Book the big city challenge by Alessandra Feliciotti

ISTITUTO UNIVERSITARIO DI ARCHITETTURA DI VENEZIA Facoltà di Architettura Corso di Laurea Magistrale in Architettura, indirizzo Città

BIG CITY WORK IN PROCESS: a thorough vision-based methodology to dealing with urban growth through masterplanning Relatore: Prof. Renato Bocchi Correlatori: Prof. Sergio Porta, Prof. Ombretta Romice University of Strathclyde Glasgow, UK

Studentessa: Alessandra Feliciotti mat 272314 Sessione di Laurea: Ottobre 2012 Anno Accademico 2011/2012

â&#x20AC;&#x153;The ability to create places that are meaningful and places of quality and character depends entirely on the

James Howard Kunstler On the Tragedy of Suburbia

BIG CITY WORK IN PROCESS: a thorough vision-based methodology to dealing with urban growth through masterplanning

17 19 22 26 29 31 33 36 43 47 49 50 53 55 55 59 61 61 62 65 66 67 71 73 73

Content

the most thorough approach What do our cities need? Managing Complexity Learning from the city The New Urbanism Making places The Urban Task Force Plot Based Urbanism and Urban Seeding The dawn of a new methodological paradigm

The Urban Design Studio Toolset Step by step The briefs A quality proven throughout the years A manual for masterplanning

the Analytical phase Drawing the existing city Mapping the area Representing the detail

History and stories Mapping the change Age-steps of urbanisation From the eyes of people Tell me a story Gone but not forgotten

75 75 76 77 77 78 81 81 83 83 87 88 91 92 93 94 96 100 101 105 109 111 112 113 114 116 119 123 125 127 127 129

Planning framework Where to start, where to go Reading the territory Social and economic dynamics Provision of local services What does a neighbourhood need Pattern of movement

Street Hierarchy Planning themes

Experience & compare Perceptions and relations Residents Mental Maps Professional’s Mental Map Identifying Character Areas Legibility and imageability Accessibility and connectivity Safety and maintenance Conclusion: Street front assessment Indicators of connectivity and permeability Focus on Ped-shed Analysis

Network analysis of streets Understanding the network The theory of centres The Multiple Centrality Assessment Multiple Indices of Centrality What’s next

The Strategic phase A 25 year strategy Let’s take stock Compared SWOT analysis Listing ambitions

129 130 131 133 135 136 139 140 141 145 147 149 151 155 163 164 165 166 169 173 175 176 177 179 181 183 191 193 193 201 204 208

The Strategic Plan The Concept Plan Hierarchy of nodes Street Hierarchy Public Transport Density Ecological Network Your Concept Plan Proposed hierarchy of density

The regulatory framework The Local Urban Code Street-front analysis and comparison Analysing the street-front Towards a Local Urban Code

The Foundation Masterplan Street layout design Blocks and street-fronts Density distribution

The Masterplan phase Finalizing the Masterplan Plot design Accesses and transitional spaces Specialist blocks treatment Design of the exceptions: stages and landmarks

Green and open public spaces

The work in process The big city challenge Scare tissue A city with character The birth of the Age of cars

210 221 225 227 228 229 230 231 232 235 237 239 239 241 243

The case of UK: The Age of Motorways Changing times

A vision for Glasgow The railway strategy The missing link Reconnecting the rail network The road network: the M74 completion The M8 tunnel References and good practices Masterplanning The six areas Morphological analysis of the Masterplan Project Area Reorganizing the street network Designing transitional spaces Phasing

Acknowledgements Bibliography

THOROUGH

Opposite page: According to Frommer’s Travel Guide and selected by

Director of Natural Resources Defence Council’s Smart

outside a café in Edinburgh: a shot of Charlotte Square

From the top: Geneva: people chat peacefully

south: a bridge that becomes an opportunity to to stop

What do our cities need? Let’s think for a second to a street. With shops and benches, and people walking to their favourite grocery store, to the café right around the corner. Two students are waiting at the bus stop and chatting. An old man is sitting on a bench watching other people going back and forth down the streets, just for the sake of it. There is a guy parking his bike and tying it to a streetlamp, while the postman is getting ready for its next delivery. Two girls are crossing the street on the zebras to reach that fancy shop on the opposite sidewalk, eating an ice-cream they just bought in their favourite ice-cream factory, two blocks away. All those people have almost nothing in common, if not for the fact of being all outside their houses, all sharing the same space for many different reasons. Now let’s imagine the same thing, let’s say, in a commercial district. You still do have a street and in some cases you do have bus stops and sidewalks you want. But that lively frame that we pictured before here is almost impossible to see. What is missing? What changed? There is something have. According to Jan Gehl we move in the outdoor space for three main grocery store, we have to take a bus to go to work… it all includes those activities which, to be exploited, require to go outside our homes and

What do our cities need? “Cities have the capability of providing something

Jane Jacobs

reach different points in space, crossing the public realm. The second reason is for pleasure. Standing on the riverfront to enjoy the sunset, reading a book lying on the grass of the community park. In any city you can experience the needs to connect to the public realm to satisfy their basic needs. But how do they do the basic things, how much time do they spend voluntarily outdoors, it greatly depends on the physical environment they are surrounded by. The city is the stage of our lives, of our everyday experience: if it is a good stage, the show will be much more enjoyable. The last reason why we meet in the public realm, is to socialize: this doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t mean making new friends, the level of interaction can be very reduced indeed, even indirect or passive. And to achieve this kind of informal contact between people, the environment of this socialization needs to be safe and vital at the same time. Users and inhabitants have to be able to feel free to choose to stay or to go, to socialize or not. Our life is made of choices, which grocery store to go, where to have a haircut, on which ATM to go to withdraw money. We move in the outdoor space to satisfy our needs but also to enjoy our day. And every person needs to feel part of his neighbourhood, of his city,

Opposite page, from the top: -

both sides of the

people strolling in street of the old

self-referential disciplines. Projects

it part of his own life. Life is complex, and its complexity is expressed by the incredible diversity

experience

everyday. All our actions and decisions are small pieces of a bigger colourful mosaic. A city that works, is the space of

were made on paper, without having any clue on how the design of a building or an area would change, enhance or disrupt the very sense of that particular place. Architecture for too long forgot that its purpose is to serve life, not to force it, not to impose a grid to it. What our cities need is simple.

And if we don’t get this we will fail

Our cities need complexity, and

in the dramatic task we are called

they need us to keep this always

to achieve as urban designers and

in mind.

architects, as we so often failed in the past. The examples of this

In the past our discipline tried to

failure are visible and undeniable:

understand this incredible and

high rise towers immerse in parks

massive organism, simplifying and

in which nobody want to stop,

reducing its complexity into few

empty and lonely squares, streets

general rules, or few variables. For

in which nobody would ever spend

more than 50 years we approached

the relaxing time of a promenade,

to the city as if we hated it or we

whole areas or neighbourhoods

were afraid of it, as if all we could

completely

and

see was chaos, an unacceptable

contradiction to the overcome of

unsafe and dangerous, commercial

the technical and rational thesis

districts in which nobody would go

to if not strictly necessary; our cities

in architecture and science. As

are inaccessible, plagued by car

result of this, we came up with a

dependency...

paradigm in which the complexity

All those places in which people

was confused with anarchy while

underused,

forgotten slums

perceived

rationalism

and

modernism

don’t want to go, don’t want to live, don’t want to stand, will keep facing a dramatic process of degrade: they are becoming places that are not worth to care about. In many cases those places are the result of approaches to public realm design which didn’t take into account how really people spontaneously and

order. By trying to use a simple equation to operate in the city and reduce its apparent disorder into few simple rules, we cut off what makes a city a city: life. And life is not simple.

informally would tend to use it, to

Our cities need us to take care of

adapt it to their needs. Sadly urban

the complex amount of relations

design and architecture became

and interrelations, of wishes and

desires, of fears and hopes of all the

techniques for the analysis of spatial

people using it, living in it. We have to be aware of the mistakes

to help planners and architects to

of the past and be responsible for

evaluate the social repercussion of

every future step, now more than

morphological changes.

anytime.

This system traces its origins from

We have to protect the heritage

the Social Network Analysis. This

our

branch of study is based on the

environment carries on at any level.

idea that social relations function

life

and

diversity

that

as networks, where people are connected to one another by agents or nodes. Managing Complexity

When it comes to unplanned cities

In the latest decade the concept

(those that Christopher Alexander

of city has been associated to the

would call Natural Cities), strong

one of living organism.

similarities to the urban sciences

The thousands and thousands of

interdependences

present

in any city reveal a complexity which

far

beyond

any

imagination.

can be acknowledged as similar is the level of complexity, multicentrality and multi-connectivity. Our cities then act as the tangled system of social relations we

The odds are, when we say that

entertain everyday.

a city is complex, what we are

Thinking to trace the system of our

picturing in our mind is quite

friendships, our family ties, from the

ordinary indeed.

most direct and to the more distant

Very often complexity manifests

and mediated, we would get a plot

itself in simple and elegant way.

in fact very similar to the pattern of

Perhaps the image of ordinariness

a city, with its squares and streets.

comes from the fact that we

Nothing

can not perceive any direct and

Alexander had already realized

immediate relationship or maybe

that the problem in dealing with city

the reason is the opposite, that the

planning was the constant attempt

structure of traditional cities, is not

to track an order simple and easy

so different from the system of social

to understand, concluding that

relationships we form in relating to

if the order is too obvious, too

new:

Christopher

other individuals. Embracing

this

second

theory,

exact opposite of simplicity: you

we recall one of the most used

recognize rigid schemes, hardly

tools in the interpretation of the

adaptable,

city, seen as a network, namely

which do not create empathy or

Space Syntax, a set of theories and

belonging.

not

customizable,

In this page: From “A city is not a

methaphore He uses this mathematical the value of higher

compares a semi-

and the part of cities deliberately created by designers (the

the difference cities arisen more or less spontaneously over many years

recognising some missing characters

With this

Such parts of cities can easily be

induced by the Modern Movement,

noticed and distinguished as we

which saw in straight geometries and regularity, a way to combine

we seem to understand them at

order, with

cleanliness productive

and

hygiene

economy

and

makes the problem even more

technical development gradually

obvious.

made us forget how to deal with

The cities that we love and in which we live in, we do not understand them on a conscious level, we internalize

this apparently chaotic but in fact spontaneous world, with the illusion of bringing order where order was not present.

them unconsciously.

The complexity of the city is by no means a spontaneous chaos

Less obvious is the order, the more

as opposite to order.

close we are to what it might be called their natural way of being.

It is in Jane Jacobs’

Not

chance

all

the

main

organized

term, it

complexity,

comparisons used to study and

characterised

analyse cities from different points

quality.

of view are characterized by self-

Most

organization and unpredictability,

areas are more dull and straight

typical

natural,

in terms of their form and less

technological as well as chemical

resilient and malleable to change.

and biological systems, but also

Planned

of sexual relations, economic or

reduce of thousands of times the

cultural and even linguistic systems.

organizational

So,

possibilities

the

features

collective

“hangover”

recent

structural

planned

portions and for

urban

cities,

evolutionary adaptability

Opposite page: some cities around

organic forms

the difference

geometries of the areas planned instead is more

and unplanned

From the top: Brasilia, a planned area of the Pilot Plan; Venice, a portion of San Marco’s Sestiere; Historic core ofdi

Seville, Feria-San Julian areas; Chandigarh, parte dei settori 8,9,17 e 18; Paris, 9th arrondissement (Opèra).

compared to their counterpart,

or Amsterdam: Can you recognise

the “unplanned” parts, as their

areas in which the traditional city

functioning is dictated by a much

works that way? Could you ever

schematic and static set of rules.

imagine to completely separate

This have had extremely strong

a portion of it from its surroundings

implications

perception

and place it somewhere else as it is?

of users and inhabitants. They

Isn’t it much easier to do the same

appear

with a housing estate built in the

the

intrinsically

sterile

and

XX century? They are not complex administrative bodies to adopt

enough, are not integrated and

appropriate strategies to improve their conditions.

in a tissue, they are foreign bodies

We must understand that the ability

and, as being so, they tend to be

to adapt to the macroscopic level

discarded or to infect what they

in response to changes on a large

have around them.

scale and on a microscopic level

But this stiffness has other negative

is a phenomenon which again is

effect.

linked to the conception of the city

Very often they are unable to be

as a complex organism.

thought of as part of systems which,

This should lead us to see any

prior to their existence, and had a

planning intervention with the same

balance of structured relations.

principle by which you look at a

When a new project is put in and existing urban fabric, it will not

to the microscope. After seeing it

only affect it(whether in a good

as a whole you can appreciate its

or bad way) right after, but it will

fractal structure, the order within the order.

in the future.

All leaves are similar. They never

If this is not taken into account and

change in their structure, they

if the project is not careful in its

continuously adjusts the physical

insertion and generous in adapting

form in response to environment

and change over time it will only be

and external contingencies.

a sort of alien implant. And in our

How

many

contemporary

cities are more and more.

interventions act as sealed and

Not surprisingly, the majority of

separate entity? unable to change

business and residential projects

but above all incapable of being

are designed to operate within

intermediate points between a

themselves. Architects spend days

higher and lower complex order.

and days to plan in detail the system

They stand there, monads, mute to the world around them. Try to think

best manage privacy, lighting of

of Venice, an area of old Florence

spaces, nice green areas, and do

In this page: The infamous Red -

as the solution to a

body everything Cpmpleted in 1969

the ultimate in modern commu-

in the North - East Road came to em-

not pay enough attention to what

alienation and

highest residential

problems from

and provided homes to almost

designed to pro-

very different from each other,

is immediately outside and around. This happens because managing internal complexity is much more easy to control that managing external complexity. This reminds us once again the thesis of Alexander, when he described the difference between the city seen as a tree, and the city seen as a semi-lattice. And many housing estates of the XX Century are trees.

A healthy city can embrace and make productive use of the differences of class, ethnicity, and lifestyles it contains, while a sick city can not. Sick cities isolate and segregates difference, drawing no collective strength from its mixture of different people and uses.

If they would try to really connect with what is outside, they would realize that the distinction between the project and the city surrounding it will disappear. A project that really works, once completed should give the idea of having always been there, as part of the intricate puzzle of streets, facades, doors, windows, parking lots, sidewalks, girls with ice cream, cyclists and grocery stores. Traditional cities can support and take full advantage of the coexistence of elements which are

Learning from the city This journey starts almost 50 years ago, but it has its roots nearly a century earlier. During the industrial revolution something began to get lost, that by the end of the Second World War was entirely forgotten. In particular after World War II automobile was getting cheaper everywhere

and

thanking

municipal zoning, urban growth was shifting out of the compact cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

boundaries,

incentiving

In this page: neighborhood outside the older

a strong policy of and culturally thousands of Americans lived in

society: namely and protective

Levitt brothes built

proliferation of middle-class single-

were soughing to put a remedy

family detached-houses in low-

to the unstoppable trend that

density suburbs. Consequently the

was destroying the liveability of

chaotic city became the place

neighbourhoods

where it was better not to spend

entire communities.

too much time and the relaxing and quite low density sprawl was preferred. Together with the extension of zoning, the segregation and social inequity were keep growing, as well as car dependency and increasing

and

deleting

How was it possible to have lost

the

ability

properly

design our cities and to get the same dynamism and vitality acknowledged their traditional cores? How could we not realize that we

automobile

suburban

and

were killing in the cradle innovative

even

economies by creating unnatural

congestion

sprawl

were,

then, the two most visible features

business

growth,

Why do we seemed not to be

social

able to create more effective and

this

their

unbalanced

consequences

segregation and inequity and the

and

housing

estates?

successful places?

loss of the cultural and historical heritage of neighbourhoods and

manifesting the strongest criticism

cities,

and dissatisfaction for the actual

discontent: the situation of the great

situation were those of extraordinary

cities was untenable. Suburbia and

personalities such as Jane Jacobs,

Futurama had to be reformed, as

Christopher Alexander, Kevin Lynch,

soon as possible.

in the USA and Gordon Cullen in

Many movements during the 60s

the UK.

triggered

the

spring

Their criticism toward that kind of

aggregation and mix of activities in

urbanism and architecture that had

the public realm.

led to sprawl, car-dependency and

Inspired by Jane Jacob’s “Death

land erosion was based on the two

and Life of Great American Cities”, published in 1965 and by Kevin

and Ebenizer Howard and on the

Lynch’s “Good city form” and

typological models of high rise

“The Image of the City” (1959 and

towers-in-the-park ad low density

1960), a wide range of movements

decentralised suburbanisation of

started to rise from the 60s in the

residential. They accused them

USA aimed to reform the very core

of the urban design discipline and

deeply

anti-urban

and

anti-social, and to be guilty to have lead squares and streets to premature death as stages of social

practice.

Opposite page: becoming a this unincorporated master-planned community is one

The fact that

America designed on the principles

location of the movie The Truman

that its features set of principles of good form for the different human In this page:

The New Urbanism

vicinities (from 400 to 800 metres)

Amongst them, one of the most

of major transit stops. Furthermore, New

Urbanism, a movement promoting

its

the

Smart

revival

the

ancient

Urbanism

ideology,

incorporates

the

Growth

paradigm

and

in of

Traditional

but lost art of making places

Neighbourhood

Planning,

encouraging walkable, mixed-use

are used synergistically to achieve

neighbourhoods in healthier and

greater

safer living conditions, supporting

sustainability.

the use of a range of housing types

The New Urbanism consists of various

facilitating interactions between

independent groups of which the

individuals and public realm.

most active is the Congress of New

urban

liveability

which and

From the beginning of 80s it took place in a decisive way, making

founded in 1993.

the difference between municipal

In the Charter of the New Urbanism,

strategies on land uses and real

a manifesto divided into several

estate. It is inspired by the 1928â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

points, the purpose of this movement

New

is claimed. It is divided into three

Pedestrianism

and

Transit

Oriented Development (TOD).

sections, each of which lists the nine-point strategy to deliver better

pedestrian at the heart of all

places. The three sections focus on

considerations about the design of

three main themes:

the neighbourhood by focusing on discouraging private vehicle and

The region: metropolis, city and

promoting transit ridership, locating

town

higher density and provision of

The neighbourhood, the district,

public services in the walkable

and the corridor

The block, the building and the

individual initiative of single land

streets

owners

persuaded

portions

their

develop

undeveloped

For each of these themes, a set

land following principles of higher

of design rules and behaviours is

liveability and urbanity, ignoring

promoted or discouraged.

the compelling issue of vacant

At every scale, from the wider to

and under-used land across denser

the most detailed, New Urbanists

central areas and suburbs. This led to the accusation of not

supporting

context-appropriate

being effectively stopping cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

architecture and a more balanced

erosion.

development

affordable

Secondly, very often they are much

housing supply trying to increase

more similar to vast speculative

capitalistic

operations

rather

congestion by encouraging public

than having a social purpose. As

transport while promoting higher

they are originated from private

density and more walkable and

initiative, they risk of turning into big

compact urban blocks.

marketing operations.

This movement has taken hold in

Usually they are top-down plans

the United States and incorporated

designed

many elements of the sustainability

community

agenda referring to the international

window-dressing

debate on the issues related to the

consensus.

city.

The suspect is that beside appealing

Although

led

improvements

raising

incredible

all-in-once

using

participation to

achieve

slogans and friendly faces, they

general

awareness on the urban problem,

working classes neighbourhoods,

the New Urbanism was over the

something

past decades subjected to harsh

marketing operation rather than

criticism and had to take note of

some failures in the concretisation

strategy.

of its ideals.

On a third level, since, as we already

Firstly, the vast majority of New

mentioned, they are the result of

Urbanist interventions tend to erode

investments whose purpose is to

holistic

closer and

clever

comprehensive

make money, residential units are much more expensive on the real edge of the expanding city, out of

estate market compared to the

the context of urban peripheries,

normal houses.

