Urban Design Analysis Research Articles

Revitalisation Design of North Coastal Border in Lemahwungkuk Sub-District with Urban Design Element Analysis

Cirebon is one of the cities in West Java province. The city is located in the lowlands on the north coast of Java. The low topography factor is closely related to urban problems, such as slums in the Lemahwungkuk sub-district of Cirebon City. This research aims to solve urban problems because, according to the Mayor's Regulation No. 663/Kep.421-DPRKP/2021, Lemahwungkuk sub-district includes Cangkol coastal and Kesunean coastal areas among the eleven slum locations in Cirebon city. In addition, there is a plan to revitalize the coastal border area. The method used in this research is qualitative, using urban design analysis and site analysis. The data sources were obtained through interviews with 20 informants and mapping using ArcGIS 10.8 software. The concept of an environmental approach with an orientation towards the community in the design of the revitalization of the north coast area in Lemahwungkuk District emphasizes the physical environment, infrastructure, economy, socio-culture, disaster, and collaboration between the government and the community. The results of this revitalization design can also be a recommendation for development in Cirebon, West Java. In addition, it recommends conservation and tourism activities on the north coast of Cirebon, West Java. Efforts to overcome the phenomenon of urban sprawl at the research site by changing the pattern of settlements and building layout to improve the quality of the community environment and increase public space and green open space for conservation, tourism, and aesthetic functions of the region.

Heritage, urban form and spatial resignification in the production of sustainable Olympic legacies: an urban design analysis of the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games

The Olympic Games have been associated with many urban transformation projects throughout their history, often focusing on city expansion. Recent sustainability concerns, however, constitute a pressing challenge, with the regeneration of central areas fulfilling a key role in existing urban agendas. In this paper, the legacy of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at two proposed centralities was analysed, namely, the Olympic Park, intended as a future neighbourhood to the west of the city, and Porto Maravilha (PM), an urban project aimed at revitalizing a central, historical area of the city. By comparing the Olympic Park and the first provided areas in PM, in terms of selecting urban design criteria through qualitative in loco assessments, this paper focused on analysing the impacts of urban forms and heritage on the consolidation of these two centralities, as well as encouraging social interaction and integration into the city. The analysis results indicated that urban design attributes such as human-scaled, mixed-use, context-based urban spaces could interfere with social interaction and the usability of spaces. Moreover, the repurposing of heritage buildings contributed to urban cohesion for legacy transformation. Hence, novel insights into urban design and heritage could become important for future editions of the Olympics so that host cities may fulfil their sustainability agendas.

Mental health as determining factor of urban district’s character: Case study Bratislava – the Pentagon

Abstract Drug use and drug addiction have a high prevalence in the population, which has been widely documented since the 1980s. According to the United Nations, the physical environment in which we live is one of the strongest determinants of our health. In the case of drug abuse concentration in a particular urban space, one of the points to consider is the architectural and urban form of the location. In the Slovak context, a significant representative of concentrated drug activity is a part of the Medzi Jarkami housing estate, nicknamed the “Pentagon”. In an effort to eradicate drug activity, local residents fortified the Pentagon, changing its urban landscape and furthering its ghettoisation. Although drug abuse is a criminal act, it is imperative to acknowledge that drug addiction is a mental illness. Therefore, it is not sufficient to look at spaces such as the Pentagon from a criminal perspective but also from that of mental health. Our study aims to explore the connection between the residents’ mental health and the quality of the urban structure they live in. We performed a urban design analysis, utilizing on-site participant observation and structural interviews supplemented by desktop research. The case study analysis proved that the mental status of the local residents has an essential impact on the development of urban neighbourhoods. A number of environmental stressors were detected as present in the built structure. Furthermore, there is the stigmatization of whole urban districts caused by a high incidence of drug addiction as a mental disorder that, in the bigger terms, influences the “image” of the area. The drug problem in the Pentagon left its marks on the whole urban district of Vrakuňa, reducing the residents’ quality of life significantly over the years.

Travellers’ perspectives on historic squares and railway stations in Italian heritage cities revealed through sentiment analysis

ABSTRACT This study undertakes sentiment analysis of online reviews of public exterior spaces – historic squares and railway stations – in popular destinations in Italy, with the aim of offering new perspectives of community engagement in urban design analysis. The experience of walking through urban spaces in Italian heritage cities is evaluated under indicators of place quality and connectivity, i.e., aesthetic perception, social interaction, body mobility, facilities and amenities, sense of safety, and destination loyalty. Such advanced analysis can reshape the way we interpret the thoughts and emotions of wider communities so that these are included in local place-focused development strategies.

