Shawlands Strategy & Concept
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Put It On The Map
Strategy Stage prepared by,
Emma Churchyard, Anvita Linnea Sodermark, Aanchal Agrawal, & Shinjini Basu Urban Design Studies Unit University of Strathclyde Glasgow
Booklet No.4
Introduction This group was tasked with establishing a strategy for the area of Shawlands, Glasgow through a 25-year period with a specific emphasis on Kilmarnock Road. Firstly, this entailed providing a vision statement and SWOT analysis, defining the areas of action, noting strategic projects and relevant stakeholders, listing precedents and formulating an overall strategic plan for Shawlands. Our vision statement for Shawlands is to turn Kilmarnock Road “from a corridor into a destination filled with community, character, and sustainable living�. To achieve this goal, our areas of actions focused on movement, infrastructure, landscape, and community. Our 4 main projects include: modifying and improving transportation hubs, linking two main streets with public space, traffic calming and partial pedestrianisation of the high street and connecting open spaces through a greenway. Secondly, a concept plan was proposed for Shawlands. It uses the Emergent Neighbourhood Model, which analyses the existing urban nodes, urban intensity, street network, transit network and ecological network. From this, maps showing proposed urban nodes and intensity, street network, transit network and ecological network was produced. The final product of the concept plan is the existing concept plan (CPEXS) and proposed concept plan (CPPRO). The work was equally divided among the four members of the group and produced evenly.
Authors Emma Churchyard
Urban Design, University of Strathclyde
Anvita Linnea Sodermark Urban Design, University of Strathclyde
Aanchal Agrawal
Urban Design, University of Strathclyde
Shinjini Basu Architecture, University of Strathclyde
Figures 1, 2, 3, 4
Strategic & Concept Plan
Contents 01Strategic Plan
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SWOT Analysis
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Vision
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Areas of Action
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Strategic Projects
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Projects
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Conceptual Connections
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Phasing
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Strategic Plan Map
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Concept Plan
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Concept Plan Existing
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Concept Plan Proposed
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03Conclusion
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04References
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01 STRATEGIC PLAN Contextual Research
This section will outline the key findings of research gathered through the previous analysis phase. Information obtained is crucial to the formation of the strategic plan and is therefore summarized below.
Key findings from Drawing the City The Drawing the City booklet maps Shawlands in detail. The results from it include 3 maps and a study comparing two nodes in Shawlands. The maps showed building heights, typologies, and streetlights Firstly, the height map shows that the building heights in Shawlands tend to increase closer to the high street. Secondly, the typologies include commercial, retail, residential uses throughout the study area, with a mix of uses on Kilmarnock Road. Lastly, the light map shows that the Queen’s Park, along the waterway and specialist areas e.g. Shawlands Academy are poorly lit.
Key findings from History and Stories The History and Stories booklet outlined the history and accounts from residents in Shawlands. Key findings from this booklet showed that there was importance on the old cinema, community was valued, and that the historic urban fabric is mostly maintained along the high street. 20th century developments towards the perimeter of the study area boundary are irregular and do not conform with the urban form around the high street. Because of this, areas that were developed in more recent times may need to be reconsidered in terms of reconfiguring its urban form and density.
Key findings from Planning Framework The Planning Framework booklet outlines the planning framework, transport network, socio-economic character, and the access of services in Shawlands. The key planning themes set out by stakeholders were also looked at to understand the future direction of Shawlands. It is important to consider for the coming strategy phase. Key planning themes for Shawlands are strengthening business & access to services, transport & connectivity, housing, environment & resilience, health & safety, education & community, open spaces, and place-making & regeneration. Key socio-economic statistics for Shawlands show that the NW and SE of Shawlands have a poor SIMD rank. Because this coincides with higher populations, considering these areas in the strategy would improve overall quality of life. A study on the access to services in Shawlands show that there are multiple barriers e.g. the Arcade, the high street traffic, White Cart water and the railway.
Key findings from Comparing and Experiencing places The Comparing and Experiencing places booklet looked at how people experience places in terms of places of importance and fear in Shawlands. It also provides a street front analysis of Kilmarnock Road and shows the frontages that need to be improved. Key findings from the experiencing places component conclude that residents are wanting better lighting in the area, street frontages improved, and quality of shops improved. Residents who have lived in Shawlands for great lengths of time also miss the old cinema and market. Additionally, though there is crime in the area, it tends to not be violent. Mostly, it is issues with drug or alcohol abuse. Key findings from the comparing places component conclude that Shawlands has a wide range of street front quality, areas in need of frontage change or maintenance are on the western side of Kilmarnock Road, the worst of which is the arcade space.
Key findings from Network Analysis The Network Analysis booklet looked at the street network in Shawlands. It utilised Mompey and QGIS to study the betweenness, closeness and straightness centrality in Shawlands. Findings from these studies show that actions towards connecting residential areas to the high street are important going forward. Additionally, the Arcade is a barrier and has poor connections between Pollokshaws Road and Kilmarnock Road.