In the absence of public policy

landscape

initiatives there is no way to ensure

doing

undeveloped

contributing

consumption.

access to housing and urban

This happens as it is based on the

facilities to all income classes. From

In this page:

social dynamics in urban areas and

are fundamental references for

and promote

approach urban

are leading factors shaping the urban

research of Jan ideas embodied in the theories of on the theme of

in all its forms and social dynamics

this point of view, New Urbanism

Making places

is accused of producing social

By the merits and mistakes of the US New Urbanism, a parallel branch

Finally,

New

has evolved in Europe, particularly

general

in the UK, under the name of Making

failure of policies to encourage the

Places. It is contributing to drive the

use of public transport.

growth of many British cities and is

Not being focused on public transit

yielding results highly appreciated

as the TOD, they fail to ensure

by the international community,

Urbanism

recorded

projects

the

offering solutions acclaimed by the support wider investments on the

public. With the New Urbanism, Making

most of their ordinary needs. the

Places shares similar origins and

new

have

motivations: starting from the ane

to recur to private car with no

Jacobs and Kevin Lynchâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s criticism,

substantial difference from what

and following the advices by Oscar

happens to normal neighbours,

Newman, Donald Appleyard and

and

new

Allan Jacobs, it want to respond

urbanistsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; expectations in terms

to the catastrophic outcomes of

of mass transit riding. This is due to

nearly a century of modernism in

urbanist

without

neighbours

living

urban planning. and to the prevalent location in

Making-places practitioners share

areas of margin, hardly accessible

the belief that the deeper sense of

otherwise.

planning is to design so as urban spaces can turn into urban places, meaning that they have to embody a true unique identity perceivable

by inhabitants and users.

cheaper to run, easier to maintain

This identity is to be achieved by

and more appealing investments.

design but it is by no means limited

Making-places

to this aspect: particular focus is

production of more democratic

therefore given to the community-

urban

based social factor.

social

and

The very heart of making places is

study

the neighbourhood dimension and

and participated community-led

its scope is to achieve social well-

design, shifting the decision-making

being that must be pursuit with the

process from central authorities to

wider instruments of urban design

local communities.

promotes

environment affordable

community

the

through housing, dynamics

One of the main strengths of Placearchitecture and street design. The

informing

principle

Making is that all its interventions that

mainly involve cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s inner areas,

good quality places are usually

where the disposal of the ex-

Opposite page: because the streets accotring to Jan Gehl should not be

It should be a city

people should be

scenario can in fact be achieved by a holistic vision that put people and their lives as the most important

industrial clusters from the Industrial

research at the Urban Design

Revolution, has left large areas in

Studies Unit directly informing the

decline or completely abandoned

work presented in this report.

as a result of the process of deindustrialisation. For Making-places initiatives denser

The Urban Task Force

areas are more suitable and this

The Urban Task Force is an institution

allows

founded in 1998 that, under the

the

unbuilt

preserve

untouched

landscape

outside

direction of the UK Goverment,

the city, revitalising and making attractive portions of the existing

urban decline and brindle future

city, increasing jobs and service

trends for the following decades

provision. With respect of New

by the formulating strategies and

Urbanism, the social and sustainable

visions for the future.

ideology stands out more. very strong risk but targeted urban policies

inspired

the

social

nature of the project can help not to lose sight of the goal of involving all income classes and provide affordable houses. Another risk is not to respect the very identity of a place and create projects that end up upsetting its deeper nature and character. But again, this is mainly a practical and not methodological issue and it can be avoided by prompting solutions. The excellent premises of Making branches, including investigations carried out by the Urban Task Force led by Richard Rogers and that of Plot-Based Urbanism and Urban Seeding actively studied at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow. focus on the second as it represents the very heart of the extensive

This institution promoted and became

the

herald

unprecedented

support

an for

good urban design. Its studies, analysis and evaluations have been eventually collected in the essay “Towards a Urban Renaissance”, published in 1999. This set of guidelines focuses on the different aspects of urban living, addressing to new strategies for a new “renaissance”. Although it shares many aspects with Making Places theories and it is of Jane Jacobs’ and Christopher Alexander’s

observations,

its

character is much more practical. Even for the Urban Task Force, the ideal model is the traditional city, or rather the well-designed, fairly dense and compact urban fabric, able to support a thriving mix of balanced and compatible uses in a sustainable environment widely connected

public

transport

Opposite page: An integrated spatial masterplan requires an integrated design

the idea that different disciplines and spheres of interest must interact and cooperate in order to deliver a successful urban

and adaptable to change over

in the urban project. Among all,

time. However, in addition to idyllic theoretical principles a number

reported the most positive and

of must-do is listed, ranging from

encouraging feedback. Social Well-being of has been

issues.

mostly

Once again the key-element is

physical growth and the idea

the

that a high quality city would

neighbourhood

meant

associated

the place of interaction of local

upgrade

also

communities with the public realm.

conditions.

The

Assuming that a high quality of

vacant

urban

environment

and

with

the

population recovery

derelict

areas

naturally

encourages more intensive uses, it

and the allocation of a special

is all about understanding how to

fund, are two of the most

achieve this through planning and

widely applied solutions that

policies.

have yielded good results in

The

Urban

Task

Force

focuses

many cities in England and

on four main themes of action,

Scotland,

covering

Manchester,

four

main

goals

including York,

London Liverpool,

achieve to deliver better places e

Glasgow and Edinburgh. Great

and regenerate the cities we live in:

focus has been devoted to the

Design Excellence deals with all

problem of unemployment and

matters related to the physical

economic inactivity as well as

design

security and education.

urban

space.

addresses the issue of building

Environmental

design, public transport and

The UTF also dealt with themes

infrastructure, relevant public

dictated by the sustainability

buildings

agenda, such as water and

and

facilities.

responsibility:

air pollution, carbon emissions the UTF set up a new line of

buildings,

ecological

experimentation and are now

footprint

widely accepted and applied

shortage. The attitude was to

also outside the British context.

encourage

and

resource

implementation

A range of key-design principle are conveyed through land

low

environmental

use planning and service and

recurring to pedestrian oriented

facilities distribution, including

policies

issues related to the public

accessibility, for a substantial

and

impact, promoting

increase of walking, cycling action of public interest and

and use of public transport

promoting design competitions

coupled

as tool to achieve excellence

reduction in parking provision

with

consistent

and a rising in their cost within

the 10 years it was operative,

the urban areas. Meanwhile

providing the guidelines for design

targets have been set for the

action

reduction of emissions. A new

process, leading to hopes for

regulation was suggested to

positive change leaving plenty of

make it more attractive for

room for optimism. The guide value

and

decision

making

investors to promote recovery Reinassanceâ&#x20AC;? was recognised far beyond the british setting and was largely used as a support to urban Fiscal and legal framework: a

action, stimulating new studies

set of rules and practices have

and opening to new horizons for achieving the reclaiming of our

the indications into practical

cities.

action. Through a system of public

funding

decisive

boost for regeneration projects

Plot Based Urbanism and Urban Seeding

key pieces in the action on

Plot based urbanism and Urban

urban areas and fundamental

seeding are a set of theories and

priorities of the government

an operative methodology to deal

authorities.

with challenges posed by our cities

The UTF suggest a renovation in the

lasting places able to support and

set of current laws, introducing new

take advantage of the endless

incentives and new

change

taxation to

every

city

involve developers, investor, stake

continuously face

holders, landlord and tenants in

in each step of its

the regeneration process, while

evolution.

simplifying the licensing system for

The

remediation

Based Urbanism is that all those

process on site. This

basic

assumption

Plot

comprehensive

places seemingly to work and

and

that immediately hit on us when

articulated work

we experience them, share a high

led to a wide

degree of self-organisation.

body of research

Christopher

and

already

promoted

Alexander recognized

had and

many projects

expressed in his â&#x20AC;&#x153;A city is not a treeâ&#x20AC;?

across UK

that a higher level of

i n

urban

complexity

tended

emerge

in all those places showing this

regenerative

character.

the Plot-Based Urbanism tries to

Anyway when referring at self-

rediscover

organisation we do not mean not-

determining it. It traces back the

planned areas nor it is possible to

principles of planning mastered

believe that to achieve the same

effect you have to simply see

victorian surveyors that made it

the effects of juxtapositions and

possible for buildings and squares

the

medieval,

mechanism basic

and

elements

renaissance

and

additions of individual projects. Self-organisation must be intended

seemingly natural built environment

as the capacity that some portions

in spite of changing of time.

of a city have had across centuries

Plot-Base Urbanism is a new and

of evolution to respond to the most

d e e p e r

varies and

conditions to

reinvent

continuously. What we lost is the ability, o n c e

interpretation of processes that

districts.

shape our cities studying its directly

If the Plot Based Urbanism sets the

experienceable morphology.

spatial

It is both a reading of the city, seen

adaptability and diversity, Urban

as set of mutual relations between

Seeding is the methodology that

basic elements and a process that

supports the process of change

leads to a more conscious design

over time, allowing the structure

of places.

to adapt to social, economic and

setting

the

right

structure

that

promotes

demographic needs, providing the

it is possible to foster the reappropriation of urban spaces, so

through strategic and catalytic

as to be turned into

interventions.

imageable

places made of interesting vibrant streets,

neighbourhoods

and

Together, these two aspects can be

Opposite page: from conventional urbanism to the current Place

approach (the ‘Sustainable compact and the need for a deeper shift time-conscious

and Romice as the methodology and practice of “making-places

adaptation mechanism of plots

made time-conscious.”

regeneration over time, you can

Compared to Making-Places, when referring to Urban Seeding the

temporal

perspective

crucial.

regain the capacity lost after decades of decline, to establish a conversation with the existing city without upsetting its balance with unnatural insertions.

The choice of the term “seeding” to describe this new branch of urban

plot

design is precisely to bear witness

shape,

geometry

and

density can lead to units able to

to the contention that the project

stand consistent alterations and

has not only the duty to take

regenerate over time.

action as a response to a present need, but it also has to be able to

Though the plot is the smallest and

control, manage and assist future

most essential brick featuring the

development and direct it towards

ordinary urban fabrics, according

desirable outcomes.

Rather than focalising on the

elements playing a role in the urban

form of the urban project, it is the

dynamics are many and they gain

transformation process that really

more and more importance if

matters. For this reason all the

considered in the system of relations

Plot-Based

Urbanism,

the

they entertain one another. future and determine changes, like

The relations of the plot with street

formal and informal participation,

and centrality, the organization of

control and ownership, adaptation

a sequence of plots in fronts and

over time are taken into account.

then in blocks are the favourite

Plot Based Urbanism and Urban

objects

Seeding

value

means that it is on the relational

of the fundamental role of the

dynamics between these elements

plot as a basic element in the

which relies balance of the whole.

articulation of urban morphology,

We will now report the description

in all its complexity and diversity,

of constitutive elements of PBU

setting the very basis of the spatial

made by Porta e Romice in the

structure of the ordinary urban

article

fabrics and the conditions for its

Towards

evolution.

Place Making”:

recognize

the

investigation.

“Plot-Based

Which

Urbanism:

Time-Consciousness

PLOT. A plot is a fenced portion of land that is entirely accessible from the public

may be split into small plot without necessarily subdividing the property of the land. In all such cases, plots are to be interpreted as the ultimate units of development.

STREET. A street is a mostly open space that is publicly accessed and establishes a functional, visual and spatial link with private domains, i.e. plots, by which it is different magnitude happening at different pace. Streets tend to be the most permanent elements of all, imposing conditions to the fabric that sits on them. Streets are highly loaded with character and changing in type, meaning and value whilst penetrating the city. When allowed, they establish a functional and formal relationship with such fabric in terms of fundamental factors like density, land-use, size and geometry and accessibility of plots. Such relationships are mainly the product of the evolution of the fabric in time, being selected according to factor that constitutes the link between street and plot is centrality. CENTRALITY. Centrality is here intended as a particular character attached to streets by their geometry (i.e. length) and topology (i.e. the way they are connected to each other). Work conducted in UDSU (Porta, Crucitti, & Latora, 2006) (Porta, Latora, Wang, & Scellato, 2009) as well as elsewhere (Hillier & Hanson, 1984) (Hillier, 1996) grounded way. Subsequent work is studying the formal relationships between streets and frontages to understand patterns of change of the latter inrelation to change in the former. Studies in this line of research are beginning raising evidence on these key-relationship and, though there is a long way to go before these factors are i.e. urban morphology, and therefore likely to develop relatively quickly. STREET FRONT. Street fronts are the formation of plots facing on a street. They are the key components of urban blocks, yet their relation to streets is, in history, more direct and important. If a street fronts can adapt to a streetâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s character over time it makes it more versatile; if on the other hand it is linked to a whole block, its capacity to change and adapt is restricted, its lifespan shortened, with implications on character and quality of life. Street fronts are made of plots; and yet again, plots have followed in time markets and density adapting in size to the nature of the

BLOCK by streets, whose components are street fronts. We intend the urban block as a complex rather than a uniform element. Its character may vary a lot on each street front depending on the type of streets it faces upon. An ordinary urban blocks exhibits four street fronts, because it normally sits on four streets. Because streets generally possess different â&#x20AC;&#x153;importanceâ&#x20AC;? (main, local, secondary...) depending on This is due, again, by the evolutionary character of the ordinary urban fabric: its formation is led by streets developing in time from the most to the less central, a process which is accompanied by the subdivision of adjacent land in plots and therefore the constructions of street fronts. Urban blocks are the result of this stepped process, not its constituent unit: they are formed by the completion of this cycle of formation when it reaches the point where four streets close up in a loop and their street fronts get consequently developed. Planning strategies, especially those related with coding, should acknowledge this peculiar process by assuming that the unit of analysis and coding is the street front, rather than the block.

These basic elements have been

world, witnessing different heritage,

thoroughly

habits and customs and over

studied

and

their

different historical evolutive stages. in different cities spread all over the

Plots, streets, centrality, street-fronts

and blocks have been described

based

analysis,

recording

and initial assumptions were plenty

differences but mainly similarities, proving the permanence of some characters across time and space

organising principle recurring in all

in the formation of plot-based

the analysed cases, useful to guide

urban fabric.

further design action.

Following, this set of considerations

It is important to notice that those

is quoted from the Porta and

principles are not dictated by

Romice’s

abstract theoretical consideration

Urbanism:

but rather by attentive evidence-

Consciousness in Place Making”:

article

“Plot-Based

Towards

Time-

SMALL PLOTS. Small plots are essential. Small plots are ubiquitously present across all cases allowing a vital city to emerge and grow at any time in history. Of course plots can and must vary in size and geometry, but they can’t exceed either way beyond (indeed they are really necessary in very few cases) but they are lethal to ordinary urban spaces: because they don’t afford change in time, theyare conducive to rigid patterns of use that are inappropriate for ordinary uses. Small plots, however, Large properties can (and should) be subdivided in many small plots in order to disjointed development. PLOT-STREET RELATIONSHIP. The essential engine of urban fabric evolution in time is the relationship that links plots and streets. In practice this means three fundamental things. First: a development should never be designed block by block, but rather street front by street front. As a consequence, guiding parameters (i.e. codes) should be about setting conditions of street fronts, not of blocks. Streef fronts hence should be taken as the coding units of a new generation of formbased codes. Second: density, size, geometry and uses of a plot are largely dependent on street centrality. Therefore, understanding and managing street centrality is key, while planning a city, to drive its informal evolution. Third: wherever density grows beyond the minimal threshold, say around 2030 units per hectare (gross), street fronts are built directly on street without which are the constituent part of any dense, compact urban fabric. Blocks are nevertheless to be intended as functionally and formally linked aggregation of and must be investigated locally, but the link in itself is essential everywhere. 400-MTS RULE. presented in 2009 at CNU17 congress in Denver, USA, and then exposed in a detailed position paper the successive year (Mehaffy, Porta, Rof, & Salingaros, global communication between urban areas, linking local places with their wider spatial, economic and social context. In small villages and towns “main streets” are those that head out of the urban precinct towards adjacent villages and towns and further on to the larger regional space. Within cities, “main streets” are those city’s fabric. The evolution of cities, during the phases of growth, has always been about generating less central streets from the more central, or “main”, followed by

the gradual allotment and construction of the new street fronts on both sides. Major special urban functions like theatres, arenas, hospitals, city halls, libraries etc are preferentially placed at “main streets”’ crossings; ordinary functions like locations, but they may spill-off to residential districts along the more central of their service streets, or “local main streets”. “Main streets” are always the most central, and their crossings are usually 300-500mts apart, so that we have termed this fundamental feature of traditional urbanism the “400-mts rule”. Recent work conducted at UDSU, University of Strathclyde in the form of an Atlas as part of rule appears to inform all cities – both planned and self-organized – until the emergence of professional theories of Urban Design in late XIXth and early XXth centuries (Baird, Feeley, Russell, & Wong, 2010). Implications of the 400-mts rule for the theory and practice of Urban Design are many. One major implication is that we should not consider neighborhoods as geographic entities anymore, and that basing our urban models on circles of 400 mts of radius on the assumption that they represent neighborhoods, a never questioned norm of professional theories of Urban Design since Clarence Perry to the latest New Urbanist schemes, means throwing cities in the hyperspace of a lethal out of scale. DISJOINTED DEVELOPMENT. The potential of small plots to enable change and diversity gets inhibited if these are not controlled by different subjects. It is the diversity of subjects who exert control over small plots that enables change. disjointed development is a process of spatial structure creation that subjects small plots to developmental paths that are autonomous from each other, though possibly under a shared agreement on basic principles. That autonomy may be expressed in different terms from case to case, including diversity of developers, owners, renters, and designers. Though disjointed development applies to the process of land development or regeneration at the design/ creation phase, its consequences are all projected into the phase of post-design, enacting the dynamic of diversity emergence and informal participation that stands at the heart of plot-based, traditional urbanism. In other words, small plots must be coupled with disjointed development, i.e. plot control assigned plot-by-plot to different subjects, in order for informal change to start and keep happening. In this sense, disjointed development is the reverse of conventional “instant city” dynamics, which are based on making it as big as it can possibly be to take advantage of economies of scale. On the other hand, increasingly

instability and economical downturn. If the basis of evidence on pros and cons research, nevertheless this principle appears to be crucial in terms of urban form and sociability of places.

This

and

other

studies

carried

University

Strathclyde

and

out on the themes of Plot Based

have been tested out throughout

Urbanism

Seeding

the years through an education

in order to understand possible

programme attended by students

and

Urban

coming from the most different outcomes have been the subject

backgrounds.

of a thorough research at the

Realizing the importance of these

Urban

assumptions has revealed once

Design

Studies

Unit

again that the existing framework of the discipline of urban design is not able to respond appropriately with his current instruments. Therefore

methodological

break down. Our

world

changes

incredible rate, tools that were used as they are today.

been developed for it and have

They are gauged to respond to

provided very positive outcomes

the necessities of a world which is

and encouraged further research

radically different from the world

to come in future years.

we all live in. The

toolset

needs

recalibrated and upgraded to The dawn of a new methodological

be more appropriate to manage

paradigm

this

So far we dealt with complexity,

Professionals need to understand

as something we need to deeply

in a new way problems and

understand order to act responsibly

requirements

as architects and urban designers.

and identify effective calibrated

However, despite this necessity

solutions that should rely more

has been widely recognized, there

upon incremental processes and

are only few proven strategies to

local interventions, and less upon

systematically address to urban

large-scale remediation.

challenges, and today more than

It is widely accepted that in

ever, new skills are required.

forming the coming generations

Often these do not exist or even

of urban designers and architects,

more often they are out-of-date.

it is crucial to develop new and

extraordinary

pressure.

development

There is a need to train professionals able to perform effective project-

contextual

real-time

based research, with the explicit

based research.

aim of giving an answer to the

This has been fully understood

challenges of our contemporary

by the tutors of the University of

society.

