Space In Town Research Articles

Study on the sustainability of ancient canal towns on the basis of the topological structure analysis of streets and lanes: A case study of the Xixing ancient town.

In China, rapid urbanization and the decline of the canal's shipping function have directly led to the decline of the space and style of ancient towns with canals. The ancient town of Xixing, known to be the first canal town, is located west of the Zhedong canal section of the Grand Canal. It used to be the most active transportation hub and trade transit point in the east Zhejiang Province. However, the canal is now facing problems in protection and renewal, which require urgent attention. For example, the streets of the ancient town are separated from the water system space, the self-organizing and development ability of the ancient town has weakened, and the spatial vitality is scarce. Firstly, by comparing and analyzing whether the canal is used as a road network under two different spatial scales, the area with the highest degree of spatial integration is obtained before judging whether the canal has an important influence and control on the street spaces of the ancient town. Secondly, as the canal is no longer used as a transportation network nowadays, the internal spatial structure characteristics of streets and alleys are analyzed. Finally, the topological structure analysis is carried out in the 3 km area from the border of the planning control area, and the integrated development of the ancient town space and urban transportation network is then discussed. Further, the vitality renewal strategies of the ancient town under different spatial scales are put forward to provide the empirical basis and decision-making reference for the better sustainable development of ancient towns with canals. According to research, once the ancient town is considered on a larger urban scale, the areas with the best integration and accessibility, like the water-adjoined spaces change to intersection spaces and urban road network areas. Consequently, in order to realize the sustainable development of Xixing ancient town, the city system must overcome its shortfalls in operation. The methods and conclusions in the paper can effectively contribute to the development of the ancient town. The research significantly helps to improve the average land sharing, commercial distribution, and public facilities layout in the practice of protection and development in ancient towns and provides an empirical basis and decision-making references for relevant management departments.

Cultural Streetscape: Its Value-System, Space and Significance in Oyo Town, Nigeria

Cultural streetscape is a remarkable street scene that embodies the local culture. It helps in defining and defending urban forms, improves the physical, economic, and socio-cultural mechanisms of urban streets, provides street views for buildings, and shares communal activities and identities. Streetscape is a significant and multi-dynamic component of urban design that contributes to the success of cities and towns. However, as a result of constant urbanization and neglect, African streets that were previously sites of different cultural expressions and local beliefs are quickly turning into areas devoid of local values and meaning. More so, the significance of a cultural streetscape that facilitates ingenious street views, solves ecological challenges, and retains the local memory of places is becoming scarce in the literature. Through an in-depth interview, analysis of pertinent academic outputs, and firsthand observation of the core residential areas of Oyo town, this study revealed the value and significance of cultural streetscape in building, shaping, preserving and sustaining local place identity. Proper archiving and infusion of cultural streetscape elements into the old and new streets design are necessary to ensure Yoruba place identity does not completely become void.

Thermal Comfort investigation and management of public spaces of Clement Town, Dehradun, India

Thermal Comfort investigation and management of public spaces of Clement Town, Dehradun, India

An Approach On The Formal Sustainability Of The City And The Definition Of Sustainable Elements On City And Urban Scale. The Case Study Of The City Of Tirana

The context in architecture has always been a special place of discussion. Many architects and philosophers who dealt with cities and urban planning always tried to find ideal solutions for the community, for the city, and beyond. As a result of continuous studies, thoughts, and numerous analyses, there are many definitions, questions, and conclusions about the ideal city and inevitably in each conclusion or result from the identity of the country came naturally as a component.The objective of this project is to develop a methodology or set of methods for measuring and evaluating the sustainability of the urban form. The outcome of the project will be instruments of analysis and architectural/urban composition expressed through drawing. The concept will be compositions that indicate the sustainability of an existing site and propose a future sustainable form. The objective of this collaborative research project will orient in solutions to sustainable elements by itself and at the scale of the city of urban by differentiating sustainable and unsustainable elements. The idea of belonging and place are parameters that will always be stable and that people naturally look for, therefore, here the local identity, stability, belonging, memory, and connection with the place where we live and work come to the fore. This raises the question of what makes a place sustainable in terms of form, architecture, and belonging. What are those elements that contribute directly and indirectly to the formation of the country ? (T. Jashari Kajtazi and R. Zogiani, 2021) From the case study, during two workshops in the framework of doctoral studies and scientific research on this topic, analyses were made in Polis and Ferrara with groups of students of different profiles to determine the elements and those indicators that have given a result of gender and the construction of cities- theoretically and practically. As Rossi claims in Architecture of the city (Rossi, 1984)- critiques modern architectural practice for its lack of awareness of the city in this book. Rossi contends that a city must be examined and cherished as something built through time, with special emphasis on urban artifacts that outlast the passage of time – that seems to be correct in some aspects of the city. On the other hand, (Sitte, 1945) examined successful public spaces in ancient towns in terms of patterns and relationships between town features, as well as the sequence and complexity of plazas and roadways – so by analysing the city of Tirana practically will be seen the elements relevant to each theory and claims fit in or not.From these two organized workshops, systematic and professional work was done in the fields of architecture, urban planning, and the environment so that the research was as real and comprehensive as possible. Tirana was the city that was studied by us and the outcomes were derived from analysing Tirana, so that they serve for other approaches with same complexities and difficulties for other cities with similar issues.