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SWOT Analysis Strengths
Figure 5
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Proximity of the River. White Cart water river is an important environmental feature in the area to improve the quality of life. 2. Kilmarnock Road functions as a main corridor connecting the Glasgow city centre to the southside. 3. Queen’s Park in the neighborhood serves as a focal point for the surrounding community as an open space for gatherings, markets and events and has a positive impact on the environment. 4. Generally, the housing development in Shawlands has been steady leading to defined urban fabric along the high street. 5. The blocks created in favour of the intact urban fabric leads to good connectivity with the high streets. 6. Pollok Country Park is a valued ecological site, which brings in visitors not only from Shawlands but also from the neighboring areas, thus increasing the footfall in the park as well as the Shawlands area. 7. Taking advantage of being a high street, it accommodates a mixed use development on the street that helps the business and retail. 8. Having the academy in the vicinity is a benefit for the neighbourhood children. The academy has a primary and secondary school which is an asset for the community as they don’t have to go outside the Shawlands area. 9. Having a mixed development in Shawlands means having an income mix which encourages to have a diverse economy. 10. Pollokshaws east station on Kilmarnock road serves as a main connection from the central city. But also, there is another route which caters to the north of Kilmarnock road, thus having good rail connectivity in the area cover the north and south sides of Shawlands.
Key 1. River 2. Main Corridor 3. Queen’s Park 4. Intact urban fabric 5. Street connectivity with high street 6. Pollock Country Park 7. Mixed-use development on high street 8. Shawland’s Academy 9. Income mix 10. Rail connectivity
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Weaknesses
Figure 6
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The river, White Cart, in the Shawlands area is not properly used and maintained. Being a main urban street, the entire length of Kilmarnock Road lacks trees and greenery which makes it look unenthusiastic. Whilst it is a main road, Kilmarnock Road does not feature a diverse active frontage. More specifically, there are many commercial spaces present along the high street, although, the type of shops available are often homogenous. Lack of lights in the Queen’s park and in some parts of the residential areas encourage vandalism. The arcade, though it is situated on the busy main street, fails to provide people with a sense of community and vision. This is considered to be one of the important landmarks of the Shawlands area, yet it fails to bring in the character of the high street. Missing pedestrian link between Kilmarnock Road and Pollokshaws Road from through the arcade, one has to travel the entire way up to the road junction to get to Pollokshaws Road or Kilmarnock Road. The residences face poor connectivity with the high streets.
Key 1. River underused 2. Lack of Green and active frontage 3. Lack of lighting 4. Arcade 5. Residential internal connectivity
Strategic & Concept Plan
Opportunities
Figure 7
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The waterway in Shawlands offers an opportunity to bring uniqueness and character to the site as a valued ecological asset. The waterway could help development to the site if it were cleaner and played a more important role in the urban realm. Kilmarnock Road, though already a bustling high street, could generate a steadier economic and communal development to bringing a feeling of unity to Shawlands. Creating a streetscape better suited for pedestrians along this corridor would benefit residents greatly. Queen’s Park is already a valued ecological site to Shawlands and is accessible, but it has the opportunity to be a safer and more desirable space if more lighting and recreational space were introduced into the park. The space where the arcade currently is could be used to regenerate community space such as to create a town square, bring back the Shawlands cinema, and have an area that helps link Kilmarnock Road and Pollokshaws Road. This space could help connect the missing links in Shawlands. Pollokshaws Road is a secondary road in Shawlands but could be an interesting streetscape that is more complimentary to Kilmarnock Road. If Pollokshaws Road was more integrated into the high street, it would benefit from more commercial and social activity. Pollok Country Park is the third valued ecological site, but it lacks pedestrian accessibility from the Kilmarnock Road. Creating a corridor for active travel to the Queen’s Park increases overall connectivity.
Key 1. Waterway 2. Kilmarnock Road 3. Queen’s Park 4. Arcade Space 5. Pollokshaws Road 6. Pollok Country Park
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Threats
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The White Cart Water has a high river flood risk according to SEPA (2019). Therefore, it imposes a great threat to the area in the future. There are a few vacant commercial properties throughout Kilmarnock Road in addition to a high commercial turnover on the street. This may be a persistent threat despite efforts to regenerate the area. Results from the analysis revealed that crime and perceptions of crime has been a continuous issue for the area. This was prevalent in a high crime rate in the data zones around Queen’s Park, in addition to accounts from residents in Shawlands noting that they felt unsafe in areas that are not well lit, such as Queen’s park. This threat may be resistant to change. The maintenance of the social housing is considered an ongoing issue for Shawlands. The present social housing (facing Pollokshaws Road) indicate a division between its design compared to the rest of the residential developments in the area. Therefore, this factor is a threat to equity and needs to be addressed. Drug abuse - From results gathered in the analysis phase, drug abuse was reported as an issue. This stemmed from news articles and accounts from residents in Shawlands. This was generally concentrated in the residential development to the east of Kilmarnock Road. Vacant and derelict land to the west of Kilmarnock Road may not be easily addressed. The South West of the site area is planned to be developed in the future as it is noted as a Transformational Regeneration Area (TRA) by Glasgow City Council (2017). However, this may not necessarily spill over on the vacant areas to the West of the site.
