Stages Of Urban Design Research Articles

“Blacklighting” the shaping of place: theories, strategies, and spatial imaginaries from the ‘Shaw

ABSTRACT Over the last two decades, public space discourse has shone brightest on those stages of urban design and historic preservation either termed “placemaking” or “placekeeping,” arguably leaving a gap everywhere amid this “place-shaping continuum.” This paper attends to that chasm through mixed-methods research to “Blacklight” urbanism through the eyes of merchants and community planners producing culture and building neighborhood economies without equitable support from propertied, financial institutions. By ethnographically narrating a complex case of the historically Black artistic community in South Los Angeles’ subregion nicknamed “the ‘Shaw,” this paper illuminates a new hue in the place-shaping spectrum for those celebrating Black heritage in the shadows of spatial abandonment called “placesteading.” It details three tactics of the Crenshaw placesteading strategy called “counter-valuation.” Through transdisciplinary study, these three new terms contribute to the global project of dignifying pluriversal planning practices and diasporic worldviews in urban geographies, heritage conservation, and design.

Numerical Study of Micro-Thermal Environment in Block Based on Porous Media Model

The mitigation of the heat island effect has become one of the most challenging issues with the rapid urbanization and increased human activities. A standard model and a porous media model were developed to simulate the microthermal environment in the presence of anthropogenic heat in Nanjing Xinjiekou block. The accuracy of the simulation results was verified by field measurement data. Compared with the standard CFD method, the porous media method reduces the number of meshes by 27.8% and the total computation time by 66.7%. By comparing and analyzing the thermal environment of the block with various porosities and heat intensities at different heights, calculations proved that the velocity is positively correlated with the porosity change, and the temperature is negatively correlated with it in contrast. The temperature increases linearly with the increase in anthropogenic heat intensity under the block height range, and the gradient is about 0.025 K/W at the height of 2 m. The porous media approach allows for effective prediction of the micro-thermal environment in the initial stages of urban design while increasing the porosity of the block and controlling the intensity of anthropogenic heat emissions can be a prominent means of improving the thermal environment.

BIM-Concept for Design of Engineering Networks at the Stage of Urban Planning

This study describes a new approach to creating a Central Project Database based on the BIM-concept for designing engineering networks at the stage of urban planning. This approach is based on systematic access to the process of developing urban planning documentation at the pre-design stage of construction. Comprehensive information support of the planning territory corresponds to modern trends in the transition of urban planning to digital construction. An information model of the project of planning territory for construction at the stage of urban design is proposed. The content of each layer of the planning territory information model is described in detail. The conceptual BIM model of spatial data for solving design problems of engineering networks is presented in the form of three main blocks. Block 1 is data sources that are taken from the operating system and external sources. Block 2 is data storage in which operational and external sources supply spatial data and metadata. Block 3 is consumers of information that generate requests for data to the means of presenting the information. The BIM structure of the Central Project Database for comprehensive information support of the design of engineering networks is presented. As the study results are shown, a summary plan of engineering networks was made using BIM-based design software and a digital 3D model of the consolidated plan of engineering networks, made using AutoCAD Civil 3D. The use of BIM-concept at the stage of urban planning design is a new direction of its development. The implication for further research studies on the development of complex BIM-based design for urban infrastructure.

Design and Validation of a Simulator Tool Useful for Designers and Policy Makers in Urban Sound Planning

Currently, the design of the urban soundscapes has been approached from distinct perspectives, which include, in all cases, the evaluation of how people perceive sound. An effective way to know how people experience an acoustic environment is through the use of simulators, where the inhabitants can design and establish their preferred sound levels. Making these tools available to different urban specialists, so they can be applied in individual common working environments, will allow them to be incorporated into the distinct stages of urban design, considerably improving solutions that promote more pleasant and restorative soundscapes for users. This paper describes the design and testing of a software based on a portable simulation tool whose function is to evaluate the acceptability of a variety of environmental noise sources categorized in four groups—water, birds, music and people. The experiment also evaluates the acceptability of these sounds sources with and without traffic noise mixed into the replayed sound. In order to validate it, two experiments with separate groups of people have been applied in two different places. With the exception of the “people” group of sounds, the results showed no correlation between sound level and acceptability, vibrancy, calmness both with and without the traffic and also the same preferred sounds were chosen in both places. These results suggest that it is possible to make prior participatory listening tests out of the laboratory. Finally, the participants commented that this experience improves their understanding of the acoustic environment and makes them aware of it.