Strathclyde which, through several

Urban theories adopted in the

years and in collaboration with

last century led us to the current

other

situation, justifying the creation in

practitioners across the UK, and

our cities of all those â&#x20AC;&#x153;monstersâ&#x20AC;?

in close contact with the Local

we all are sadly familiar with, but

Authorities created a methodology

at the same time they gifted us

for teaching urban design that

with a an impressive and rich

gives

variety of tools and insights that we

research skills, while at the same

always have to keep in mind and

time contributing to an ongoing

from which we would better not to

professional research agenda.

universities,

students

project-

foundations,

project-based

The creation of this method stems from the awareness that urban design professionals are asked to face unprecedented challenges, which involve human habitat, economic pressure, immigration, and environmental alarm. The current structure of the practice of Urban Design has been severely criticized, as often self-referential, lacking of a framework appropriate for todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s development scenarios. This discipline, dealing with a wide range of different problems and having to face pressures from learned

how

integrate

the

different knowledges. Instead it was accused, often with good reason, not to be able to combine basic disciplines like sociology,

geography,

politics,

economics, psychology and, in many cases, architecture itself. In

response

the

current

sustainability agenda, driven by a new wave of enthusiasm for the topics of liveable city and guided by examples of best practices, in recent years, enormous advances have been made. Yet the discipline lacks a robust theoretical framework research. Already in the 60s Jane Jacobsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s observations concerning the deeper nature of urban environment and its intrinsic vitality brought to light this issue. Inspired

her

analysis

and

embedding Kevin Lynchâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s research

Opposite page: To operate in the urban environment a level of understanding that is beyond the footprint individual buildings

paradigm based on an inclusive and olistic approach have to be a basic element in dealing

on individualâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s experience in the

sustainable,

lively

and

city and in the acquisition process of

urban environment.

collective mental images, guided

What will be presented is a vision-

by the studies on the organizational

based

and relational complexity of the

masterplanning studied in the past

urban fabric, in opposition with

year and in the previous two to act

thorough

thriving

approach

in the urban areas of the compact city of the XXth Century described by

Christopher

Alexander

and

outcomes is long and complex

stimulated by Network Analysis,

and required combined efforts of

New Urbanism and Place Making,

entire classes of students at a high

theoretical basis was built. The

level of their training from different

name of this new practice is Urban Seeding an operational practice

knowledge and skills, as also by

that allows to act in the spatial

tutors which spent their energies for

structure of Plot-Based Urbanism,

creating the tools and the theories

actively

tested with this method.

developed

inside

the

Urban Design Studies Unit (UDSU) and whose hypotheses have been

Personally I was lucky enough to be

tested during the Urban Design

a small piece in this great project.

Studio with students.

I had the chance to catch the importance the

of need

multidisciplinarity

Every year, for the last four years, this

and

for

reliable

body of theories was implemented

framework of knowledge, based

and enriched within the MSC in Urban Design led by Ombretta

analysis.

Romice and Sergio Porta within the

Now

University of Strathclyde and the

necessary to understand that a a

UDSU team, always supported by

multidisciplinary

the enthusiasm of all its students.

approach oriented towards the

than and

ever

multi-scale

future is an essential element in In the following pages will be

the creation of a credible plan,

retraced a toilsome journey, which

sustainable and healthy for people

for many years has kept a team

and their environment.

of professors and students from different including

European the

Universities,

Polytechnic

University, University of Strathclyde and

many

others,

conceived

to move closer to the design approach aiming to deliver a more

Opposite page: Students from the MSC in Urban Design, from the Fifth year of the Postgraduate Course in Advanced

Architecture, Exchange Students, UDSUâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s team of professors and tutors, visiting professors, the studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; works and moments of sharing

experienced throughout a year ... it all was the tale of a year long experience.

By embedding UDSU research activity into teaching, a group of postgraduate students were involved in the application of the new methodology and strategy. This choice was made to test the assumptions made and at the same time to gather ideas generated by students themselves, in a Project-Based Learning format. This choice has provided and development. Involved students attending the Master in Urban Design and the Fifth Year Students of the Postgraduate Course in Advanced Architecture at the University of Strathclyde worked in group for a whole year. In particular, the MSC in Urban Design is an educational program which covers a wide set of disciplines and offers to students coming from different backgrounds, such as planning, engineering, sociology, biology and geography, the opportunity to be involved in a project-based experience that will provide them with tools to operate in the existing city delivering

same time, they will be the sounding board for the theoretical framework. Furthermore, every year students from Exchange Programs coming from different Universities across and outside Europe join the program. The wide variety of backgrounds and skills is one of the backbones of this educational project: for example, some students selected to join the MSC tools that for san architecture and urban design student are acquired with their training.

The Urban Design Studio Porta and Romice

But, as I said, this is not a weakness

social and economic processes

but a strength: through teamwork and mutual student-student and teacher-student

learning,

current state, to promote a socially

each

Students are active in the research

environmentally sustainable.

process and this is very thrilling

At the conclusion of the Urban

and

Design

challenging.

Their

aim

Studio,

methodology

the is

framework

assessed

and

at the Studio and theoretical tools response to a real-world project scenario are given immediately. The inspiring principles and the applicable in many other contexts, far out of the educational and teaching context. They

are

introduced

contemporary urban planning and design as an incremental and time-

Students

and

their

projects

are the real feedback to the theoretical model and teaching methodologies. At the same time students will environment

and

the

constant

availability and relentless support of the staff. The learning experience has a

conscious approach. Designers encouraged

tomorrow to

know

are more

intimately the area they will design in, they will study in detail urban morphology,

its

evolution,

the

based

approach

dealing

with present issues in the urban debate

and

contemporary

society, secondly they become

Opposite page: A student is

In this page detail is achieved

assess students and Design Studio students discussing

comprehensive spatial project for the development

as the Courseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s outputs and

to the very streef fronts and public

key elements in carrying on the

feedback: if they can be used by

research on a wider context, as tester and judges of the method.

methodology created is designed

All work carried out during the

to be used both by practitioners

previous years has been published

and local governments and non

on the website http://www.udsu-

professionals, then we are in the

strath.com/. Individual projects are

right direction.

freely available. The intention is

The feedback they generate as

to make use of this experiment to provide learning opportunities to all

and further development of the

interested parties. The website will

theoretical model.

be continuously updated with the latest achievements and work of

There are three kind of tools:

students, teachers and researchers.

t tools for the structural analysis of the urban fabric, its spaces and measures

t tools for the structural analysis

Toolset In many cases students are asked

of the city and its network in

to respond in a relatively short time

terms

to tight deadlines and to deal with

centralities

very complex issues, they have

connections

and

t tools for the understanding

never approached before.

and design of the essential

That is why they are equipped with

underlying ordinary structure of places.

Making the tools provided intuitive and accessible to a wide variety

A characteristic feature of the

MSC is the tight bond with the

users,

provides

indirect

City Council of Glasgow and in partnership with local stakeholders. This,

recent

years,

allowed

students to set their headquarter outside the University and located in the study area. Thus,

students

deepen

the

bond with the project area and literally lived in it, keeping local communities actively involved in decisions that might interest their neighbourhoods.

Step by step The Urban Design Studio project theme is evaluated at the beginning of each year by tutors.Typically the study area embraces a span of the city to be covered with in-depth analyses, on which to develop longterm scenarios (a 25 years from the current date horizon) with the aim of creating a complex project draft, a Masterplan, which not of the area but sets its standards, provides detailed design solutions, sets planning and development frameworks. The

deepest

possible

understanding of the area from several different aspects is an unmissable element. This is acquired through different parcels of analysis, divided into two types:

t Objective (or observational) t Subjective (or perceptive) Analysis is carried out in groups

Opposite page: Students from the set in the Studioâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Design Studio are presenting their ideas to the local community at the

the neighbourhood students are creating their

(generally 5 or 6 people). Each

in the city are selected by tutors

group is committed to a particular

based on their compliance to

aspect (historical analysis, planning

certain

framework, experiential analysis,

be good examples) and are then

network analysis).

studied by the students.

At the end of this phase, lasting

Since each student is assigned

about

one

month,

parameters

(they

must

students

share the results of their analysis

block and street front, at the end

and groups are split up and then

of this phase the students can rely

reformed for the next phase, with

on a considerable collection of

the foresight that each new group

formal parameters that can be

has to contain at least an expert of

used to generate urban types that

each package of analysis.

are compatible to the existing ones

New groups formulate long-term

and their context.

plans for the area, embedding

This morphometric analysis focuses

economic,

on the detailed study of the formal

social

and

physical

aspects.

structural properties of plots in

These 25 years strategies are visions

relation to street-fronts and street street, the degree of publicness of a street front Other like number

at this stage to support strategic

decisions.

percentage of public vs private

plots,

heights,

setbacks,

activities, number of entrances etc. and eventually applied to a smaller

describe characters of a typical

area within the larger study area

street. The coded collection of all

and a draft document setting the

the different street types is called

new street networks, nodes, public

Local Urban Code (LUC).

services

It is important to notice here

provision

produced,

called Foundation Masterplan.

that these indications work as

The study of the population density

prototypes, arising from existing

supports

and stablished structural problems,

facilities redistribution and further

but by no mean they impose any

critical,

because

development and enhances the This should be left to the willing of focusing on its latent potential.

inhabitants and other stakeholders,

In doing so, students must have

through architecture. This approach

a clear idea of what are the

develops a fundamental principle

most

of Plot Based Urbanism:

important

and

prevalent

focus is

building types, density values and

given to the structuring of spaces,

compatible mixture of uses. Well-

and leave the largest possible ease

established urban types present

of action to personal articulations,

Opposite page:

In this page: A model of one of the Masterplan Areas realised by a in the RTPI West of Scotland Best

The project

asset is here clearly appreciation of

arrangements

and

adaptations

over time. By

clue on where to start but it might

combining

Masterplan

and

Foundation Urban

those who have more experience

Codes, students produce the Final

due to the complexity of the

Masterplan,

approach.

Local

comprehensive

project work at scale 1:1000 tackling

To anticipate these problems briefs

infrastructural, service and detailed

were created. They direct the

design decisions. They include built form, ordinary and extraordinary

themes, determine the amount and

and special features (i.e. specialist

type

information

and

required work to get it, suggest how

areas, public landmarks etc.) the work to perform. The

briefs

are

moulded

experiences

The briefs

successive

made

Every work phase is just a piece of

during the design course across

information and makes sense only

years and were extended, cut,

combined and confronted with the others. Sharing all collected data

of the students.

cornerstone of the process. It is used

It could be argued that caging the

to strike at the heart of the problem

creative process is something that

in a deeper and wider way. For this

diminishes the student. Actually

reason, the different parts must be

this interpretation doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t consider

exhaustive and consistent.

that the briefs are for the students just outlines made to let them focus

who have no experience in the

their creativity on nodal points of

analysis and design. The

briefs

are

of essential information to share travelling

companions to the student but can always be challenged. Their guidance follows general rules but those have to be applied to require a deeper insight, others may even be unnecessary. This not only provides a basis for action, but ensures that when the work is completed, each group will provide a minimum amount

with the others. The briefs explain strategies

and

represent

them,

techniques set

deadlines

and roadmaps. This helps students especially in the early stages, when they start to get familiar with peace, materials and sources. the different steps and peculiar for the Analysis Phase, the briefs are:

t drawing the existing city;

Opposite page: The masterplan

t t t t

one of the authors

history and stories;

nominated

for

the

prestigious

planning framework;

award sponsored by RIAS and

experiencing the study area;

AS+D, which evaluates the quality

network analysis of streets.

of project design throughout the UK. Iain Brodie, a MSC in Urban

In later stages the brief are the

Design Student in 2010-11, won

same for all groups. There are

the prestigious UDG Award for the best Urban Design student work in

t Strategy; t Coding

the UK. For this same award, the and

Foundation

Masterplan;

project shown in this publication was recently submitted.

t Masterplan. A manual for masterplanning A quality proven throughout the

This whole set of theories, tools and

years

practices is not only for educational

This course and its methods have

purposes, although an important

proven their high level compared

goal is to provide students with

to educational programs of the

skills in dealing with the issues of the

same rank on the national scene.

contemporary city.

Over several years, distinguished

In parallel, UDSU is working on the

urban design and architecture

drafting of a manual, in which

groups and associations rewarded

to combine the outcomes of the

the high quality of research and

previous editions of the MSC in

outcomes.

Urban Design.

Among the many awards, The

This manual is intended as an

Urban Design Studies Unit and

instrument that helps practitioners

the MSC in Urban Design arouse

and administrators in the decision

the appreciation of the Royal

making process when considering

Town

strategies for urban development.

Planning

Institute,

which

At the same time it is a handbook West of Scotland Best Student

for University courses, to support

Award 2012, to the project by

innovative

students Alessandra Feliciotti and

that can generate urban quality.

design

approaches

Jacob Dibble presented in the following

pages,

while

special

leaves plenty of room for detailed

commendations were awarded to

design

solutions,

architectural

Sean Fisher and Maria Siti, Edmund

choices and creativity.

Liew Wei Yang, Pei Ei Sin and Jak

In the following pages the method

Hui Ho, all attending students of the Studio. The

winning

project

was

also

general tasks and step by step.

ANALYSIS DRAWING THE EXISTING CITY to draw the study area in detailed covering aspects of the built environment (fencing, entrances, signs

and

ground

to enhance the awareness of the complexityo f the urban “material”; to build up the basis of information for all successive phases.

HISTORY AND STORIES to understand the evolution of a place through time; to integrate investigation of historiographic sources, and the stories intertwined over the years; to report a spatial narrative of memories through interacand literature.

PLANNING FRAMEWORK

EXPERIENCING & COMPARING

to study an area’s strategic potential by a clear, informed, up to date understanding;

to confront knowledge of the place coming from inhabitants and your own experience with the more objective analysis coming from systematic map comparison;

to reveal ambitions of local and metropolitan stakeholder for its development;

To trace the elements contributing to create the image of the place and help people navigating through it.

to overview all recent actions and projects instigated by the city and other major stakeholders in the area

NETWORK ANALYSIS to map the potential of each urban space in the study area to sustain a thriving and diverse local life. to test alternative scenarios of development of the street system to understand the impact of local decisions on possibly remote spaces, in ond out of the area.

STRATEGY to develop realistic urban regeneration programmes for the transformation of the area in the larger urban context; to compare emerging ideas for change and transformation and combine them to form a holistic strategy for the study area; to formulate directions for the improvement of the study area and its urban context, their likely impact on space

THE REGULATORY FRAMEWORK THE LOCAL URBAN CODE

THE FOUNDATION MASTERPLAN -

to carry out a comprehensive morphological analysis of street fronts selected as for their representativeness of typical elements of the existent urban fabric under different urban conditions such as differences in density, land use and building typologies.

to set the boundary of the Masterplan Area, and within those boundaries the proposed street layout in a preliminary version, along with the hierarchy of streets, the street front types referred to every street in the proposed hierarchy areas for main transformation and areas for regulation; to constitute the regulatory framework and the overall rules for

FINAL MASTERPLAN To design a complete Masterplan taking into account the built-up land organized in blocks and, in street fronts and plots, which struc-

particular interest or quality through sketches, renderings, elevations...

Opposite page:

The subdivision

the structure of the presented methodology and the aims of each piece of

students during

by teachers and

Every individual piece of work will

and develop Urban Design skills

be explained in depth referring to

gaining a realistic understanding of

large

scale

transportation

and outcomes.

infrastructure in its impact on

Twofold is the value of this work.

the city, concept that we will undoubtedly face in our future as

methodological purpose, in order to

Urban Designers and Architects.

clarify the sets of required analysis, sources and tools necessary to get a better understanding of a particular issue and its effects on a portion of the urban fabric at different scales and levels. This report will guide you step by step to the gathering of an adequate amount of information, showing aims, graphic standards and procedures to communicate and present the outputs of each piece of work. On a second level the project presented,

which

follows

from

the strategy up to the Masterplan the method adopted, wants to prove how such a complex theme can be exploited by an in depth analysis organised in subsets or â&#x20AC;&#x153;packagesâ&#x20AC;?, each focusing on a different aspect and carried out in groups, and eventually lead to a well-argued comprehensive visionbased strategy and to a successful detailed spatial masterplan. The aim is to prove that the operating methodology can, if properly carried out, provide quality and valuable solutions to delicate and critical issues affecting the cities we live in. By referring to Glasgowâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s M8 as a foundation we are able to learn

ANALYTICAL

Opposite page: map of the study area gives information on

characteristic and

direct surveys have been carried out by groups of

for which it is going to be made before the project is done. But, surprisingly, sometimes the level of knowledge of the place is recklessly Urban designers and architects deal with real people and their environments. They learn to take into account the endless complexity of social, cultural and economic capitals embedded in any urban setting, from the richest to the poorest. Designerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s duty should be to guarantee that in the game of medias and powers this aspect is never practices that makes a place what it is. Ordinance Surveys (OS) maps are a fundamental reference but, to gain a precise vision on how the area work on intimate knowledge and great respect for what is in place and be open to remould your way of thinking.

Mapping the area and objective view on spatial structures and provide critic information for further analysis. Visiting personally the Area of Interest is a necessary condition as it is meant to get familiar with transportation means from, to and within the area, to experience the site itself and then annotate all needed information. In order to represent a detailed up-to-date mapping of the area readable

Drawing the existing city â&#x20AC;&#x153;Design professionals today are often part of the

Jacobs and Appleyard

for further design work, a solid

fundamental for further analysis:

visualisation of the Area of Interest need to be achieved, learning from

average building height by block,

books, looking at satellite imagery

building footprints, open space

such as Google Maps, Bing Maps, photographs and gathering the

In this step out of date information

necessary OS GIS material.

from OS map need to be integrated with recent buildings and open space arrangement.

Representing the detail

Building

The level of detail largely depends

number of storeys must be shown for every

height urban

and block.

average This

indispensable indicators need to

fundamental in order to calculate

be pointed out, as

the density of ordinary urban fabric.

they will be

Opposite page:

In this page:

Geometric characters of

Charing Cross-

online support of Googlemaps and

features are the aid of GIS

You should specify prevalent land-

easy to understand and standard

use for non-residential blocks and

document indispensable for further steps. The different pieces of information

activities.

will be then processed by other

Green areas, linear and punctual

analysis

groups,

dealing

with

green (trees, bushes), open public spaces,

street

number

signs

lanes,

(including

street

lights,

in a short report which is meant to show outcomes and to make

intersections ad on-street parking) as well as the information gathered

be a complete set of drawings of

above,

the Area of Interest in plan, scale

will

annotated

1:1000 in colour. graphic key, providing an overall,

Opposite page:

of communities and Victorian

this photgraphic

During construction slip-roads in the the demolitions of the historical fabrics through

In order to design for the future and to really understand the value of a place, you must be aware that it is the outcome of its development in history to date.Fitting into the natural evolutionary process of a certain area, as a microcosm and macrocosm of relationships and events, should give an added value with your project for local communities that live in this place. In order to deepen the study into the very heart of the events that have shaped the city we live in today, we have chosen to move along two grounds: a traditional investigation of historiographic sources on one hand and o an attempt to understand a place by studying the stories that have intertwined and layered over time on the other hand. documents: publications and cartographic archives such as plans and Ordinance Surveys, historical photographic archives and so on.This lead not subject to interpretation by the observer. records of life experiences occurred in different historic periods.You can especially through direct interviews with the inhabitants of the area, recording their memories and feelings about the place as it used to be compared to how it is now. Following this method, you will be directly involved, and your task will be to approach the local community with the right attitude to achieve a good

History and stories

â&#x20AC;&#x153;A city is the pulsating product of the human hand

Charles Abrams

understanding of the area.

delivering decisions on next spatial

It is essential that the two phases

change.

are performed in parallel, because the former enhances the latter, and together enable you to form an

Mapping the change

overall vision of urban development,

The scope of this step is a phased

understood in its landmarks, events,

reconstruction of the history of

political, socio-economic dynamics

urbanization in the area.

as well as life experiences and

The

sense of belonging of individuals

cartography is similar to a story-

with regard to places.

line of development highlighting the

sequence

physical

change

historic

due

In both phases of the work it is necessary to limit the focus to what

This allows you to connect changes

in the history and story of the area

in morphology, where possible, to

can be traced on a map or referred

key events and historical periods.

Finding

mapped

entity,

namely

suitable

material

from

everything that is detectable in

trackable and reliable sources is

a particular geographic location

the guarantee of the objectivity of

at a given historical period.This

the analysis. By the same token you

makes this work very similar to

should always privilege sequences

what geographers do, but at the

of maps of the same genre (ie

same

Cadastral maps or military), if

a future intervention makes the

possible and when available, for

difference: as architects and urban

different historical ages.

designers, we are asked to build

Regarding the city of Glasgow and

that substratum that will help in

its hinterland, a comprehensive

time

the

perspective

Opposite page:

In this page: Picture of

lithographic plan

and engraved

the West End of the

published in

historical archive of early maps

until the early 90s is contained in

is available at the Glasgow City

the book by P. Reed “Glasgow

Council on GIS support.

the forming of the City” and the

Historical

maps

can

also

publication of the same year by H.

requested to NLS (National Library

Frey “Designing the city: towards a

of Scotland) which provides a wide

more sustainable urban form”.

range of historical cartographic materials

from

1560

1960’s

directly accessible from the website

Age-steps of urbanisation

http://maps.nls.uk where you can

Carrying out an age-step analysis

view material at a good resolution

and apply for copies. The maps

retracing all the geo-referenced

urban

development

means

may come from different sources, including military maps, cadastral

had an impact on the fabric of

maps, marine and coastal maps,

the city. You will have to study from

ordinance surveys and air photo

a reference date, changes that

mosaic. The city of Glasgow in

occurred for years or decades

particular has a fairly wide section

until the present day until current

and a good amount of material.

situation.