Key 1. Flooding 2. Vacant commercial property 3. Crime 4. Maintenance of social housing 5. Drug abuse 6. Vacant and derelict land
Strategic & Concept Plan
Vision
Transforming Shawlands from a corridor into destination filled with community, character, and sustainable living. Our four projects aim to facilitate a sense of arrival at transportation hubs, unite neighborhoods through communal spaces for public events and commerce, create a safer and more memorable high street that is pedestrian dominated, and to introduce active travel and well-being through nature-oriented pathways linking the major green spaces.
Figure 9
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Areas of Action
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Figure 10
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Strategic Projects Movement
Infrastructure
Figure 11
Movement is a main area of action for Shawlands. Naturally, this would refer to Kilmarnock Road as it is a primary road. In addition, improving movement between Kilmarnock road and Pollokshaws road allow for more internal connectivity between the neighbourhoods surrounding the high street. Special attention is given to transportation modes which promotes for sustainable travel. Investment in active travel, public transport and railway stations will help improve overall movement, allowing people to arrive to the site through many modes of travel and establish a sense of arrival, supporting our overall vision.
Our strategy is to improve and maintain the green and blue infrastructure along the main streets. These initiatives include strengthening and securing streets and public areas and implement nature-based solutions such as SUDS. One measure will be to upgrade and store water runoff from residential areas, which can be used to maintain ecological infrastructure. In addition, street safety, parks, and transit hubs are important to bring forward and unite the community with a sense of well-being. Safety and Green Infrastructure were chosen as infrastructure because the network that green spaces and safety measures provide should be viewed as an important service to the public.
Bike Paths
Green Infrastructure
Bus Stops
Safety
Pedestrian Paths
Drainage
Train Station
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Figure 12
Strategic & Concept Plan
Landscape
Community
Figure 13
Landscape was noted as a main area of action for Shawlands. This refers to hard and soft landscaping. These initiatives may be introduced on public and open areas such as the high street, parks, and along the waterway. Additionally, landmarks help signify the importance of the area and provide an opportunity to strengthen community identity. Soft landscaping can be used as Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS) which further enhances Shawlands as a place of sustainable living, as noted in the vision statement.
Figure 14
Community was noted as a main area of action for Shawlands. This refers to the implementation of projects like public squares, retails, restaurants, active frontage, pubs, education, community pockets for the area along the high street. These features will attract and engage more people and enhance the sense of community living. Executing these attributes for the public realm will promote the existing businesses, improve the experience of working, visiting and shopping in this area. The aim is to transform the place as a one-stop destination for the residents of the area and for the people visiting from outside.
Playgrounds
Connected Community
Planters
Schools
Landmarks
Bars & Pubs
Street Furniture
Shopping
Cafes & Restaurants
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Projects
Project 1: Greenway McEachern Greenway, Concord, USA Concord’s town centre felt disconnected from the two major parks nearby, Les Meyers Park and McGee Park. The parks were mostly only accessible by vehicle and had very low footfall, with an exception for special events in both parks. The Concord City Council decided to find a route that would connect both ecological sites while increasing the potential for active travel around Concord. A small waterway along a highway was used to create a large greenway connector between Les Meyers and McGee park. The pathway was for both pedestrians and cyclists and shortly after the implementation of the greenway, footfall and active travel in the community increased significantly. The greenway became a sought-after Figure 15 destination for people from all backgrounds. Following the success of the first greenway stretch implementation, the Councord City Council decided to add a “greenway loop” which created a path to both parks through the high street. This urban greenway loop brought the footfall from the initial greenway stretch onto the high street where people could stop in shops, cafes, in restaurants, overall increasing commercial and social activity in the town centre.
Project 1 in Shawlands This specific greenway model could be implemented in Shawlands to connect Pollok Country Park, Queen’s Park, the waterway, and the high streets to create a greenway loop. Following the McEachern Greenway model could have the same effect on Shawlands’ commerce and foot traffic as it did on Concord’s. Additionally, creating designated space for locals to spend time at valuable ecological sites creates greater attachment to the natural world in Shawlands. Consequently, the greenway may be more “natural” if it is in close proximity to parks or waterway, and less “natural” on the urban streets of Shawlands. For the length which the green way follows the high street, it should suggest that there are accessible and clear links to the main green open areas around Kilmarnock Road, through directions and landscaping.
