Functional Dimension Summary by Arnav

1 | A r n a v S a i k i a ( 2 0 1 3 M U D 0 0 7 )

PUBLIC PLACES- URBAN SPACES

The Dimensions of Urban Design

Matthew Carmona, Tim Heath,

Taner Oc and Steven Tiesdell

Architectural Press

Chapter-8

FUNCTIONAL DIMENSION Summary

Arnav Saikia (2013MUD007)

INTRODUCTION:

Urban designs functional dimension relates to how places work and how urban

designers can make better places or increase the potential for them to develop.

This chapter is in five parts:

movement

design of people places

environmental design

designing for healthier environments

aspects of infrastructure necessary to support contemporary life

MOVEMENT:

Movement is fundamental to understanding how places function. Pedestrian flows

through public space where people choose to sit or linger in public space and are

related to the life and activity within the space.

Vehicular and Pedestrian Movement:

Car-based movement is pure circulation where as pedestrian movement is

circulation but also permits economic, social and cultural exchange.

| F u n c t i o n a l D i m e n s i o n S u m m a r y

2 | A r n a v S a i k i a ( 2 0 1 3 M U D 0 0 7 )

Space Syntax:

Space Syntax challenges urban designers to think critically about the relationship

between the configuration of space, movement and land uses. It is widely used as

an analytic and design tool, and the theories behind its use continue to be

developed by Hillier and others.

DESIGNING BETTER 'PEOPLE PLACES':

People places are those intended to be used by people, usually through

spontaneous, everyday and informal use.

Successful People Places:

Successful public spaces are

characterised by the presence of

people, in an often self-reinforcing

process. They typically have

animation and vitality that bring

people onto the street. Different

places are, nonetheless, animated in

different ways. Some are louder,

busier and more vibrant, animated

by people and traffic; others are

quieter, perhaps animated by nature the wind in the trees, changing cloud

formations and so forth.

Movement and Activity:

If a space is poorly located within the

local movement pattern, it matters

little how well it is designed as it is

unlikely to ever be well-used unless

there are changes in the wider area

either greater density of uses or

changes to the movement network

that increase connectivity and/or

reduce severance (i.e. through better

quality connections or by new

connections, such as new bridges

across rivers, or the removal of obstacles to movement to a site).

If the space is well-located within the local movement system, then upgrading the

space and environmental improvements is likely to have a major impact on the

density of its use.


3 | A r n a v S a i k i a ( 2 0 1 3 M U D 0 0 7 )

Connectivity and Visual Permeability:

Public spaces prioritise sense-of-enclosure within the space over visual permeability

into the space. Urban spaces should not be too enclosed. The key quality in terms of

the pedestrian use of public spaces is their connectedness or, integration.

Activities in Public Space:

As successful places support and facilitate the activities of people, their design

should be informed by an awareness of how people use them.

Public spaces should be responsive that is, designed and managed to serve the

needs of their users. Six needs people seek to satisfy in public space.

i. Comfort: The length of time

people stay in a public

space is a function and an

indicator of its comfort.

ii. Relaxation: A sense of

psychological comfort is a

prerequisite of relaxation,

but relaxation is a more

developed state with the

body and mind at ease

(Carr et al 1992:98).

iii. Passive engagement: The primary form of passive engagement is people-

watching. What attracts people is other people, and the life and activity they

bring with them. Other forms of passive engagement, as do fountains, public

art, commanding views, and activities occurring in public spaces.

iv. Active engagement: Active engagement represents a more direct

experience with a place and the people in it, i.e. supports social interaction.

Successful people places provide opportunities for varying degrees of

engagement, and also the potential to disengage or withdraw from contact.

Design can create, or inhibit, such opportunities for contact.

v. Discovery: Representing the desire for new experiences, discovery depends

on both variety and change for managing and animating public space by,

for example, cultural animation programmes involving lunch-time concerts,

art exhibitions, street theatre, live music and festivals, parades, markets, fairs,

society events, trade promotions, etc. across a range of times and venues.

vi. Display: In any public space, we are on display: how we appear, dress and

behave in public space not only represents a display but may also be

important to our sense of identity and belonging. We may purposefully dress

to remain unnoticed or to stand out as different.