Study on restoration and sharing method on town space in devastated area

AbstractAfter the tsunami of the Great East Japan Earthquake, various projects have been pushed forward for early restoration while they do not necessarily restore former townscapes which were entirely transformed. Some local people are worried about losing their memories of hometown in course of recovery. This essay examines, how they could retrieve and transmit memories of their lost towns to next generations through the workshops to build 1:500 restoration models on the central districts (Machikata area) at Otsuchi town in Iwate prefecture. The result enables us to explore memories of town space and means to share and utilize them.

Study on the Spatial Characteristics and Protection of Streets and Alleys in Ancient Towns in Southern Anhui

This study takes the typical ancient towns in southern Anhui Province as an example, and applies the quantitative research method of space syntax to analyze the spatial patterns of streets and alleys in Hongcun Town, Xidi Town and Sanhe Ancient Town. First, it analyzes the symbiotic relationship between a series of ecological laws, social culture and material space formed in the formation and development of ancient towns. This paper analyzes the general characteristics of street space in ancient towns from the aspects of street structure, communication mode with people and space scale, and discusses the optimization path and strategy of street space in historical towns. It provides new ideas for the renewal and protection of street space in ancient towns in southern Anhui, and reflects the concept of cultural self-confidence in the new era and the concept of comprehensive, coordinated and sustainable development.

Land Use Changes in Peri-Urban Open Spaces of Small Towns in Eastern Hungary

Changes in land use were studied in 2 km wide peri-urban open spaces of seven small Hungarian towns as part of a RENATUR Interreg Europe (2019–2023) project. The aim of the project is to present best practices related to the sustainable and wise use of the peri-urban open spaces of small European towns. The rate and tendencies of conversion from one land use type to another were evaluated on the basis of a comparison of Corine Land Cover and Land Cover Change databases from 1990, 2000 and 2018. Land use changes in the study areas in different time periods were studied for which the Corine categories were aggregated. Subsequently, there were field verification surveys carried out between March and June of 2021. Most significant changes—due to the significant increase of built-up areas—were found in the case of the towns that were developed to form the suburbs of Debrecen, the core settlement of their region with a population of 200,000. In the case of settlements further away from the major city, the population is either stagnating or decreasing, and the size of built-up areas hardly increases. In the case of cities that are surrounded by high-quality chernozem soils with profitable agriculture, large-scale arable lands have become dominant in the border zones of the settlements, as the spatial extent of gardens, orchards and grasslands has decreased. Highly diverse and mosaic land use (dominated by small plots) is not characteristic anywhere.

3 All‐Black Towns in Oklahoma: Forgotten Archaeologies and The Power of Membered Storytelling

ABSTRACTOklahoma's history books make little mention of the sociocultural significance and impact of all‐Black towns within the state. There is scant information in Oklahoma's historical and archaeological records that discuss the roles of women in all‐Black communities. The town of Dorason was an all‐Black town settlement in Western Oklahoma. It was nestled between two all‐Black towns within an American Indian tribal district. Miles away, the bustling railroad town of Elwat would later become home to many descendants from the all‐Black towns we discuss in this chapter. Very little remains in these mostly forgotten spaces and places. Through a process of ethnohistorical investigation and several trips to field sites, our research places descendant community narratives within Black Feminist archaeological scholarship. Our purpose in privileging narratives is two‐fold: 1) to fill in the gaps between the archaeology of storytelling and space and place literature; and 2) to illustrate the ways in which storytelling situated within archaeological frameworks is empowering. The inclusion of these narratives creates an understanding of empowerment through all‐Black town space and placemaking. We argue that intimate space, storytelling within spaces, and strong social networks are and were critical elements of self‐empowerment and emancipatory practices in contentious spaces.

