Urban Fabric Research Articles

Economic Shifts and Cultural Transitions: Unraveling the Complexities of Gentrification in Urban Landscapes with the Case of SoHo in New York City

With the continuously changing urban landscape since the early 20th century, influenced by various economic and social factors, this paper investigates the impact of urban gentrification on diverse community groups, especially in metropolises. Examining housing, economic, and cultural dimensions, the study explores the challenges and opportunities within dynamic urban landscapes. Focused on SoHo, New York City (NYC), once an artistic haven, the research employs the lens of gentrification to analyze disparities in housing accessibility and cultural preservation. Additionally, it assesses the economic implications of sustainability initiatives on various socioeconomic strata, unraveling their influence on urban community fabric. Through a concise exploration, the study contributes nuanced insights into the complexities of gentrification and sustainable urban development, given the impact on the original artistic community, long-time residents, and small businesses that have faced challenges or displacement in the wake of rising property values, using SoHo as a case study to deepen our understanding of economic shifts and cultural transitions in urban landscapes.

Exploring user-led spatial practice and user design tools in urban low and middle-income residences: a study based in Kitulwatte, Colombo

In many developing Asian countries, informal user-led architectural production is prevalent, with dwellings designed and built largely without professional input. Unlike traditional architectural practices, where design, construction, and inhabitation are distinct phases, users perceive these aspects as interconnected, influencing each other continuously and simultaneously, resulting in unexpected and rich spatial experiences. This study focuses on informal user-led architectural production in Sri Lanka, examining the design methods users employ through Jonathan Hill’s framework of user creativity types. By analysing the architectural features of user-designed homes, identifying manifestations of user creativity, and assessing the influence of user-led production on urban adaptability and vibrancy, this research aims to underscore the creative and significant architectural contributions of users. Through an analysis of four residences in Kitulwatte, Colombo, the research reveals the conscious and subconscious processes inherent in user-led design, highlighting their substantial contribution to the urban fabric. This holistic approach transforms architecture from a static product into a dynamic process that continually evolves to meet individual needs. By elucidating the unique design tools and approaches employed by users, this paper enriches the discourse on architectural agency and challenges conventional notions of authorship, showcasing the profound impact of user influence on shaping the built environment.

Counter Home: Unravelling the Socio-Spatial Dynamics of Hijra Dwellings of Khulna, Bangladesh

Amidst limited social acceptance and scant governmental and non-governmental support for third gender communities in Bangladesh, this paper explores the intricate relationship between the conception of hijra and its profound impact on redefining the notion of home. In the queer tropics, hijra communities form a unique identity within South Asia’s urban fabric. Employing ethnographic methods and spatial analysis, this multidisciplinary study investigates the hijra home-making process in Khulna, Bangladesh, shedding light on their lived experiences. It unravels the complex interplay of tropical architecture leading to their transformation into, and stigmatisation as, hijras, investigating the spatial implications of their stigma in the organisation of household spaces based on hijra notions of publicness-privateness, spatial sequencing/order, layering, and hierarchy. The formal articulation of homes and their integration into the larger urban scale signifies a distinctive counter-spatial culture within this marginalised community, which acts to counter prevailing ideas of stability, ownership, and family within the concept of home. This counter-culture, as the paper unveils, makes the hijra home dynamics a process of socio-spatial transaction where gender identities manifest and are subverted/shaped by the domestic space. The findings of the paper enrich our understanding of the diverse spatial ways social discriminations are interwoven into the ordinary fabric of contemporary urban living in the tropical city of Khulna.

No need to be rebellious: placemaking and value co-creation in the skateboarding City of Malmö.

During the last 20 years, Malmö has developed into an internationally recognised skateboarding destination and a valued skateboarding place for local and regional skaters. In contrast to many cities, skateboarding and skateboarders have been appreciated and embraced in public planning and development. The aim of the paper is to discuss the development and identity of Malmö as a skateboarding city through the lens of the concepts of placemaking and value co-creation, and-not least-through the narratives of six persons with different relations to skateboarding and Malmö. The paper shows that the City of Malmö has engaged with local skateboarding communities through several initiatives that have fostered a collaborative relationship. The non-profit association Bryggeriet, a skateboard high school, an active skateboarding community, and the City of Malmö are all involved in the placemaking and co-creation of Malmö as a skateboarding city. The city's approach to skateboarding involves a bottom-up strategy, engaging non-experts in the development of spaces, reflecting a shift from traditional top-down models towards a co-creation model in order to create synergetic outcomes. Malmö's transformation into a skateboarding city is characterised by the integration of skateboarding into the urban fabric, showcasing a welcoming attitude. The paper underscores the dynamic interplay between physical, imagined, and lived spaces in urban skateboarding culture. However, it also demonstrates how a successful and professionalised model for introducing the skateboarders' interests into the corridors of power risks undermining the link to, and the engagement of, the new generation of grassroots skaters, and maybe also the edgy, rebellious character of skateboarding.