4 | A r n a v S a i k i a ( 2 0 1 3 M U D 0 0 7 )

The Design of the Edge:

The micro-design and use of successful people places can be considered in terms of

the centre and the edge. While something in the middle provides a focus and a

sense of visual completeness, this is

secondary and what really matters for

a successful people place is the design

of the edge.

Active Frontages:

Frontage is how a building addresses

the street. Facades can be designed

so that buildings metaphorically reach

out to the street, offering active

frontage onto public space, adding

interest, life and vitality.

Sociability and Privacy:

In urban design terms, privacy is usually defined in terms of selective control of

access (to individual or group) and of interaction (especially that which is

unwanted). Need for privacy and interaction varies among individuals, with respect

to personality, life stage, etc., and across different cultures and societies.

Visual Privacy:

Issues of visual privacy typically relate to the interface between public and private

realms and, in particular, the physical and visual permeability between these realms.

The requirements of each privacy domain must be enabled, while balancing these

with opportunities for interaction.

Aural Privacy:

Design strategies can combat noise nuisance. Measures can be taken to prevent or

reduce the break out of noise, and/or to separate it from noise-sensitive uses, by

physical distance, sound insulation and/or through screens and barriers.

Vitality, Mixed and Continuous Use:

A key aspect of creating a lively and well-used public realm is the spatial and

temporal concentration of different land uses and activities. Modernist planning,

functional zoning approaches had, over time, led to cities dominated by a coarsely

gained collage of single-function areas rather than the more fine-grained mixed-use

areas of previous eras and have been much criticised.

Jacobs (1961: 155), for example, argued that the vitality of city neighbourhoods

depends on the overlapping and interweaving of activities, and that understanding

cities requires dealing with mixtures of uses as the essential phenomena. She also


5 | A r n a v S a i k i a ( 2 0 1 3 M U D 0 0 7 )

outlined four conditions indispensable to generating exuberant diversity in a citys

streets and districts:

The district must serve more than one primary function, and preferably more

than two.

Most blocks must be short streets and opportunities to turn corners must be

frequent.

The district must mingle buildings varying in age and condition.

There must be a sufficiently dense concentration of people, for whatever

purposes they may be there.

Llewelyn-Davies (2000: 39) identifies the following benefits of mixed-use

development:

More convenient access to facilities;

Minimising travel-to-work congestion;

Greater opportunities for social interaction;

Socially diverse communities;

A greater feeling of safety through more eyes on the street;

Greater energy efficiency and more efficient use of space and buildings;

More consumer choice of lifestyle, location and building type;

Greater urban vitality and street life; &

Increased viability of urban facilities and support for small business.

Density:

A sufficient density of activity and

people has animation and vitality

creating and sustaining viable mixed

use. Jacobs (1961: 163) considered

that density was essential to urban life.

Llewelyn-Davies (2000: 46) suggests a

range of benefits from higher

development densities:

Social by encouraging positive interaction and diversity; improving viability

of and access to community services; and enabling more and better

integrated social housing.

Economic by enhancing the economic viability of development and

providing economies of infrastructure (e.g. basement car parking).

Transport by supporting public transport and reducing car travel and

parking demand.

Environmental by increasing energy efficiency; decreasing resource

consumption; creating less pollution; preserving and helping to fund the

maintenance of public open space; and reducing overall demand for

development land.


6 | A r n a v S a i k i a ( 2 0 1 3 M U D 0 0 7 )

ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN:

An essential part of urban design is the need to provide comfortable conditions

within public spaces. Levels of sunlight, shade, temperature, humidity, rain, snow,

wind and noise have an impact upon our experience and use of urban

environments.

Microclimate:

Design decisions have an important influence in modifying the microclimate to

make spaces more comfortable. Relevant factors at this scale include:

Building configuration and its effect on and relationship to buildings and other

influences at the site boundary.

Positioning of access roads and pedestrian paths, trees and other vegetation,

walls, fences, and other obstructions.

Orientation of internal and external spaces and facades with respect to the

direction of sunlight and shade.

Massing and grouping of buildings, including the space between buildings.

Wind environment.

Positioning of main entrances and other openings acting as transitions

between inside and outside conditions.

Landscape, planting and water pools/fountains to enhance natural cooling.

Environmental noise and pollution (Pitts 1999).