Another

the

For a comprehensive result, the

retrieval of both historical and

age-step analysis is carried out for

current mapping is performed by

four kinds of entities for no less than

http://www.ukmapcentre.com

four age steps.

even do material is not available

That implies producing four different

for free.

temporal sequences of maps, each

An excellent analysis of Glasgow’s

one representing the four entities,

development since its formation

called themes, for each age step.

online

service

for

The four proposed themes are:

t urban

fabric

development:

keeping as background the current city plan in light grey, you have to produce a map for every-age step, ending with the last one that represent the will show in solid black the urban fabric in the area, intended as of individual existing buildings. Gradually in subsequent maps are shown in solid red buildings realised

the

time

frame

between the previous and the next step while the buildings which

have

not

undergone

changes will be reported as they are in solid black. Every map represent the new entities for each age-step.What is studied for each area is how quickly buildings

tend

change,

to be replaced or, in case of demolitions

without

reconstructions in place,

further how

areas lose in density, viewed as effect of particular events, policies, economic decisions. Another result that emerges is the evaluation of the rate of urbanization of an area or a city and the changing relationship between urbanized and nonurbanized part of the study area.

t urban

block

development

is the analysis of change in the

conformation

urban

blocks. What is important in

Opposite page: Esample of the age step analysis

on the effect of

morlphology of the

buildings for each step are clearly

in different historical

this kind of analysis is for you

street network analysis is carried

to understand how particular

out only referring to the streets

events may have caused major

internal to the urbanized area for each age-step. The road

cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s morphology. In this case

network and infrastructure is thus

we are not just talking about

marked, with particular attention

new buildings, demolitions or

punctual

Tramways,

interventions:

you

public

transport railways,

routes. subways

should highlight how certain events

caused

on the original map, as well as

consistency in the urban grid

major transport hubs such as

and a reduction in accessibility

railway stations, subway stations

brought by the growth in size

and the like. Colour code is

vice

assigned and explained using a

versa. In fact this feature is

proper key. It is essential to clarify

often considered a symptom

how over time the infrastructure

revealing a loss of cohesion

system has evolved, and if

within

city

there are matches with the

and if this is recorded in your

concurrent events determining

urban

blocks

the

loss

and

compact

area, deeper reasons should be

investigated.

Generally

t punctual

urban

heritage:

speaking, blocks change at

although the object of study is

a slower rate compared to

the ordinary urban fabric which

buildings because their form

corresponds to over 95% of

is determined by the roads

buildings in a city and is the stage

surround them, one of the

of our everyday experiences, there are some buildings that

modify urban element. Sudden

have a particular social value

change of the blocks can be

within the local communities

caused by cataclysmic events

and help to invigorate sense

having

profound

impact

of identity and belonging. The

dynamics,

whose

analysis does not focus on

beyond

prominent or historical buildings

the morphological level. Block

but rather on single entities

analysis is derived from the

and groups of buildings that

urban

consequences

study of urban fabric and the various historical can be shown

with a point on a map. In this

by redrawing blocks within the

category therefore do not fall only

black.

t urban

relevant

architectural street

network:

the

and

transport

and

buildings, landmarks,

as but

mostly structures and places that have a community value.

This has to be kept in mind as

t social

dynamics

history:

this part of the analysis is limited

as well as spatial elements,

to single and punctual items

non-physical factors, such as

(I.e. monuments or buildings,

relevant social and historical

important housing estates and

events of the study areaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

facilities of public relevance,

past need to be mapped as

like churches, monasteries, any relevant public building, parks,

purpose of this piece of work is

public fountains, river sluices and technical infrastructure).

urban fabric to main events that shaped the area itself. Labelled

Another important historical theme to be mapped is:

and annotated maps will be

Opposite page: Charing Cross

Cross Mansions is one of the

entirely destroyed

In this page: an iconic image of Charing Cross and the Grand

Cameron Memorial

realisation construction;

middle of a busy intersection

places in the urban context.

and relationships that often remain

Social events not mappable

invisible to the historiographical

are to be ignored, or, if relevant,

record

mentioned

language of inhabitants and users

separate

report.

and

who

speak

the

of the area. What you will be studying is a more

From the eyes of people So

far

the

analysis

personal,

community-

based narrative, which offers an has

been

intimate insight into ties that people

performed in an objective way.

established with their places of life and work over times.

documents, through macroscopic

As it was before, all the information

change but it tells us nothing of

gathered must be mapped: they

more subtle issues involving people

must

describe

the

relationship

most families all lived

relocated to different

Ms. Isabella Castle

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Everybody lived â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;up

inside lavatory facilities and certainly no

the planners put in their Mr. Mike Kelly

Opposite page: fom the top left: Finnieston

are located and considers the “Big A map of

Isabella played

up; described by RC church still

between

people

and

place.

local communities. Involve people

Gaining a full understanding of

from different age-groups, gender

this bound is an important factor

and ethnicity, in order to achieve

in understanding the essence of a

a consistent amount of information

place, which can hardly be read

from different points of view.

only by studying maps.

Getting in touch with people and

although a good record of stories

local groups by e-mail or in person

can be deducted from readings

is only one face of the medal: the

and texts about the study area or

other important choice to be made

reconstructed from archival images,

is what kind of question to ask. To do

the most revealing experience is

so, a good level of knowledge of

the direct interaction. Discussion

the history of the area and the city in

with residents and people currently

general is crucial. Knowing it will help

living in the area is very useful

you in addressing the conversation

as they got to know it for years

on “hottest topics” to get what is

and decades in their past. Local

really important in framing properly

historical recollections (old guide

the stories told by locals.

books, tour books and city records)

The type of information collected

and visits to museums and local

may vary from case to case, but

folklore exhibitions as well as images,

some key factors need to be

inscriptions, old photographs and new ones taken by yourself or from

the open space was in the past and

other sources can also be helpful:

how it has changed today, where

everything is to be recorded and

did interviewed people live, work,

collected.

gather, and what is left today, which

What it is important to understand is

were the ‘community centres’ of the

how the physical substratum of the

area, the safe parts, the most loved,

city has changed but also what still

the most dangerous etc.

remains through time. A good way images that show how a place

Gone but not forgotten

(like a square, a cross, a street, a

The interviews are then combined

landmark or monument) was in the

into real stories. They will record the

past and how it is today. through history. If you will manage to describe the Tell me a story

upheavals caused by large-scale decisions that profoundly changed

with inhabitants is an excellent

life at the local level, your work will

way to understand how studied

be very interesting and thrilling for

social and economic dynamics

others to be read.

affected and were perceived by

Children by datazone

Working age by datazone

Pensioners by datazone

Data up to date 2010

less than 150 151 - 300 301 - 500 500 - 700 701 - 900 more than 900

Privately rented by % of all dwellings in the study area

Social rented by % of all dwellings in the study area

Owned houses by % of all dwellings in the study area

Data up to date 2010

less than 0,5% 0,5 % - 1,0% 1,0% - 1,5% 1,5% - 2,0% more than 2,0%

Households with no car or van by % of all households in the study area

Travel to work by public transport by % of all households in the study area

Data up to date 2001- Census

less than 1,0% 1,0 % - 2,0% 3,0% - 4,0% 4,0% - 5,0% more than 5,0%

S.I.M.D.* rank by %

*Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation Data up to date 2009

0% - 5% 6% - 10% 11% - 15% 15% - 20% 21% - 100%

less than 20% 21 % - 40% 41% - 60% 61% - 80% 81% - 100%

Crime by %

Most deprived aras by % for job and employement

Data up to date 2009

0% - 5% 6% - 10% 11% - 15% 15% - 20% 21% - 100%

Opposite page: a number of statistic indicators describing different factors of the

from travel patterns to multiple deprivation and

to achieve a good range of

directly gathered

demographics to and processed

Very often for educational purposes many projects are brought forward without having a clear idea of how the area is or actually works. Having a clear, informed, up-to-date understanding of the area in terms of population, economy, use and environmental conditions reveals its real condition. How is the area today, who is in charge of what, who owns what, what are the critical issues and potential, what kind of environmental work is required: these are questions you need to answer to maximize the value of the area, to reveal its strategic potential and directions of development. In this phase of the work, the goal is a descriptive knowledge of the current

Where to start, where to go A wide range of information can generally be found online, by institutional be integrated with planning frameworks at regional and national level. With regard to Scotland and Glasgow, major plans guiding the strategic development of the next decade are the National Planning Framework 2 (http://www.scotland.gov.uk/), Glasgow and The Clyde Valley Strategic Development Plan (http://www.gcvsdpa.gov.uk/), Clyde Waterfront Regeneration Plan (http://www.clydewaterfront.com/), Glasgow City Plan 2 and The Local Development Plan for Glasgow (http://www.glasgow . gov.uk /), but is worth having a basic understanding of strategies pursued by other stakeholders, such as public transport groups and housing

Planning framework

infrastructure if our environment is to remain intact and our social systems are to hold communities The Urban Task Force

associations, to get an indication of

special

hydrological

condition

the types of changes involving the

areas, underground rail tunnels

area in the foreseeable future.

and the like;

For Scotland the main references regarding public transport are: First

residential

Bus Operating Company (// www.

uses. By doing so a clearest idea

firstgroup.com/ukbus/glasgow/),

on deprivation areas for different

Strathclyde Partnership for Transport-

places can be achieved and

(http://www.spt.co.uk/subway/),

main strategic directions can be

Transport

(http://www.

undertaken. This step is fundamental

transportscotland.gov.uk/road/),

to produce a density map in which

respectively for buses, subway and

you will locate specialist ares and

railway network.

calculate urban fabric density.

Nevertheless get in direct contact

Clustered uses and zoning can

with

Scotland

institutional

relevant

groups

bodies is

and

non

residential

and

essential,

reintegration strategies for more

order to understand in detail the

mixture of of uses may possibly be

consequences of such plans at

evaluated; vacant and derelict land map

shops can be a useful source

shows the level of poverty and

Contacting

deprivation of an area. They also

stakeholders and going to the City

give you an idea of where the major

information.

criticality is and where to focus for is a good way to start interesting

recovering and enhancement;

conversations.

built heritage and conservation areas: they allow you to identify areas needing special attention

Reading the territory

and care in conservation and

Gathered information are to be

safeguard, such as landmarks and

selected and organised. The level

important

of detail highly depend on your

natural reserves; public

buildings, transport

parks

and

network:

data are fundamental and have to

understanding how people move

be known:

pointing out diversity, capillarity

land

ownership

shows

private

and quality of public service can

proprieties, propriety of housing

pinpoint the areas where there

associations, main public areas,

is a lack of provision and detect

household composition;

portions of the territory more or

soil conditions are mapped to

less isolated. Ideally, as the level

raise awareness of soil requiring

decontamination. It will provide a

highest concentration of urban

connectivity

corresponds

amenities, you can gat an idea on

In this page: â&#x20AC;&#x153;The city provides

and uses provision is studied in relation to the type of urban distinguished

right catchment area for the most relevant urban

Optimal service

which areas are more important,

have an objective understanding

vital and valuable within the Area

of Interest.

always suggested to perform a

gathered

information.

comparison between the study area and the city to place the Social and economic dynamics

results in perspective with regard to

Statistics

the bigger picture.

about

other

socio-

economical indicators can help identifying precise concentrations of phenomena such as poverty,

Provision of local services

unemployment, racial or ethnic

Thanks to the mapping of land

segregation

use, you will now have a detailed

behaviours.

and

anti-social

Accompany

the

statistical information with images

usage. Nevertheless if the land

and photographic campaigns and

use information was collected in

you will have a more familiar image

a more general way, it is good to

of the Area of Interestâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s condition.

deepen it now. Walk into the area with the help of an OS map and write down all present land use. You

but also from the local City Coucil

can also use Google Street View

and online. For the city of Glasgow

to support your research but be

you can rely on the website http://

careful to always refer to the most

www.sns.gov.uk/,

up-to-date state.

http://simd.

scotland.gov.uk/Glasgow-City/.

Remember: it is not enough to

Numbers are not useful in themselves,

divide between residential and non-

but must be interpreted. Attaching

residential activities: it is important to write down all the different

categories of non-residential uses, such

pharmacies,

grocery

churches, schools, etc.. Each unit is pointed out on the map and brought in a CAD environment. The next step is the one that allows you to understand the level of provision of services throughout the area, but to understand what this is about we have to take a step back.

What does a neighbourhood need In the past decade many studies concentration

urban

amenities

in the different areas have been carried out. It was studied how far a person is willing to go on foot to get the goods he needs within his neighbourhood and his city. If a person lives in a mainly residential area and the nearest place to buy a bottle of milk it is one kilometre away, it is hard to believe that he will go get it on foot, it is easier instead for him to go by car. In a neighbourhood that works domestic

travel

private

vehicle should be discouraged as unsustainable: it contributes

spaces for parking contributing to the erosion of the city fabric and it represents an additional cost for resident (fuel cost, parking fees, etc.). The Urban Task Force, a group headed by Lord Richard Rogers, in their report â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Towards an Urban

Opposite page: “Dispersed urban area: local centres

countryside erosion is schematically organised by ranges of density; “A compact urban

The dispersed urban

Renaissance’

published on 29

of district and neighbourhood

urban districts and distinct

possible to delivery protecting the countryside from ideal organisation

If there are many small grocery stores for very little or no residents

assess the provision service of a

at all, they will be doomed to fail

neighbourhood.

very soon.

They intend the neighbourhood, not

When

only as a generic concept but they

density, size and concentration of

refer to it as a geographical entity.

non-residential activities, such as

Ideally, a neighbourhood consists

large shopping malls, business and

of a district centre characterized

industrial districts becomes higher;

density

they are based on the assumption

and by a series of local nodes

that people are willing to take

surrounding it. Conventionally, from

their private vehicles to reach

the district centre an 800 meters

them despite their location, often

radius circumference is drawn, so

far from their houses.

that it is possible to get from the

In a city that works high density

centre of the neighbourhood to

should match with higher level

its edges within a 10 minutes walk.

of service and amenities. If this

This is the theoretical extension of a

doesn’t happen, here we have

neighbourhood: remaining within

a symptom that something is not

the this area an individual should

working.

of the urban living.

Analysis carried out on the Area

higher

Each

population

neighbourhood

face

low

housing

should

of Interest responds to the need

provide residents with a decent

of measuring its wealth using

range of places to go shopping,

provision of urban services as a

a school for their children, green

thermometer.

areas and pocket parks, worship

There are several categories of

places, bus stops and other public

mappable services which can be

transport facilities. The Urban Task Force also enlighten

areas. When we say “catchment

us on how many and what distance

area”, what we really mean is the

they should be available at.

geographical portion of space

In the compact city, in the vast

served by a peculiar facility.

majority, these activities covers

All

those

people

living

working or simply passing by the residential building.

catchment are of a service have

To sustain a good level of service high

population

support it.

density

an acceptable provision of it and are likely to be able to satisfy their need of it within their immediate surroundings. Some

examples

the

most

relevant urban amenities following

Great Western Rd

Baird St

Dobbie’s Loan Sauchiehall St - west

Sauchiehall St

Sauchiehall St - west

Elmbank St

Alexandra Prd

Newton St

Sauchiehall St

Dobbie’s Loan

Cowcaddens

Sauchiehall St - west

Elmbank St

Alexandra Prd

Newton St

Castle St

St Vincent St

Stobcross St

Baird St

Dobbie’s Loan

Cowcaddens

Sauchiehall St Elmbank St

Stobcross St

Castle St

St Vincent St

Stobcross St

Argyle St

Alexandra Prd

Newton St

Castle St

St Vincent St

Argyle St

Cowcaddens

Argyle St

01 05

Speed analysis

less than 40 km/h from 41 to 55 km/h from 56 to 70 km/h more than 71 km/h each block represents one car surveyed

Fluxes analysis

less than 65 cars per 10 minutes from 66 to 100 cars per 10 minutes from 101 to 135 cars per 10 minutes

from 136 to 170 cars per 10 minutes from 171 to 205 cars per 10 minutes more than 206 cars per 10 minutes

Train/Subway Station Bus Stop Church Retail Green Facilities School Healthcare Bar and Restaurant Other Leisure facilities

Sauchiehall St (West of the m8)

Sauchiehall St (East of the m8)

Argyle St (City Centre)

Argyle St (Close to the m8)

Great Western Rd

Dobbie’s Loan

59.2 km/h

45.1 km/h

38.9 km/h

62.0 km/h

46.3 km/h

61.8 km/h

Opposite page: possible correlation and speed analysis

order to evaluate the response of urban fabric to vehiculardominancy in terms of usability and mainainance of

Sections of the analysed street

streams of vehicular students of the Msc

cars and presence of different

the size of their buffers are:

architectural and spatial characteristics in

The

presence

destinations,

attractive

well

the

t 1600 metres catchment area: train stations, hospitals and peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s choices.

t 800

metres

area: and

catchment

Secondary Colleges,

school

oriented is a road, the more

parks,

pedestrians feel out of place.

large

supermarkets, health centres

t 400

metres

catchment

area:

subway

stations,

stops,

nursery

and

schools,

This is intuitive: the more vehicular

bus

primary

churches

and

Consequently

the

use

the

public realm is affected and the relationship

the

community

with places deteriorates, to the detriment

their

collective

religious buildings, pubs and

identity.

restaurants, leisure activities

You are asked to build essential

t 200 m catchment area: small

evidences

about

potential

parks, shops, grocery stores,

doctor/dentist/pharmacy,

other forms of uses of streets and

bars and cafĂŠs

public spaces in general.

simply

writing

down

the

what are the concentrations of services, where there is greater

The two types of impact that

mixitĂŠ and where there is a lack of provision. When not traversable,

and instant speed of vehicles.

as physical barriers arise (e.g. rivers without crossings, railway lines,

you will get an idea on whether

large vacant lands, ample unbuilt

a road is vehicular or pedestrian

areas), the catchment area is

oriented and whether it is marked

interrupted because pedestrians

internal

passing-through

can not pass through then to reach the service and have to opt for longer detours.

not necessarily mean that the street is unsuitable for pedestrians. Lively high streets are marked by

Pattern of movement Part of the analysis consists of a

this feature do not discourage pedestrian use them. If cars are

Individuals behave in the public

not seen as a danger for safety

realm according to the physical

due to their speed they do not

conditions of urban environment.

affect negatively use and vitality.

Clydeside Expressway February 2008

East End Regeneration Route

M80 Stepps-Haggs

M74 Completion

Airdrie - Bathgate Rail Line 2 Decembre 2010

28 June 2011

Phase1: Oatlands Section May 2010 Phase2 April 2012 Phase3 after 2014

Glasgow North M80 East 5

M80 3 3

3 4

3 5 3

1 1

Clyde Waterfront

Glasgow Airport Rail Fastlink 17 September 2011

City Centre

Strategic Walkway and Cycleway National Cycle Network - Route 75 National Cycle Network - Route 74

M8 West Update Seaward Street Improvement November 2010

Clyde Gateway

A8 to M8 East Upgrade J29-26 Ballieston to Newhouse in preparation

MAIN DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES WITHIN THE STUDY AREA M8 overbridge at Anderston Phase1: link from Kelvingrove Park to Anderston spring 2011 Phase2: Bridge to Nowhere from Waterloo Street to Central Station autumn 2012 Phase3: link from Anderston to the NCN Route75 and footbridge completion

Glasgow School of Art New Campus Approved in March 2011

Expansion of Buchanan Galleries

Forth and Clyde Canal Local Development Strategy LDS for Forth and Clyde Canal

The Style Mile by the end of 2012

International Financial Services District (IFSD) 29 Buildings 2001 - 2009 1 Building

approved in 2007 Maryhill Locks and Spiers Lock masterplan approved in 2011

Sighthill Transformational Regeneration Plan: Sighthill Trasformational Regeneration Study 2006/07 Transformational Regeneration Area works start in 2011/12

Two new Campus for City of Glasgow College Approved in 2010

End of 2011

North Clydeside Development Route The SECC section

Glasgow Harbour sections

9 Buildings

Strathclyde University Campus Plan prepared by the University

City Science Approved in 2008

Yoker section

CollegeLands Phase1: Autumn 2011

River Clyde Floods Management Strategy

Phase2

completed in 2006

Tradeston Waterfront Public Realm May 2009

Transformational Regeneration Area Laurieston Local Development Strategy Phase1: March 2011

Glasgow Crossrail not supported by Transport Scotland

Opposite page: Main planning themes are studied referring documents and reports concerning

regional and city-

relevant to the purpose of the The jump from

different scales is here fundamental to achieve a good idea of the planning major trends of development for

Vice versa a street with no cars

Street Hierarchy

driving on it probably is not very

Before you begin this investigation

interesting and doesn’t stand out.

is good to have a knowledge

This is why the effects of speed and

the

street

represented

hierarchy, the

General

must be calculated in peak hours

studies in the literature for the

(7:00 to 9:00, 18:00 – 20:00) and

Area o Interest and its immediate

out of peak hours (10:00 – 12:00;

surroundings, focusing especially

14:00 – 16:00) both in weekdays

on roads reported to be higher in

and during the weekend. Ordinary

hierarchy. Interactions between

days must be preferred, to avoid

them are to be investigated.

the distortion caused by special

When

events occurring.

analyse,

What concerns us is to map

anticipatively which phenomenon

choosing you

street

should

know

are you expecting to observe. Your decision should follow this three times throughout the day,

principle and street mus not be

always

selected randomly: you have to

referring

the

same

segment. The section must not be

prove a point.

less than 200 metres long and the

It will be interesting to notice

gates (or viewpoints) should be placed away from jamming points reality experienced while carrying to avoid bottleneck effect.

out the analysis as this points

Instant speed shall be measured

out

in km / h and four speed ranges

objectives are very distant from

that

sometimes

planning

the real uses. 40 km / h, 40-55 km / h, 55-70 km / h, more than 70 km / h). To be consistent at least 15 cars at each

Planning themes

gate must be observed. Fluxes analysis counts the number

themes through direct observation

of vehicles passing through the

in the.

gate in a standard time, generally

Write down and take pictures of

15 - 20 minutes but results should

building construction sites and

be reported preferably in number

check their state of progress,

of cars per minute or every 10

talking with specialists.

minutes.

