Urban Axis Research Articles

Enhancing the Ecosystem of Central Areas in European Metropolises: A Project for Rome

The paper presents the results of a third-party research project defining the process of redevelopment and social and environmental regeneration along the historic urban axis of Via Nazionale and Corso Vittorio Emanuele II in Rome. The site is affected by the construction of the new tram line connecting Termini Station to the Vatican City. The study proposes an approach to the design of public spaces that, starting by inhibiting traffic from rubber-tired vehicles and private cars and the application of environmental mitigation strategies, allows to reduce pollutant emissions, enhance the cultural heritage along the urban axis, and revitalise cultural, social, and commercial activities, thus triggering a virtuous process of sustainable growth and development.

Model Analysis Principles for the Design of Public Spaces in Bistrița-Târgu Mureș Urban Axis

Model Analysis Principles for the Design of Public Spaces in the Bistrița-Târgu Mureș Urban Axis. The physical urban terrain across cities continually evolves through insights, consultations, deliberate redesigning or random acts by community members and natural forces that reshape the urban landscapes and how urban spaces are used. This research establishes a set of normative principles that planners and others can use when planning and regulating the design and management of public space. Data were collected in the period March 2023 – January 2024. Based on a comprehensive analysis of public space in the city, the paper sets out a number of general principles relating to the essential, but often missing, strategic planning framework for developing and regenerating public spaces, providing seven more detailed considerations for assessing the quality of public space design and a proposal for spatial planning. This is an unreservedly positive framework for shaping public space, based on the idea that public spaces in our cities come in many different shapes and forms, but that together they add immense value to the experience and potential of urban areas. The research takes place in the Bistrița-Târgu Mureș urban axis, the field research carried out as part of the study results in a set of three principles of urban spatial planning that examine proposals for the design of public spaces. Keywords: public space, design principles, planning, Bistrița-Târgu Mureș urban axis

Spatial and temporal dynamics of urban heat environment at the township scale: A case study in Jinan city, China.

The prolonged dependence on industrial development has accentuated the cumulative effects of pollutants. Simultaneously, influenced by land construction activities and green space depletion, the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect in cities has intensified year by year, jeopardizing the foundation of sustainable urban development. Prudent urban spatial planning holds the potential to robustly ameliorate the persistent deterioration of the UHI phenomenon. This study selects Jinan City as a case study and employs spatial autocorrelation and spatial regression algorithms to explore the spatiotemporal evolution of urban-rural patterns at the township scale. The aim is to identify key factors driving the spatiotemporal differentiation of Land Surface Temperature (LST) from 2013 to 2022. The research reveals a trend of initially rising and subsequently falling LST in various townships, with low-temperature concentration areas in the southern mountainous region and the northern plain area. The "West-Central-East" main urban axis and the southeast Laiwu District exhibit high-temperature zones. Significant influences on LST are attributed to pollution levels, topographical factors, urbanization levels, and urban greenness. The global Moran's Index for LST exceeds 0.7, indicating a strong positive spatial correlation. Cluster analysis results indicate High-High (HH) clustering in the central Shizhong District and Low-Low (LL) clustering in the northern Shanghe County. Multiscale Geographically Weighted Regression (MGWR) outperforms Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR) and Ordinary Linear Regression (OLR), providing a more accurate reflection of the regression relationships between variables. By investigating the spatiotemporal evolution of LST and its driving factors at the township scale, this study contributes insights for future urban planning and sustainable development.

SHAPING URBAN SPACE IN ROMANIA. CASE STUDY: THE BISTRIȚA-BECLEAN URBAN AXIS

This paper analyses the development of the urban axis by shaping urban space. Through this process, the aim is to transform the city to promote urban sustainability transitions. When comparing the socio-economic systems of the Bistrița-Beclean Urban Axis,

Relevance of Catholic Parish Churches in Public Space in Barcelona: Historical Analysis and Future Perspectives

Knowledge of the link between church and public space remains limited. However, there seems to exist a relationship between the church and the city, dating back to the first foundational temples. This relationship is still present in the churches of the most recently created neighborhoods, including those that are now gone and gave way to new squares, as well as those that were repurposed to house new activities. In this study, the relationship between public space and 132 parish churches within the municipal limits of Barcelona (Catalonia, Spain) was analyzed, with the aim to highlighting the most representative examples to understand the role of religious buildings in the urban landscape of the contemporary city. Morphological analyses and comparative views were the methodological research tools used for drawing new maps highlighting how they configure urban axes and homogeneous patterns. Finally, we included a relevant case study of urban regeneration, Mare de Déu dels Àngels church, as an example to demonstrate that a church without a square can have one. In conclusion, churches influenced both the public space adjacent to the parish temples and the urban growth and expansion of the city of Barcelona. Moreover, urban regeneration and new uses of some underutilized churches are a non-negligible future perspective. Churches are relevant for understanding the past of the city of Barcelona, but they are also important for the present and future of the city’s public space.