Adaptation of the Pedestrian Walkways Design along the Trans Semarang Bus Corridor to COVID-19

COVID-19 cases continue to increase in Indonesia, with an estimated value of 719,000 and an 8.37% mortality rate, due to the severity and potency of the deadly disease. One of the provinces that mostly contributes to the high mortality rate is Central Java, especially in populous areas like Semarang City. The spread of the virus occurs through direct contact between humans, forcing physical and social distances to become more important, especially in public spaces. Based on these conditions, city planning experts reportedly suggests a public space re-design process, adaptable to the current pandemic conditions, in order to provide a comfortable, safer, and sustainable urban life. Therefore, this study aims to analyze the integration of the mass transportation system (the Bus Trans Semarang) with the readjustment and redesign potentials of pedestrian walkways, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. For the past two years, the development of pedestrian walkways has become an integral part of the Semarang City Government, in order to realize a sustainable transportation system. Furthermore, the pandemic has presently made pedestrian walkways less functional, due to public concerns on its spread in external areas. The retrieval spatial-based data of this study focused on the bus stops for the Trans Semarang Bus Corridor, which were potential points for the emergence of walking activities. The method used in the measurement of pedestrian activity included behavioral mapping and urban design analysis. This was to identify the pedestrian design indicators that were adaptive to the pandemic conditions. The simulation methods also assisted the data visualization process, by using spatial applications such as ArcGIS and Sketchup. After this, the calculation of the capacity was carried out, to determine the maximum limit of the available spaces. The results were in the form of indicators, such as additional width, lane division, as well as provision of health and hygiene facilities. These were the main recommendations applied on the pedestrian walkways' environmental characteristics, at various points in Semarang City.

Urban Squares in Late Bronze Age Ugarit: a Street View on Ancient Near Eastern Governance

Urban Squares in Late Bronze Age Ugarit: a Street View on Ancient Near Eastern Governance

The Social Experiences and Uses of Post-War Modernist Urban Heritage Conservation and Regeneration: London’s Southbank Centre

Since the 1960s, post-war modernist heritage has been largely criticised and victimised by the public opinion because of its material failures and elitist social projects. Despite these critiques, post-war modernist heritage is being reassessed, revalued and in some places successfully rehabilitated. There is a growing recognition that most of the critiques have often been the result of subjective and biased value and taste judgments or incomplete assessments that neither considered the urban design nor the users’ experiences. This paper aims to contribute to these reassessments of post-war modernist urban heritage legacies. To do so, it places the user’s social experiences and uses, and the urban design at the centre of the analysis, by using a combination of ethnographic methods and urban design analysis and focusing on the public spaces of Southbank Centre in London, the UK’s largest and most iconic and contested post-war modernist ensemble with a long history of conservation and regeneration projects. Taken together, the findings demonstrate the importance of including the users’ social experiences and uses in the conservation and regeneration agendas if we want to achieve more objective and inclusive assessments.

A critical landscape and urban design analysis of Egypt’s new Administrative Capital City

The Egyptian government has touted the new Administrative Capital City near Cairo as a flagship for ‘Smart City’ developments across Africa. Despite its association with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, critics argue that the project will be highly detrimental to existing cities, their inhabitants and the natural environment. Using a normative framework derived from the UN goals, this paper examines whether the design of Phase One of the Administrative Capital City (2015–2020) delivers on its grand narratives and commitments. It reveals that the project fails to meet many of its aspirations and is likely to compound Egypt’s water supply issues, conflict with fragile desert environments, be vehicular-dependent, isolate everyday Cairenes from Egypt’s governance institutions and entrench the power of an autocratic leader. As such, the new capital presents a problematic model of urban development for dealing with Cairo’s environmental and societal issues, and for broadly accommodating Africa’s rapidly urbanizing population.

A user preference modelling method for the assessment of visual complexity in building façade

PurposeThis study aims to provide a method to assess the perceptual impact of the visual complexity of building façades.Design/methodology/approachThe research identifies the number of design elements and the variation in their position and colour as variables of visual complexity. It introduces the concepts of vertices and corners as atomic indicators on which the measurement of these variables is built. It measures visual complexity and its variables in images of building façades and analyses their relationships with participants' reactions. It reports on the effect of visual complexity on preferences, the adequacy of different methods in measuring visual complexity and the perceptual impact of each of its variables.FindingsThe research demonstrates that visual complexity can be assessed through the measure of its variables and their statistical mapping to users' preferences.Originality/valueThe manuscript provides the foundation for a planning/assessment tool for the visual control of the built environment using computer systems based on the preferences of residents through the examination of the relationship between the users and their environment. It creates a paradigm, which introduces a robust concept in the visual analysis of urban design.