Spatial Simulation of Land-Use Development of Feixi County, China, Based on Optimized Productive–Living–Ecological Functions

Rural revitalization places higher demands on the productive–living–ecological (P-L-E) spaces of towns and cities. It is necessary, therefore, to identify, evaluate, and optimize P-L-E spaces to better guide spatial planning. Existing studies typically evaluate a single space, lacking a comprehensive consideration of whole-area integration. This study, therefore, developed a coupled spatial/developmental suitability evaluation system for Feixi County, Anhui Province, China, combining spatial quality evaluation, a coupled coordination model, and future land-use simulation (FLUS) model. The spatial quality of Feixi County in 2010, 2015, and 2020 was obtained by applying the evaluation system to the spatial development pattern. The results were analyzed and verified using the landscape pattern index and development suitability evaluation. The results showed the following: (1) The coupling coordination degree of the region increased from 0.131 to 0.372, changing from low to moderate coordination. (2) Based on the FLUS model to better capture the uncertainty and stochastic basis of the development in the study area. The kappa coefficient and Figure of Merit (FoM) index of the land-use simulation accuracy verification index were 0.7647 and 0.0508, respectively, and the logistic regression ROC values were above 0.75, thus meeting accuracy requirements. This demonstrated that the simulation model—based on a factor library of the evaluation of resource and environmental carrying capacity and suitability for development and construction—could better reflect future land-use changes. (3) The simulation showed that under the baseline development scenario, the area’s spatial layout is too concentrated in terms of construction land, ignoring P-L-E coordination. Under the ecological optimization scenario, high-quality ecological space is ensured, but other types of spaces are lacking. Under the comprehensive guidance scenario, lagging ecological space is optimized and P-L-E spatial development is enhanced through aggregation, clustering, concentration and integration. This way, the spatial quantity structure and distribution form can meet P-L-E spatial development needs in Feixi County. In this study, on the basis of scientific assessment of the current P-L-E space, the FLUS model was applied to carry out a scenario simulation according to different objectives. Moreover, based on the construction of the coupling system of human–nature system, the driving factors were improved to enhance the prediction accuracy of the FLUS model. This study’s findings can help improve the scientificity, flexibility and management efficiency of Feixi County’s P-L-E spatial layout, thereby supporting its sustainable development.

Migrant identities in multilingual contexts: Nigerian migrants’ language use in public spaces in Cape Town

ABSTRACT The study investigates language use and identity navigation among Nigerian migrants with a focus on language use in public and social spaces in Cape Town, South Africa. It reports on ethnographic observation, participant observation and semi-structured interviews. Findings reveal the use of spoken Igbo and isiXhosa in interactions among primarily Igbo, Nigerian migrants, as well as how the migrants draw on their newly acquired (and often relatively limited) knowledge of isiXhosa in interactions and for economic exchanges. Key themes include language learning (primarily of isiXhosa), codeswitching, and Igbo neologisms as well as speech stylisation. In the suburbs, menus and signs in restaurants are written in a range of languages, including Igbo, isiXhosa, and English. While the use of Igbo expresses and affirms their Nigerian identity, isiXhosa is used to avoid identification as ‘foreigners’ against a backdrop of xenophobic violence. The strategies underscore the challenges of navigating economic and social pressures in a society saturated with codes, whilst also maintaining the language of ‘home’. The study provides original insights into the factors affecting African language use in public spaces by an often-overlooked group

