WHAT IS URBAN DESIGN?

URBAN DESIGN
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.
Urban design involves many different disciplines including planning, development,
architecture, landscape architecture, engineering, economics, law and finance, among others.
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. When fully integrated into policy and planning systems, urban design can be used to
inform land use planning, infrastructure, built form and even the socio-demographic mix of a
place.
Urban design can significantly influence the economic, environmental, social and cultural
outcomes of a place:

Urban design can influence the economic success and socio-economic composition of
a localitywhether it encourages local businesses and entrepreneurship; whether it
attracts people to live there; whether the costs of housing and travel are affordable;
and whether access to job opportunities, facilities and services are equitable.
Urban design determines the physical scale, space and ambience of a place and
establishes the built and natural forms within which individual buildings and
infrastructure are sited. As such, it affects the balance between natural ecosystems and
built environments,and their sustainability outcomes.
Urban design can influence health and the social and cultural impacts of a locality:
how people interact with each other, how they move around, and how they use a
place.

Although urban design is often delivered as a specific project, it is in fact a long-term

process that continues to evolve over time. It is this layering of building and infrastructure
types, natural ecosystems, communities and cultures that gives places their unique
characteristics and identities.

ELEMENTS OF URBAN DESIGN

This diagramshows the approximate hierarchical relationship between the elements of urban
design, followed by a brief definition of each of the elements. The section below provides
basic explanations for terms that are commonly used for urban design in the Australian
context.
Elements of urban form macro to micro
URBAN STRUCTURE
The overall framework of a region, town or precinct, showing relationships between zones of
built forms, land forms, natural environments, activities and open spaces. It encompasses
broader systems including transport and infrastructure networks.

URBAN GRAIN
The balance of open space to built form, and the nature and extent of subdividing an area into
smaller parcels or blocks. For example a fine urban grain might constitute a network of
small or detailed streetscapes. It takes into consideration the hierarchy of street types, the
physical linkages and movement between locations, and modes of transport.

DENSITY + MIX
The intensity of development and the range of different uses (such as residential, commercial,
institutional or recreational uses).

HEIGHT + MASSING
The scale of buildings in relation to height and floor area, and how they relate to surrounding
land forms, buildings and streets. It also incorporates building envelope, site coverage and
solar orientation. Height and massing create the sense of openness or enclosure, and affect the
amenity of streets, spaces and other buildings.

STREETSCAPE + LANDSCAPE
The design of public spaces such as streets, open spaces and pathways, and includes
landscaping, microclimate, shading and planting.

FACADE + INTERFACE
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).

DETAILS + MATERIALS
The close-up appearance of objects and surfaces and the selection of materials in terms of
detail, craftsmanship, texture, colour, durability, sustainability and treatment. It includes
street furniture, paving, lighting and signage. It contributes to human comfort, safety and
enjoyment of the public domain.

PUBLIC REALM
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.
The public realm includes the natural and built environment used by the general public on a
day-to-day basis such as streets, plazas, parks, and public infrastructure. Some aspects of
privately owned space such as the bulk and scale of buildings, or gardens that are visible
from the public realm, can also contribute to the overall result.
At times, there is a blurring of public and private realms, particularly where privately owned
space is publicly used.

TOPOGRAPHY, LANDSCAPE AND ENVIRONMENT

The natural environment includes the topography of landforms, water courses, flora and
faunawhether natural or introduced. It may be in the form of rivers and creeks, lakes,
bushland, parks and recreational facilities, streetscapes or private gardens, and is often
referred to as green infrastructure.

SOCIAL + ECONOMIC FABRIC

The non-physical aspects of the urban form which include social factors (culture,
participation, health and well-being) as well as the productive capacity and economic
prosperity of a community. It incorporates aspects such as demographics and life stages,
social interaction and support networks.

SCALE
The size, bulk and perception of a buildings and spaces. Bulk refers to the height, width and
depth of a building in relation to other surrounding buildings, the street, setbacks and
surrounding open space. For example, a large building set amongst other smaller buildings
may seem out of scale.

URBAN FORM
The arrangement of a built up area. This arrangement is made up of many components
including how close buildings and uses are together; what uses are located where; and how
much of the natural environment is a part of the built up area.