Multi‐Level Street‐Based Analysis of the Urban Fabric: Developments for a Nationwide Taxonomy

Multi‐Level Street‐Based Analysis of the Urban Fabric: Developments for a Nationwide Taxonomy

Land Transformations in Irpinia (Southern Italy): A Tale on the Socio-Economic Dynamics Acting in a Marginal Area of the Mediterranean Europe

Marginal areas in economically advanced countries are a critical issue that European and national policies have been addressing for some time. These areas are affected by depopulation, infrastructural gaps and labor systems that do not reach the corresponding national levels and where often agriculture still plays a critical role. In Italy, despite the fact that the National Strategy for Inner Areas (SNAI) has been active for about a decade with the aim of increasing the territorial cohesion of these fragile areas, rather limited results have been achieved in terms of halting economic marginalization and demographic decline. In this specific context, our work is aimed at analyzing land use changes, the loss of ecosystem services and demographic trends in a Mediterranean region (Irpinia—Southern Italy) on district and municipal scales in the last 30 years (1990–2018) to capture current, subtle socio-economic dynamics. The analysis carried out has indicated a substantial increase in urban areas due to the development of new industrial areas and discontinuous urban fabric (urban sprawl) at the expense of natural areas (mainly meadows and shrublands). The agricultural areas have remained substantially unchanged in terms of extension, with a slight increase in heterogeneous agricultural areas and an expansion of high-value crops (vineyards), that are the most suitable for multifunctional agriculture activities (experiential and rural tourism). The analysis of the demographic trend has highlighted a widespread phenomenon of depopulation, with the exception of those municipalities who economically orbit around the provincial capital of Avellino. The municipalities in depopulation are mostly located in the inner areas characterized by a more rugged morphology and infrastructural gaps. Unexpectedly, most of municipalities show a significant anticorrelation among the population and agricultural areas which is an indicator of social and economic phenomena as complex as they are underestimated. As a final step, this analysis highlights also a loss of carbon storage mainly attributable to the soil sealing of large areas. This study can help to comprehensively understand the conditions of marginal areas in Mediterranean Europe over recent decades in the light of the main socio-economic dynamics to better direct efforts towards the containment of the human capital hemorrhage, consisting of persistently negative natural and migratory rates, and the sustainable empowerment of these geo-economic peripheries.

Urban Historiography and Graphic Reconstruction of a Historic Area in Valencia, Spain

The conservation of cultural heritage is a well-established fact recognized by public administrations, the scientific community, and society at large. Understanding this heritage strengthens the historical memory of communities. However, there is a type of heritage that, as it disappears or evolves over time, cannot be physically recovered: the urban fabric of historic cores. This article aims to implement a system for integrating historical urban data into a Geographic Information System (GIS) to enable the graphic recovery of urban evolution within a territory. This system facilitates the storage of alphanumeric and graphic data in a centralized database, providing a holistic view of the transformation process of a historic center’s landscape. This case study focuses on an area in the historic center of Valencia, a territory influenced by multiple cultures since the city was founded by the Romans. Each culture has altered the spatial structures within the area. Georeferenced documents from historical archives, historical cartography, and the scientific literature were utilized for this study. The results have been integrated into the current cartography of Valencia in the GIS, producing plans of successive urban stages through the overlay of historical maps and current cartography.