Designing for Sun and Shade:

Sunlight penetration into urban places and

into buildings helps make them more

pleasant places. It also encourages

outdoor activities; reduces mould growth;

improves health by providing the body with

vitamin E; encourages plant growth; and

provides a cheap, readily available source

of energy for passive and active collection.

Two major issues are of concern: orientation

& and overshadowing and shading in terms of which the following should be

considered:

The suns position (altitude and azimuth) relative to public spaces and to the

principal facades of buildings.

Site orientation and slope.

Existing obstructions on the site.

The potential for overshadowing from obstructions beyond the site boundary.

The potential to overshadow nearby buildings and spaces (Pitts 1999).

Air Movement - The Wind Environment:


7 | A r n a v S a i k i a ( 2 0 1 3 M U D 0 0 7 )

Wind flow has a substantial effect on the comfort of pedestrians, the environmental

conditions within public spaces and around building entrances and the activities

that might occur there.

In very humid climates

external spaces may need to

be designed to encourage a

greater through flow of

cooling air, whereas, in arid

climates positioning fountains

and water features in public

spaces help cooling through

the evaporation of water

vapour.

Lighting:

Natural lighting makes an important contribution to the character and utility of

public space. The play of light in urban spaces also has aesthetic dimensions.

Frederick (2007: 49) observes how the altitude, angle and colour of daylighting vary

with orientation and time of day. In the northern hemisphere, daylight:

From north-facing windows is shadow less, diffuse and neutral or slightly

greyish most of the day and year.

From the east is strongest in the morning, is of low altitude, with soft, long

shadows, and is grey-yellow in colour.

From the south is dominant from late morning to mid-afternoon, renders

colours accurately, and casts strong, crisp shadows.

From the west is strongest in the late afternoon and early evening, has a rich

gold-orange cast, and can penetrate deeply into buildings, but occasionally

is overbearing.

The amount of visible sky is crucial to the quality of daylighting.

Although artificial lighting can make a positive contribution to the character and

utility of urban spaces, it is often designed only with vehicular traffic in mind and

tends to be inefficient in energy use, resulting in light pollution. It has two key

functions:

Statutory lighting which provides basic lighting levels, to aid pedestrian way-

finding and the secure use of the public realm at night, and the safe passage

of vehicles.

Amenity lighting which enhances the street scene through flood, feature

and low-level lighting; and gives colour and vitality through signs, shop-

lighting and seasonal lighting


8 | A r n a v S a i k i a ( 2 0 1 3 M U D 0 0 7 )

DESIGNING HEALTHIER ENVIRONMENTS:

A concern to create environments with better sunlight penetration, ventilation and

open space provision, were the driving force behind Modernisms growth and

spread in the first half of the twentieth century, while, in the second half, the built

environment was increasingly shaped by concerns for health and safety.

Health as a Strategic Design Concern:

Today, the impact of the built environment on a range of new health-related

concerns has again come to the fore, meshing with a wider agenda for healthy

cities (Hancock & Duhl, in Barton & Tsourou 2000: 31) encompassing:

A clean, safe physical environment

of high quality (including housing

quality).

An ecosystem that is stable now

and sustainable in the long term.

A strong, mutually supportive, non-

exploitative community.

A high degree of participation and

control by the public over

decisions affecting their lives.

The meeting of basic needs for food, water, shelter, income, safety and work.

Access to a wide variety of experiences, resources, contact and interaction.

A diverse, vital and innovative city economy.

The encouragement of connectedness with the past.

An urban form that is compatible with and enhances the above.

An optimum level of public health services available to all.

High levels of positive health and low levels of disease.

The Local Environment:

At the local level, a wide range of detailed technical factors impact on the

healthiness of the local built environment. Protection against communicable

diseases requires a safe water supply, sanitary sewerage and waste disposal, good

drainage of surface water, and provision of facilities for personal hygiene and safe

food preparation. Protection against injuries, poisonings and chronic diseases

requires adequate structural and fire safety safeguards, low air pollution, safety from

harmful materials and from injury on the roads, and through ready access to

appropriate emergency services.

There should be the provision of sidewalks, animated streets and enjoyable scenery

to promote walking and exercise and pedestrian paths separated from the street.


