Elective Course (1)

Urban Design

Dr/ Shaimaa Elabasy

Lecture 2
What does urban design mean?
➢ DEIFINITION OF URBAN DESIGN
➢ URBAN DESIGN IMPORTANT
➢ URBAN DESIGN AIMS AND PRINCIPLES
➢ ELEMENTS OF URBAN DESIGN
➢ Dimensions of Urban Design
 DEIFINITION OF URBAN DESIGN

The urban design process involves creating

buildings, groups of buildings, spaces, and
landscapes, as well as establishing frameworks
and procedures that will ensure success for future
generations. Town and city planning, street
design, and public space design are all parts of
urban design. In essence, it’s about composing
the physical setting for life by bringing together
multiple disciplines – the art of making places.
 ‫مفهوم التصميم العمراني‬
‫التصميم العمراني (‪)Urban Design‬‬
‫‪ Architectural Typology‬فة لترةرلا لتعمرل ة‬ ‫‪ -‬كمقياس هو معرفة لتشكةكيا لتعمرل ة ‪ Urban Morphology‬ولتطةاع لتمعمةار‬
‫ولتمدي ‪.‬‬ ‫ولتح لتسك‬ ‫ومجموع لتمعا‬
‫‪ -‬هو كاط مشعدد لتشخصصات تشككيا وإدلرة لتعيئات لتعمرل ي لتذ يهشم ف كا من عملي لتشككيا ولتررلغات لتعمرل ي ‪ .‬فهو مدخا مشعدد‬
‫لأل ظم يحا لتمكاكا لتعمرل ي لتمعقدة ولتمخشلرة وهةو يةرعط عةين لتموللة لتمعمارية وحركة لتش قةا ولتمولصةالت ول شصةا ت ولت ةولح‬
‫لتشخطيطي ل جشماعي ولتسياسي ولتعمرل ي ول لشصادي ‪.‬‬

‫التطوير العمراني (‪)Urban Development‬‬

‫ويهشم‬ ‫هو أحد ممارسات لتشصميم لتعمرل‬
‫ععملي لتش مي لتعمرل ي رسها على مسشوى‬
‫لتح أو مول ش مي محدد‪.‬‬
 URBAN DESIGN IMPORTANT
Urban design can significantly influence the economic, environmental, social and cultural outcomes of a
place:
1. Urban design can influence the economic success and socio-economic composition of a locality—whether it
encourages local businesses and entrepreneurship; whether it attracts people to live there; whether the costs of
housing and travel are affordable; and whether access to job opportunities, facilities and services are equitable.
2. Urban design determines the physical scale, space and ambience of a place and establishes the built and natural forms
within which individual buildings and infrastructure are sited. As such, it affects the balance between natural
ecosystems and built environments, and their sustainability outcomes.
3. Urban design can influence health and the social and cultural impacts of a locality: how people interact with each
other, how they move around, and how they use a place.
4. Although urban design is often delivered as a specific ‘project’, it is in fact a long-term process that continues to evolve
over time. It is this layering of building and infrastructure types, natural ecosystems, communities and cultures that
gives places their unique characteristics and identities.
 URBAN DESIGN AIMS AND PRINCIPLES
What is being achieved (outcome) How it’s achieved (process)

What is being achieved (outcome) What is being achieved (outcome)

URBAN DESIGN AIMS AND PRINCIPLES
 URBAN DESIGN AIMS AND PRINCIPLES

GOOD URBAN DESIGN

❑ Places for People
❑ Design for Change
❑ Enrich the Existing New development
❑ Make Connections Places
❑ Work with the Landscape
❑ Mix Uses and Forms
❑ Manage the Investment
 ELEMENTS OF URBAN DESIGN

This diagram shows the

approximate hierarchical
relationship between
the elements of urban
design

form macro to micro

 ELEMENTS OF URBAN DESIGN
URBAN STRUCTURE

The arrangement of land use in urban

areas, or how a city’s land use is laid out,
is known as urban structure. Several
theories have been developed by urban
planners, economists, and geographers to
describe where different sorts of
individuals and organisations tend to
exist within the urban setting.
 ELEMENTS OF URBAN DESIGN
URBAN GRAIN
The balance of open space to built form,
and the nature and extent of subdividing
an area into smaller parcels or blocks.
For example a ‘fine urban grain’ might
constitute a network of small or detailed
streetscapes. It takes into consideration
the hierarchy of street types, the
physical linkages and movement between
locations, and modes of transport.
 ELEMENTS OF URBAN DESIGN
DENSITY + MIX

The intensity of development and the

range of different uses (such as
residential, commercial, institutional or
recreational uses).
 ELEMENTS OF URBAN DESIGN
HEIGHT + MASSING
The scale of buildings in relation to
height and floor area, and how they
relate to surrounding land forms,
buildings and streets. It also incorporates
building envelope, site coverage and
solar orientation. Height and massing
create the sense of openness or
enclosure, and affect the amenity of
streets, spaces and other buildings.
 ELEMENTS OF URBAN DESIGN
STREETSCAPE + LANDSCAPE
The design of public spaces such as streets, open spaces and pathways, and includes landscaping,
microclimate, shading and planting.