The Greener Greenway Project
Figure 16
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Project 2: Trafffic Calming & Beautification Stockton High Street, Stockton-on-Tees, UK Stockton high street suffered from retail parks and in turn, there was a lower footfall and activity on the high street. Perceptions of the area was becoming more negative and retail property became vacant. Its design featured a wide pedestrianised avenue along the high street which was to be used for events and markets. A higher quality pavement which signified different uses (pedestrian, cyclists etc.) and buildings with historical significance were invested in. Public art featured light and water displays were also introduced along the street. The high street also introduced an enterprise arcade for testing new businesses and their success in trading on the high street. The branding of the Figure 17 area was “rediscover Stockton�, establishing an identity. This in turn led to vacant properties quickly becoming utilised again. There has since been a rise in independent businesses in the area, an influx of visitors and footfall has increased. Perceptions improved due to improvements in cleanliness of the streets. People who visited the high street generally tended to stay for longer (before:76 min, after:104 min). Due to the pedestrian friendly approach, and use of hard and soft landscaping, calming of traffic along the high street was achieved (Public Health England, 2018).
Project 2 in Shawlands Traffic calming and beautification could be implemented in Shawlands along the main roads, where footfall is high and consideration of children and elderly as addressed, similarly to the case study above. Special attention could be given for the High Street and towards schools. These generally fall under the areas marked in orange in the figure below but are not limited to these areas. Traffic calming initiatives would require advice and consultation with relevant traffic authorities and organisations focusing on traffic improvements such as Sustrans.
Figure 18
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Project 3: Linking Two Main Streets Altrincham Market, Atrincham, UK Since the year 1290, Altrincham was considered to be a market town. There have been many regeneration plans made to place this historical market at its heart again and to redefine it as the Modern Market Plan. There were concept plans for Altrincham’s public realm strategy which included the implications of retails, culture, leisure, commercial, social provisions, etc which would make it an attractive destination for the visitors. After the successful transformation of the space with high quality material, the market has attracted many new n different uses like home-made delicious food stalls, start-ups, pubs, etc, all within the marketplace. The paving has been redone with honey-hued stone paving all over the Lower market and the Figure 19 Altrincham market House. Throughout the streetscapes and public spaces, the principles of shared space have been applied to redress the balance pedestrian and vehicles along with carrying out operational requirements of the retail town centre and busy markets. Street furniture and trees give one a sense of human scale to the public spaces. The peculiar inscription on the tree grille, ‘Altrincham Market Town 1290’ helps in marking the historic roots of the place. The Altrincham market experienced an uptake in independent businesses, meeting areas, good indoor and outdoor spaces which gives visitors a feel of destination using corridors as connectivity that are pedestrianised with high activity spilling out onto the street. The place encountered a rise in the sense of community with the increase in the flow of visitors and social interaction.
Project 3 in Shawlands Beautification of community pockets or hubs equivalent to the case study above can be implemented along the high street, the arcade and all secondary streets connected to the high street of Shawlands, the Kilmarnock Road. Such visions can be executed to the areas highlighted in the map below as well as its surroundings to bring a sense of life and space to the centre to the town along with complementing them with its surrounding buildings.
Figure 20
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Project 4: Sense of Arrival Vleuten Railway Station, Vleuen, Netherlands Vleuten became a part of Utrecht and experienced major city expansion, seeing development of residential and education areas, Vleuten station lacked in serving the increasing footfall with accessibility, facilities and safe atmosphere. Thus, the station was weakly framed in the street scape. To ease the intercity travel, authorities decided to upgrade and renew the station keeping in mind the travelers. The new station was elevated to avoid the barrier effect on the road. The accessibility was taken care of by providing staircase and lift. Ample of parking spaces and shed for cycles was provided. Roadside elevations were fitted with glass to increase the visibility and attractiveness. Safe and pleasant waiting areas Figure 21 for the commuters was important, thus having spacious and comfortable platform. A lot of attention has been paid to fitting the station installations in the area such as the lighting and security. Following the new station that opened in 2007, the station proved to be easily accessible to all. It was safe and clean where waiting was pleasant. The result is a lively part of the town with quality and services. Guarded cycle sheds were a benefit as a door to door service, as more people would travel by bike to the station. The station became an ease to travel and the town less car oriented. Photo Referenced: Figure 4
Project 4 in Shawlands Station redevelopment in Shawlands needs to be more accessible and visible. Changing the train stations could help improve safety as well. Having daily commuters, the station could become a focal point for the area, thus enhancing the character, quality and services as seen in the above study. Attention could be given to the travelers needs and safety. Visibility and easy accessibility could ensure safety of the people, thus increasing the footfall at the station and less use of cars to travel to the city centre.