Combining MSPA-MCR Model to Evaluate the Ecological Network in Wuhan, China

Rapid urbanization development and construction has seriously threatened the connectivity of habitat patches in cities and hindered the construction of ecological networks in highly urbanized areas. Among them, China is affected by early compressed urbanization, and the broken ecological space in cities and towns has attracted the extensive interest of researchers. To avoid the subjective randomness and single analysis of ecological space in urbanization areas, this paper takes the central urban area of Wuhan as the main research area. It comprehensively evaluates the ecological network space by combining the MSPA-MCR model. The main conclusions are as follows: (1) Identifying the ecological landscape types with important ecological significance in the study area: Core (88.29%), Islet (0.25%), Perf (0.63%), Edge (9.74%), Loop (0.22%), and Bridge (0.14%). Through the dPC landscape index, seven important ecological sources south of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River were identified. (2) According to the comprehensive factors of natural and human factors constructed by the MCR model, the minimum cumulative ecological resistance surface was established, with an average value of 2.65, a maximum value of 4.70, and a minimum value of 1.00, showing a trend that the ecological resistance values in the central and eastern parts are lower than those in the western part. (3) According to the standard deviation ellipse, the distribution direction of NE–SW in ecological sources was analyzed. The ecological sources distributed in the north were less, and the spatial distribution was scattered on the whole. The strong global positive correlation and local spatial aggregation characteristics of ecological resistance surface were evaluated according to spatial autocorrelation. Based on the gravity model, the interaction intensity of ecological corridors between source areas was evaluated, and the importance of ecological corridor protection and restoration was quantitatively analyzed. The research results provide scientific and reasonable references and a basis for ecological planning of Wuhan central city.

The Role of Spatial Relations in Influencing Crime in Public Open Spaces of Settlements around Juja Town

The study focuses on the urban spatial relations influence crime along the public open spaces in Juja town, Kenya. Axial analysis component of space syntax method has been adapted to establish integration and connectivity measures of public open spaces in Juja town. While observation method established the land-use, surveillance levels, build-up densities and physical traces of urban crime. Results show that Juja town has poor connectivity with the highest connectivity rate being 40 m/street connection and the lowest being 125 m/connection. Correspondingly, global integration levels sampled street segments in Juja town is moderate 1.306521 to low of 0.915067. Notably, the street segments with low connectivity and characterised by high number of cul-de-sacs, high obstacles and closed gates frequencies resulted in high positive correlations with both reported crime and observed traces of crime. However, land-use typologies (residential, commercial, and idle) correlated positively with crime occurrence in Juja town where suitable targets are present with either poor guardianship or possible escape routes for the offenders. The research findings indicate that poor connectivity and choice measures predispose Juja town to increased crime together with poor street luminance levels that prevent inter-visibility of public open spaces especially in the evening and morning hours of the day. On the other hand, entrances/gates denoting the presence of door-to-door surveillance across the street reduce crime prevalence. The study also found that presence of idle land use patterns along public open spaces discourages people from using the street segments hence robing the street segments from street guardianship resulting in increased crime incidences.

Rural Settlement Improvement Potential Measurement and Revitalization Strategy Based on Point-axis Theory: an Example of Four Districts and Counties in Zhejiang Province

This paper extends the connotation of point-axis theory from the equilibrium degree of existing land use in the study area. A village development potential index system and village time-distance calculation system are established, and a modified gravitational force model is constructed based on development potential values and time distance. The village and town space is reconstructed by measuring the gravitational strength to explore the development poles. At the same time, the development suitability of development axes such as rivers and roads was considered to determine different types of rural settlement development in the research area and to summarize the rural settlement improvement patterns in the sample districts and counties in the process of new urbanization. Finally, according to the framework of "point-axis analysis - type classification - model extraction - planning enhancement", the study area is used as the key county and region to explore the sample of rural settlement improvement and to promote the same type.

“Ghost City" or Habitable City? The Production of Space in China's New Towns

“Ghost City" or Habitable City? The Production of Space in China's New Towns

Planning for non-motorised transport: Provision of footpaths as public spaces in Kisii town, Kenya

