Traditional Urban Form Research Articles

Revaluating urban space through tweets: An analysis of Twitter-based mobile food vendors and online communication

The rise of mobile food vending in US cities combines urban space and mobility with continuous online communication. Unlike traditional urban spaces that are predictable and known, contemporary vendors use information technology to generate impromptu social settings in unconventional and often underutilized spaces. This unique condition requires new methods that interpret online communication as a critical component in the production of new forms of public life. We suggest qualitative approaches combined with data-driven analyses are necessary when planning for emergent behavior. In Charlotte, NC, we investigate the daily operations, tweet content, and spatial and temporal sequencing of six vendors over an extended period of time. The study illustrates the interrelationship between data, urban space, and time and finds that a significant proportion of tweet content is used to announce vending locations in a time-based pattern and that the spatial construction of events is often independent of traditional urban form.

Developing a Framework for Qualitative Evaluation of Urban Interventions in Iranian Historical Cores

Iranian historic city cores are important parts of modern cities because of their valuable monuments and morphology but are also significant because of their population density, location and the major governmental functions they house. Since 1920, modernisation policies and urban development trends in Iran have justified spatial transformation and redevelopment and the demolition and destruction of traditional urban fabrics as a way to provide contemporary requirements and hygiene improvements for the residents. As the UNESCO recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape argues, historic urban cores can only sustain their role in the daily life of the city by getting prepared for and participating in this transformation process. Disagreement over the value of historic urban cores on the one hand and inevitable modification of urban areas in a developing country like Iran on the other, creates a problematic condition for the preservation of the historic environment. The Valletta Principles for the Safeguarding and Management of Historic Cities, Towns and Urban Areas states that historic towns and urban areas require an integrated approach including their “protection, conservation, enhancement and management as well as their coherent development and their harmonious adaptation to contemporary life”. In order to support the process of reaching a balance between these spatial targets in Iran, this research discusses the relation between urban transformation projects and their heritage context. In doing so it connects international literature on urban quality and traditional Iranian urban forms to contemporary Iranian urban design practice. To achieve this integration between urban heritage and spatial development, a framework of quality attributes has been developed to evaluate urban interventions in a heritage context. The three main pillars of this framework have been extracted from and inspired by international literature and guidelines. Place-making theories have proved to be especially helpful. An analysis of traditional urban forms in Iran and their main characteristics - especially for the urban type of the bazaar – has provided a list of specific and relevant parameters. The framework has been tested by evaluating two case studies in Shiraz that illustrate two different approaches to heritage intervention on an urban level. The outcome has led to modification of the framework and new research questions.

MEASURING SOCIAL CAPITAL IN PLANNED AND UNPLANNED NEIGHBORHOODS OF LAHORE: A CASE STUDY OF JOHAR TOWN AND SINGHPURA

Social capital is an asset and is defined as the social networks and interactions that inspire trust and reciprocity among citizens necessary for the community development. The fundamental premise is that some neighborhood designs enable or encourage social ties or community connections, whereas others do not. Two case studies were selected, namely Singhpura (traditional settlement) and Johar Town (modern settlement) to measure the social capital in Lahore. Questionnaire was designed to conduct surveys at household level to measure social capital. Surveys were conducted among 154 respondents belonging to both areas. Statistical analysis of the data collected was done using the SPSS software. It was concluded that over the past few years, social capital in the neighborhoods of Lahore and different areas of Pakistan has decreased to a great extent. The design of neighborhoods promotes dependency on the private vehicles. Walkability decreases in planned areas but it is still available in unplanned old developed areas because of mixed land uses. Due to high level of walkability in these areas, social interaction is high as compared to planned areas and high income societies, where people have no value of social interaction and are busy in their personal work. In developed countries due to high social capital people participate in community level development projects, but in the case of Pakistan due to low level of social capital there is no concept of participatory development. It has been recommended here that new developments should follow the traditional urban forms where traditional neighborhood developments should be based on new urbanism principles, which encourage the use of undulating and straight streets that maximize pedestrian connectivity. These new developments should be a mix of compatible land uses and should work to incorporate elements such as architectural details and street furniture, encouraging human interaction on an urban scale. Keywords: Social Capital, Neighborhood, Traditional, Lahore.

Forma urbana tradicional e modernista

The objective of this paper is to discuss some of the implications of traditional urban form and modernist urban form, for the use and aesthetics of urban spaces, such as the existence of visual and functional connections between buildings and public open spaces and the use given to the ground floors. In "traditional urban form" the buildings have front doors and windows facing public streets, while in the "modernist urban form" buildings tend to have doors and windows distant from public streets and/or directed to internal open spaces in the block, without distinction between front and back doors and windows. Thus, examples of cities in different countries are used for comparisons and reflections involving these aspects. The main consequences of these analyzes reinforce the need for a better understanding on the implications of urban form for the use and aesthetics of urban spaces. Additionally, it is highlighted the importance of visual and functional connections between the ground floor and the public open spaces, to the vitality, safety and appearance of urban spaces.