Figure 22
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Conceptual Connections Stakeholders & Precedents Links
Figure 23
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Project Links
Figure 24
There are definitive links between our strategic projects. For instance, extending a greenway corridor along the main street will need traffic calming measures and character redevelopment of the streets, thus connecting projects 1 and 2. This is to ensure the look of the greenway extends through the urban fabric. Similarly, project 3 relates to aims of project 1 due to a geographical overlap between the projects. Project 4 also has connections with project 1 since aspects of facilitating a sense of arrival apply to the greenway, in addition to potentially improve access to the greenway from transportation hubs. Project 2 runs along Kilmarnock Road. Because of this, a clear link between projects 2 and 3. Consistency and transparency between these projects are necessary to ensure they work in cohesion. Project 4 is highly relevant to the success of project 2. In order to ensure Shawlands turns into a destination, a transport hub that indicates what the rest of the master planned may look like, is an important aspect to achieve our vision. Finally, project 3 also will include a sense of arrival as it aims to create a space for people to stay rather than pass through. Below, a graphic showing the links between our proposed strategic project and the defined areas of action for Shawlands, can be seen.
Figure 25
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Phasing
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Figure 26
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Strategic Plan Map Combined Strategic Projects
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Figure 27
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Combined Strategic Synthesis
The strategic plan map collaboratively addresses to our identified strategic projects, inclusive of the areas of actions and the conceptual connections between these projects, leading to a framework of strategic changes required in the transformation of the Shawlands areas. Our strategic plan mainly focuses on connecting the three main ecological sites in the area by facilitating a green corridor. Additionally, the group focuses on redevelopment on the high street, making it pedestrian friendly and introducing traffic calming measures along the streets for safety measures. The aim is to make the streets more active, as well as bring character to the area which can be achieved by re-establishing the Arcade and retrofitting the facades along the high street. Public transportation requires an upliftment, to initiate a sense of arrival to Shawlands; this being by improving the bus stops and the train stations that could be the main mode of transport in and out of the Shawlands to the city centre, a transit-oriented development. The intent is to better community connection and community involvement. All the strategic plans for Shawlands is aimed at improving community development, which is the key conception behind bringing out the potential of Shawlands high street as destination place for all.
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02 CONCEPT PLAN Contextual Research
The Strategic Plan has helped us understand the parts in our study area which needs improvement by proposing different actions and projects. Through all its pros and cons, the strategies generated, helped in analysing the development and transformation of the study area for better sustainable goals. The main aim was to link the proposed strategies or policies. The strategic plan identifies the main factors and specific projects and activities that needs to be carried out in order to make sustainable transformation to the focus area. It has helped in understanding the connections between spatial studies and its relevant dynamics. All these proposals are strategies that are crucial to assemble a working Concept Plan. The following sections will present the spatial characteristics of Shawlands based on the Emergent Neighbourhood Model.
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Urban Nodes
Figure 28
The Map above identifies the nodes that are existing in the Shawlands area. Nodes are characterised by the areas concentrated with services and shops which caters to a reasonable distance of the locality. They are not just cluster of services that work as nodes. Nodes are identified as Local, District and Global. We identified two local nodes, one existing along the southern part of Kilmarnock road till the junction point and the other along the Langside Avenue and Battlefield via their junction. These nodes consist of a cluster of cafes, bars, shops, retails, medical services, bus stops, primary school, grocery stores, etc. These nodes cater to the area within a 400m radius around it. These areas are automobile dependant and the shops, services and transit and are only a 5 mins walk away. These nodes emerged because of high street centrality. Presently, two district nodes, one appears at the junction where Kilmarnock road and the Pollokshaws road meets and the second lies towards the south east of the railway line. The former consists of the main Shawlands arcade housing specialised stores and services in it. There exists a secondary school, gyms, banks, big chain stores. The later consists of several big supermarkets along with a playfield. However, this area lacks density. We have identified a landmark to the north of our study area. This caters to services like rail station, supermarkets and retails, but low in density.
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Urban Intensity
Figure 29
Density for all typologies in the area is calculated as number of units per hectare, where 1 unit measures approximately 300 m3 in volume. The number of units in a building is determined based on its volume. Volume = Area x number of floors x height. Area - built area and Height - height of 1 unit, 3m In order to calculate volume, the work done during the analysis phase contained all the information on built area and heights. This information is then used to identify the urban types and group them into one layer by tracing the boundary on the urbanised land. Thus, the volume for each urban type is calculated. Following that, the number of units for each urban type is calculated. No. of units = Volume / 300m3, where 300 m3 is the volume of 1 unit
Key 1. Waterway 2. Kilmarnock Road 3. Queen’s Park 4. Arcade Space 5. Pollokshaws Road 6. Pollok Country Park
Further, to measure density, units per hectare is calculated for each corresponding urban typologies, which is done by finding the area of the entire urban type in hectares (1 hectare= 10,000 m2). Area of urban type (in hectares) = Area of urban type (in m2) / 10,000 Units per hectare = No. of units / area of urban type (in hectares) At the end of the process we get the different urban density distributed over each urban type which is then grouped into categories according to the intensity. The density is categorised as mentioned in the legend.of the densities identified, we get high and moderate density along the high street. The south of the area has low density and moderate on the north side. The density around the identified global node is low and along the local node is medium-high spreading to low density, thus, satisfying the purpose of it being a local node.