Border vacuum: a study of walkability, liveability and vibrancy around Dubai mall station

Dubai is a city of rapid urban changes, and superlative architecture. These non-incremental urban changes tend to leave large urban areas unexplored. Dubai metro line and its surrounding area is one of these sites that can be classified under Jane Jacobs' border vacuum. In this study, the authors take on the challenge of transforming a wasted area that is acting as an urban divider and turning it into a walkable, liveable and vibrant public space. This is done through two methods; one is a survey of users that focused on the measures of walkability, liveability and vibrancy. The other one is an urban design analysis of the site's urban morphology and prospects. Urban designers must acknowledge all three measures considered here in order to design context relevant and vibrant spaces.

Field Measurement and Urban Design Analysis on Summer Wind-comfortable Environment in Urban High-density Districts

The interaction between urban building layout and urban external wind resources has determined the characteristics of the internal wind environment in urban built environment so as to have certain influence on the urban heat island effect, building energy consumption, the thermal comfort inside and outside the building, the air quality and the health of the residents have a certain influence. This study attempts to understand the correlations between urban design elements and wind environment. The method is to use field tests of physical environmental indicators to obtain the microenvironmental wind speed under the pedestrian scale in three selected pedestrian streets in Beijing: Wangfujing, Beijing, Qianmen Street Dashilan and the wind direction and wind speed data outside the city have also been has collected. The urban design elements including street width, landscape design, pavement materials, and others are analyzed in terms of the impacts on wind environment.

Assessing the resilience of urban areas to traffic-related air pollution: Application in Greater Paris

Recent studies report that outdoor air pollution will become the main environmental cause of premature death over the next few decades (OECD, 2012; WHO, 2014; World Bank, 2016). Cities are considered hot spots and urban populations are particularly exposed. There is therefore an urgent need to adapt urban systems and urban design to tackle this issue. While most European cities have introduced measures to reduce emissions, action is still required to reduce concentrations and exposure, and a holistic approach to urban design is badly needed.The concept of urban resilience, defined by Holling (1987) as the ability of a city to absorb a disturbance while maintaining its functions and structures, may offer a new paradigm for tackling urban air pollution. We propose to adapt the concept of urban resilience to outdoor air pollution.A method has been developed to assess the resilience of an urban area to outdoor air pollution. Three “resilience capacities” have been identified: the capacity of an urban area to decrease air pollution emissions, the capacity to decrease concentrations and the capacity to decrease exposure. The calculation is based on the analysis of urban design, defined as the pattern of buildings as well as the structural elements that define an urban area (urban morphology; transport network, services and land use). For each resilience capacity, indicators are calculated using a Geographic Information System (GIS) and a grid-based approach.This method has been implemented in the Greater Paris area within a 500m grid-cell system. Greater Paris is one of the densest urban areas in Europe and experiences high air pollution levels. The proposed “quick scan” method helps to localize areas where specific action is needed.

Rethinking the Providence Hill cable car: transit, equity, and urban design in Rio de Janeiro

In July 2014, the oldest slum in Rio de Janeiro, Morro da Providência (“Providence Hill”), received a cable car meant to facilitate up- and downhill commuting for residents of this hilltop community adjacent to downtown. Socioeconomic indicators suggest that this community was an ideal recipient of such a project, which facilitated mobility to center-city transit and potential employment. Yet the resulting impact on the adjacent built environment may have negatively impacted small-business vitality and development opportunities for residents of the community. Using social indicators and urban design analysis, this paper examines the distributional and design implications of these choices and proposes improvements.

Principles of climate sensitive urban design analysis in identification of suitable urban design proposals. Case study: Central zone of Leskovac competition

Paper represents the analysis of the change in the outdoor comfort during the summer days of open public space of the main square in Leskovac. The analysis covers the present state, two rewarded design proposals at urban design competition and proposal resulting from the evaluation of these solutions. The article focuses on the thermal comfort in outdoor space as a one of indicators in competitions of urban design, considering the fact that the re-design of public spaces often has a negative consequences of decisions made during the competitions. Following the thesis that successful public spaces should be responsive to the needs of their users, the paper considers the thermal comfort as the main quality of open public space. Analysis of microclimate could help designers to create comfortable urban place, which could attract vast number of users throughout the year, especially during hot summer periods. The aim of this paper is to highlight the complexity of the relationship between microclimate comfort in public open spaces and urban design, especially interventions such as implementation of the greenery and new surface materialization in order to emphasize the importance that this relationship has to be taken into account in urban design competitions.