Refer to online resources to trace the general framework of the them all on a map, specially if

Thistle Hotel

Charing Cross 37 35

Elmbank tower

38 39 39

St Andrewâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s House

34 40

Minerva

Pitt Street Hotel

33 06

Project 301

Buchanan Galleries

32 31

141 Bothwell Street

29 08

Park Parade

28 27

24 03 01

23 18

12 13

Atlantic Square 1-3 21

Anderston pedestrian and cycle footbridge

The Point 17 16

Tradeston Street

they are important for your project

visualise, describe and annotate

and purposes.

all

For information about ongoing

initiatives, projects and themes

projects in Glasgow you can visit

contributing

http://www.futureglasgow.co.uk/

area is to be produced. It can

http://www.clydewaterfront.

be a written report but a graphic

com/, to accomplish a good

presentation on map at a proper

strategic

scale is more effective to present

aimed

overview. at

This

highlighting

work and

summarising planning themes that emerges, so as to group initiative for

development

involving,

area. Eventually

summary

planned

and to

undergoing

reshape

the work once completed.

your

Opposite page: Characteristic project occurring throughout the study area

or cancelled interventions are

ones have also been deepen by a detailed study

a colour code and effect on the area and the city as The most important

Opposite page:

pedestrian street

Buchanan Galleries is one of the most frequented shopping mall of the city and at the southern

the top centre of

This street features tea rooms and small

day at every hour of the day: it is the

In everyday life, a great part of our experience in our neighbourhood is spent in places we recognise as more or less familiar. We choose a street to walk down rather than another, we go shopping in a store and not in another, we orient ourselves relying on particular landmarks, we associate These choices are mechanisms that our brains active based on our experience in the outside world. The more the experience of a place is consolidated, the more the habits tend to be repeated and bad experiences avoided. We become attached to places, we learn to reach faster and faster those we go more often. Slowly we gain a sort of mental image of where the homes of our friends, our relatives, our school, our church, our community centre are located. All of this depends on the way we interface to the space of our everyday life and the factors determining the functioning of these complex relationships have been the subject of study for geographers, sociologists, psychologists, architects and urban designers. The study of perception in urban areas is a method of analysis arising in the 60s as a new born from the discipline of human geography and psychology, which takes the name of environmental perception. book from Kevin Lynch, The image of the city, published in 1960, embedding some elements derived from the psychology of form, according to which perception involves selection and organization patterns. From Lynch we learn how perception can give a mental structure to urban experience and that each individual sees the city through a number of different elements

Experience & compare

a possibility of choice and a starting point for the Kevin Lynch

case) plays an integrating part. the so-called mental maps.

This type of analysis shows a more

The

subjective character but has the

discovery

perception

value

individualâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s had

been

power to reveal how the area truly

recognized by the famous sociologist

performs.

Jane Jacobs, which states the

Inhabitants know the area, they

importance of the experiences of

can reveal details that for a visitor

those living and working in the city, as a fundamental reference point

On the other hand professionals

for its development. Today, this element underlies all

operating dynamics and share the point of view of who seeks the area

existing urban structure and enrich the quality of life of its inhabitants.

That

why

professional

inhabitantâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

perception

simultaneously

studied

and

are

to and

Perceptions and relations

eventually combined to achieve a

This work phase is mainly based on

general overview with the possibility

direct gathering of data and on

that

tangible experience on the Area of

experiences can end up with pretty

Interest.

different results and impressions.

Interviews

with

two

complementary

and

Analysis must be carried out on

interaction with local communities

a relatively wide range of cases,

are part of the wealth of information

both in number and in composition

collected,

(ethnicity,

but

inhabitants

the

professionalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

experience (the student in this

gender,

age,

social

Opposite page: A mental map of

of the physical

25-year-old student

In this page: A mental map of Los Angeles (Dorling and

student focused on all the elements of the city caming to

analysis of the map concentrates on the observations

city as indicated in

amount of evidences.

pretty

You are ask to experience and

times they are more ambiguous

compare,

but

which

numbered in the

means

that

nodes and

straightforward,

nevertheless

they

other conceal

information have to be consistent,

important statements on how the

and as it was before they have to be

area work.

mappable. This is crucial, as what is

Broadly speaking, we all know

under the microscope is the physical

what a map is: it can be described

setting of human experiences, and

as the spatial representation of

only in this way gained knowledges

a more or less extended area establishing distance and closeness

and confronted to other types

relationships, showing a territoryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

of carried out analysis, including

morphology using a standard code

the more objective, to enlighten

widely accepted. It is not wrong to

differences and analogies.

say that it represents a territoryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

Sometimes

evidences

can

planimetric view objectively: when

one reads a map, the least he expects is that it is correct, exact, reliable. When

talking

about

mental

maps, expected results can be consistently different.Not only as the system of relations and references changes from person to person depending on their experience, but also because some individuals conceptualize these

most

experiences

instinctively in

different

forms. A great number of factor comes into play, like age, gender, education and training, job and hobbies... Kevin

Lynch

understood

that

beneath the apparent diversity of mental maps produced by individuals living in different cities, the basic elements with which they organize their experience in space are similar. They

can

paths,

categorised

(channels

along

which

people move, as streets, sidewalks, trails..),

edges

(boundaries,

physical and perceived, as walls, riversâ&#x20AC;Ś),districts (portions of urban space characterized by a unitary nature),

nodes

(hubs

focal

points perceived as centralities) and

landmarks

(immediate

monuments, but also references of different types, such as billboards, shop signs...). factors

includes

combinations

and

all all

possible possible

element a person can recognise and use to create his own personal

Opposite page: composite Mental

impressions and perceptions of residents and local

mental

image

is the reading made by Msc students

according to Lynch’s subdivision of basic element of people’s perception: they

Studying these features legibility and imageability are assessed factors in forming people orientation and appropriation of

of the survey have been organised

and

interiorise

surrounding space.

to your needs. If the interviewee is reluctant to take the pen, you can take the initiative

time a new urban geography, different from the one used by traditional spatial analysis.

and draw on his instructions, but you must not, under any circumstances, direct him and, indeed, you must keep ideas to yourself.

People in fact tend to imagine

In case you are in front of groups

places not as they are, but to distort

of people to be interviewed, it is

space according to the story they

always better to try to get maps

are telling and which, at the end of

for each individual member of the

the day, is their own life. give more information than a single Residents Mental Maps Walking in Lynch’s shoes, you will

This action possibly should not take

have to arrange interviews with

more than 15 minutes because the

inhabitants and communities of the

attention that people are willing

study area. You have to carry out

to pay to these extemporaneous

surveys around the city. You should

activities

act as a facilitator by encouraging

any case it would be better to

passers-by and residents to draw

encourage participants to express

on the spot. Accuracy of maps in

themselves in Lynch’s therms, or

terms of scale or exact location

according to the 5 families (paths,

of buildings and length of roads

edges, landmarks, districts and

is not really relevant: much more

nodes) and annotate maps, if

interesting is observing perceived

they deem it useful, with names,

often

reduced.

spatial distortions. Do not expect that obtained maps

Helping

are visually “nice”, reassure indeed

general questions is a good way to

the interviewed not to worry about

encourage him, paying attention

the quality of the sketch, there is no

not to address the answers.

need to be Michelangelo, it is not

Once

an art class!

sketched, they are to be collated

When asking people to trace their

in order to highlight similarities

own mental map, you must provide

and differences. They should be

them with a blank sheet on which

organised in as many group as it is

the

all

interviewed

individual

maps

with

are

to sketch without the support of a scaled map of the area, as

as age groups or gender of the participants, so that differences are

thoughts which is a prerequisite for obtaining a graph corresponding

easily noticeable.

Often this collation is done by reducing each map to a similar

sub-areas.

scale and then overlapping them

Preferences and prevailing mental

and

patterns of different age and social

marking

down

elements;

groups should be now readable: overall composite map from each

which parts of the area are used

individual group. Maps can be

and which are not? Why does this

annotated with observation and

happen?

names.

At the same time, as problematic issues are pointed out, possible

gathering the content of different individual

maps

which

the

the Area of Interest can arise.

kind of information to be saved doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t need to be rigorous and detailed, as we are going through

Professionalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Mental Map A similar work is to be carried out by

Nevertheless particular attention

analysis groupâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s members. It is important that students work

such as spatial proportions, missing

out their mental maps before

information, prevalence of some

asking residents to do so, otherwise

features over others, frequency with which issues have been pointed

observations

out.

(interviewers

Once this work is completed, you

refer

must be able to have a good

interviewee, but they are not!).

understanding of districts and their

Before sketching individual mental

their

and are own

experiences told

not

impressions

maps you and your team should

Opposite page: in this page: From the information contained in the

Sauchiehall street: it is the most vital and lively street of City Centre to the

unique: it is the most loved place for young people to hang out on a

the most important is the Character Map

stronger and more sharply perceived character and identity are accordingly

PORT DUNDAS SOUTH WOODSIDE

SIGHTHILL

ROYSTON

GARNETHILL TOWNHEAD

ANDERSTON DENNISTOUN

MERCHANT CITY

walk down the study area a few

Identifying Character Areas

times if not already done and gain

In analysing the mental mechanisms

a good familiarity with it. The same

that generate individual maps,

process listed above for residents can be followed. The

last

step

important is

factors,

the

districts.

combining

Individuals are led to recognize sets

professional and inhabitants maps

of properties (type of use, building

so as to gain a comprehensive

typology, prevalent material, shop

framework.

front signage shapes, greenery, arrangements etc.) as something

eye is very different from residentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

unitary. This sense of identity allows

and some features can be seen in

the observer to create a strong

opposite ways, completely ignored

environmental image.

by a group and pointed out by another. This result is not symptom of a failure, as factors leading to the and spontaneous indeed, and they

Unity is the primary concept that in theory should qualify a neighbourhood, for which local community should acknowledge sense of belonging.

have to be accepted as they are. Starting from the mental maps

character, and own their personal identity and therefore are called

issues and consequently produce

Character Areas. It is one of

appropriate studies and further

the most important information

analysis.

gathered from mental maps but you can get an idea of this factor on your own also noting which

part of the area are recognizable, distinctive, unique, similar. After identifying the boundaries of these areas on a map in scale, it is good with photographs, testimonies and descriptions.

Legibility and imageability We said that Character Areas are portions of space perceived as unitary. But where does this sense of unity come from? People make use of a set of references to determine out which way to go to reach predetermined destinations or to know where a place is with respect The easier it is to lay these references (boundaries,

landmarks,

nodes,

districts, paths) and orient, the greater the legibility of a place. City legibility refers to ease with which people learn about the layout of a city or an area. Of all the places that make up a city, of all the squares, streets and buildings, only a small portion is selected and becomes part of the basic structure of our orienteering in the city. This process is normal because human beings naturally simplify

and

categorize

the

excess of sensory input that they continuously experience. Human brain turns the multitude of

information

receives

from the external world by categorizing symbols.

Opposite page: the most important access and transition points throughout the areas are described

they are perceived by people (more

In this page: A set of the out by inhabitants

places people feel confortable to go to and to assess

In the urban environment the legibility of the symbols themselves and their arrangement. The degree of clarity of form manifests as the ability of the user to recognize the parts and synthesize a coherent

the Mental Maps:

and hotels amongst others can all be used as reference point for people orienteering in the

the place. Degree of legibility of an area depends on how strongly it is characterised and recognizable amongst others by the existence of memorable elements and on

whole. This is a formal structural properties

This is what Lynch calls imageability,

of the constructed environment

which is nothing more than the ability

and is a major challenge for

of a physical entity or environment

urban

to provide the observer with a

choreographing the forms of a city,

powerful, vivid image. Imageable

can help in moulding the identity of

place are those we would describe

designers

which,

â&#x20AC;&#x153;characteristicsâ&#x20AC;?,

imagine

straight

those

away

also very trivial ordinary elements,

when

as it can be the better-provided

thinking to that city, to that place.

grocery store in the area, or the

Lynch states that ease with which one can recognize patterns and

Most

meanings

spontaneously

the

experienced

these

references pointed

out

are by

environment, the more pleasure

residents while carrying out the

and utility he will extract from it.

interviews for the mental maps.

Legibility and imageability are both

fundamental

qualities

in shaping place identity and

Finally, residents are asked to trace overall and district imageability through the study area: in order to understand if its tissue is structured so to be navigated comfortably by

Assessing level of legibility and imageability of an area is relatively simple, cause they are features commonly used as a reference by people when describing their cities.

people. Where this is not successful, where it is easy to get lost, or there are no points of reference, it is where design intervention need to be concentrated.

It is enough to map all elements in the study area perceived by passerby and local community as distinctive, visible and gifted with a particular importance in their peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s everyday lives. They may be architecturally important buildings,

squares,

crosses,

but

Accessibility and connectivity Once districts and character areas are determined, it is necessary to understand how and how easily people move within and between them. Usually areas which turn out

being

characterised

Opposite page: aluminium

red carpet replaces the previously hostile

through the space

creating an

In this page: Access Map: accesses and thresholds are pointed out and analysed according to their more or less

pedestrian route

NORTH WOODSIDE SOUTH WOODSIDE

pedestrian-friendly character and their

PORT DUNDAS

ST ROLLOX

COWCADDENS

SIGHTHILL

ROYSTON

GARNETHILL TOWNHEAD SANDYFORD CITY CENTRE

FINNIESTON

STRATHCLYDE UNIVERSITY

ANDERSTON

NECROPOLIS

IFSD DENNISTOUN

MERCHANT CITY

PLANTATION

SPRINGFIELD

KINNING PARK

TRADESTON

KINGSTON

good imageability and legibility

crossings

also

internal

gates, bridges etc.) and surrounding

connectivity. This is not like saying

areas are important. Although there

that

public

might be many in a small area, if

transport, here we are not dealing

they are dark and unsafe, people

with service provision: this simply

will still be reluctant to use them and

means that, generally speaking,

the two area will be disconnected

who lives in there get the impression

no matter what.

to be able to reach without too

If you aim to increase accessibility

much effort every place within it.

conditions a good exercise is to

Barriers such as strong boundaries,

try to describe different areas and

motorways,

their mutual relationship.

experience there

good

rivers

good

railways

(streets,

underpasses,

prevent permeability from one area

As well as the mental maps, the

to another. The fracture between

operation of identifying and judging

different districts is much stronger if

accessibility between areas need

crossing points are not very inviting

to be pointed out by yourself as

and do not stimulate users to make

well as by inhabitants.

use of them. To understanding this aspect, it must not be forgotten that often

Safety and maintenance

there is no real correspondence

between number of real existing

choose how to act in the public

connections between districts and

realm based on a large number of

perceived ones. If people do not

factors, but among all, those that

feel comfortable in using them then

more work as deterrents are the

they will simple be ignored.

physical conditions of the urban

Maintenance

conditions

mentioned

above,

people

environment, namely their level of

Opposite page: Materials and spatial characters of the area are features contribute in shaping the

in good ond bad quality of the urban proven to be a leading factor in

In this page: Fear Map: this important map perceive safe or

numbers of crimes in the pointed out areas but here it’s people’s feeling about places

This often do not correspond to real

Areas out of the city centre the City Centre are

Port Dundas

Sighthill “One of the most run happens quite often in

Royston “Avoid going out at night or let children play alone althrough security improved over

Sauchiehall St “It can be dangerous

Townhead

Sunday nights in

“Criminal cases tend to happen around the

youngster gather in the

Anderston

Saltmarket

Kingston “I live there but I

maintenance, because undermine

stock, poor urban environment,

the sense of security and control of

lack of vitality, poor surveillance

users.

by the residents, few activities and

In choosing a home to buy, the

attractions. They are areas in which

guarantee of a good level of

the sense of belonging is weaker,

maintenance is one of the most

customization is poor.

wanted

features,

people

associated it to a certain social status and are stimulated to feel stronger sense belonging. Recording the variations in the degree

maintenance

and

Low level of maintenance is harmful and prevents people from going to those places which, in turn, are perceived as unsafe.

personalisation of a neighbourhood

Maintenance and safety are in fact

and its districts it is fundamental to

two factors that often improve or

understand to what extent people

worsen each other.

are comfortable and feel safe in

In order to get this point, a good

using spaces and in exercising their

but effective method returns an

territoriality through personalisation

idea of safety degree and personal

or their desire to better the area

comfort of an area, is the so called

through improvement of personal

“Fear Map”, a map which indicates

space, as a positive contribution to

the areas where one feels more

the overall.

or less safe walking/living etc. This

Broadly speaking, in a district,

map indicates gradients of safety

edges are characterized by poorest

or sense of discomfort.

maintenance compared to more

Fear Map should be carried out

central areas. They often manifest

both by students and residents, and

poor condition of the building

overall result should be compared

with more objective sources on safety, like statistical information or crime data from police reports on incidents (mugging, theft...), signs of vandalism on the street (i.e. broken windows, litter, murals although murals is not always an indication of vandalism), areas where one can observe boarded up shops and windows, youth hanging out in groups... While talking to people on the street about their perceived safety, you have to ask them to point out the â&#x20AC;&#x153;hot spotsâ&#x20AC;? on the map, trying to make them express to what extent and why they feel that area A - EXCITING / VIBRANT B - PLEASANT

C - LIVABLE

A-

Relatively small units (15 - 24 units / 100 m)

A-

Relatively small units (15 - 24 units / 100 m)

A-

Mixture of small and larger units (10 - 14 / 100 m)

F-

Diversity of functions (more than 6 land uses)

F-

Diversity of functions (more than 6 land uses)

F-

Some diversity of functions (no less than 3 land uses)

O-

No closed or passive units, lots of activities at eye level

O-

No closed or passive units

O-

Only few closed or passive units

D-

Interesting in facades, quality

D-

Some relief in facades, relatively good detailing

D-

Uninteresting facades design, poor detailing

M-

Regularly maintained

M-

Regularly maintained

M-

Clean with signs of neglect

as unsafe, so that overlapping shadows in the overall Fear Map will highlight places where perceived fear cumulates. In communicating the results of this step, you might enrich the work, with a photographic campaign and annotations on the overall map, as it will greatly facilitate the reading and understanding of the analysis carried out.