9 | A r n a v S a i k i a ( 2 0 1 3 M U D 0 0 7 )

Health-Promoting Environments:

Health benefits can be most efficiently

achieved through creating health-

promotive environments in which

physical activity is encouraged as a by-

product of urban form. They argue that

all modes of travel are not equal in this

respect non-motorised modes have

clear health consequences, while

motorised modes have negative

associations.

THE CAPITAL WEB:

The capital web is made up of the above and below ground elements of the citys

infrastructure. Mainly horizontal and also vertical infrastructure of community centres,

churches, mosques, libraries, sports pitches, etc. The major capital web

considerations in urban design are the provision of public open space; road and

footpath design; parking and servicing; and other infrastructure.

External Public Open Space:

External public open space offers recreational opportunities; wildlife habitats; venues

for special events; and the opportunity for the city to breathe. A number of towns

and cities have developed sophisticated open space frameworks and green space

networks to link open spaces and create green corridors through urban areas for

recreational purposes and for wildlife. Integration of natural and built environments is

a key objective of sustainable development.

Road and Foothpath Design:

The segregation of pedestrian and vehicular traffic to provide personal safety, often

meant pedestrians could only cross busy roads by underground subways or


10 | A r n a v S a i k i a ( 2 0 1 3 M U D 0 0 7 )

overground foot bridges. In general, the contemporary ethos is to design pedestrian-

dominant rather than car-dominant environments: such approaches give priority to

pedestrians without banishing the car.

The aim must be to avoid car-dependant environments, because this reduces their

potential to be sustainable, and to increase the potential for walking. Road and

footpath design thus needs to achieve a set of basic requirements:

Maintaining safety and personal security through reducing vehicle speeds,

discouraging road and footpath separation and increasing passive

surveillance.

Increasing permeability and access by all modes of travel but particularly by

foot.

Encouraging directness by acknowledging and emphasising desire lines in

development (the most convenient route to where people wish to go).

Designing in sympathy with the local context to ensure an attractive

development in which clearly defined spaces, landscaping and buildings

dominate rather than roads or cars.

Increasing legibility through the design of layouts in which the overall structure

and local visual references are clear.

Designing For Walking:

There is a difference between necessary or utilitarian walking and optional or

recreational and leisure walking. Many traffic-calming measures enhance

walkability, including widening the sidewalks/pavements, thereby reducing the

street width.

Designing For Cycles:

The personal health benefits of cycling are greater

than those of walking. Cycling provide health and

environmental benefits for both the individual and

community. To encourage the use of cycles there

should be provision of cycling infrastructures- cycling

lane, parking/stands, junctions, signals & signage.

Parking and Services:

parking requirements are a necessity of contemporary living within all environments

whether urban, suburban or rural. Parking needs to be:

Sufficient to cater for contemporary needs.

Convenient (i.e. located close to destinations) for all users, including those

with disabilities.

Attractive (e.g. by limiting its visual intrusion use of landscaping and quality

materials can successfully integrate on- and off-street parking).

Safe and secure


11 | A r n a v S a i k i a ( 2 0 1 3 M U D 0 0 7 )

Where locations are well-served by public transport, required parking standards can

be reduced. Charging for parking is one approach to managing demand for

parking space.

Car-free housing, where residents contract not to own cars, has been developed in

a few locations well-served by public transport.

Contemporary developments also require space for servicing, including business

deliveries; waste disposal, storage and collection; recycling points; emergency

access; removals; cleaning and maintenance; and utilities access.

Infrastructure:

An areas infrastructure both that above and that under ground has often been

built up over several centuries. Above ground, the capital web incorporates the

public space network and landscaping framework; any public transport network

and infrastructure; and public facilities (e.g. shops) and services (e.g. schools). Below

ground, it incorporates water supply networks; sewage disposal systems; electric

grids; gas supply network; telephone networks; cable networks; combined heat and

light systems; and underground transit systems.

CONCLUSION:

Discussing the functional dimension of urban design, this chapter reiterates the

importance of understanding urban design as a design process. In any design

process, there is a danger of narrowly prioritising a particular dimension aesthetic,

functional, technical or economic and of isolating it from its context and from its

contribution to the greater whole. Design must be considered as a totality and in-

the-round.

Documents

Functional Dimension Summary by Arnav