The socio-economic value of urban layout

I-VALUL has developed a layout value map of the greater south east to be used as spatial context for the layout valuation process, either to assess
the value of urban layout in existing places or to test the impact of new development onto the surrounding

The socio-economic value of urban layout

The relevance of urban layout for placemaking has been published in strategic policy documents such as Paved with
Gold (CABE). Based on such work, a team led by Space Syntax is developing an evidence-based urban layout
evaluation programme able to overcome the barriers preventing layout factors being considered in economic
appraisals.

Urban layout, and its effects on social, cultural and economic aspects of community, is an intangible asset, difficult to
visualise and measure during the planning and design process. Although methods of quantifying and measuring the
relational properties of urban layout within its context have been developed by researchers at UCL and other
institutions, and used successfully within the new planning process, only a handful of Local Authorities and Regional
Development Agencies make use of them.
A series of partnership workshops has identified themes where the impact of urban layout has been scientifically
proven, and where tangible spatial design, social and economic indicators for the performance of layout can be found.
Five themes were identified for further analysis.

the value of property security Based on the analysis of burglary patterns over five years in a London borough,
Professor Bill Hillier and Oezlem Shabaz at UCL identified four major layout factors that contribute to safer places. One
of these factors reducing burglary risk is the existence of a residential culture, which can be measured by the number
of dwellings per street segment.

the value of personal security The same research shows three spatial factors that reduce the risk of street robbery,
one of them being the relationship between sufficient movement rates resulting from an integrated spatial layout and
residential culture measured by dwellings per street segment.

the value of urban centres The recently published study Paved with Gold (CABE/Buchanan 2007) that showed the
impact of street design on the economic impact in ten London high streets was complemented by a strategic layout
component. It shows that successful urban centres have particular spatial features, for example significantly smaller
urban blocks and higher accessibility streets that distinguish them from their context. Importantly, this study enables
us to distinguish spatial effects and compositional effects.
the value of residential property Analysis carried out by UCL and Savills Research on more than 100,000 dwellings in
a London borough showed that the distribution of residential property values, measured by council tax band data,
follows a clear spatial pattern. A concentration of higher value properties is found at globally integrated places, where
locally integrated places tend to have lower property values. Savills Research showed that tax band trends are in line
with property sales.
the value of public realm design Based on the recently completed public realm improvements in the Walworth Road
in Southwark, a before and after assessment of the detailed public realm has been carried out comparing the results of
the Pedestrian Environment Review System (PERS2) with the spatial layout analysis. The case study also suggests a
way to capture the health impact of a more pedestrian-friendly street layout through higher physical activity rates.

The new layout value tool calculates these indicators on the basis of simple Ordnance Survey maps. A set of GIS-
based computer tools has been programmed by Space Syntax to calculate the indicators using available spatial and
statistical datasets (Ordnance Survey, Office of National Statistics). The tools can quantify and monetise the socio-
economic benefits of urban layout.

This project, known as IVALUL, has been supported by the

HOUSING THE DIGNITY OF HOUSING: Housing, over a broad range of income categories, represents
one of the primary needs of our society the need for human shelter. As such, housing stands as an
expression of our well-being. Whether market rate or subsidized, well-designed housing provides
dignity and stability to our lives. It further represents an investment in our communities stemming
from the permanent roots established by residents in the basic building blocks of neighborhood life

URBAN DESIGN THE FRAMEWORK OF COMMUNITY LIFE: Urban design addresses the physicality of
the planning process that shapes our communities. It weaves a fabric of spatial events, both public
and private, that structures social discourse in the community. Density determines its urban,
suburban or ex-urban variables the relationship of the built environment to open space as the
ordered setting of our lives.
 Outdoor Space and Public Housing: How Do
We Design it?

20 JUL
I have written about the history of public housing a few times on At the Helm of the Public Realm. Studying it as
an urban designer and as an architect, has given me many different views on how developments like Pruitt Igoe
and Cabrini Green got it so wrong. It seems that every built environment professional has learned their lesson:
out of scale, brutalistic structures surrounded by vast amounts of shared, open space fails.
But what we discuss much less often, is how to get it right. The blog post, Housing Design Outdoors on Polis last
month gives an overview of what the necessary principles are to create a housing development. The article while
written by a planner, Peter Sigrist, who concentrates his research in public housing. While planning is important,
the fact that his research yielded results that are so design oriented, proves to me that urban design is one of the
most dominant contributors to a successful public housing development.