D - DULL

Assessment criteria

E - DISTRESSING

A-

Larger units with few doors (4 - 9 units / 100 m)

A-

Larger units with few or no doors (0 - 3 units / 100 m)

F-

No visible variation of functions (only 1 land use)

F-

No visible variation of functions (only 1 land use)

O-

Predominantly facades

closed

O-

Closed and passive facades

D-

Mainly unattractive facades with few or no details

D-

Monotonous facades, no details, nothing interesting to look at

M-

Repairing and cleaning treatment needed

M-

Abandoned area and redevelopment needed

A F ODM-

ACCESS FUNCTIONS OPENNESS AND ACTIVITY DETAILING MAINTEINANCE

Street front assessment is aimed at understanding how simple spatial characteristics of street fronts can impact on communities and inhabitants. These characteristics range from the number of visible buildings to the continuity of the street front, from visual richness to maintenance, and many others. By mapping the quality of street frontages. It will be possible to understand possible correlations between the quality of street fronts and recursive collective behaviours.

Conclusion: Street front assessment With all the information collected, processed

and

organized

according to different maps, it is conclusions. By using a hierarchical scale overall condition of the street fronts is to be assessed. The unit of assessment is the street front and not the district or the block because the experience of the

Opposite page:

such as: A - Access F - Functions O - Openness and Activity D - Detailing M - Maintenance

of street front

different aspects to evaluate streets and

individual takes place in the public

evolutionary stages within the area.

realm through its streets, squares,

If possible, you should address to

while the general idea of district

different

historical

refers rather to a conceptualization

periods.

What

from individual experiences.

microscope is the role of particular

People

not

neighbourhoods

under

the

â&#x20AC;&#x153;seeâ&#x20AC;? walking

positively or negatively permeability

down a street: they see more

and connectivity performance of

the area.

less

when

construction

maintained

acknowledge

lack

buildings, of

lighting

It is important that the centre of

or green areas, discover freshly

the selected sites corresponds to

like or their way back home.

a transportation hub or a central squares.

Generally

speaking,

basis of several characters: from the

has to a point of reference for the

number of visible buildings to the

neighbourhood.

continuity of the street front, from

All

visual richness to maintenance,

be characterized by the same

and many others.

extension.

All information gathered so far are

A square measuring 800m by 800m

the repertoire of information for the

can be considered an optimal

the

selected

areas

should

area, because it represents the You

will

have

make

your

reachable distance within a 10

inevitably subjective evaluations

minutes walk, if measured from side

more objective by making it clear

to side of the square.

what are the criteria that drive your work.

A set of structural indicators of

At the end of the evaluation

connectivity and accessibility is

process

between

presented here, including some

quality of street fronts and recursive

related to the street network and

collective

derived from the analysis of the

correlations behaviours

should

emerge.

urban block. All measures have to be computed for each selected area.

Indicators

connectivity

and

permeability

t Block density: blocks are the

The basis of this work consists in the

footprint of the urban fabric.

analysis of no less than 3-4 urban

Block size and structure, even

selected by yourself.

if every case is unique, can

You should try to include different

types of urban textures in different

accessibility patterns. Number

analysed

evaluate

101

Civic:Civic: 17.3%17.3% Civic: 17.3% Only Only resitential: 19.4% Only resitential: 19.4% resitential: 19.4% Commercial: 12 (4.86%) 12 (4.86%) Commercial: 12 (4.86%) 209Housing: (84.62%) Housing: 209 (84.62%) 209Commercial: (84.62%) % of area % ofreachable area % of area reachable within reachable 200 within m:within 200 20.71% m: 200 20.71% m: 20.71% Housing: Natural: Natural: 10.9%10.9% Natural: 10.9% MixedMixed residential: 0% 0% 0% residential: 1 (0.40%) Leisure:Leisure: 1 (0.40%) Leisure: 1 (0.40%) Mixed residential: % of area % ofreachable area % of area reachable within reachable 400 within m:within 400 13.16% m: 400 13.16% m: 13.16% ments s WITHIN THE AREA of inters BLOCKS WITHIN WITHIN THE AREA THE AREA Num - way 4intersections: 4Commercial: -2.3% way intersections: 10 xS.L.O.A.P.: 32.3% =10 30xS.L.O.A.P.: xS.L.O.A.P.: 3 = 30 - way intersections: 310 =12.4% 30 Strong Strong pattern Strong grid pattern ratio: grid pattern 0 ratio:1ratio: 0(0.40%) 01 (0.40%) as uxury inga luxury livingBLOCKS living BLOCKS 12.4%12.4% NumberNumber Commercial: 2.3% Utility: Utility: Utility: 1 (0.40%) 4Commercial: Health:grid 24 (5.67%) Health: Health: 24 (5.67%) 24 (5.67%) %d % are density: 16.76 km 16.76 Intersection Intersection density: density: 0.05ratio: 0.05 per sqm per sqm 3Industry: NumberNumber of intersections: 332 blocks: 2 of blocks: Number of blocks: 2 NumberNumber ofof cul Num - way 3Street intersections: 3Street - intersections: way intersections: 42 xStreets&Parking: 2= 84xper 42 xper 2 =sqm 84 - 0% way 42 2km =sqm 84 Weak grid Weak patttern Weak grid patttern grid ratio: patttern 0 ratio: 0nodes 0nodes ouranal neighbourneighbourStreets&Parking: Streets&Parking: 37.6% 37.6%37.6% Industry: 0%density: Industry: 0% Church: 3 (1.21%) Church: 3 (1.21%) Church: 3 (1.21%) School: 3 (1.21%) School: School: 3 (1.21%) 3 (1.21%) Average block area: 44171.6 sqm 44171.6 Average block block area: 44171.6 sqm sqm % % are Network movements Network 275 movements NumberNumber Street Street density: density: 13.1613.16 km per kmsqkm per sqkm of cul de sacs: 15 area: ofof vehic Num Cul - deCul - sacs: 25 de x (-1) - permeability: sacs: = -25 25 275 x=(-1) = -25 - Cul de --permeability: sacs: 25 x (-1) -25 .ot(e.g. the ScottheNumber Scot- Average SDI: 0.278 SDI: 0.278 SDI: 0.278 Average block length: 1057.8 m Average length: 1057.8 m Average blockblock length: 1057.8 m Network Network permeability: permeability: 186 movements 186 movements InternalInternal connec Intec TOTAL: 89 TOTAL: TOTAL: 89 89 ak. re texture is weak. is Number weak. of vehicular links: 65 BLOCKSBLOCKS IN THE AREA BLOCKS IN THEINAREA THE AREA Internal - connectivity: 33/48 = 0.69 NumberNumber of blocks: 23 of blocks: Number of blocks: 23 23 (31 points (31 ingress/egress) points of ingress/egress) (31of points of ingress/egress) Average block area: sqm 18593.7 Average block Average block18593.7 area:area: 18593.7 sqm sqm Average block length: 493.8length: m493.8493.8 Average Average blockblock length: m m

Civic:Civic: 6.7% 6.7% Civic: 6.7% Only Only resitential: 5.1% Only resitential: 5.1% resitential: 5.1% Commercial: Commercial: 1 (1.75%) 1 (1.75%) Commercial: 1 (1.75%) 28 (14.12%) Housing: Housing: 28 (14.12%) 28 (14.12%) % of area % ofreachable area % of area reachable within reachable 200 within m:within 200 5.70% m: 200 5.70% m: 5.70% Housing: Natural: Natural: 32.8%32.8% Natural: 32.8% MixedMixed residential: 0% 0% 0% residential: Leisure:Leisure: 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) Leisure: 0 (0.00%) Mixed residential: % of area % ofreachable area % of area reachable within reachable 400 within m:within 400 11.00% m: 400 11.00% m: 11.00% ments s Commercial: Utility: Utility: (8.77%) 5 (8.77%) Utility: 5 (8.77%) 5Commercial: Health:grid 1 (1.75%) Health: Health: 1 (1.75%) 1 (1.75%) of inters Num WITHIN THE AREA BLOCKS WITHIN WITHIN THE AREA THE AREA - way 5intersections: 212.1% x 4S.L.O.A.P.: =12.1% 82 x 4S.L.O.A.P.: 5Commercial: -12.1% way intersections: 28 x15.6% 4S.L.O.A.P.: = 8 15.6%15.6% NumberNumber - way intersections: = Strong pattern Strong ratio: grid pattern 17 17 Strong grid pattern ratio:5ratio: 17 cient exurbanurban tex-BLOCKS tex- BLOCKS Number of intersections: 34 %d % are density: 21.07 km 21.07 Intersection Intersection density: density: 0.05ratio: 0.05 per sqm per sqm 4Industry: Number of blocks: 30 of blocks: Number of blocks: 30 30 Streets&Parking: Streets&Parking: 27.8% 27.8%27.8% Industry: 0%density: Industry: 0% Church: Church: 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) Church: 0 (0.00%) School: 16patttern (28.07%) School: School: 16 patttern (28.07%) 16 patttern (28.07%) NumberNumber ofof cul Num - way 4Street intersections: 52 xStreets&Parking: 3= 156 4Street - intersections: way intersections: 52 xper 3 =sqm 156 - 0% way 52 xper 3km =sqm 156 Weak grid Weak grid ratio: 6 ratio: 6nodes Weak grid 6nodes - Number Number of cul de sacs: 25 block area: sqm Average block9554.1 block area:area: 9554.1 9554.1 sqm sqm % % are permeability: 360 movements permeability: Street Street density: density: 13.0613.06 km per kmsqkm per sqkm SDI: 0.661 SDI: 0.661 SDI: 0.661 NumberNumber ofof vehic Num 3 - way 3Network intersections: 54 x 2 =54 108 3Network - intersections: way intersections: x 2 movements = 108 - way x 254 =360 108 underneath the neath theAverage the Average Number of vehicular links: 79length: Average block length: 242.2 m242.2242.2 Average block m Average block length: m Network Network permeability: permeability: 234 movements 234 movements InternalInternal connec Intec Cul - deCul - sacs: x (-1) = -12 de - sacs: 12 x=(-1) - Cul de12 --sacs: 12 x (-1) -12 = -12 wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t ed t affected affected Internal connectivity: 34/59 = 0.58 BLOCKSBLOCKS IN THE AREA BLOCKS IN THEIN AREA THE AREA NumberNumber of blocks: 52 of blocks: Number of blocks: 52 52 aring oss t Charing CrossAverage Cross Average block area: sqm Average block 7999.8 block7999.8 area:area: 7999.8 sqm sqm (45 points ingress/egress) (45 points of ingress/egress) (45of points of ingress/egress) Average block length: 237.4length: m237.4237.4 Average Average blockblock length: m m

Civic:Civic: 5.1% 5.1% Civic: 5.1% Only resitential: Only Only resitential: 5.1% 5.1% resitential: 5.1% Commercial: Commercial: 32 (29.90%) 32 (29.90%) Commercial: 32 (29.90%) 27 (25.23%) Housing: Housing: 27 (25.23%) 27 (25.23%) % of area % ofreachable area % of area reachable within reachable 200 within m:within 200 11.40% m: 200 11.40% m: 11.40% Housing: Natural: 7.5% 7.5% Natural: 7.5%Natural: MixedMixed residential: 1.2% 1.2% 1.2% residential: Leisure:Leisure: 3 (2.80%) 3 (2.80%) Leisure: 3 (2.80%) Mixed residential: % of area % ofreachable area % of area reachable within reachable 400 within m:within 400 9.40% m: 400 9.40% m: 9.40% ments s Commercial: Utility: Utility: Utility: 3 (2.80%) 5Commercial: Health:grid 0 (0.00%) Health: Health: 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) of inters Num BLOCKS WITHIN WITHIN THE AREA THE AREA BLOCKS WITHIN THE AREA - way 5intersections: 318.2% x 4S.L.O.A.P.: =18.2% 12 - way 5Commercial: -18.2% intersections: way intersections: 3 x 4S.L.O.A.P.: = 3 12 x6.3% 4S.L.O.A.P.: = 126.3% 6.3% NumberNumber Strong pattern Strong ratio: grid pattern 0 03 (2.80%) Strong grid pattern ratio:3ratio: 0(2.80%) er. esite River. The site The site BLOCKS Number of intersections: 95 Number of blocks: 12 12 of blocks: 12 of blocks: Streets&Parking: Streets&Parking: 37.8% 37.8%37.8% Industry: 20.0% Industry: 20.0% Church: Church: 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) Church: 0 (0.00%) NumberNumber ofof cul Num School: 4 (3.73%) School: School: 4 (3.73%) 4 (3.73%) - way 4Street intersections: 12 xStreets&Parking: 3= 36xper 4Street - intersections: way intersections: 12 xper 3 =sqm 36 - 20.0% way 12 3km =sqm 36 Weak grid patttern Weak grid ratio: patttern 0 ratio: 0nodes Weak grid patttern 0nodes ythe ween between theNumber the Number %d % are density: 42.27 km density: 42.27 Intersection density: 0.15ratio: per sqm Intersection density: 0.15 per sqm 4Industry: Number of cul de sacs: 11 area: Average block block area: 15278.8 sqm sqm Average block area: 15278.8 sqm 15278.8 NumberNumber ofof vehic Num 3 - way 3Network intersections: 73 x 2 =73 146 3Network - intersections: way intersections: x 2 movements = 146 - way x 273 =994 146 SDI: 0.793 SDI: 0.793 SDI: 0.793 bridge M8 e is for is M8 for M8 Average % % are permeability: 994 movements permeability: Street density: 24.4824.48 km per Street density: kmsqkm per sqkm Number of vehicular links: 184 Average block length: m Average block length: m Average block length: 508.9 m508.9508.9 InternalInternal connec Intec Cul - deCul - sacs: x (-1) = -18 - Cul de18 --sacs: de - sacs: 18 x (-1) 18 x=(-1) -18 = -18 Network permeability: 486 movements Network permeability: 486 movements Internal connectivity: 95/106 = 0.89 BLOCKS IN THEIN AREA THE AREA BLOCKSBLOCKS IN THE AREA TOTAL: 176 TOTAL: TOTAL: 176 176 but eon, is there but there is is Number of blocks: 30 30 NumberNumber of blocks: 30 of blocks: Average block Average block10667.3 area:area: 10667.3 sqm sqm Average block area: sqm 10667.3 (37 points ingress/egress) (37 points of ingress/egress) (37of points of ingress/egress) gsnder the Kingsthe KingsAverage Average blockblock length: m m Average block length: 532.2length: m532.2532.2

ments s

Average Average Average block block area block area area

M8 and M8M8 and theand grid thethe gridgrid

Overall Overall Overall connectivity connectivity connectivity

Link to Link no Lin to

The onlyThe area only The which area onlyshows area whichwhich any shows grid shows any pattern grid anypattern ratio grid pattern ratioThe ratio best The connectivity best The best connectivity connectivity is noticeable is noticeable is in noticeable Charing in Charing in Charing is Charing is Charing Cross is Charing - City CrossCentre Cross - City- Centre area. City Centre It area. is thearea. Itonly is the It isonly theCross only - Cross City Centre Cross - City- Centre area. City Centre It area. can area. be It can seen It be can from seen bea seen from from a a example example of example urban of texture urban of urban texture with texture ancient with with ancient traces ancient traces traces quick overview quickquick overview and overview computations and computations and computations prove it.proveprove it. it. aroundaround the M8. around the M8. the M8. High connectivity High High connectivity connectivity rating due rating turating due computation tu due computation tu computation is is is The gridThe wasgrid The notwas grid affected not wasaffected not much affected as much themuch M8 as the goes asM8 thegoes M8also goes seen also in seen Anderston/Kingston also seen in Anderston/Kingston in Anderston/Kingston area but area in fact area but inbut fact in fact underneath. underneath. underneath. All other Allareas other All other have areasareas no have gridhave no patgrid no patgridthere pat-is there no connectivity there is no connectivity is no connectivity between between thebetween twothe sides two the of sides two sides of of ter ratioter asratio there ter ratio asare there as almost there are no almost are regular almost no regular grid no with regular grid with gridriver withClyde. river The Clyde. riverworst Clyde. Theconnectivity worst The worst connectivity connectivity is in Royston/ is in Royston/ is in Royston/ 4-way crossings. 4-way4-way crossings. crossings. Dennistoun Dennistoun due Dennistoun to due the presence to due thetopresence the of presence the massive of theofmassive the massive motorway motorway interchange motorway interchange interchange with few with bridges/underfew withbridges/underfew bridges/underpases pasespases

Civic:Civic: 5.7% 5.7% Civic: 5.7% Only Only resitential: 14.5% Only resitential: 14.5% resitential: 14.5% 124 (33.42%) Commercial: 124 (33.42%) Commercial: 124 (33.42%) 150Housing: (40.43%) Housing: 150 (40.43%) 150Commercial: (40.43%) % of area within 200 m:within 27.18% % ofreachable area % of area reachable reachable within 200 m: 200 27.18% m: 27.18% Housing: Natural: 1.4% 1.4% Natural: 1.4%Natural: MixedMixed residential: 7.3% 7.3% 7.3% residential: Leisure:Leisure: 15 (4.04%) 15 (4.04%) Leisure: 15 (4.04%) Mixed residential: % of area within 400 m:within 26.79% % ofreachable area % of area reachable reachable within 400 m: 400 26.79% m: 26.79% 2.3% 2.3% S.L.O.A.P.: 2.3% S.L.O.A.P.: Commercial: 23.9% 23.9% Commercial: 23.9%S.L.O.A.P.: Utility: 14 (3.77%) Utility: 14 (3.77%) Utility: 14 (3.77%) Commercial: Health:Health: 4 (1.08%) 4 (1.08%) Health: 4 (1.08%) Number of intersections: 63 Street density: 29.94 km per sqm Street density: 29.94 km per sqm Intersection density: 0.10 nodes per sqm Intersection density: 0.10 nodes per sqm Streets&Parking: Streets&Parking: 45.0% 45.0%45.0% Streets&Parking: Industry: 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% Industry: Church: 4 (1.08%) Church: 4 (1.08%) Church: 4 (1.08%) Industry: School:School: 13 (3.5%) 13 (3.5%) School: 13 (3.5%) Number of cul de sacs: 25 Network permeability: 545 movements Network permeability: 545 movements Street density: 19.7519.75 km per Street density: kmsqkm per sqkm SDI: 0.704 SDI: 0.704 SDI: 0.704 Number of vehicular links: 106 Network permeability: 341 movements Network permeability: 341 movements Internal connectivity: 63/88 = 0.72

% % of are % % of are

Opposite page: Studied indicators of permeability and conectivity of

pedestrian

accessibility and vehicular vehicular

of blocks per unit give us the

information about granulometry

between

of the urban fabric. Lower

points in meters: the shorter

density comes with larger blocks

the distance, the greater the

and

permeability

external connectivity. Vehicular

and movement in the area.

connectivity is evaluated to

Block analysis is carried out

the number of intersections

separately for blocks entirely

and links. Internal connectivity

within the study area and blocks

is measured as the number

partially included in the study

area. Block density is counted

the sum of the total amount

as Total Block Area/Unit Area

(800 m x 800 m = 360000 sqm).

sacs. The higher is the ratio,

decreases

t Grid pattern ratio

the

median

ingress/egress

intersections intersection

the

distance

greater

divided and the

cul-theinternal

rate of investigated area which

connectivity. Link to Node ratio

is included in a grid pattern.

is the ratio of the number of

The strong grid pattern ratio

links to the number of nodes. A

shows the areas included in a

perfect grid has an ideal ratio

perfect grid. An urban block is

of 2.5 but reaching 1.4 is usually

included in the grid pattern if all

considered a good target in

the nodes at all its corners are

new human settlements.

t Vehicular movement: vehicular

4-way intersections. The weak grid pattern ratio

connectivity is also affected

shows areas enclosed in an

by the number of intersections

almost perfect grid pattern,

in an unit area, namely by its

namely where the grid pattern

intersection density. The higher

if all the nodes except one at

is the number, the greater is

its corners are at least 4-way

the connectivity.Streets density

intersections.

shows how many kilometers

t Network connectivity of an and

pedestrian

routes

and

streets

are

area.

Network

assess

how

well

the

unit

permeability integrated

their intersections. Intersections

the network of an area is by

are evaluated to the number

showing the total number of

possible movements a vehicle

possible

moves.