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Street Network
Figure 30
Street Networks can be broken down into four main categories: High Speed Roads (HSRs), Urban Main Streets (UMs), Local Main Streets (LMs), and Local Roads (LRs). These categories are critical to understanding purpose and traffic of a street. High Speed Roads are roads that aren’t necessarily natural to urban fabric; they are often highways and freeways. They aren’t natural to the urban fabric because they have almost no pedestrian or commercial use in the surrounding area. These roads tend to act as barriers to urban continuity and ecological life due to their speed and width. There are no High Speed Roads in Shawlands. Urban Main Streets are a districts’ central hubs for not only traffic, but pedestrian and commercial use. In terms of natural urban fabric, streets such as these are at the top of street hierarchy. Urban Main Streets can also be a unifying space for people from multiple districts as the street may have more active social use and specialty shops. Kilmarnock Road is an example of an Urban Main Street due to it being the hub of commerce, traffic, and social activity in Shawlands. Local Main Streets have a lower level of traffic than urban main streets and tend to have less social use. They are connectors of and between Urban Main Streets, which is why many Local Main Streets spread out from the Urban Main Street. Pollokshaws Road is an example of a Local Main Street in Shawlands, as it flanks Kilmarnock road and still has moderate traffic, but not significant social or commercial use. Local Roads are roads that have no social use and tend to be predominantly residential or minor connector roads. Hierarchically speaking, local roads are at the bottom of the street hierarchy because of the lack of activity commenced on roads such as these. Deanston Drive, to the East of and parallel to Kilmarnock Road, is a local road that serves as a strictly residential street.
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Transit Network
Figure 31
An understanding of the current transit network shows the priorities in transport modes available in Shawlands. The Emergent Neighbourhood Model states that these networks should be mapped to understand the role of the area and how it links with adjacent districts and regions. The map includes the current transit network including national cycling network, railway, and bus routes. These will be explained below. The cycle network is mapped according to the National Cycle Network. Within the UK, 16,000 miles of walking and cycling routes have been designated. In the site area, they are all shared routes. Additionally, the available cycle sharing points and cycle parking points have been mapped. In the case of cycle parking, 1 cycle parking symbol signifies 4 parking points.
Key 1. Waterway 2. Kilmarnock Road 3. Queen’s Park 4. Arcade Space 5. Pollokshaws Road 6. Pollok Country Park
The bus routes that go through the Shawlands area are shown above in pink shade. They are differentiated in different shades and thickness depending on how many routes that go through each street. Notably, the lower half of Kilmarnock road has one less bus route which goes through it compared to the upper half. There are a high number of bus routes around the New Hospital. Lastly, the rail network has been mapped as well. These routes signify the fastest and easiest way of reaching Shawlands. There are two railway routes. One features a straighter railway and provides a fast way of getting to Shawlands from the City Centre. It has two train stations: Crossmyloof (upper) and Pollokshaws West (lower). The other railway mostly connects the southside of Glasgow. Within the area shown in the map, there are 4 train stations on this railway, from west to east these are: Shawlands, Pollokshaws East, Queens park, and Mount Florida. The dotted sections of the railway lines signify the areas for which the railway is underground.
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Ecological Network
Figure 32
The map above shows the green and blue infrastructure in the Shawlands area. The Emergent Neighbourhood Model outlines that it is important to map these networks as it shows the area’s ecological assets, provides an understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the networks, and allows for an assessment of areas which can be improved. From this, revising these networks can improve ecological function of the built and natural environment. Firstly, the blue infrastructure can be seen above. In Shawlands, the White Cart Water and the water bodies in Queen’s park are the only two examples of blue infrastructure. At the moment, there is little access to the White Cart Water. This issue is a proposed strategic project which will enhance residents’ access to a valued ecological asset. Secondly, green infrastructure covers most of the area in Shawlands. This network consists of three different categories namely: green linear features, green areal features, and areas of low ecological value. Within green linear features, boulevards and wildlife corridors were mapped, these are noted as green corridors in the map and legend. Green areal features consist of all green spaces that can be seen from satellite images. A distinction between private and public areal features have been noted. Lastly, areas of low ecological value comprise of outdoor sports facilities and spaces left over after planning. These areas generally are grassed over and therefore have low ecological biodiversity, and poor ability to retain water. Because of this, they provide little benefit to the ecological network in place.