A GIS‐based land‐use diversity index model to measure the degree of suburban sprawl

This paper describes a GIS‐based land‐use diversity measure for residential neighbourhoods – the land‐use diversity index (or LDI) model – as a possible urban sustainability criterion. The term ‘land‐use diversity’ is proposed as representative of many physical attributes of neighbourhood form opposite to typical sprawl patterns. A diverse neighbourhood is one with a mixture of compatible land uses and housing types, containing an array of amenities in reasonable proximity to where people live. The prototype version of the LDI model incorporates 34 input variables, structured around four sub‐indices. Its range of expected values are explored through four case study applications. Theoretically, index values can vary between 0 and 1, where 1 represents a condition of greater ‘land‐use diversity’. The two traditional urban neighbourhoods fared well (index values ranging between 0.627 and 0.726) because they have a greater range of land uses and neighbourhood amenities, a better integration of housing types and are more concentrated. These two neighbourhoods meet many of the ‘exuberant diversity’ criteria described by Jacobs. The two suburban neighbourhoods scored lower index values (between 0.250 and 0.363), indicating variables different to those for traditional urban forms. The LDI model differs from existing sprawl measures fundamentally, as it attempts to measure sprawl at a finer resolution (i.e. at the neighbourhood scale). It is anticipated the LDI model will assist with planning new, and reconfiguring old, neighbourhoods as they strive to meet smart growth criteria now being considered by many cities.

The impact of urban form on travel behaviour in three Baghdad neighbourhoods affected by terrorism

The article examines: 1) how travel behaviour was influenced by urban form in three terrorism-affected Baghdad districts; and 2) how the responses to terrorism in these neighbourhoods affected travel behaviour. The results suggest that urban form can mediate the impacts of terrorism and counter-terrorism with traditional urban form districts being more resilient than modern high-rise districts.

Analysis of Traditional Urban Morphology of Korean Contemporary City and Institutional Measures for Preservation

In the present circumstance of exploring measures for sustainable development, finding and using planning elements of historical city is getting important as a urban planning tool. Thus this study aims to examine the characters of Korean traditional urban form through three periods, Josun, modern and contemporary eras. Three urban centers representing different characteristics were selected; historical center based on 14th century's traditional planning, modern period urban center, which is related with development of railway, and contemporary urban center of late 20th century. Analyse of urban tissue, composed with form and scale of street network, blocks and plots, shows that each urban center of Seoul has certain common attributes in terms of morphology in spite of the difference of formation and development period. However this historical urban forms are rarely applicated in the current urban planning, such as new-town planning or district unit plan. This shows the necessity of modification of urban regulation for preserving the identity of our city and pursuing sustainable development.

Changes in the traditional urban form and the social sustainability of contemporary cities: A case study of Iranian cities

This article discusses how traditional urban patterns can inspire planners to create integrated urban environments which are more sustainable socially. Our focus is on the Iranian cities. First we describe the main elements of traditional Iranian cities, their qualities, and the way they have contributed to the social sustainability of communities. Later, we explain the current situations and the way these elements have lost their function and their integrity is disrupted. We conclude the article by emphasizing that planners should consider the evolution of the city in the course of time and lessons learned from the past should be considered at the time of development or redevelopment. Taking account of the inherent values of traditional urban forms will be a complement to the modern planning and design techniques and will facilitate creation of communities which are more sustainable socially.

Enclosing Paradise: The Design of Gated Communities in Barbados

The nature of the physical boundaries of residential developments may reflect urban history, vernacular traditions and social conditions. This paper examines the urban design characteristics of gated enclaves in Barbados. The analysis illustrates that the quality and opacity of boundary treatments varies with the income level of neighbouring residential areas. Gating in Barbados reflects a development process complicit in transforming traditional urban forms into globalized neo-colonial urban design.

Comparing Traditional Urban Form in China and Europe: A Fringe-Belt Approach

Urban growth and transformation across the world are presenting great challenges for the comprehension and management of urban landscape change. Comparative urban morphology makes it possible to identify urban forms common to different geographical regions, while helping to distinguish unique historical characteristics and developments important for towns and cities in the hunt for place identity and prestige. The fringe-belt concept provides a frame of reference for depicting, explaining, and comparing the physical structure and historical development of urban landscapes. The walled cities of Pingyao, China and Como, Italy possess well-preserved historical urban environments that reflect the urban development traditions of their respective cultures. Newly available cartographic evidence and field work reveal critical differences between the embedded fringe belts of the two cities resulting from different historico-geographical dynamics. Pingyao's single composite fringe belt and Como's three distinct belts challenge current understanding of urban structural processes and argue for more focused urban landscape management.

