I. Introduction:

• In urban design, the primary concern involves with public issues may it be new design proposal of a park, repair or improvement projects where here it includes a broadly defined group of clients with diverse interests. And as it is, urban designers cannot satisfy 100% of its stakeholders.

• This lecture is theoretically intended to be a guideline for making association between people and places, movement and urban form. But we need to acknowledge that there may be local practices/criteria in other place that may differ from those presented herein.

• The principles/criteria presented herein are subject to change as new information becomes available in the near future. Depending on the type or magnitude of any particular change in criteria, the impact on projects could be significant; therefore, every reasonable effort to incorporate the most current criteria should be made when designing and constructing, repair or improvement projects.

II. Terminology• Criteria - something that is used as a reason for making a judgment or decision. • Criteria are presented with languages such as “must,” “shall,” is prerequisite, and “needs to.” These and similar terms are considered to be compulsory.• Guidance is presented with the word “should.” Guidance is a recommendation and is not mandatory.

• Holistic Approach means relating to or concerned with wholes or complete systems rather than with the analysis of just one part.• Design Assessment means the elements of evaluation on the basis of the respective standards to be applied for the assessment.

• Urban Design Defined

Q. What is Urban Design?

Q. What is Urban Design?

“The city is a people’s art, a shared experience, the place where the artist meets the greatest number of potential appreciators.” Edmund Bacon

Urban Design can be considered to be:

“The art of shaping the interaction between, people and places, environment and urban form, and nature and built fabric, and influencing the process which lead to the successful villages, towns and cities.”

Kevin Cambell and Robert Cowan

III. Urban DesignBenchmark

(The Key Decisive Factors)

Urban Design Benchmark (Key Decisive Factors)

• Having the right understanding about the functions of urban designer will give us the importance of WHO the users (pluralistic public clients), WHAT & HOW the level of design that deals with the relationships between the minor and major elements of the fabric and WHEN distributed in space and constructed at different times by different persons.

• Since urban design is essential in creating community identity, an effective planning in the broadest sense is a must in order to aid and deliver better public services. • The following slides will give an overview of Holistic Approach for Urban Design Assessment.

Acronym (PLATAPPARDS)

1. People2. Laws/regulations 3. Activities4. Time5. Automobiles6. Physical Natural Environment7. Political 8. Accessibility 9. Resources10.Design Plan 11.Space

Quotation:“Too often in seeking a geometric purity or, alternatively the opposite, visual richness of places as a works of art, designers have lost sight of what the public realm can afford. They think of it primarily as a display that photographs well in certain lights at certain times of the year. Hence the behavioral dullness of many so called ‘signature-designs’ by architects and landscape architects of high repute! We have the knowledge to do better now.” (Lang. 1987).

1. People

• The people identifies the entire body of the citizens of a jurisdiction (ex. City, community, Barangay, Sitio). The stakeholders, residents are the users and client/s (population) that the urban designer needs to satisfy in terms of their commonality ( history, socio-economic, culture etc.).

• Central issues of interest to people are essential in understanding their human condition and the meaning of life, and survival. • Other concerns such as religion, philosophy, and science display or signify ways and aspects of analysis which attempt to investigate and understand the nature, behavior, and purpose of people.

People’s culture, religion influence design…

Questions to ponder:

Q. Does the design reflect the people – their society and inherent culture, values, belief and aspirations?Q. Do the planners provide only a partial solution to the whole community and ignore the entirely the people who live in that community?

2. Laws/regulations

• The mechanisms of social order and cooperation governing the set of rules that specify the minimum standards. The main purpose is to protect public health, safety and general welfare as they relate to the construction and occupancy of buildings and structures. Republic Acts, House Bills, Presidential Decrees, National Building Code (NBC) and Ordinances. For Ex. The Signage's.

Signage

• http://www.boredpanda.com/funniest-signs-around-the-world/

• http://www.boredpanda.com/funniest-signs-around-the-world/

• http://www.oddee.com/item

Q. Is the city ordinance effective?

Questions to ponder:

Q. Are there any applications of Eco- friendly principles?Q. Are goals and policies attainable?Q. Will the law/regulation can be applied for all? (No discrimination).

Q. Is there a strict minimum standards with regard to environmental performance and health standards? • These should include the use of renewable energy sources, an overall reduction in energy and water consumption, measures to reduce waste, environmental policy setting and the provision of non-smoking areas.