4-way

intersections have the highest

rating (they give 3 choices of

number of possible movements

movement), while the cul-de-

is studied at each intersection.

sacs

have negative rating

allowed

t Pedestrian

perform.The

movement:

as they reduce connectivity

Pedestrian connectivity focuses

(-1).

on ease of movement in the

External

connectivity

103

network

for

pedestrian.

access and communication.

this case the street density is

Better accessibility is usually

applied to the sidewalks: it

associated

shows how many kilometres of

connectivity and in order to

pavement there are in the unit

support pedestrian movement

area.

permeability

it is important to guarantee a

for pedestrians is very similar to

good mix of usage. The level of

vehicular network permeability

mixitĂŠ can be evaluated by the

but it is generally characterised

Simpson Diversity Index (S.D.I.):

Network

with

higher

by higher values as pedestrian are not limited in choosing their

n = number of units for each

way forward or according to

more arcs linked to that node

as small shops, grocery stores,

impacts on other nodes in the

bars, restaurants, can consistently

graph, increasing the length

vary if seen at the local scale of

of the shortest path, reducing

the neighbourhood, in which are

betweenness

degree

fundamental elements of centrality

centrality. Information centrality

and scale of the city, where

degree will therefore depend

they have a minor importance

on the new alternative shortest

compared to other aspects.

paths length used when the

The impact of an airport or a large

node is deactivated.

shopping centre referring to a

and

global scale can lead to outcomes The distinctive characteristic of

which may not correspond at

being based on a set of different

all when analysed at the level of neighbourhood. Therefore it is

is a multifaceted, argumentative

essential to run MCAs both globally

understanding that does not offer

and locally since the one without

any single, apodictic, universal key

the other can only bear a small

to all possible problems of the urban

part of the answer.

fabric, but rather provides with an

Nevertheless

in-depth description of the different

indices the local component may

properties

considered

not be consistent, which means

network, properties that respond to

that nodes assessment at the local

the different ways of being central.

level is mainly related to indices

the

for

some

the

such as betweenness, closeness All the indices shown above, can

and straightness.

be computed globally or locally. Within a global network, all the nodes become inputs to calculate

Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s next

centrality, while in a local network,

The MCA has been tested and

only nodes and connections within a given distance to each node are

research

used to determine centrality.

collaboration with many Universities

In the work displayed below, in order

throughout the UK, building a vast

city-wide

determine

local

centralities,

work

and

carried

out

neighbourhood-

119

wide body of analysis was built.

policies for transport links and

Possible applications of this new

tool are constantly explored.

are

Anyway,

one

the

most

identify

those

favoured

backbones

areas

that

become

the

neighbourhoods,

interesting use is the evaluation

districts and cities.

of the correlation between street

Willing

centrality and location of facilities

development of our cities towards

and retails.

Space Syntax already pointed out

in which the goal is minimising

this element and later on, during

car dependency and enhance

the work carried on in these very last

walkability by giving the chance

years by the MCA researchers it has

to choose between a big range

been proved that street centrality

of opportunities and alternatives

value is tightly bound with density of

in a lively and stimulating urban

shops and other facilities.

environment.

Recently MCA implementation was

address

sustainable

future

paradigm,

The level of centrality of an

carried in Italy, providing important

area could be considered as

and clear guidelines in assessing

an added value, such as the

different project alternatives for

welfare state in a Nation.

Parma University Campusâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; collective

Dealing with the urban environment appropriate

trying to read its endless complexity

solution for the revitalization of

from a single point of view leads

pedestrian paths and green areas.

This showed that MCA is not only

only half of the story. We need to

a useful tool for understanding

realise that in a network a node

of the status quo, but also an

can be central in one sense and

excellent system of evaluation and

at the same time marginal from a

comparison

different perspective and that a

identify

the

most

between

different

MCA

intuitive

and of

seeks

urban

image

intuitive

return easy

understanding

areas,

neighbourhoods,

and

tells

high level of centrality according

projectâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s alternatives. The

misunderstanding

regions

positive or discouraging element for different purposes. This tool has a descriptive value

highlighting

universally

answer,

but

can

the central role of streets both

actually help in the reading of our

locally and regionally, in relation

urban network to extrapolate some

to their surroundings.

constants and gain insight into our

Furthermore, the centrality of a street is a key element in assessing

cities.

in this page:

MCA can be computed both globally and

performance at the different

achieveing a more comprehensive understanding

catchement area used to calculate local indices

depending on the purpose of the

Global closeness

121

STRATEGIC

Opposite page Detail of a one of the most important outputs of the

factors determining the strategic choices are all simultaneously projected into a to see realised in

The amount of

When we imagine the size of an intervention at the urban scale, we often picture in our mind a vast portion of space. However actions within the urban tissue are never limited to spatial nature of operating processes can sort very different effects: some are immediately visible (new buildings, new roads, etc.) while others are longterm and less explicit. The latter are, very often, very hard to appraise in the design phase. For this reason, any urban intervention, aiming to determine long-range portions of the city, is three-dimensional. There are physical

(the tangible change), socio-economic (groups

involved, stakeholders and policy makers, local community) and temporal dimensions. The temporal dimension can be included in the urban project in two ways. You can imagine a sneak peek into the future to se possible effects of decisions taken in the present day, studying patterns of development and trying to predict future trends, delivering what is called “vision”. Another way is to place in a more or less near future, a goal, by taking “urban photography” that describes an option for future and trace backwards what will allow, starting from today, to get to that situation at This is the idea underlying scenarios-based design, in which the temporal element has a strong preponderance and everything is designed in

A 25 year strategy Chistopher Alexander

125

Strategic scenarios-based planning

you

has made it possible for designers

knowledge

and

related to history, development,

government

authorities

have

acquired of

broad

different

issues

to shape the kind of change

current

envisioned. This over the last decade

perceptions of an area in relation

enjoyed great international success

to its surroundings and to the city as

and involved professional groups in

a whole.

major cities and in outside Europe.

Now you will create your own

Scenarios are chosen according

future picture of investigated area.

to the needs of those who carried

You will have to choose whether

out the study and they can be set

to accept or deny the validity of

to propose desirable frameworks

policy options put in place by local

well

consequences

lead

status

and

social

extreme

development

alter

social

and

economic

trends, whether to preserve or unsustainable.

revolutionize shape of buildings, roads, infrastructure, whether to

scenarioâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

its

increase or relocate services and

functions: in other words you will

said, are pictures of future urban

hold in your hands the keys for the

programme:

backbone scenarios,

is as

character of places. heart lies in the way in which

Realistic

urban

development and management

programmes of the area of interest

of the transformation of the area

in the larger urban context will

and its immediate surrounding are

be developed with the explicit

handled.

purpose of achieving quality and

In the earlier phases of this journey

urban

sustainability,

regeneration

evaluating

Opposite page and in this page: A portion of a carried out for the study area from the students of

the particular and opportunities are analysed separately from treaths (current

and comparing ideas for change

producing your strategy.

into a coherent and positive holistic

Proceed with a summary of the most

strategy. This will focus both on

important factors currently shaping

spatial issues and on aspects related

the study areaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s life and spatial

to the sustainable development in its environmental, social and economic

factors are already in place, others

components.

are opportunities for the future: how

In the next few pages it will be

to incorporate their effects in your

illustrated a set of tools that will

strategy and to what extent? Others

enable you to master the imaginative

will be negative trends: how to shift

process of creating an urban strategy

them to more desirable to future?

for the study area over the next 25 years and the steps that allow you to track and study the various aspects

Compared SWOT analysis

that necessarily make it up.

The best way is to make a list of all relevant results coming from the analytical work in the form of a

Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s take stock

SWOT composite Analysis that will

From the previous analysis you

summarize all the key-point, negative

have collected a large amount of

or positive.

data, some of which are of prime importance and very revealing, other less important and transient in nature. However, being this basis for the formulation of your plan of action, it is necessary to gather all the knowledge acquired before

At the end of the work you have to take stock of what you learned so far, so that all data can be read in perspective of your future project. SWOT analysis is a tool widely used

127

Opposite page:

The concept

a strategic plan organised in a set of graphic

clear terms and the action plan is organised so as

the purpose of a

plan doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t limit to the spatial

particualr care on the spatial nature of their effect on

into account a non spatial issues

raised in the SWOT

in the strategic planning of a project

perspective is the scenario that

or in all those situation in which an

you have set. This obviously comes

organization or an individual must

directly from what you have learned

make a decision to achieve a goal,

from the analysis phase, but they

to assess strengths, weaknesses,

can also come off sharply from

opportunities and threats.

the experience current situation.

Depending on the complexity of

Anyway to be realistic all the issues

the area, you can make SWOT

raised in the analysis phase can not

analysis aimed to study different

and should not be diminished: the

aspects of the problem and only

scenario developed is a response

in the end, create an overall SWOT

that gathers all the issues together.

interests, is linked to that particular

those

conditions,

those

historical and cultural heritage and it is the experience of those people Listing ambitions

who needs to be improved.

From the SWOT analysis is now possible to make an assessment of what are your ambitions to bring

The Strategic Plan

about change in the area and to

At this point you have enough

achieve that set by the scenario:

arguments to create a version of

what are the projects, ideas and

the overall process leading to the

activities

realization of the scenario: your

that

can

help

attain

an objective, to limit a threat, to strengthen an opportunity, to

actions to be taken in or in relation

minimize a weakness?

to the area over the next 25 years.

Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s combine the overall analytical work into a one vision for the study area, organised in a coherent and coordinate set of actions. In doing so, priority should be given an impact on the long-term, which can work as a catalyst for further change.

The whole point of the strategic plan

gain

awareness

on what are the connection between spatial and relevant non-spatial issues. It does not merely deal with arguments spatial in nature, but embraces

policies

and

social

factors as well. Either way, even if it is done by

one another and that share a single goal in the future through a combination of ideas of different types (spatial, economic, social, political, environmental...).

both of these factors, it would be preferable that, as you have always done so far, the spatial impact of actions not strictly spatial needs to be is emphasized by mapping it in

129

The strategic plan should in fact be

Gantt chart and an accurate

a map, displaying simultaneously

phasing. They must cover the

all the actions you intend to

whole of the 25 years of the

undertake and all their effects on

scenario but their concentration

the urban space.

is to be evaluated by yourself

The strategic plan is accompanied taking care to evenly place the

by two main pieces of works:

various actions in order to create

t an action plan that tells you

progressively

increasing

what needs to be done to

urban quality for users of area

achieve the target. It displays

as is pursued the ultimate goal.

the requirements to put into

The actions foreseen can also

practice

exceed 25 years, or may project

your

plan

through

to an even longer period, thus actions and projects. It is made

indicating that the process put

of very different actions ranging

in place with your strategy has

from

a horizon that can last longer

architecture

(such

the refurbishment of buildings, even more forward.

new housing types), up to the design of infrastructure and

t a vision statement: it sums up in

public transport (new stations,

a sentence, a slogan or a few

railway and bus), from urban

words how you foresee the area

landscape design (squares and

to look and function like once

public realm), to education

every step of your strategy has

and civics (new programs or

been completed, in clear and

vocational

new

precise terms. Associate a logo,

programs

a slogan or a graphic concept

You

to visualize it in a strong and

education,

organisations for refer

participation). to

slogans,

can

immediate way.

diagrams,

examples even geographically apart, including stakeholders that should be involved with the

strategy

The Concept Plan

implementation step:

plan, namely what, when and why

everything, in short, that can

certain projects need to be put

concretely put in motion, fuel

into practice and to who they are

process

each

addressed. Now we have to see project sought. Since this is

how theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re going to be realized in

a long-running process, the

practical terms.

various

The

actions

are

Concept

Plan,

unlike

the

chronological

Strategic Plan has a spatial nature

order, for example through a

aiming to locate and quantify the

organized

change in very practical terms. It

metres from the boundaries of the

is a representation that, although

study area is beyond the reach of

in diagrammatic way, works out

investigation.

a plan of the area in the future,

Hence it naturally follows that the

in terms of road infrastructure

area of analysis of the Concept

network, density, built stock and

Plan is the study area plus an 800

ecological network. This is done

metres offset.

by visualising how the area used to

work

before

implementation

the

and

strategy how

the

Hierarchy of nodes

area works with it, analysing and

In the most dynamic centres of the

graphically representing both.

compact city, generally the most

The elements that come into play

vital areas are also the most densely

in the comparison between before

built. In addition, they are also

and after are:

those in which the concentration of services is far greater and the use

t t t t t

Hierarchy of nodes

of the public realm is much more

Transport network

marked and where it is easier to

Street network Density and specialist areas

subway or train station nearby.

Ecological network

These areas where urban life is more vibrant are called nodes. Porta and

The Concept Plan is a spatial vision of the area, and refers to the

â&#x20AC;&#x153;an aggregation of services and

complex system of relationships and physical resources coming

from areas often outside the

Your goal is to match, as a rule,

study area itself. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

why

the

considerations

made by the Concept Plan can not be limited merely to the area of interest but must go further. Outlining to what extent and how

denser urban areas with nodes of retail and services located at a walking distance and to a greater provision of public infrastructure.

far do they come from is not easy

Higher the level of the transit stop

but in general terms, and since

and the provision of facilities more

your scenario mainly focuses on

important is the node

the study area and analyses the

In order to know how to make this

effects of actions and events

happen you have to understand

locally impacting on it, we can

how to read the current situation.

conventionally

To understand where nodes are

assume

that,

spatially, all that is farther than 800

131

detect

concentrations

non-residential

and

commercial

meet these features with a small

activities. This work has already

black plain circle approximately

been done during the analytical

placed in the geometric centre

phase, so it is only a matter of

of the concentration. At this

processing data that you already

point, trace a circle with a

have and extend them to the rest

radius of 400 meters from the

of the area. For â&#x20AC;&#x153;concentration of

centre of the node to easily see

activitiesâ&#x20AC;?, we mean a reasonable

which part of the urban fabric is

amount of services close enough to

located at a 5 minutes walking

be easily reachable on foot.

distance from it.

There are three kinds of nodes you need to map:

t global nodes: they are nonordinary activities, as can be a specialised retail which sells

t local or neighbourhood centres:

goods for a non-daily use or

they consist in clusters of mainly

extraordinary

local

of ordinary activities of the

and

daily

shops

made

activities meet

same typology (for example

everyday needs of residents of

a cluster of many jewellery,

particular

agglomeration

neighbourhood,

computer

repair

shops).

such as groceries, pubs, bars

Global nodes can also provide

and

highly specialised services, like

cafĂŠs,

butchers

and

an Olympic Stadium or large Commercial Centres. Locate building

otherwise

devoted

a black circle larger than the

to residential use. To represent

former in the centre of the

Opposite page:

distribution for the study area By overlapping the

at the same

nodes location is local main roads and local roads In this page:

of the ordinary urban fabric and

comprehensive vision of the mutual relationship of density and

global nodes

different line type map for the study

users, they should be indicated Node. Since these nodes are

graphically with big black plain

not local-oriented, are the ones

circles (such as global nodes)

we are less interested in.

but it must be also represented

t district nodes or centres may

the

circle

indicating

the

be viewed as more important

perimeter of the walkability of

concentrations of local nodes,

400 metres radius.

containing both functions of everyday life and rarest and

Once you have made this map you

most sought after goods and

can see at a glance in what areas

services.

there is scarcity of provision or total

They

destination

for

can

the

commuting

absence.

coming both from within the neighbourhood and from other urban regions. They correspond

Street Hierarchy

to clusters of shops and services

Knowing the functioning of the

as diverse in nature and play

road network is essential to change

a leading part in the urban

it. Although it may seem strange,

the very nature of the district.

streets are the most important and

They tend to correspond to

enduring signs of cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s evolution,

higher levels of public transport

especially in denser historical areas.

and roads of higher hierarchy

They are loaded with historical and

given

their

important

trade

with the rest of the city. As they

they shape the urban fabric (they

appeal to local and non-local

133

and size of the blocks), and some

t Urban

Main

of them have been generators of

often

rather

urban growth from their origins.

very

urban

Change

the

path

even

remove a road is an operation that should be done only if absolutely not waivable at the strategic level.

Roads, busy,

albeit

have

nature:

while

connecting different portions of

the

they

same

are

urban

region

characterized

frequent exchanges with the road network of lower levels. A good urban main road shows

Basing on the mapping of the road hierarchy made during the

at the same time pedestrians

analysis, extend it to include the

walking along the sidewalks,

whole enlarged area identifying

on-street parking, shops and

streets according to the following with

residential

uses.

Good

highlights the differences between

Urban Main are characterized

types (for example, using solid

or dashed lines, with different

uses, liveability and informal

thicknesses)

surveillance by residents and

t Motorways and High speed

high

managers activities.

level

of Banally

social

commercial speaking,

roads: these two types of road

they are the most â&#x20AC;&#x153;famousâ&#x20AC;?

are non-urban in nature and

streets of our cities (as can be,

mainly characterized by fast-

for example, Sauchiehall Street and Byres Road in Glasgow).

are meant to connect different

They can be the backbone

cities and in their urban sections

of urban mobility but their

exchanges with the surrounding area.

Within

the

urban

environment, if they are not downgraded in dense areas to meet the needs of the social life

and social uses) can make them very problematic.

t Local Main Roads: roads of this type have a better balance

they represent insurmountable

between vehicular and non-

barriers, and harm the unity of

vehicular uses. Their purpose is

the urban fabric segregating and

separating

neighbourhood. by your

the

areas If

dictated

characteristics

investigation

and of

indicate

separately Motorways and High speed roads.

districts

and

neighbouhoods

and they act as intermediate elements between the large

In this page: Public transport

separating ground-level from underground

All transit options are pointed

bus routes are different line type

access roads to the individual

of public service. From the mapping

units and building blocks.

of nodes, you now know where the

t Local

roads:

category,

fall

mostly

into

this

pedestrian

oriented streets of various types.

main cluster of urban services are located. Ideally the large concentrations of nodes should match the locations

within the internal areas of the

the

main

public

transport

neighbourhood primarily for the

(train and subway), while the

use of its inhabitants. They are in

concentrations of smaller nodes

fact mainly meant for residential

should still meet the lower levels

access.

of public transport (bus stops and tram stops, bike paths and bike sharing spots). In order to test the

Public Transport

health of your area of interest,

The provision of public services gives

try to verify that this mapping

information on the importance of

corresponds as much as possible

an area in relation to the city as a

to the ideal model. Indicate the

whole.

linear and punctual elements of

The higher the concentration and variety of public transport connecting one area to another, the greater its relevance and centrality.

the network (stations / stops and routes) of the following alternatives for mobility:

t Subway â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Light Rail or Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) representing the

If this does not happen there is a

highest level of public transport

structural problem in the distribution

t Bus network: in this case it is

135

enough to only point out bus or

belonging and urban livability),

tram routes.

and public transport (low density

t Bicycle network (distinguishing

areas suffer from the fact that

from dedicated lanes to the

there is not enough demand to

ones shared with vehicular or

justify a widespread service).

pedestrian mobility).

There are four steps to carry out this analysis:

t Firstly, the built-up space must

Density The mapping of the density is

be separated from the not built-

crucial.

up, which is to be excluded

The whole Concept Plan work is based on the assumption that higher density should match with higher service provision, higher category roads and higher level of transit facilities.

from the analysis of the density. Voids are urban parks, vacant and undeveloped areas, large car parks and the like. While streets are not considered as voids as they are structurally part of the urban fabric. As the object of interest is the stage

uses (without density, as we said

of everyday life, what we are

previously, they would not have

interested in mapping is the ordinary urban fabric.

they would soon be doomed to

t Therefore, you must identify

fail), social uses (higher densities

the specialist areas, portions

promote

of urban space characterized

informal

social

interactions,

surveillance,

sense

by a prominent non-residential

Opposite page: Density Map for the study area featuring the different current density range of the ordinary urban

grades of the same

predominant use of large unbuilt

In this page: Specialist area map for the study

cemeteries ant the

to be included in determining density as they are not part of the

specialist functions (such as business

function

(large

shopping

colours

centres,

industrial

according

the

areas

density range in which they

business districts). They often,

fall, with a scale that goes

but not always, correspond

from the highest value to the lowest (aways expressed in un/

as global nodes. For each

ha). Set the different ranges

specialist area specify what

according to your needs and

type of main activity they host using colour code and

density, but try to maintain a

labels. These specialist area

good detail of information as

must be excluded from the

you will need it later.

computation of the density. Now you are left only with the ordinary urban built-up space.

t Compute density by measuring the

building

footprint

area

Ecological Network Identify the components of green networks

urban

areas.