신도시 개발 컨셉으로서 정원도시 구현 전략† - 영암․해남 관광레저형 기업도시 솔라시도를 대상으로 -

This study proposes urban development concept and strategies for Garden City, focused on Solaseado, Yeongam Heanam Tourism-Leisure Type Enterprise City in Korea. Understanding that an essential element of a garden is the endless care performed by gardeners, the Garden City development concept suggests applying this idea to making planned cities by cultivating the potential natural landscape of the site in the long run. The meaning of Garden City can be defined in three aspects; an attitude and process of planning a city, a system for constructing the spatial structure of a city, and city branding. A Garden City is a city structured with the spirit of a garden, a city where open space networks become the urban structure, and a city that builds its identity through the landscape, respectively. From this point of view, the research draws development strategies with spatial design examples to embody the Garden City concept in Solaseado by following three steps; establishing the main urban axes, creating city networks through the conjunction of the axes, and categorizing and systematizing open spaces within the city. Consequently, the study shows an alternative urban planning model that extends the concept of a Garden City while maintaining the intrinsic landscape as an urban resource. In addition, the conceptual master plan of Solaseado will structure the urban landscape and park system according to the Garden City strategies.

Preservation and utilisation of historic buildings in old district of Guangzhou from the perspective of space syntax

Abstract The old district of Guangzhou was taken as an example to explore new approaches – the perspective of space syntax – to study the urban structure based on the Geographic Information Centre (GIS) space statistics. Results show that the old district of Guangzhou has significant spatial heterogeneity; the historic regions, as the urban core, have a deep effect on the city and own a ‘double interface’ for both the visitors and indigenous inhabitants. Unique space logic has been formed in the long history of the city, but the grid structure of the old district is unbalanced and incomplete, and some regions have problems in accessibility. Given this, the paper, based on the distribution of the historical buildings, proposed to create contextual urban axes, optimise the public service and improve the space structure, to provide a reference to the preservation and utilisation of historic buildings.

Investigating morphological changes of a capital city: The case of Ankara

Capital cities have a major role in carrying the symbolic meanings of their countries. Planning decisions and historical periods affect their urban forms and development processes. This research examines the morphological evaluation of Ankara—the capital city of Turkey—and provides an approach to understanding its unique physical structure. Ankara has witnessed strategically important planning periods through its history that are reflected in its urban form. The historical periods affecting the developing process of the capital city are analyzed through a mathematical method called "Space Syntax" which contributes to the field of urban morphology with a quantitative perspective. The analytical framework investigates the changing process of Ankara's unique urban axis and morphological structure. Its different historical periods show that the capital city is constantly changing. Ankara's monumental city axis, which shows its traces since the formation of the city, still exists today. However, this unique axis, which connects the historical core areas of the capital city, has lost its potential today. Due to economic and political demands, the main axis, namely Atatürk Boulevard, has been replaced by a newly formed western artery. Understanding Ankara's forming and changing process will enhance its subsequent development plans. By evaluating a unique capital city from Turkey with a morphological perspective, this research will contribute an approach to future studies.

Integration Development of Urban Agglomeration in Central Liaoning, China, by Trajectory Gravity Model

Integration development of urban agglomeration is important for regional economic research and management. In this paper, a method was proposed to study the integration development of urban agglomeration by trajectory gravity model. It can analyze the gravitational strength of the core city to other cities and characterize the spatial trajectory of its gravitational direction, expansion, etc. quantitatively. The main idea is to do the fitting analysis between the urban axes and the gravitational lines. The correlation coefficients retrieved from the fitting analysis can reflect the correlation of two indices. For the different cities in the same year, a higher value means a stronger relationship. There is a clear gravitational force between the cities when the value above 0.75. For the most cities in different years, the gravitational force between the core city with itself is increasing by years. At the same time, the direction of growth of the urban axes tends to increase in the direction of the gravitational force between cities. There is a clear tendency for the trajectories of the cities to move closer together. The proposed model was applied to the integration development of China Liaoning central urban agglomeration from 2008 to 2016. The results show that cities are constantly attracted to each other through urban gravity.