Dallo spazio al luogo: nodi, margini, reti

Architectural form manifests precisely in the relationship between the ‘insideness’ and ‘outsideness’ of spaces, a changing relationship tied to the sequence of transformations in time which fi nds its median point of comparison between different spatial configurations in the present. Consequently architectural design is performed in the present, but becomes concrete in its relationship between the past structure and its future transformation. The urban form is the deepest and most complex expression of this dynamic, on which the sense of the relationships between architectural spaces is entwined. The contemporary condition of the ‘phenomenon city’ is unfolding as a period in which the consistent settlement philosophies of the traditional urban form are dissipating and projecting the network of relationships onto a scale of dimensions and time that are completely unmanageable by a single plan. The meaning of planning is therefore turning towards the recognition of places that are potentially feasible as relatives centres of a general composite system.

Privacy and Social Interaction in Traditional Towns to Contemporary Urban Design in Iran

Privacy as an inherent feature of Iranian culture i s evident in formation of Iranian traditional towns. Put differently, attention to the inside was one of the most desirable principles in Iranian traditional architecture as well as urbanism. Howev er, privacy did not lead to isolation in Iranian culture and social contact was also of a great impo rtance to Iranians. Problem statement: Although sense of privacy as well as sociality are still par ts of Iranian culture and have been transferred fro m one generation to another, contemporary cities do not m eet these needs. Newly designed cities have encountered a decrease in sense of privacy and soci al interaction among residents. Approach: Coming up with an alternative solution for urban design wh ich would respect this culture in cotemporary citie s while matching the new life style of people, would contribute to achieving a sustainable urban form one of the principles of which is social and cultur al sustainability. This article, therefore, aimed t o reveal how the traditional urban form considered re sident's needs of privacy as well as social interaction simultaneously and how to regenerate se nse of privacy and social contact in the contemporary neighborhoods in Iran. The method used in this study was analysis of data gathered through library study. Results: This study suggested that the existence of transiti onal spaces in traditional cities was the main reason for simultan eous generation of privacy and social interaction, thus, a contemporized form of those spaces in conte mporary residential areas might help in increasing the aforementioned attitudes in contemporary cities . Conclusion: This study has an important implication for those involved in development of ne w neighborhoods. It would be hoped that this study triggers creative future design solutions that woul d consider the socio-cultural issues in designing a s well as planning processes.

GONE WITH THE WIND: PHYSICAL SPACES IN THE THIRD GENERATION METROPOLIS

This paper makes an attempt to deal with the description, and possibly the explanation, of the profound transformation of the city, and of the changes in urban experience and practices, connected with the shape of contemporary urbanization. I stress the term description, because as it occurs in all periods of fast social changes, our conceptual tools tend to become blunt before we realize that normal science keeps failing us. The city is a complex and ambiguous object, as it is constituted by two parts, or orders of facts, inextricably bound. One is visible, i.e. observable through physical wavelengths: the other is not physically visible and can be grasped only by intellectual tools. Arrangements in the second order of facts, though, are responsible for arrangements in the first one, in the sense of producing them, and these in turn affect the former ones, although in ways and in degrees that are far from being clear. In general, decoding between the two order of facts is hazardous and has not produced a set of rules widely consented upon. This is why I remain very skeptical and in some cases outright critical of models stressing continuities in the concepts of civic organization, by referring to traditional urban forms. Reminiscent of Anthony Gidden's sharp statement that the city is one of those social forms that display "a specious continuity with pre-existing social orders" (Giddens, (1990) The Consequences of Modernity, Stanford University Press, Stanford, p. 6) I will try to etch analytical tools capable to clarify at least a few processes that are shaping civic life in contemporary metropolis.

Understand urbanism and get off its back

As we sink under the weight of design guidance and PPGs nationally, and the plethora of regional guidance they have spawned, the recognition that there needs to be a culture change of enormous proportions is not even on the radar. Within the current debates on urbanism and sustainability, a thorough understanding of traditional urban structure, forms, and building types has a vital role to play in the realisation of that agenda. However, it is of little value for PPGs or anything else to advocate these principles if the cultures of the producers and controllers of the built environment are mired in ideologies and rules that render it impossible. It is not getting better; it is arguably getting worse as single-issue ‘performance-based’ assessments become couched in an increasingly litigious culture. This is particularly relevant to greenfield and brownfield land. Even though we still seem to be able to mess up cities on a site-by- site basis, they manage to survive, despite our intrinsic anti-urbanism. Why? Because the vast majority of that fabric breaks today's ‘rules’ and that is why it works. If you do want good urbanism, first of all understand it, then get off its back. This paper is reprinted with the kind permission of the Town and Country Planning Association.

