Urban Design International最新文献

The concept of the superblock has been effective in accommodating urban growth. However, the superblock approach to urban design remains subject to criticism from urban critics due to its departure from finer-grain urbanism. Denouncing this ineffectiveness is not rooted in evidence-based literature, thus it overshadows the superblock’s inner streets’ potential in accommodating walking trips. This research assesses superblocks in four growing Gulf cities: Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Riyadh, and Kuwait City. It analyzes streets’ connectivity of samples (n = 27) representing different planning ideologies and growth periods. Connectivity is quantified using Pedestrian Route Directness. Findings show how the superblock’s design has evolved and how it can be efficient at local scales depending on its inner morphology. This paper provides a groundwork from which more questions addressing a larger scale can be pursued, such as the ability of superblocks to address larger walking scales or regional integration.

Ensuring publicness and accommodating more diverse human activity in urban public spaces is necessary. This research analyses the relationship between human activities, ownership, and physical features encouraging or discouraging use within the city centre of Dublin (Ireland), a diversifying metropolis experiencing dereliction. Four urban squares were assessed through fieldwork, including direct observation and behavioural mapping. Results indicate that publicness and features encouraging or discouraging use are not directly associated with site ownership. Nor was the presence of nature and landscaping determined by ownership, though it generated microclimates that promoted a higher mix of activities. Implications of going beyond formal definitions of ownership for publicness placed under broader sustainability agendas and recommendations for urban design practice are derived.

This paper, in two parts, explores the styles and application of urban design leadership as a dimension of urban design governance. Part 1 explores the literature on leadership and its relation to urban design. It discusses the relation of urban design leadership to places and situations, first connecting through the fundamentally integrative nature of the activity – vertically, horizontally, and temporally – and second influencing across professional, sectorial, and power contexts. It then conceptualises a typology of leadership – autocratic, paternalistic, democratic, laissez-faire, transactional, transformational, and absent – and considers how these leadership styles, none of which are absolute, influence the process and outcomes of urban design. The paper concludes with a framework for understanding urban design leadership that can be applied to the varied practices of urban design globally. Part 2 tests and illustrates this through its application to the roles and practices of Public Architects across Europe.

Cities may wish to create more lively urban areas by zoning for mixed uses. The purpose here is to identify factors explaining the gaps between plans and outcomes for non-residential uses of ground floors in a Swedish housing programme with 30 development plans for apartment building infill in low-density suburbs already dominated by apartment buildings. We assume that outcomes depend on zoning, urban design factors, mobility factors and socio-economic factors. Documents and field observations reveal that vertical zoning has had limited effects. Correlation analysis indicates that active non-residential ground floor frontages reflect access to public transport, while vacancies are associated inversely with area incomes. Typical ground floor uses are the retail sale of food and services to the human body. A political goal of active ground floors in low-density suburbs might need subsidies if vacancies are to be avoided.

Urban design is an interdisciplinary discipline integrating elements of science and art, depending on each discipline being researched or practiced. Its classification as a science, a non-science (i.e., an art), or both, remains a widely debated topic in the field. This paper presents at least three reasons why urban design can be treated as a science (not an art) in particular fields, such as population health, which require more objective tools and indicators: the importance of systematic data analysis, the emphasis on evidence-based decisions and assessments, and the significance of interdisciplinary collaboration. This scientific perspective enables urban design to more effectively address public health challenges in built environments. Further, the paper proposes key future directions to enhance the scientific approach to urban design in relation to population health. These include the development of standardised terminology and metrics, the application of data-driven technologies such as geospatial artificial intelligence, the establishment of science-based urban design codes and policies, and the enhancement of urban design education through scientific research methods. These steps are essential to advance the scientific understanding of urban design’s impact on health.

Sport activities and a green environment to spend time in are vitally important for children’s health and well-being. In this study, we focused on 353 kindergartens in towns located in eastern Poland (Białystok, Lublin, and Rzeszów). Only 41% of the kindergartens were located in buildings designed for them. Twenty-five percent of the buildings had large, well-organized recreation grounds on their plots that guarantee proper activities for children among greenery. The situation was much better in the case of public buildings constructed in the 1960s–1970s than in new private ones, mostly located in buildings adopted for kindergartens or on the ground floors of apartment buildings, or ex-single-family houses. Nearly one-third of the kindergartens had no playground and greenery. The results of analysis show that it is necessary to develop a national strategy for planning new kindergartens with green playgrounds, as well as to provide more comprehensive greening subsidy schemes in case of existing education facilities.

This study focuses on converting abandoned elevated transportation infrastructure into high-quality, pedestrian-oriented public spaces. To discuss planning implications, we categorized the outcomes of various projects into typologies. This practice may be a trend; however, it remains scarcely understood, depriving planning professionals of adequate tools to assess the potential and adequacy of conversion. By tracing its origin within the history of linear parks and green corridor planning, we discuss the general conversion of abandoned transportation infrastructure and the transition to elevated parks as the outcome. Subsequently, considering the existing studies on this genealogy, we defined three typologies of elevated parks according to an interconnected understanding of their connectivity, design, location, and functions. By reviewing the elevated parks within this genealogy and providing a framework for this typological study, we offer a reference for planners to accurately interpret and use this planning practice to design public spaces.

Recent decades have been characterized by dynamic changes in the urban design process in post-transition countries such as Poland. Numerous activities have focused on upgrading the urban environment. The transformation that drives change also requires some new skills, which are described in the theory of reflective practice: observation, experience, and reflection. The goal of this paper is to build a descriptive scheme of the urban design process based on the reflective practice approach. The case of Kartuzy was chosen as the authors of this paper actively participated in this town’s 10-year redevelopment process, which can be seen as an experimental approach. The experience gathered allowed them to generate results on the issue of reflective practice, both in the sphere of practical skills and the theoretical results of research. One of the main conclusions is that knowledge exchange, observing the influence of actions of participants, and experiencing various types of interactions in the process of spatial development all drive reflection, which is a crucial element for taking another step in improving the quality of the urban design process. This paper contributes to a discussion on using reflective practice in the context of the development of public spaces towards making them more sustainable.