Walking in urban areas is regarded as healthy, cheap, and pollution free. It is influenced by variables such as the availability of safe footpaths, rights-of-way, condition of roads, patterns of land use, and safety. However, unsatisfactory provision of footpaths continues to attract global attention because of their centrality to sustainable urban mobility and safety. This article used a correlational research design to investigate if the residential building developments in the seven neighbourhoods of Kisii town, Kenya, comply with the planning standard that regulates pedestrian footpaths. It was guided by the public interest theory of regulation that justifies spatial planning through development control. A structured observation checklist, satellite image and photography were used to collect primary data. The analysis relied on a one-sample t-test, GIS, and Pearson’s bivariate correlation. Research findings showed that most of the residential developments failed to observe the two metres planning standard. Compliance generally declined by a mean of 0.3 metres, thus negating the development control principles of access and safety in the use of footpaths as public spaces. The problem was exacerbated by developments that intruded on road reserves, thus reducing the widths of footpaths, the inability of the County Government of Kisii to effectively undertake development control, and the failure to prioritise the provision of footpaths when awarding tenders for the construction and maintenance of roads. As a case study, this article enlightens the academic community, policymakers, and practitioners in the construction industry on how compliance with the standards used in regulating footpaths may be evaluated through a triangulation of statistical and spatial approaches, a gap that hitherto existed in the town-planning literature.

“To Work–To Sacrifice–To Die”: The Cult of Military Martyrs and its Manifestation in Slovakia during the years 1938–1945

The Slovak Republic of 1939–1945 was established on the doorstep of the deadliest war in history. It almost immediately became an active participant in the war as an ally of Nazi Germany. Moreover, already in March 1939, Slovakia, just after its foundation, found itself in a military conflict with Hungary. These facts were naturally reflected in all spheres of society, including urban spaces. This study aims to analyze interventions in the public spaces of Slovak towns related to a cult of martyrs. There was strong need to justify the new Slovak Republic’s participation in the war. This need became increasingly pressing, especially after the invasion of the Soviet Union, which met with the disapproval of the majority of the population. I therefore ask how the regime responded to this. I am especially interested in following questions: how were public spaces transformed change in an effort to build a martyr cult before and after the attack on the Soviet Union? Were there significant interventions in connection with this event (the declaration of war against the USSR)? Had the symbol of a martyr or a soldier changed, and if so, how? The study is organized chronologically. I analyze interventions in public spaces during the so-called Little War in March 1939, at the moment of entry into the war against Poland in September 1939, and at the moment of entry into the war against the USSR in June 1941. I examine interventions on architecture-material level which involved the renaming streets and the creation of memorials. I also focus on perceptions of the street as a “stage” for military parades or ceremonies in the course of which soldiers were awarded decorations.

Study on Integrated Design of Parking Space in Old Town of Small City Under the Background of Urban Renewal

With the development of China's economy, more and more private cars appear in small cities, but there are not enough parking spaces, which brings difficulties to residents' travel. This paper takes the old city of Dongtai as an example to investigate the parking situation. Combined with the opportunity of urban renewal, the integrated design strategy of parking spaces is proposed from the aspects of function improvement, old renovation and space expansion, which will help the renovation of the old city.

KIERUNKI PRZEKSZTAŁCEŃ PRZESTRZENI PULICZNYCH MAŁYCH MIAST PODKARPACIA W OPINII MIESZKAŃCÓW

The public spaces of small towns play an important role in the lives of residents. They have commercial, service, recreational and social functions. They should be adapted to the needs of residents. In recent years there have been transformations within the public spaces of many towns of Subcarpathian region. The study includes the results of questionnaire research of residents regarding their opinion on the changes made. The essence of social participation based on dialogue between citizens and local authorities as well as benefits resulting from its application were also indicated. Spatial observation, juxtaposed with public opinion, allowed for the identification of significant issues affecting the perception and use of urban spaces.