A külső tér

The study is an introductory chapter for a research work on "Urban space" being prepared in the Department for Urban Studies in the Technical University of Budapest. The chapter gives a comprehensive and critical survey of the literature related to the theory of urban space in architecture of the 20th century. As it can not be separated from the issues posed by general architectural theory on the one side, it overlaps related research topics and directions in philosophy, linguistics, psychology, sociology, anthropology and the environmental sciences on the other. In order to avoid a spiritual isolation, a theory of urban space has to reflect the challenges of interdisciplinary approaches. The study tries to demonstrate how present urbanisation trends, development tendencies and cultural phenomena are reflected in contemporary architectural theories. Some trends in architecture are in the danger of being isolated in esoteric speculations and self-contained artistic endeavours. The analysis comes to the conclusion that traditional urban forms and values are facing a crisis, and that the transformation of our value-systems may prove irreversible. At the same time a lot of new environmental phenomenon is urging us to interpret, to adopt and to integrate them into our intellectual reference system. It seems that there is no tendency toward a new "international urban form", but an unprecedented cultural pluralism is emerging on the shadow of globalisation.

Characterization of the street networks in the traditional Turkish urban form

Characterization of the street networks in the traditional Turkish urban form

Socio-political control in urban China: changes and crisis.

This paper examines urban China's socio-political control crisis under the impact of economic reforms as an epitome of a more general social crisis. The traditional urban institutional form of socio-political control in the People's Republic of China (PRC), the work unit form of control, is a variant of age-old forms. The latter's reproduction in variant form in the former was premised upon the fact that the PRC's industrialization was carried out by a peasant-based party creating a new working class of rural migrants engaged in non-market production and exchange. The persistence of non-market economic relations ensured this form of control's continued reproduction. Post-1978 market-oriented reforms have undermined this form. As the emergence of new forms has been slow, a socio-political control crisis has arisen, at a time when millions of urban employees are being thrown out of work. In dealing with the crisis, the official trade union, an organic constituent institution of the work unit form of control, plays a prominent part, in being given the tasks of sustaining this decaying form, and preventing and defusing potential social explosion. Yet, the very economic reform programme that has undermined the work unit form of control, is also gravely weakening the union.

Spatial Patterns of Headquarters

This study of the spatial concentration of the headquarters of exchange-listed companies suggests that the relevancy of the “efficiency parameter” of agglomeration theory still holds in explaining the location of headquarters, especially when the production function is reinterpreted as a productivity function. The sample of 5189 headquarters exceeds previous studies of Fortune 500 firms. Across industries, a high degree of clustering is found: 40% of the nation’s headquarters were found in twenty counties. Cluster analysis suggests grouping patterns for headquarters; discriminant analysis confirms the uniqueness of these spatial clustering patterns across 229 urban counties. For certain industries, the clustering occurs within small areas. The headquarters of these spatially-correlated groups of firms—money and media, gas and electric, business services, and machining technology—were mapped at the county and zipcode level for counties within major metropolitan areas. The spatial density patterns take on traditional urban forms: core, ring and wedge.

Technology and tradition: A Paper on behalf of the Richard Rogers Partnership by Andrew Wright

Nature orientates itself to specific environmental situations and when challenged develops devices that allow plants and animals to live in very extreme climates Traditional urban form has needed to make the most of its topology. Traditional buildings when necessary, have developed technologies that achieve additional comfort levels. Mechanisation however, has allowed building to drift away from its natural science base, to a free stylistic repertoire. This tendency has, over a period of time, caused some fundamental problems of performance Consequentially the discipline of architecture needs to broaden, to allow it to recover its natural science base. To achieve this the design team must be more integrated from the earliest stages of design. Clients must give the team additional support during these first stages. Most importantly government must enact clear legislative requirements to ensure that energy efficient solutions are built. This paper aims to describe how the practice's concern with developing low energy buildings and evolving so called ‘sustainable strategies’ has and is informing it design approach and to illustrate the extent of the energy savings and reductions in pollutive emissions that are reasonably achievable. It is important to realise that, although 20 – 30% of these energy savings can be made by utilising recent advances in component technology, approximately 70 – 80% of possible affordable improvements are achievable by good orientation and clear concept design. This paper aims to highlight the importance of good conceptual design in achieving low energy buildings and balanced ecological planning.