Public housing and the importance of proximity and accessibilty to mixed-uses. (Image: Wired NYC)

In his own words, the author provides this list of necessary principles for designing space around buildings in a
public housing apartment complex as follows:

1. Proximity between buildings

2. The sense of Enclosure in outdoor spaces
3. The Scale of buildings
4. The Accessibility of buildings to residents, and of residents of local amenities
5. Additions of items and facilities between buildings (including trees, parking, and places of leisure)
6. Materials that improve aesthetic quality and maintenance
7. The Style and the architectural elements of a space
What has the greatest influence on the design of public spaces are the buildings that form them. Therefore, if we
get the building form, scale, and interior spaces wrong, their isnt much hope for what surrounds it.
Consequently, while Sigrist says these principles are about the design of public space, he is actually listing
architectural principles of building form.
The first 3 principles, proximity, enclosure, and scale, while slightly different, are very much integrated with one
another. Proximity between buildings is important, because it provides a human (and comfortable) scale of open
spaces. Buildings have to be close enough to one another, so that the entirety of the space between them can be
overlooked for safety purposes. Enclosure of outdoor spaces, which should also be at a human scale, is directly
affected by the proximity of the buildings that form them. What Sigirst doesnt explain, is that the sense of
enclosure that makes humans feel comfortable needs to be formed by active edges to a building, whether its
retail or residential openings in the facade. This once again allows overlooking of the enclosed space. Blank walls
and fences make people feel unsafe and uncomfortable and should be avoided despite enclosure. If these are
unavoidable, it should only be in private and physically secure spaces.

Finally, scale is the principle that completely determines the first two. Sigrist is right on when he says, Higher
buildings result in cavernous settings when grouped together, and conspicuous voids when spread apart.
Longer and wider buildings can impede walkability and reduce green space. Expansive faades highlight
repetition, monotony and decay. Smaller buildings tend to be associated with comfort around housing, perhaps
because of the psychological effects of less-polarized differences in scale. The end and short of it is that peoples
comfort is tied to their human nature, which scale directly reflects. When people are disconnected from the
elements that reflect their humanity (such as trees, for example), they have the tendency to lose it.

A comparison between the overlooked, public space designed at the human scale, and the negative effects of the opposite in public housing
(Image: Studio Engleback and The Affordable Housing Institute)

Accessibility between residents and community mixed-uses, such as transit, retail and schools, are just as
important as the form of open public spaces. Public space can only be healthy if it is actually used. If people do
not use it as a pedestrian route from their home to local destinations, it may become less used, less loved, and less
looked-after. One of the largest issues in public housing complexes is the maintenance of open space. One of the
largest reasons is because people can feel like it doesnt belong to them. If people have an emotional connection to
a place, they will want to care of it. Level of activity is crucial to the success of public spaces, which is directly
dependent on a developments location to its surrounding neighborhood and strong physical connections with its
context. If a development is within a hot climate, trees (as the author states), are crucial in providing a micro-
climate in which people can still use a space all year round, which is imperative to maintaining activity. However,
while Sigrist says that hedges are acceptable despite their disconnecting effect of residents from the public realm,
I completely disagree. Not only do they impede access, they prevent overlooking and harbor unsafe places.

While the last two principles, material and style, certainly contribute to the health of open, public spaces, they are
not necessary; if we achieve the first 4 we have fought 99% of the battle. This research shows that the success of
public housing, or any housing for that matter, is dependent on their location in relation to mixed-uses, the
human scale of the architecture, and defining the relationship between buildings.

The takeaway of this research is that the issue of public space must be considered at the nascent of the planning
processsome benches cant fix what is already broken. Also, the slight difference and fine minutia that differ
between an urban designer and an urban planner discussing the same issue is evidence that the built
environment is a challenging and complicated professional sector. If we learn to work together, and fill in the
gaps that our expertise leaves, we can create big change and solve even the most challenging problems.So, an
architect, a planner, and an urban designer walk into a bar