FACADE + INTERFACE
The relationship of buildings to the site, street and neighbouring buildings (alignment, setbacks, boundary
treatment) and the architectural expression of their facades (openings, patterns and materials).

DETAILS + MATERIALS
The close-up appearance of objects and surfaces and the selection of materials in terms of detail,
craftsmanship, texture, colour, durability, sustainability and treatment. It includes street furniture, paving,
lighting and signage. It contributes to human comfort, safety and enjoyment of the public domain.
 ELEMENTS OF URBAN DESIGN
URBAN FORM

Urban form generally encompasses a number of

physical features and non- physical characteristics
including size, shape, scale, density, land uses,
building types, urban block layout and distribution of
green space. It is the arrangement of a built up area.
This arrangement is made up of many components
including how close buildings and uses are together;
what uses are located where; and how much of the
natural environment is a part of the built up area.
 ELEMENTS OF URBAN DESIGN
PUBLIC REALM
Much of urban design is concerned with the design and
management of publicly used space (also referred to as the
public realm or public domain) and the way this is
experienced and used.
The public realm includes the natural and built
environment used by the general public on a day-to-day basis
such as streets, plazas, parks, and public infrastructure. At
times, there is a blurring of public and private realms,
particularly where privately owned space is publicly used.
 ELEMENTS OF URBAN DESIGN
TOPOGRAPHY, LANDSCAPE AND ENVIRONMENT
The natural environment includes the topography of landforms, water courses, flora and fauna—
whether natural or introduced. It may be in the form of rivers and creeks, lakes, bushland, parks and
recreational facilities, streetscapes or private gardens, and is often referred to as ‘green infrastructure’.

SOCIAL + ECONOMIC FABRIC

The non-physical aspects of the urban form which include social factors (culture, participation, health
and well-being) as well as the productive capacity and economic prosperity of a community. It
incorporates aspects such as demographics and life stages, social interaction and support networks.

SCALE
The size, bulk and perception of a buildings and spaces. Bulk refers to the height, width and depth of a
building in relation to other surrounding buildings, the street, setbacks and surrounding open space. For
example, a large building set amongst other smaller buildings may seem ‘out of scale’.
 Dimensions of Urban Design

Urban design dealt with a rapidly changing environment

which driven by diverse user and activity, and involve
diverse process and field Thus it is necessary to see
urban design as both design process and product With
that framework, Carmona et al 2003 proposed six
dimension or urban design that are overlapping and
interrelated within everyday urban activity which
consists of morphological, perceptual, social, visual,
functional and temporal.
 Dimensions of Urban Design
1. The morphological dimension
The morphological dimension of urban design mostly
focusing on issues of urban form and urban layout
regarding permeability, integration, and segregation
and vehicular/pedestrian access.
Urban Morphology is the study of the form and
shape of settlements. It is part of the study of urban
ecology where the urban system with various
elements and their interrelationship is studied. There
are four elements of urban morphology:
Land uses/ Building Structure/ Plot Pattern/ Street
Pattern.
 Dimensions of Urban Design

2. The perceptual dimension

The perceptual dimension of urban design emphasize
on people and how they perceive, value, draw
meaning from and add meaning to the urban
environment
 Dimensions of Urban Design

3. The social dimension

▪ Space and society are clearly related.
▪ The social dimension raises issues concerning values and
difficult choices with regard to the effect of a design
decision on individuals and groups in society
▪ There are five key aspects of urban design’s social
dimension. The first is the relationship between people
and space. The second is the interrelated concepts of the
‘public realm’ and ‘public life’. The third concerns the
notion of neighbourhoods. The fourth concerns issues of
safety and security. The fifth is the issue of accessibility.
 Dimensions of Urban Design

4. The visual dimension

It explains the aesthetic appreciation of the
environment. Visual appreciation of urban
environments is also a product of perception
and cognition – that is, what stimuli we
perceive, how we perceive them, how we
process, interpret and judge the information
gathered, and how it appeals to our mind and
emotions.
 Dimensions of Urban Design

5. The Functional dimension

The functional dimension of urban design, which involves how
places work and how urban designers can make ‘better’ places.
The ‘social usage’ and ‘visual’ traditions of urban design
thought each had a ‘functionalist’ perspective. Five primary
needs that people seek to satisfy in public space:
1. Comfort
2. Relaxation
3. Passive engagement
4. Active Engagement
5. Discovery
 Dimensions of Urban Design

6. The Temporal Dimension

The temporal dimension concerns the
temporal or time dimension of urban
design which includes three key aspects
which are time cycle continuity and
stability and the management of change