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Key 1. Waterway 2. Kilmarnock Road 3. Queen’s Park 4. Arcade Space 5. Pollokshaws Road 6. Pollok Country Park
Strategic & Concept Plan
Concept Plan Existing
Figure 33
Key
The existing concept plan has been derived from the urban design features: i.e. Nodes, Density, Street Network, Transit Network and Ecological Networks. It lays the groundwork for the development of Shawlands. Through the process of mapping all the urban features, the resulting maps give us a clear picture and the relationship between them. When superimposed all the layers, the map reveals the voids existing in certain areas. These features which have been mapped, gives us a clear picture of how Shawlands functions at present. After overlaying all the existing feature maps, we see that Shawlands has a good rail connectivity and bus routes. However, it lacks internal street connectivity in some areas. Looking at the ecological feature, Shawlands has a green infrastructure, but there is no defined ecological network. Considering the nodes with respect to the density, a relation between these two gives an idea about the density coverage surrounding the nodes. Thus, it is here where our strategic visions come in play to make the area into a resilient urban structure in coherence with the five urban design features.
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Proposed Concept Plan Urban Nodes & Intensity
Figure 34
The map above shows the proposed nodes and the density catering at these nodes. This includes proposing a district node and a change in intensity around the nodes. Proposing these nodes would consider increasing the intensity around the proposed as well as the existing node which lacks density. The proposed concept plan comprises of two existing local nodes and three district nodes, two existing and one proposed. A change in intensity is proposed around the two existing local nodes. The high street has medium-high density which spreads out to moderate and low densities. The density in relation to the district node is proposed surrounded by high density smoothly spreading from medium to low, merging with the density of the local nodes to create a seamless intensity band. This is based on the Emergent Neighbourhood Model. The landmark in north covers supermarkets, rail stations, retails, etc, but the density around these nodes is quite low. In order to benefit from these services, this landmark is identified to function as a district node thus also an increase in density is proposed. In doing so, more local amenities will be needed for it to serve the purpose of district node. Thus, it relates to strengthening the community as per our strategic plan. Similarly, the one in the south consists of many supermarkets and services but lacks density. Therefore, identifying the potential of district node, it is proposed to increase the density, from low to medium, with the consideration of an ecological feature and use that to the benefit of the community and the environment.
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Key
Strategic & Concept Plan
Street Network
Figure 35
Often times, historic cities had Urban Main Streets that connected to one another, which resulted in a more urban atmosphere and additional social connectivity within a given area. The increase in activity benefits the commerce and traffic of such an area. Overall, Shawlands has a relatively well-preserved street hierarchy with Kilmarnock Road acting as an Urban Main Street. With most of the activity occurring on Kilmarnock Road, the urban area could be improved by strategically placing other corridors for commerce nearby, keeping in touch with the urban fabric of historic areas such as this one.
Key
To accomplish this task, we propose to create a secondary Urban Main Street, flanking off of Kilmarnock Road. After deliberation, the best suited street to become an Urban Main Road is Pollokshaws Road, which forks off of Kilmarnock Road. This street can benefit and even thrive off of the commerce and activity bleeding over from the original Urban Main Street. Based on our idea from our strategic concept, we hope to link Kilmarnock Road and Pollokshaws Road where the current Shawlands Arcade is located. Creating this corridor will also aid in linking all types of traffic to Pollokshaws Road. In doing so, we hope to generate greater movement and commercial activity to put Shawlands on the Map, as noted in our vision statement. Lastly, additional streets were added in Shawlands’ south west to aid in street connectivity. This area struggles with having clear, designated blocks as well as cul-de-sacs. Adding connectors in this area should aleviate the existing issues and create more defined intersections.
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Booklet No.4
Transit Network
Figure 36
Because the Shawlands area has six train stations and is relatively well-connected to the city centre by rail, increasing other modes of transport will aid in total transport opportunity. Ideally, Shawlands should be well connected to Glasgow City Centre through active travel and public transit routes. Therefore, we chose to target increasing cycle routes nad bus routes to increase internal and external connectivity in Shawlands. To effectively go about implementing increased transit, we first evaluated where cycle connectivity could improve. We agreed that cycle lanes should be implements along all Urban Main Roads and a large percentage of Local Main Roads, since these areas are where most commercial, social, and vehicular traffic occur. To be more specific, we added cycle lanes to streets such as Kilmarnock Road, Pollokshaws Road, Titwood Street, Minard Road, and Langside Avenue. These streets act as significant corridors in Shawlands and should also serve as cycle corridors. Additionally, we added a cycle route through our proposed square where the current Shawlands Arcade is. Overall, bus routes in Shawlands are frequent, but could be improved. To do so, we added additional routes for Pollokshaws Road, Minard Road, and Langside Avenue. Increasing bus routes along these corridors will improve overall regular connectivity with frequent times in Shawlands.