Urban Quality Assessment of Public Housing Estates in Murcia, Spain (Vistabella 1940–1950s, La Paz 1960s, La Fama 1970s). Threats or Opportunities for the Medium-Sized Contemporary City?

The public housing built under the Franco regime in Spain (1939–1975) brought about the largest urban growth in the country’s recent history. It shares similar characteristics with other public housing built in Europe during the 20th century, and today it houses a predominantly multicultural and socioeconomically precarious population. This study analyses and evaluates three estates that make up a new urban axis in the city of Murcia. The objective is to evaluate the benefits and shortcomings of these developments in order to establish rehabilitation plans, which will seek to improve the lives of their inhabitants and enhance their experience of the urban area from environmental, functional and interactive perspectives. The methodology used for this study is based on the application of three systems of indicators in order to obtain a quantitative and qualitative evaluation of each neighborhood. The quantitative analysis evaluates the urban area in terms of environmental sustainability, while the two qualitative systems explore the neighborhoods’ functionality and ability to instil a sense of attachment, and therefore responsibility, among their inhabitants. In its conclusions, the article provides concrete lines of action for updating and regenerating these residential areas that form a significant part of the city of Murcia.

An Investigation of Models of Installation of Memorial Buildings in the Two Urban Axes of the 9th and 10th Centuries AH based on Two Historical Texts

An Investigation of Models of Installation of Memorial Buildings in the Two Urban Axes of the 9th and 10th Centuries AH based on Two Historical Texts

ОСОБЕННОСТИ ФОРМИРОВАНИЯ ЛАНДШАФТНО-ЭКОЛОГИЧЕСКОГО КАРКАСА (ЛЭК) ГОРОДА-КУРОРТА ЗЕЛЕНОГРАДСК КАЛИНИНГРАДСКОЙ ОБЛАСТИ

Kaliningrad Region (Konigsberg) is a semi-excave of Russia that does not have a common land border with its main territory, but is connected to it by sea. It reached our country as a result of the victory over Germany in 1945. This region bears the imprint of the historical and cultural development of East Prussia, has its own specificity in the development of natural landscapes and causes special professional interest in the development of the landscape and ecological framework (LEC) of the famous German resort city of Krantz (Zelenogradsk). The article gives some historical maps, on the basis of which an analysis of the development of natural landscapes and the formation of the LEK of the city of Krantz was made. It was also analyzed by the case of the element frame: urban planning and transport axes, types of the spatial structure of the city and two large landscape objects. Materials are given historical photographs, which show the promenade, buildings and structures, elements of urban landscaping. Materials is recalled about the reforestation of the dunes, information is given about the Plantage park and its elements, which are the green core of the modern city.

Exploración cualitativa sobre el ruido ambiental urbano en la Ciudad de México

Este artículo aborda un estudio cualitativo sobre la percepción del ruido ambiental o contaminación acústica en la Ciudad de México. Explora, mediante la técnica de grupos de enfoque, opiniones y actitudes de treinta ciudadanos, residentes de zonas urbanas a lo largo del eje Paseo de la Reforma- Calzada de Guadalupe. El estudio revela coincidencias y diferencias de opinión sobre la contaminación acústica, así como la ausencia de información, la falta de conciencia sobre el fenómeno y la gravedad de los riesgos de sus efectos en la salud y el bienestar de la población. Evidencia la necesidad de divulgar información y educar acerca del fenómeno.

A ação do capital imobiliário no Programa Minha Casa Minha Vida faixas 2 e 3 no município de Petrópolis-RJ

O Programa habitacional Minha Casa Minha Vida – MCMV, instituído pelo governo Federal em 2009, promoveu uma (re)organização territorial urbana dos municípios brasileiros. Diversos estudos têm demonstrado esses efeitos, porém com pouca análise sobre as faixas 2 e 3. O objetivo deste trabalho é verificar a ação do capital imobiliário exógeno no município de Petrópolis-RJ e sua atuação no MCMV voltado paras as faixas 2 e 3 e como esse processo tem acarretado um novo ordenamento territorial urbano desse município. A metodologia utilizada pautou-se no levantamento bibliográfico e entrevista ao agente público (prefeitura) e aos agentes privados (construtoras, incorporadoras e imobiliárias). Os resultados apontaram para um adensamento do eixo de expansão urbana, localizado na Estrada União e Indústria e na Estrada Philuvio Cerqueira Rodrigues, acompanhado do crescimento da oferta de comércio e serviços, sobretudo no 2º e 3º Distritos. Além desses processos, observou-se a valorização imobiliária dos empreendimentos bem como das áreas no seu entorno, principalmente naqueles espaços cuja verticalização é permitida por lei urbana.
 
