Urban Design and Disasters

Abstract

AbstractWe can define urban design as the purposeful decisions and actions which aim at establishing functional and formal order in the physical environment. It is obvious that this definition implies some abstract and value-free elements such as the decisions and actions involved and the formal and functional orders sought. In fact, the nature, characteristics, and interpretations of these elements normally change from one context to another. The general purpose of urban design, as one of the relatively new field of knowledge, has been to establish order in the physical environment. Today’s interpretation of order, however, has changed drastically. This is because the urban environment has gained unprecedented complexity. Lack of order is reflected in the form, as well as activities of the urban environments. Urban design techniques and methods can be used to make changes and modifications in the built environment in order to establish desired order in the urban form and activities. The ambition to control “disorder,” “chaos,” “pollution,” “contagion,” “deviation,” “sickness,” etc., through spatial and social control (which includes organization and planning) and through regulation and restriction policies can be traced throughout the history of urbanism and governs today's approaches to urban planning and design. Vulnerability and seismic risk analysis in urban planning and design intends to mitigate seismic risk in the city. Urban design as a legitimate discipline and practice today depends on its ability and capacity to deal with the current issues society is facing and offer appropriate solutions to those problems, to the extent plausible and within the framework of the urban design tools and techniques.KeywordsUrban designDisastersSeismic riskBasic needsQuality of lifeSustainable developmentLessons learnedCultural heritage