The Clustering of the Population at Building Scale in Bursa City (Türkiye)

Research on spatial statistical methods related to population estimation at the building scale and its implications for urban land use has attained little attention. The main target of this study is to propose a new method for population estimation at the building level with minimal data and methodology and a high accuracy rate. In addition to this, it discusses urban population from various perspectives by using spatial statistical methods (Local Moran’s I and Hot–Cold Spot) to examine the population calculated based on the number of residential units in buildings and the household size of the neighborhood along with urban land use types in the case of Bursa. The results showed the following: (1) The suggested method achieves a 76% accuracy rate in population estimation at the building level; (2) 64.6% of the city’s population (2,101,581 individuals) is located in areas classified as Discontinuous High-Density Urban Fabric (50–80%) and Continuous Urban Fabric (>80); (3) 13.2% of the population is located in hot spot areas of these two types, while 14.5% is in cold spot areas. This research provides decision-makers with a framework for addressing urban problems related to housing, transportation, health, and energy in addition to the methods it proposes.

Reconstructing the environment of historic cities. Methods of incorporating new objects into the historic urban fabric

The presented study is aimed at identifying factors that significantly influence the patterns of designed development in the existing historical urban environment. The paper reviews theoretical grounds and design methods of architects and urban designers exploring the practice of incorporating new architectural objects into a semiotic, morphological and functional context. The time frame of the study was determined due to the relevance of the issue. Actually, cities built before the 20th century are characterized by the cohesion of urban fabric, hierarchy of elements, calibrated silhouette and perception angles of the environment, while modern cities or modern inclusions lack these properties and look scattered and sporadic. The paper suggests two possible reasons behind that: the architects from before the 20th century appeared much skillful than their followers; or the professional architects and urban designers are consciously inclined to the separateness of buildings and their incoherence with the environment. The analysis revealed a number of approaches: three-part construction of architectural form, space as a structure of relations, formalization of the object to structural content, spatial structure of residential environment as socio-spatial bodies, spatial grids, continuity, coherence of the building fabric, navigation factor, formal similarity, relation to the urban framework.

Soundscape Architecture: conceptual proposals for improving the urban soundscape through building in Fort Lauderdale, FL

Architecture students from the University of Florida School of Architecture developing architectural and planning strategies in response to citizen generated initiative to improve the soundscape at multiple locations in Fort Lauderdale Florida. Site analysis including citizen participation in sound walks, personal observations, photo documentation, precedent studies, acoustic measurements, geographical measurements, and municipal code studies was conducted. This information informed conceptual and schematic design proposals for urban architecture (buildings), at critical locations in the urban fabric that seek to provide strategies toward improving the soundscape while supporting high residential density, mixed-use, entertainment, and transit. The work includes 11 student project proposals spanning two academic semesters. The work illustrates integrated design proposals addressing aspects of urban soundscapes such as: vertical distance as effective sound abatement strategy; buildings as acoustic buffers from transit or noisy streets; building envelope systems that both limit sound transmission and absorb sound; sound diffusing buildings; parking or limited occupancy program as buffer spaces; and land development code adoptions that can facilitate future implementation of effective soundscape improvement strategies. This paper will demonstrate the design process, issues of concern, prioritization of issues per specific sites, and show illustrations to visualize a range of soundscape strategies as architecture.

Integrating Nature-Based Solutions for urban stormwater management into existing urban fabrics

Abstract Nature-Based Solutions (NBSs) have been proven to address urban stormwater challenges effectively while providing multiple benefits to the economy, society, and environment. Urban fabrics profoundly influence flood risk as the changes in urban form, land use, and building layout will affect the urban hydrological cycle, thereby altering precipitation and runoff. However, few studies look at the connection between NBSs and urban fabrics, which can contribute to urban stormwater management. This paper aims to categorize the general types of urban fabrics and consider NBSs as strategic interventions that can improve water-related issues and help to create a resilient neighborhood. This paper elaborates on some strategic approaches to integrate NBSs in existing urban fabrics at the neighborhood scale to optimize their response capacity according to the local conditions. The novelty lies in adopting a systemic vision to deliver a design toolkit that can be adapted to different conditions and with different typologies across the places and countries facing similar water-related challenges. In conclusion, this paper emphasizes the importance of understanding how different NBSs fit various urban fabric types, and future work is needed to provide assessment tools to evaluate the efficiency of different design scenarios.