 Abstract
 
 ACTION OF REAL ESTATE CAPITAL IN THE MINHA CASA MINHA VIDA PROGRAM TRACKS 2 AND 3 IN PETRÓPOLIS-RJ
 
 The housing Minha Casa Minha Vida Program (My Home My Life) - MCMV, instituted by the Federal government in 2009, promoted an urban and territorial (re) organization of Brazilian municipalities. Several studies have demonstrated these effects, but with little analysis of types 2 and 3. The objective of this work is to demonstrate the action of exogenous real estate capital in the municipality of Petrópolis - RJ and its performance through the MCMV aimed at types 2 and 3 and how this process has brought a new urban territorial ordering in this municipality. The methodology used was based on the bibliographic survey and on interviews with the public agent (city hall) and private agents (builders, developers and real estate). Results pointed to a thickening of the urban expansion axis, located on União e Indústria and Philuvio Cerqueira Rodrigues Roads, accompanied by the growth in the offer of trade and services, especially in the 2nd and 3rd Districts. In addition to these processes, the real estate appreciation of the developments was observed, as well as of the surrounding areas, especially in those spaces in which verticalization is permitted by urban law.

Building Typologies in Between the Vernacular and the Modern: Antakya (Antioch) in the Early 20th Century

Antakya, also known as Antioch, is a special historic city for many reasons. It has maintained a unique blend of authentic values that result from a deep historical background, a rich culture, and a diverse religious population living together with tolerance and in peace for centuries. As a city in the southeastern corner of Turkey near Syria, its rich cultural identity is reflected in various aspects and parts of the city. Kurtuluş Avenue is one of the major urban axes of Antakya and is a remarkable case. It stands out from other parts of the city for having a unique architectural style that is defined by an interesting group of buildings with characteristics between vernacular and modern. Kurtuluş Avenue, a version of the ancient Herod Road, was widened and redirected during the French Mandate Period. Half of its buildings were demolished and renewed and the other half were renovated and reused, creating this particular group of buildings that define this new main artery with a new Western architectural style. The buildings are the products of a nuanced synthesis with common references to vernacular and modern architecture. Kurtuluş Avenue can be considered as a good example for the reflections of the transformations from vernacular to modern architecture and can help to understand this process from a different perspective. With the aim of analyzing, defining, and presenting the reflections of the transformations of urban and architectural characteristics of the buildings located along Kurtuluş Avenue, urban morphology and typo-morphological methods are used.

Shaping relations between natural and artificial landscapes on the example of selected riverside cities: Budapest and Rzeszow

The article discusses the nature of the relationship between the natural landscape and the transformed landscape. The description of these ties was limited to two interdependent and simultaneously contrasting creatures - a river of a fully natural landscape and a city as an artificial landscape resulting from the Anthropos genic transformations. The relationship between these two opposing types of landscapes is centuries-old and thus constitutes a rich source of search and study of human-environment relations. The direct reason for addressing this issue is a gradual change in the approach to landscape shaping of the river valley existing with the urban landscape. Clear transformations of these dependencies and the creation of a return of the city to the river can be observed, for example, in the London docks or Mill Island in Bydgoszcz in Poland. The research area is the coastline of two administratively, culturally and historically different European cities: the Wislok coastline in Rzeszow, the capital of the voivodeship in south-eastern Poland, and the Danube coastline in Budapest, the capital of Hungary. In Budapest, the coexistence of the river and the city is very clear, and their mutual connections are historically anchored and clearly visible in the city’s urban structure. On the other hand, the dynamic changes that have taken place over the centuries in the riverbed of Wislok in Rzeszow caused that the river is not the urban axis of the city and did not significantly affect its urban layout in the past. Throughout most of its existence, the city was formed in fear of the river. The comparison of the shape of the coasts of the cities mentioned above resembles a master - pupil relationship. The two cities share a historical link with the river valley, but the degree of development of these relations varies considerably. The observation was used as a research method. The selected cases are the family towns of the authors, which made it possible to confront the results of literature research, mainly related to the historical layer, with long-term observations of the discussed areas. The article also defines the features distinguishing riverside cities and the advantages and fears resulting from the coexistence of these two seemingly contrasting landscapes.