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Key 1. Waterway 2. Kilmarnock Road 3. Queen’s Park 4. Arcade Space 5. Pollokshaws Road 6. Pollok Country Park
Strategic & Concept Plan
Ecological Network
Figure 37
The map above shows the proposed green infrastructure to combat the areas of the site which are lacking in ecological value. This includes green corridors, areal features, in addition to Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS). These can be viewed as a mixture between blue and green infrastructure as they inherently are green, but their function is to retain surface water runoff. The proposed green corridors serve as a traffic calming feature and to retain some surface water runoff; It aids in beautification of the main streets. This relates to the strategic project 1 and ultimately helps in the realisation of our vision for Shawlands.
Key 1. Waterway 2. Kilmarnock Road 3. Queen’s Park 4. Arcade Space 5. Pollokshaws Road 6. Pollok Country Park
Proposed areal features combat the areas of low ecological value. These areas were specifically chosen as they are located in, or near, valued ecological sites e.g. Queen’s Park and Pollok Country Park. In doing so, we aim to create a cohesive ecological network in Shawlands, allowing for a better-connected wildlife corridor. SEPA’s flood map notes the areas in Shawlands which are prone to river flooding and surface water flooding. To best combat these issues in a sustainable manner, SUDS have been strategically placed in locales where flood risk is high. The SUDS to the South West are to combat river flooding whereas the remaining SUDS deal with surface water runoff. All the aforementioned proposals support the infrastructure strategic project (mentioned on p.10) as they provide green infrastructure and drainage to Shawlands.
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Booklet No.4
Concept Plan Proposed
Figure 38
Key
The proposed concept plan comprises of all the proposed concepts for the five urban design features. These superimposed plans show our extended analysis towards addressing our vision and strategic plan framework. One of the issues identified during the mapping shows lack of density with respect to the district nodes, which in turn shows poor internal street connectivity. Proposing a change in intensity at the district node would help in improving the internal connectivity helping link to the high street. Furthermore, to repair the gaps within Shawlands, our priority lies in increasing the green connectivity along the nodes, thus dealing with the problems of surface water and river flooding by introducing a sustainable drainage system with the green connectivity. We aim to adopt the principles of being pedestrian and bicycle friendly streets by proposing a plan to help connect the neighbourhoods safely with the main streets. Thus, with the overlay of these maps, it helps us to explain the way to achieve the vision statement, with a holistic approach. Therefore, with the help of these proposed concept plans, we intend to establish a coherent urban structure that will direct us towards the Masterplan development of our study area.
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Strategic & Concept Plan
Conclusion Shawlands has the potential be a bustling, vibrant destination that is defined by its thriving community a uniqueness of place. Our strategic plan, with each of the aforementioned four major projects, was created in the hopes that each proposal could be accomplished successfully in a 25-year time frame to ensure that Shawlands is turned into a place that exudes character and green living. Secondly, our concept plan showed the underlying spatial strengths and weaknesses in the urban form, streets, transport, and ecological network by applying the various sections of the Emergent Neighbourhood Model. With this in mind, a more holistic account of Shawlands is given. From the study of the sections in the Emergent Neighbourhood Model and our proposed strategy, we hope that the further development in these subsections encourages a design which finally puts Shawlands on the map.
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Booklet No.4
References Literature
Glasgow City Council. (2017). Glasgow’s City Development Plan. Glasgow: Glasgow City Council Prorail. (2003). Stations. [online] Available at: https://www.prorail.nl/omwonenden/stations [Accessed 10 Oct. 2019]. SEPA. (2019). Flood Risk Management Maps. SEPA. [online] Available at: http://map.sepa. org.uk/floodmap/map.htm [Accessed 8 Oct. 2019]. Stationwebs. (2013). Station Buildings Type Randstad Rail Stop. Vleuten Station. [online] Available at: http://www.stationsweb.nl/station.asp?station=vleuten [Accessed 16 Oct. 2019]. Trafford Council (2014). Altrincham Strategy. [online] Available at: https://www.trafford. gov.uk/planning/strategic-planning/docs/altrincham-strategy-july-2014.pdf Vleuten Station. (2019). Railway Stations in the Netherlands. [online] Available at: https://nl.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Station_Vleuten [Accessed 16 Oct. 2019]
Images
Figure 1: Carolina Thread Trail (2019). Harold B. McEachern Greenway. [image] Available at: https://www.carolinathreadtrailmap.org/trails Figure 2: Stainton Lighting Design Services (2015). Lighting on Stockton High Street. [image] Available at: http://staintonlds.co.uk/wp-content/gallery/stockton-high-street/ IMG_0975.JPG [Accessed 15 Nov. 2019]. Figure 3: Trafford Council (2014). Altrincham Strategy. [image] Available at: https://www. trafford.gov.uk/planning/strategic-planning/docs/altrincham-strategy-july-2014.pdf Figure 4: Stationwebs. (2013). Station Buildings Type Randstad Rail Stop. Vleuten Station. [image] Available at:http://www.stationsweb.nl/station.asp?station=vleuten [Accessed 16 Oct. 2019].
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