Exploration of external indicators of social change in postmodern communities

The current study explores external indicators of social change through the lens of Sorokin’s theory of cultural dynamics; utilising case studies of two master built communities from vastly different cultural and geographic backgrounds (Sippy Downs, Australia, and Masdar City, United Arab Emirates). These two communities are contrasted to gain insight into the dynamics of social change in the 21st century. The study confirmed Sorokin’s assumption that our Western society is in the late sensate phase of sociocultural development. Additionally, this late sensate phase was found to have common characteristics with the postmodern paradigm. Further, results of the residents’ survey confirmed Sippy Downs as an integrated logico-meaningful culture in a postmodern environment. This finding justified the inclusion of this particular population in the current study as a model of a typical postmodern community. Additionally, weak signals indicating the emergence of the next idealistic phase of sociocultural change were detected in both communities, although there was a variance in the nature of these signals. The study also revealed that sustainability thinking appeared to be the bridge to the next idealistic phase of sociocultural development. However, Causal Layered Analysis revealed a lopsided approach to sustainability: an overemphasis of green technology over the need for social innovation. The socio-semiotics analysis of urban design and architecture in the context of the two case studies elicited a plausible pattern of sociocultural change. The combination of qualitative and quantitative methods using the Explorative Mixed Methods Research Design enhanced the analysis and increased the robustness of the results.

Comparative Analysis of Urban Design and Criminal Behavior: A Study of New Urbanism and Defensible Space as they Pertain to Crime

Comparative Analysis of Urban Design and Criminal Behavior: A Study of New Urbanism and Defensible Space as they Pertain to Crime

Examining environmental psychology through a gender lens / Mirando la psicología ambiental con lentes de género

This article offers a set of methodological strategies for the inclusion of a gender perspective to promote research innovation. The description of these strategies is grounded here on arguments from the scientific output of environmental psychology; this allows us to reflect on gender blindness and biases in the discipline. The presence of these symptoms is evidenced by the exclusion of sex and gender as analytical categories in a recent review of the empirical research of the field and also in a commemorative bibliometric analysis of papers published during the period 1981–2011. This double exclusion is contrasted with the feminist perspective in the field of study of people-environment relationships in the broad sense. Beyond the underlying epistemological differences between distinct perspectives on disciplinary approach, the goal of equality in the analysis of urban design, planning for everyday life and mobility of care or in the study of pro-environmental concern and behaviour, disaster vulnerability and cooperation towards sustainable development is envisioned.

To Shape the Image of the City's High-Tech City of Chang Chun International Business Center

High-rise building this type of construction has greatly changed the city's construction and the natural environment. At present, many high-rise building design and urban space does not conform with that gave rise to a sense of indifference to it, sense of distance. This paper attempts by high-rise buildings and urban design analysis to advocate for high-rise buildings to the city and public open space development, and bring it into line with the City of integration with the environment to shape the city's image.

The introduction of the concept of soundscape to urban design analysis

The objective of this paper was to provide pragmatic approach through the analysis of Covent Garden Piazza's soundscape with intention to show the way of its implementation into urban design analysis, whereas analysis of soundscape is missing part of urban design analysis. So, soundscape suppose to be a new tool for designer to create more pleasant sound ambient environments not only for users who are able to perceive urban space visually but also for those who can use another senses only like aural and tactile to identify relevant quality of urban places. In this research were employed methods of subjective evaluation and spatial analysis of soundscape (entirely qualitative research). The data were collected through exploration of the soundscape preference and level of awareness of ambient sound environment within explorative single case study and thorough observation of activities on the study site and investigation of urban form. Thus, the urban uses and activities of the location and its acoustic identification are closely linked. Recent urban analyses generally take only human and technical noises into consideration, excluding the rest of noises of sonic environment and way of their perception by human beings. Acoustic dimensions must be available for design.

Urban Gapscapes: Problems and Opportunities in Urban Design Analysis of Gapspaces Originated by Elevated Railways

This article analyzes the use of elevated urban railways as a contemporary urban development, evaluating such with respect to the problem of permanent barrier effects inside the city created by depressed or embankment railway typologies. Elevated urban railways are examined through discussion of approaches employed in both western and Japanese cities. An analysis of the types of urban interaction formed by Tokyo′s JR Yamanote line, by means of site photographs and schematic rail-section representations at some of its elevated areas, demonstrates how the use of land under this line – gapspaces – generates diverse dynamic interactions with the city. In conclusion, the author argues that this potential in elevated railways can be an urban tool to induce or reduce urban barrier effects and enhance and support interactivity when such is desirable.