Between Queer Joy and Injury

This article expands the notion of queer domesticity from the vantage point of the global South. Drawing on autoethnography, ephemeral archives, and secondary sources, the authors examine Nanur Basha, the residence of a Bangladeshi queer activist and community mentor, which in 2016 was the site of two murders committed by a local chapter of Al-Qaeda. By empirically interrogating the events leading up to the unmaking of Nanur Basha, the authors argue that global South queer domesticities — constituted by quotidian practices of queer worlding and expanding from apartments to rooftops to streets to political discourses — aspire to greater political freedom by deploying imaginative and counterhegemonic practices. As queer domesticities open up interstitial sanctuaries in nationalist discourses and within the urban fabric, they are also unmade by competing postcolonial nationalisms. Contesting Nanur Basha's reduction to a site of victimhood under Islamic terrorism and homophobia, this article illustrates how Nanur Basha indexes a subterranean modality of southern queer domesticity that negotiates secrecy, safety, celebration, and survival under heterosexist nationalist surveillance and violence. Such queer domesticities underpin an affective sanctuary at the borderlands between queer joy and injury. The article contributes to emerging conversations in transnational queer studies by situating queer worldmaking practices within landscapes of authoritarianism and queerphobia.

Toward sustainable urban health: defining hospital outdoor spaces for community well-being

Abstract The challenges that Bologna is facing belonging to the 100-carbon neutral city list are largely related to the quality of its urban fabric. The site hosting the IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliero - Universitaria di Bologna Policlinico di Sant’Orsola represents one of the largest green areas of the city. The renovation plan the hospital has launched represents an opportunity to contribute to the city’s sustainability goals and to enhance the value of the hospital’s outdoor spaces for users. The hospital experiences over 20, 000 accesses per day, with a significant proportion of these being for work or medical visits; the informal use of outdoor spaces often leads to tensions among users with diverse needs, discouraging access and depriving individuals of potential benefits that could be derived from spending time outdoors. Reflecting the management’s commitment towards two of the UN Sustainable Development Goals: Good Health and Well-being (SDG 3) and Sustainable Cities and Communities (SDG 11), the hospital created a design team with the cooperation of the University of Bologna to research the technical and functional requirements for adapting outdoor spaces to meet the needs of users. The research is based on a human-centred design approach while the methods are grounded in Service Design practices.

The Urban Heritage of the Diósgyőr–Vasgyár Ironworker’s Colony

The following research was conducted mainly with the motive for creating an urban heritage proposal in Hungary, in the city of Miskolc. The area of focus was the former ironworker’s colony of the Diósgyőr-Vasgyár region. The historical urban development of the ironworker’s colony is examined here. Emphasis is given to to the preservation of the unique architectural styles and urban fabric of the colony. Additionally, an assessment is undertaken about the colony's building conditions and a plan was created for strategic preservation. It is to be combined with adaptive interior building modifications for the purpose of improving living standards for occupants. The research also takes into account meeting modern-day living needs in the space of historical urban heritage preservation.The urban heritage legislation of Hungary that is relevant to this research has also been outlined here. The ultimate objective is to simultaneously preserve the colony's historical prestige and satisfy contemporary needs thus making this research a very useful guide for situations involving urban heritage conservation within evolving urban settlements.

THE ROLE OF ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE IN TOURISM AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: CASE STUDY OF TEBESSA, ALGERIA

The research explores the importance of architectural and urban heritage for its positive impacts on cities and societies. It highlights how such heritage embodies cultural identity, connects past and present, and promotes tourism and economic development. Tebessa, in eastern Algeria, serves as a case study due to its rich architectural and urban heritage, influenced by Phoenician, Numidian, Greek, Roman, Byzantine, and Islamic civilizations. Key landmarks in Tebessa include the Temple of Minerve, Caracalla Gate, Byzantine Wall, Roman Theatre, Roman Church, Archaeological Park, and Ancient Mosque. These sites create an open archaeological space within the urban fabric, serving as cultural heritage and vital resources for tourism and economic revitalization. The research initially adopts a theoretical approach to identify and describe various heritage sites. It then employs fieldwork, involving the Directorate of Tourism, the Directorate of Culture, and the Department of Archaeological Sites, to assess the status and significance of these monuments. Findings reveal several issues, such as the lack of strategic and institutional efforts to protect and utilize the heritage for cultural tourism and economic development. There is significant neglect and deterioration due to inadequate restoration programs and weak promotional initiatives. The research recommends adopting a comprehensive, multi-dimensional strategy for preserving the heritage of Tebessa, including comprehensive projects, legal frameworks, digital integration, and a participatory management approach. Collaboration with local and international heritage organizations and educational programs to raise awareness are also essential. These measures aim to preserve the architectural heritage and boost tourism in Tebessa.