Street art in urban space: location and perception in Ukrainian cities

Purpose. The purpose of this research was to analyze the thematic orientation, drivers, location and perception by residents of street art in Ukrainian cities. Accordingly, the research questions are as follows: where and which street art pieces are located in cities? what are the main triggers of their spread in urban space? how city residents percept street art? what dwellers think about impact of street art on socio-cultural space and should street art be regulated in cities? Research methods. The study is based on an analysis of media reports on street art, the results of in-depth semi-structured interviews with Kyiv residents, and the authors’ observations on the streets of several Ukrainian cities. Twelve semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with Kyiv residents in April-May 2021, which included blocks of questions on the perception of street art, its subject matter, location and the need to control and regulate their creation and distribution. The authors conducted observations on the streets during 2017-2021 in the cities of Kyiv, Dnipro, Kharkiv, Odesa, Poltava, Kamyanets-Podilskyi, and Kramatorsk. Main findings. Based on the previous research, the main forms of street art and their place in urban space are analyzed. The analysis of street art pieces in Ukraine showed that in general there are tendencies of decentralization of their location in the urban space and regionalization. In other words, street art is spreading from the city center to the periphery, and along with the capital city and the main regional centers, street art pieces are becoming common elements of the urban space of other cities and towns. The vision of the residents testifies to their demand for the conformity of new street art pieces to the socio-cultural environment, the appropriateness of placement, and “embeddedness” into the urban space. It was revealed that key drivers of street art booming in Ukraine are urban art festivals, mega events, socio-political events and social troubles, developers` initiatives, as well as participatory budgeting programs. At the same time, the methods of implementation, thematic orientation and location of street art can cause conflicts and protests from individual residents, social movements, and municipalities as well. An analysis of the attitude to the thematic orientation of street art showed that the topics of nature, images of prominent people with an unblemished reputation, representatives of the most important professions, national, patriotic and social topics that encourage reflection, as well as texts of famous poems and quotations are most welcoming for Kyiv residents. The attitude to political issues accompanied by various appeals is distinctly negative. It has been confirmed that the local context of street art objects is considered as more important. It is shown that with the generally positive perception of street art, city dwellers are interested in the need to control and regulate the location of new murals and other street art pieces taking into account the public participation principles. In a relatively short period, street art have become a common practice of renewal, "beatification" and "Europeanization" of the urban space of many Ukrainian cities. Scientific novelty and practical value. The article develops the understanding of the place of street art in the urban space revealing the main peculiarities of the location, distribution and perception of street art in Ukrainian cities. The practical value of the study lies in the focus on identifying prospects for the implementation of the principles of participatory urban planning in the context of the creation of new street art pieces as a mean of improving public spaces.

Transformation by Method of Sanation – Unregulated Residential Settlements of Sarajevo

In the second half of the 20th century, the industrialisation and deagrarization of Bosnia and Herzegovina had a strong impact on the dynamics of urban development and economic growth of the post-war Sarajevo, which intensified immigration from its relatively underdeveloped regional environment. This was accompanied by accelerated housing construction, and it encouraged the spatial expansion of the city. Planning guidelines were set by the city administration and were based on the long-term development plans. They identified the disposition of urban functions necessary for housing, work, recreation and traffic, and the policy of building multi-residential buildings was aimed general social interest. At the same time, the planning activities neglected the actual socio-economic status of immigrants who had lesser opportunities for housing through the social distribution system of apartments, began the process of self-organized unregulated settlement construction with single-family houses on the city's slopes. This began an era of two parallel but controversial actions within town space: planned and unregulated housing construction. Spontaneous possession of the city's territory with unregulated construction today is characterised by: complex property-legal relations, high degree of construction, absence of public space, pedestrian communications and service functions, low quality of the infrastructure network, and that settlements are formed on unstable terrains and on active landslides. Since the consequences of the complexity of the situation cannot be addressed through radical urban transformation, we see an alternative in the idea of partial spatial interventions – transformation by method of sanation. Starting with the thesis that construction is always deeply connected to society's understanding of the function of space and the place of man in it, we have opened up a central question, and searching for answers is the basic goal of this paper: Is it possible to solve problems accumulated by decades within Sarajevo's unregulated residential settlements through means of transformation by method of sanation? Or: Can partial spatial interventions improve the overall quality of individual and social life? For the purpose of finding answers, we conducted an analysis of the causes of the formation and genesis of these settlements, as well as a series of problems produced by the accumulation of separate spatial interventions without elementary professional guidance. The results of this analysis showed that the answer to the questions asked can be positive, by establishing a critical relationship with the potential of the space of specific settlement sites, in terms of the degree of functional usability, correlation with utilities and user interactions with the environments they inhabit. We have concluded that it is precisely the potential of individual sites, by logically applying the transformation by method of sanation, will enable dual achievement – the merging the solution within the technical and structural aspect of potential landslides with the articulation of the public on new pedestrian communications. Also, it has been shown that the application of this method enables the typification of technical solutions, functions, contents, activities, urban design, and even the public itself. And this means that the conclusions on the characteristics of individual Sarajevo unregulated residential settlements, endangered by landslides, can offer general guidelines for design concepts, within them, an overall improvement of individual and social life.