3. Activities

• Anything that is done as work or for a particular purpose that is done for pleasure and that usually involves a group of people in a specific place. These activities interrelate with the user (human-environment equilibriums).

• Human factors involves the study of all aspects of the way humans relate to the environment around them, with the aim of improving safety, through life costs and/or adoption through improvement in the experience of the end user.

Questions to ponder:

Q. In the urban design plan, will the activity directed toward assisting urban communities to meet their needs over a period of time? Q. Do all the possible activities consider the following such as parade, road repair, widening, utility installation, delivery of goods and services?

For example: Panagbenga Festival

• An event that occurs every February of the year that ends at the first week of March.

Q. How would this event affect the urban design of the city?

Cultural Presentation of the City.

• http://www.philstar.com/news-feature/2014/02/23/1293311/photos-baguio-blossoms-2014-panagbenga-festival

Another example: Street activity (Earth day Celebration)

4. Time

• Periodic events and periodic motion have long served as standards for units of time. • As time pass by, needs becomes bigger and design, laws might become obsolete.

Questions to ponder:

Q. To what extent are these activities intended for? Short term? Long term?Q. What is the peak hour, peak day, month?Q. What is the time for service delivery? Garbage collection? Maintenance?Q. Is there flexibility and balance of schedule?

Garbage Problem: How often is the Garbage collection service?

garbage - rubbish - environment - ecology - wastage - waste. article.wn.com

Bryant Park, Manhattan: Seasonal activity

Spring Autumn

5. Automobiles

• Any automobile, motor car or car used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor. • The number of cars, vehicles, trucks, buses or transit that enters the city affects the people, activities and space.

• The traffic congestion mb.com.ph

Rickshaw

www.shanghairickshaw.com/history.html

Questions to ponder:

Q. Do these vehicles conducive for service in time and place? Q. How do the in flux of vehicles can be manage and guided for public convenience and safety?Q. To what extent these vehicles are not allowed in some portion of the city?Q. What would be the design for the signage's?

Vehicular Traffic

• pinterest.com

6. Physical Natural Environment• Resources that are already existing before the eyes man.• These are resources that when depleted it will be gone forever. Example: farm land conversion to commercial use).

“What our cities will be like for our children and our children’s children is being shaped by our actions today. Our cities’ sustainability depends on decisions we as individuals and as a society make. It depends on the decisions made by various actors in the urban development process and the interrelationships of these decisions’’. Arch. Nathaniel von Einsiedel

Questions to ponder: Q. In urban design, will the proposed plan be directed toward assisting urban communities to meet their future needs? Q. Are there conservation and preservation for the coming generation?Q. Are there series of research for potential alternatives?

Environmental Preservation/Conservation

SM’s development expansion creates undesirable and harmful to the environment… the sacrifice cutting of 182 pine and alnus trees in Baguio City.

Defying the physical nature.

7. Political Spirit

• Lang (2005) said: “Urban design intervenes in the political arena to shape capital investments decisions (particularly with reference to the infrastructure of cities) and in the legal process by establishing guidelines within which design decisions are made. The objective is to shape the public realm of cities to maximize the benefits, explicitly or implicitly, for particular sets of people within some concept of the public interest.”

• The politicians have vital roles to play in the shaping of their city:

1. First they should have visions for their communities or cities.2. Secondly, they are municipal campaigners or muscular utopians. 3. Thirdly, they are governmental keeper of amenity. With these in mind, the duty of the politicians is to determine goals for the communities or city.

• The government represented by the elected officials obviously has a major role in the process through its policies, plans and programs, regulatory mechanisms, and its capacity to implement these.

• The success of these policies leading to a more sustainable future of our cities in turn, depends on the effectiveness of the actions taken by the government and the private sector both individually and collectively.

Uncontrolled housing development

Questions to ponder:

Q. First of all, do the elected officials fulfill their role as head of the city? Q. Do the local officials have effective policies and programmes which are formulated and implemented in a well coordinated and synchronized manner?Q. Do they fulfill their promises (On environmental, social, and physical development ) when they were running for that position?

8. Accessibility

• Universal design should be a big factor in the design plan. This makes things accessible to all people. Place or destination can be easy to enter or reach physically for normal or physically challenged (handicapped) people.

Questions to ponder:

Q. How can a destination be reach? Is it accessible through walking or riding vehicle? Can people easily walk to the place? Q. How is the width of street and sidewalk, existing elements, public or private? Is it conduce for all people?