Study on Environmental Regeneration Around Qinglong Temple in Xi'an City

The paper is aimed to avoid the situation that historical relics are encroached, isolated and fragmented because of cities in the rapid urban process. Taking the environment around the Qinglong Temple in Xi'an city as an example and based on the characteristics of urban patterns in the history, this paper explores the spatial connection relationship between historical relics and surrounding villages as well as the connection between metro traffic and commercial bodies. At the end of the paper, the improvement strategy is put forward, namely the design concepts of “stepwise style” and “landscape style”, which can be achieved by the demand of ecological restoration and the relationship between urban axis. To be noted, the research shows, by restructuring new connection space, the city can promote the urban memory to be restored, the urban appearance to be reshaped, and the urban patterns in the history to be respected and displayed.

Shaping of Public Space in Downtown Area on the Example of the City of Częstochowa

The author deals with the evolution of public spaces in the city of Częstochowa over the years. The choice of a medium-sized city such as Częstochowa results from a broader analysis of cities that are important in Polish history and belong to the culture-creating places of the nation. In such places one should expect, above all, urban and architectural solutions that emerge from the uniqueness of the place and its role - a pilgrimage city, an academic and tourist centre. On the basis of collected archival, cartographic and photographic materials, the author presents changes in selected urban spaces from the early 20th century to modern times. Selected examples of urban spaces are located in the key places of the compositional axis of the urban layout of the city and play a vital role in the minds of inhabitants. The first example showing urban changes in downtown areas is the urban park zone near the Jasna Góra monastery. This area stayed at the beginning of the composition canvas for the urban layout of the city of Częstochowa (1826). The location of the area and historical background creates a huge potential of the place attracting city residents as well as tourists and pilgrims. Secondly, The central part of the historical urban axis of the city is Biegański Square. The urban development program developed by the city authorities assumed the elimination of vehicular traffic and the creation of a cohesive public space in the city centre (2011). Thirdly, urban spaces of the city and the Old Market Square are discussed. This is the area closing the historical axis of the Częstochowa urban foundation. This problematic area requires revitalization activities in response to contemporary functional requirements and newly defined social needs. The discussed changes within the urban space illustrate the process of transforming these areas into special places - important for the urban development of the city.

Numerical Investigations of the Effects of the Rotating Shaft and Optimization of Urban Vertical Axis Wind Turbines

The central shaft is an important and indispensable part of a small scale urban vertical axis wind turbines (VAWTs). Normally, it is often operated at the same angular velocity as the wind turbine. The shedding vortices released by the rotating shaft have a negative effect on the blades passing the wake of the wind shaft. The objective of this study is to explore the influence of the wake of rotating shaft on the performance of the VAWT under different operational and physical parameters. The results show that when the ratio of the shaft diameter to the wind turbine diameter (α) is 9%, the power loss of the wind turbine in one revolution increases from 0% to 25% relative to that of no-shaft wind turbine (this is a numerical experiment for which the shaft of the VAWT is removed in order to study the interactions between the shaft and blade). When the downstream blades pass through the wake of the shaft, the pressure gradient of the suction side and pressure side is changed, and an adverse effect is also exerted on the lift generation in the blades. In addition, α = 5% is a critical value for the rotating shaft wind turbine (the lift-drag ratio trend of the shaft changes differently). In order to figure out the impacts of four factors; namely, tip speed ratios (TSRs), α, turbulence intensity (TI), and the relative surface roughness value (ks/ds) on the performance of a VAWT system, the Taguchi method is employed in this study. The influence strength order of these factors is featured by TSRs > ks/ds > α > TI. Furthermore, within the range we have analyzed in this study, the optimal power coefficient (Cp) occurred under the condition of TSR = 4, α = 5%, ks/ds = 1 × 10−2, and TI = 8%.

Role of Creative Industries as a Regional Growth Factor

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of employment in creative industries on the regional and national economic growth of Ecuador. The methodology used is a panel econometric model in which the temporary and structural dimensions considered to meet the proposed objective are addressed. The inputs of a basic production function were considered and the influence of creative employment was estimated as a proxy indicator of the work factor and of tax collections as a proxy of the capital factor on regional production for the years 2009 and 2014. Noteworthy is that in the main findings of this research, the analysis of the correspondence of the variables used and the growth show a significant influence of creative employment on regional production and development. The concentration and heterogeneity of employment indicators in the territory is also significant, with the most favoured regions being the same ones whose participation in national production is significant, where the three most important urban axes of the country are also found, which are the leading territories regarding these indicators. Special situations are shown for the rest of the provinces.