THE TYPOLOGIES OF THE HOUSES IN THE MEDINA OF ANNABA-ALGERIA

The patio house is a cultural production, it bears witness to the social practices of ancient societies that shaped its spaces by considering their own cultures and needs, this is how it was born and developed into a spontaneous architecture consistent with the environment, the prevailing climate, the culture and interests of the family and its future generations, For years, the Annaba Medina had suffered from the precariousness of unhealthy, over-densified housing. The original families were leaving and lowincome rural immigrants were finding the Medina a favorable host structure, with large empty mansions and a type of house with patios that lent itself to renting by the piece. The unsuitability of this urban fabric for the current standards and practices of the inhabitants, and contemporary development, were the main causes of the changes made by the Medinese throughout the area, mainly affecting the original urban form. Through this research, we have tried to analyze the traditional domestic space to highlight the new typologies of houses in Medina.

Adaptive Residential Architecture: Integrating Climate-Responsive Design and Nature-Inspired Innovation in Jaipur’s Urban Fabric

Adaptive Residential Architecture: Integrating Climate-Responsive Design and Nature-Inspired Innovation in Jaipur’s Urban Fabric

Analysis of the impact of growing green walls based on the reduction of PM2.5 particles in the resilient central urban fabric

Analysis of the impact of growing green walls based on the reduction of PM2.5 particles in the resilient central urban fabric

Habitat Suitability Assessment for Two Burrowing Rodents on the Island of Lesvos: A Niche-Based Approach.

We conducted a habitat suitability assessment for two burrowing rodents, Anatolian or Nehring's blind mole rat (Nannospalax xanthodon) and Harting's vole (Microtus hartingi), on the island of Lesvos using a niche-based approach. We collected data on the presence of the two species across the island and selected several environmental variables, including land cover, geology, and habitat topography, to assess their influence on habitat suitability. We used the Maxent species distribution modelling algorithm to predict suitable habitats. The results showed that both species preferred habitats with low slopes and specific geological substrates, i.e., alluvial deposits and volcanic rocks. M. hartingi showed a preference for open habitats such as saltmarshes and non-irrigated arable land, while N. xanthodon preferred non-irrigated arable land, pastures, and discontinuous urban fabric. The model predicted a wider area of suitable habitats for Microtus hartingi compared to N. xanthodon. Interestingly, the two species are absent from the southeastern part of the island despite our model predicting high suitability; this indicates that a natural barrier of hilly terrain, extensive pine forests, and limestone rock formations may exist that impedes dispersal. Our study provides valuable insights into the habitat preferences of these two burrowing rodents on the island of Lesvos, which can inform biodiversity conservation and ecosystem management strategies.

Two roof top farming concepts for residential buildings shifting towards sustainable communities: an exercise on the case of “Asmarat” with necessary re-adaptation of its architectural rooftop design

Desertification, deforestation, climate change, global warming, and economic instability are leading to serious problems in many countries. Two of these negative factors are the decrease in agriculture areas and food scarcity. This situation caused many countries to reconsider their agriculture polices and think of new solutions. The United Nations also addressed the problem via its “SDG—Sustainable Development Goals” agenda. One of its major goals is the change towards green and sustainable communities that can produce their own food. Rooftop farming in places with suitable climatic conditions was encouraged by the “SDG” and governments of many countries. The paper discusses the potential of utilizing Egyptian residential rooftops for rooftop farming, the Egyptian urban fabric is very dense with residential buildings. Taking the Egyptian “Asmarat” residential neighborhood as an exercise, the study aims to fulfilling the following three goals: 1- On a food security Level: if rooftop farming is extensively applied across all cities and villages in Egypt, a mass production threshold of exporting vegetables and fruits may be reached that will significantly participate in the overall national GDP, 2- On a socio-economic level: rooftop farming will create jobs for informal workers and the jobless, turning an individual from a jobless person to a busy one is the best practical solution for changing behavioral norms from the tendency towards crime, hanging around on the streets, and drug addiction towards a decent and productive society., and 3- On an environmental level.: Large cities suffer from crowds, high building densities, pollution, and scarcity of open green areas. Rooftop farming increases the “Urban Green Space—UGS” of the city, reduce pollution, decrease global warming, and purify the atmosphere.