Q. Is there consideration with the disabled stakeholders?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guide_dog#/media/File:Caoguia2006.jpg

A physically handicapped competing with vehicles.

Q. What form of transportation can you reach the destination?

• upupwithpeople.blogspot.com

9. Resources

A. Money: The purpose of budgeting is to:• Provide a forecast of revenues and expenditures ex. construct a model of how our business might perform financially speaking if certain strategies, events and plans are carried out.

• Allocation for budgeting (short term, long term)

B. Materials Q. Are the materials to be used readily available? Is it local or imported?• Local stone–and designed to better blend in with their environment. • Using of non toxic materials.

C. ManpowerQ. Who are the individuals who will execute the plan/s?Q. Do they have the Qualifications?Q. Do the manpower/ personnel have training and specialty?D. Machinery• Equipment or technologyQ. Do we have it locally?

10. Design Plan

• Design plan must be relevant to the needs of the people.• Designers must keep in mind that they

work not for themselves but for thepeople. A mix of ages and ethnic groupsmust generally reflect the community at Large.

a. Time bound. A good design can be completed within a time frame stated. The shorter completion of the project, the better.b. Innovative.New and creative, especially in the way that something is done. Q. Is it naturally or artificially designed?

Questions to ponder:

Q. Is the design for the general public or just for the elite?Q. Is the Design the consensus of majority?Q. Is the design only for the designer’s self recognition or popularity? Q. Is it designed with climate, sustainability, environment consideration?

11. Space

• Public space is a term used to define areas of land as collectively owned by the community and managed in their name by delegated bodies; such spaces are open to all while private property is the land culturally owned by an individual or company, for their own use and pleasure.

View of Burnham Park from the Air, 2007 (Photo by RIC MANIQUIS)

Goggle earth image of Baguio City Philippines. June 23, 2015

Questions to ponder:

Q. Is there any space forecasting requirements

for the future generation’s advantage and

benefits? Q. Is there any analysis of the physical resources?

THANK YOU!

References:• http://

www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/criterionretrieved 0622/2015.

• http://www.philstar.com/news-feature/2014/02/23/1293311/photos-baguio-blossoms-2014-panagbenga-festival retrieved 06/22/2015.

• http://www.boredpanda.com/funniest-signs-around-the-world/retrieved 06/22/2015.

• http://www.oddee.com/item/retrieved 06/22/2015.• garbage - rubbish - environment - ecology - wastage - waste.

article.wn.com/retrieved 06/22/2015.• http://r.search.yahoo.com/

_ylt=A2oKiHFw0IdVK0IAlKFmIYpQ;_ylu=X3oDMTBtaTBhcHJnBHNlYwNmcC1pbWcEc2xrA2ltZwRpdAM-/RV=2/RE=1434992881/RO=11/RU=http%3a%2f%2fmb.com.ph%2fmayor-mulls-one-way-traffic-in-baguio/RK=0/RS=5os9jxjDyIM19RCMjUqMGvnzqXw-/retrieved 06/22/2015.

• http://r.search.yahoo.com/_ylt=A2oKiHAp0odVBnYACPRmIYpQ;_ylu=X3oDMTBtaTBhcHJnBHNlYwNmcC1pbWcEc2xrA2ltZwRpdAM-/RV=2/RE=1434993322/RO=11/RU=http%3a%2f%2fpinterest.com%2fpin%2f151433606190830602%2f/RK=0/RS=O7svwvSsA_p06jffOF3CcRpSAGc-retrieved 06/22/2015.

• www.shanghairickshaw.com/history.html/ retrieved 06/22/2015.

• Von Einsiedel, Nathaniel (2003). The Future of our cities. Archkonst pages 16-21.

• http://powerpictures.crystalgraphics.com/photos/view/cg5p4959207c/hillside_baguio_city_luzon_island_philippines_severely/ retrieved 06/22/2015.

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guide_dog#/media/File:Caoguia2006.jpg/retrieved 06/22/2015.

• Jon Lang, Jon (2005). URBAN DESIGN: A typology of procedures and products. Architectural Press. An imprint of Elsevier. Linacre House, Jordan Hill, Oxford OX2 8DP. 30 Corporate Drive, Burlington, MA 01803.

• Jon LANG (1987). Creating Architectural Theory: The Role of the Behavioral Sciences in Environmental Design. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold.

• upupwithpeople.blogspot.com. Forms of transport / Ways of transport / Types of transport /retrieved 06/23/2015.