The

multiplied by the number of

categories can be varied, but the

storeys. For simplicity we assume

most important are:

(unless evidently different). The

t private

density is measured in units per hectares, assuming that each unit is equal to 100 sqm. Average values are assigned to the various areas.

t Indicate areas with different

semiprivate

residential green;

t pocket parks and collective gardens or sport facilities;

t urban

parks

and

other

landscape important areas;

t linear green;

137

Motorway High Speed road Urban Main road Local Main road Local raod existing bus route existing bus station existing surface rails existing underground rails existing train station existing subway network existing subway station private or semiprivate residental green area

park and important landscape area pocket park, garden S.L.O.A.P existing linear green new bicycle route local node

400 m

global node urban fabric density (U/ha) 151 - 300 501 - 750 0 - 150

301 - 500

> 751

Opposite page: Current Concept Plan for the study by selecting the most important information from each individual

t Water

map produced on the current situation and by overlapping them to compose

simultaneously

All considerations on the needs of the area can be

map for the study

(shores,

rivers

and

canals)

unbuilt land traced together

In this page: pedestrian and bicycle mobility routes

and opt for the least possible change required to achieve the

t S.L.O.A.P. (Space Left Over After Planning)

goals you have set in your scenario for the next 25 years and you have articulated through the action and

All the information gathered during

the strategic plan.

the different steps of this mapping,

Your target is to make sure that all

should be indicated on a map

the elements analysed above work

of the current state of the area.

in a coherent and coordinated

Each theme is to be represented

way following, these general rules:

individually and once all have been produced, join the parts to

t Higher streets should serve

see the overall picture.

higher

From this you can now identify gaps,

roads for district centres, urban

weaknesses

problematics.

main and high speed roads

Now you can decide whether to

for global nodes) while lower

implement or shift public transport

streets

and

nodes

should

(urban

serve

main

lower

nodes (local nodes). modify the existing nodes, whether

t Higher

to downgrade or upgrade roads,

whether to increase or decrease

interconnected

the density.

levels

nodes

should

connected of

public

and higher transport,

lower nodes may (but they do not necessarily have to) be Your Concept Plan

connected to lower level public

Follow the principle of economy

transport to each others but

139

by lower level public transport

units per hectares is attributed to

to higher nodes. District nodes

each urban block.

should be served by the light rail or the subway network, local nodes should be served

Proposed hierarchy of density

by buses or bicycle routes.

In theory, you should aim to ensure

t Ecological

network

should

that every resident is at a walking

not be punctual and discrete

distance to the local nodes in order

but continuous in space and

to carry out basic necessities and

entirely connected.

perform the most basic functions

t Large parks should not be

of urban living. This means that in

located in the centre of the

an ideal situation, there should be

neighbourhoods as this would

local nodes at a distance of about

cause an undue decrease in

800 meters apart one another.

density and urban vitality but

However, it is essential that within

rather in areas in-between of

an easy reach he is enabled to

neighbourhoods and districts.

t Higher

densities

should

such as may be provided by a

corresponds with higher level

district node. For them a person is

of nodes and higher hierarchy

willing to take a longer route, so it

of streets.

is reasonable that they are placed at a greater distance compared

Repeat

the

procedure

carried

out before, for density, nodes,

to local nodes. In general it can be said that:

roads, public transport, and green networks in the form in which you

t If the district node is more

imagine they shall be localised

oriented to rare and higherlevel functions, and thus has

years.

a local character only slightly

Try to show clearly where you

marked,

are going to make changes (for

catchment area of 800 meters

example, with different colours

radius (10 minute walk).

specifying the new action from existing situation).

should

have

t If the district node also acts as a local node and hosts a mix of both basic and complex

The

only

parameter

that

services, then its catchment

represented differently from before

area

is the hierarchy of density because,

(approximately a 15 minutes

of course, you are still not able, this

walk or a 5 minute bike ride).

being only a strategic phase, to

1200

radius

In this page: Proposed Density Map for the study

ranges of colour according to the They are planned so as to match higher density

You can see

The Proposed Density Map is carried out in a different

metres circles featuring different

to the Current Density Map as it is not possible to

Draw a circle with a dashed line

determine numeric density values at this stage of the

around the node with 800 or 1200

density: high density, medium

meters radius depending on the

density and low density to be represented with three shades

not exactly tracking the walking

(from the more intense the

distance from the node but its

lightest) of the same colour.

catchment. Not being an ordinary service there is no need for it to

At this phase the used scale does

be reached on foot in 5 minutes because

any

case

people

would be willing to travel longer

mutual relations of concentration

distances by car, by bike or by

in the study are according to the

public transport to reach it.

importance of each node.

Following

the

principle

stated

It is only later on that the actual

above, you should match higher

consistence of the represented

level of nodes with higher density.

entity will be determined.

To do so you have to show how concentrations will be distributed within your area of interest:

t High densities can be found only in the smaller circumference of the district node (namely the

t draw a circle of 400 meters around both district and local node.

t Draw a second circle of 200

200 m radius buffer around the district node)

t Medium densities are located in the larger circumference

meters radius internal to the

of the district node (the 400

previously drawn.

m radius buffer around the

141

private or semiprivate residental green area park and important landscape area pocket park, garden S.L.O.A.P sport facilities existing linear green new linear green new bicycle route proposed bicycle route local node

400 m

global & local node

400 m

global node low - medium - high density

existing network new network Motorway High Speed road Urban Main road Local Main road Local raod new bus route existing bus route and station existing surface/underground rails existing train station new surface/underground rails new train station subway route and station

Opposite page: Proposed Concept Plan for the study It is obtained by selecting the most important information from

district

node)

each individual map produced on the proposed state and by overlapping them to compose All the problems and issues

and

in the previous phase should have been solved by

service provision and public

guaranteeing a more even distribution in

the

smaller circumference of the local node (200 m radius buffer around the local nodes)

t Low densities are present only in the larger ring of the local node (200 m radius buffer around the local node) There must be no overlapping of colour when the circles intersect: two circles that meet do not mean that that particular area is more served (a person can choose to go to the node on one side or another, but in fact he can go from one side only!) and anyway this does not affect density. Once all this has been done, merge the single theme maps setting the new ecological network, the new street network, the new public transport network, the new density and the new nodes into a single diagram, which is the proposed concept plan. That is, even in that your area will take once the strategy is fully implemented. This is what youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll see in 25 years if everything goes as you expected:

143

REGULATORY

Opposite page: Portion of a Local realised by Msc Students during

carried out by the single students and then gathered together to form a

vocabulary of the

Every city has a unique character and the factors that contribute to its formation are so many that it would be impossible to list them. Considering merely the morphological factor and observing how formally the urban fabric manifests we may already realize that each city presents original and typical features. Brusselsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s houses are different from those of Paris, the streets of Helsinksy are different from those in London. Moreover, some building types exist only in certain places, they are unicum

and number of openings, type of bearing structure, shape of the roof... the combination of these and a hundreds other factors, adapted and readapted through history according to the most varied climatic, physical, morphological and environmental change as well as to customs and habits of the communities and populations that inhabit them, have given life to Until the industrial revolution and the advent of heavy industrial prefabrication, the linguistic outcome of built-up space as well as the relationship of single building units and the size and character of streets and squares, was the original combined effect of place, history, natural resources, cultural and historical heritage. Having ignored for decades this trademark, planning methods of the last We have lost, so to speak, the matrix accompanying the growth and the incessant and spontaneous urban regeneration, in favour of a standardised and impersonal mould that tells nothing of the meaning of a place.

The Local Urban Code Jane Jacobs

147

It is commonly argued that our suburbs all look the same: how to blame this statement? How much difference there will ever be between a tower block on the outskirts of Glasgow and one in he Parisianâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s banlieux, compared to the difference that exists between the same two cities in any point of their historic core? Of course you can not, nor want to, return to Victorian houses or NeoRenaissance building to reduce the â&#x20AC;&#x153;linguistic gap â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;. also because, as it has always happened in the history of the city, the language evolves and changes with the changing of technologies, policy framework, ruling classes, tastes and habits of people. After all, in traditional cities different languages from different eras coexist harmoniously. There

something

deeper

below, which certainly is also evident in the language but does not concern it directly. It is a structural property of the urban fabric that should be carefully investigated. We have already mentioned that, according to Plot-Based Urbanism, although

each

city

plays

with

different cards, the rules are roughly always the same: the structural and constituent elements which organizes urban space are recurrent. Blocks are bounded by urban streetfronts and shaped by streets, the former organized as a sequence of more or less similar plots and both

Opposite page:

an attempt at Involving various international

and in dense street conditions that recall medieval

Sjoerd Soetersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s plan offers a unique good and diverse contemporary

the urban fabric is devided in

Diversity in form is celebrated in these

standing right up

No matter how cities appear to

future masterplan of the study area

be different, especially when it

in term of density, land use and

comes to the traditional ones,

building typology.

streets, street-fronts, plots and blocks are basic constituents of

the many street fronts and plots

the urban fabric.

examined,

And

since

these

factors

are

context to which they belong, to be able to fully understand how to act in the city and create projects that add quality to the existing, one must take the responsibility to act only after performing detailed

In a few words, to write a good story in the great book of the city, you must use the appropriate vocabulary.

You are now required to carry out morphometric

comprehensive

analysis both in the area and in the city as a whole, based on the study of street fronts selected as for their representativeness of wellestablished typical elements of the existent urban fabric under different conditions. For

each

street

those

will

eventually

compatible

that

meet the type of change you are promoting from the early stages of strategy in order to understand the structurally essential properties which make up such urban forms. When it comes to street-fronts we do not mean a series of building in plan, and consists of a set of one or more plots sitting on one side of a particular street, called Reference Street. Usually, within the traditional city,

Street-front analysis and comparison a

choose

you

front

will

investigated number of plots, heights, setbacks, percentage of public versus private activities, number of entrances, land use, density and degree of autonomy of a plot within a frontage in accordance to their level of publicness and many others. The investigated cases will be as different as the ranges and types of urban fabric to be present in your

many aligned plots corresponded to a single street-front, as the link of the building units with the street was crucial and, where possible, the higher accessibility from inside the building was provided. However this is not true for many of

the

Twentieth

Centuryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

interventions, which are much more introverted, less linked to the street and much more to the urban block. In the traditional city it is very unlikely for it to happen in the ordinary urban

fabric

(excluding

major

public buildings like churches or town halls), while it is pretty common for contemporary architecture to experience street-fronts pertaining to a single plot as large as the entire block. And yet we now know that too large plots and poorly

149

In these two pages:

in this page:

streetfronts are mainly non-

hosts only one

the street is very

use (opposite

adaptable to change and its

to adapt to changing conditions

they

are

not

designed

taking

and suffer much more heavily of the

into account the complexity that

oscillations in the economic situation

surrounds them.

and the change in demographics.

Therefore among the cases you

not

will code and analyse, the most

versatile in the long run and are

appealing are those characterized

Monolithic

blocks

are

relatively

small

plots

and

term. While blocks of traditional cities can be furtherer subdivided in fronts that formed accordingly to importance of the street on which they sit, the others have no way to respond to changes in centrality because

easier for you to adapt them, in the roads, plots and fronts that you will design.

in this page: Lauderdale

left-hand side of possible to adapt

streetronts and are aligned to the Reference Street and buildings

can be entirely

can be left built to leave room for a playground or a

happens in the

room for personal

articulation of the private and collective space of space is much higher.

Analysing the street-front

from the outer corner to draw a

Let’s take the example of how to

line that follows the plots’ front on

proceed in mapping a single street

the reference street. Follow the

front belonging to a block and

perimeter up to the outer edge

sitting on a Reference Street, which

of the last plot, and turns around

is the street overlooking the street-

following its back. Not necessarily

front under analysis.

you will get a “regular” shape, as the plot line, especially in the back, can be articulated.

street front. The street front can be

For

simplicity,

the

information

made of a more or less continuous

collected will be divided into two

curtain of buildings, and in order to measure it refer to the plot lines

the relationship of the street front

facing the Reference Street. Start

with the public realm, focusing on

151

the

graphic

standards

the second board is focused on

shown in the example, you

internal distribution, plot type and

have

density (how many people live

on land use (i.e. if in each plot

in there, how many units can be

different functions coexist or if

accessed from each plot...).

the street front is made up by

To give a clearer idea of the result

single function plots, if there are

of this piece of work, two complete

specialised public buildings, like

examples of front analysis and

hospitals or city halls or public

coding with the relative boards are

utility functions even privately

included at the end of this section.

owned,

gather

information

pharmacies

clinics) and on the system of

access

from

the

Reference

Street (including both vehicular

Opposite page: “Relationship

typology of high

correspond to high

found to help structuring plots

the difference is the coverage rate (high in

more sensible

and collective use solutions can be

and

pedestrian

access);

01_HIGH DENSITY

the same time the nature of

01.A. Mixed Use

public realm is to be analysed:

01.A.a. Aggregated

it must be distinguished whether

01.A.b. Isolated

the outdoor space is public,

01.B. Mostly Residential

collective

(semi-public

01.B.a. Aggregated

semi-private) or private and annotated

consequently.

01.B.b. Isolated 02_MEDIUM DENSITY

Finally, it should be noticed that

02.A. Mixed Use

if a street-front consists of plots

02.A.a. Aggregated

entertaining an osmotic relation

02.A.b. Isolated

with the Reference Street (i.e.

02.B. Mostly Residential 02.B.a. Aggregated

front is called “active”. In case of a curtain or an individual

02.B.b. Isolated 03_LOW DENSITY

building placed at a distance

03.A. Mixed Use

greater than 8 metres from the

03.A.a. Aggregated

front plot line, that street-front

03.A.b. Isolated

takes the name of “non built-

03.B. Mostly Residential

up front” as the relation with the

03.B.a. Aggregated

street is not consistent.

03.B.b. Isolated

t type

distribution

patterns

Once

the

two

boards

are

characterizing the built fabric.

completed, you are holding all

Using the graphical code shown

the information to work out the

in the example it is possible to

computations required to obtain

categorize the different types

the morphological indicators. 31

depending

density

indicators are measured, 19 of which

and access typology to the

describe the street fronts and 12 the

individual residential units.

plots of which the fronts are made

the

of. If, due to special design reasons, Finally, to be categorised, the

you deem it appropriate to include

analysed street-front have to be

or remove some of the indicators,

organised by density (high, medium

you can evaluate it according to

low density), prevalent land use

your needs.

(single use, mainly residential, mixed use), building typology (isolated to aggregated) according to the following scheme:

The important thing is that once a set of indicators is chosen, the same computations must be carried out for all street fronts. The two boards produced and MCA’s

previously

worked

out

153

Opposite page: The different building typology as coded in the “Front Analysis

coding plots and

builting typologies

the Msc Students in analysing and

assessments to

are

process

the

all

you

need

context and nowhere else.

morphological

The LUC will be a guide to meet

indicators shown in Table 1 at the

your ambitions observing the actual

end of this section.

plot structure of the city. It will help

After the computation, the analysis

you to take action in the right way

of the street front is over.

and never arbitrary: it is clearly based on the awareness that every decision must be undertaken in the

Towards a Local Urban Code

light of a complete and realistic

For every street-front representing a

understanding of the social and

different type of building, land use

environmental implications of the

and density you have to be able

project, that never and under no

to pick one or more to shape the

circumstance can be done lightly

street-fronts you are going to design

and without a thorough evidencebased approach. It is important to never forget that this

different of typical street-fronts, so

code is by no mean a formal guide.

that you can actually use them as a reference in your masterplan, it is

in terms of essential morphological

necessary to gather many different

characteristic but what you get

examples and build up a sort of

in return is not a formal guide, but

“Urban library”.

structural indeed: by focusing on

Your coded and organised the street-fronts will eventually be translated and gathered into the Local Urban Code (LUC). If you are starting this mapping ex novo, it would be best for your purpose to have two or three examples for each subject for each category. The bulk of this work in terms of time and complexity can be very demanding, so it is strongly recommended to carry it out with a team of collaborators. The Local Urban Code allows you to increase amazingly the set of knowledge on the functioning of the city you are designing in but its real purpose is to set “basic vocabulary”

the structure of space the largest possible room il left to personal articulations,

arrangements

and

adaptation over time. This originates from the awareness that in urban design there is a striking difference

between

structure

and language, which is the same difference between what is stable and

what

changes,

between

what is deeply rooted in and what appears on the surface. What the LUC wants to prove is that if the structure of a place is appropriate to its location and function and is tailored to adapted can be designed using different architectural styles, but still the very

155

Street-fronts indicators

Plots indicators

157

Jacob Dibble & Alessandra Feliciotti

02.B.b Isolated // LUMA 02.B.b Isolated // GARDENS LUMA

GARDENS

Example - Board 1 - key

159

Isolated

Jacob Dibble & Alessandra Feliciotti

02.B.b

LUMA

GARDENS

Example - Board 2 - key

161

Opposite page: Portion of a Foundation Masterplan for a the largest strategic

relevant issues that density and land use is annotated the most important information from the Concept Plon and other particularry

work. So far, in later stages of analysis and then in the strategy, you have learned more about the area and set the nature of its development over the next 25 years. At this point you know what you want to happen, and thanks to the compiling of the Local Urban Code and to a careful morphometric analysis, you know the rules to make it happen. If you have been thorough enough, you now have in your hands all the instruments to bring to a conclusion the work undertaken.

on a sub-area of the overall study area, large enough to include a variety boundaries of the masterplan, remaining within those of the area subject to analysis throughout the process up to this point. improvement of the area set by the strategy, formulated in economic, and transport infrastructure, local and district nodes, structure of the green system, and density of the ordinary and specialist urban fabric. action plan from the strategic phase occurring in the Masterplan Project Area or having an effect on it: pay attention to examine not only the direct impact, but also side effects even geographically apart. Remember that although the reasons for the proposed change at this scale will come directly from the strategy, some corrections and not previously

The Foundation Masterplan problems in the long run Eigenwelt

163

the design process and gives you possible. formerly decided, which prove, for In the concept plan you have

various reasons, not to be as correct

made your hypothesis of change in the larger study area considering

Obviously there’s a limit to the

ecological network, density, street

permitted change from the previous

hierarchy, transport networks and

step: you must not distort your

nodes distribution.

scenario, because that is always

From this, you can now draw a

your reference point.

detailed version of the Concept Plane referring only to the masterplan area. The

propose

strategic

Concept

If your intervention was tailored

Plan is literally translated in the

at the minimum possible change necessary to achieve your goal,

the overall block subdivision and

some areas will be undergo major

distribution of nodes, adjusting the

changes,

density to accommodate changes

preserved or won’t be subject to

while

others

will

in use and in population distribution, designing new connections and

25 years. With the aid of the Concept Plan

the new transport network. By

doing

of the Masterplan Area, identify the

you

can

simultaneously display all the components of the strategic concept plan, in a new detailed calibrated for the masterplan area.

former as “transformation areas” areas”. Your intervention, of course, the fulcrum of change. With colour coding distinguish the areas to identify at a glance those

Even in this case, if you notice inconsistencies

not

hesitate

densities.

to make corrections or question certain

points

the

strategy

formerly made. The draft foundation

Foundation Masterplan is mainly focused on three factors:

masterplan is done to deepen the strategy but it is also a feedback of the assumptions made before The jump from one scale to another lets you gain a better control over

t street layout t block and fronts layout t density distribution These three steps should be taken

in sequence. Density distribution

be clearly visible and easily

refers to the fronts bounding the

reachable both by car and on

blocks, but shape and extension

foot or by public transport. They

of the block is set by street layout,

should

which means that the

to urban main roads whenever

structure

of the street network and levels of centrality of different roads are the

therefore

correspond

possible

t as

they

lead

reduced

permeability but they shouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be too small too: they should be Street layout design

consistent with the average size

Althrough it is better avoid excessive

of the blocks in the rest of the

renovation of the street system if

city or in the surrounding of your

not strictly necessary, being an

area. You can refer to good

expensive endeavour, when trying

examples that truly work and

to reintegrate existing specialist

apply the same proportions with

areas or lage modernist estates

the necessary corrections.

in the system of ordinary blocks,

t main streets should be present

reconnect and strengthen the street

at a pace of about 400 metres

layout is vital.

and intersect every 300-500 metres and not to be placed

increase

accessibility

and

at the edge of two or more

permeability. You can verify your

neighbourhoods,

proposals

diagrams

at their core: they are not fast

learned in the analytical phase to

roads splitting communities. On

assess walkability and connectivity,

the contrary, urban main roads

(as ped-shed analysis) or you can

are those where complexity and

run an MCA for the proposed

social uses of the urban space

network.

are much stronger and vibrant.

using

the

In verifying the accuracy of the

but

rather

proposed street network, there are

between vehicular dominated

some tips for getting more continuity

roads

and consistency:

facilities

and

churches

t verify that new roads are well

integrated

with

sensitive

(such and

public schools,

kindergartens)

in which this predominance

the

endangers safety and liveability

existing ones, preferring 4 way

of these uses you must adopt

intersections (forming perfect grid), especially in dense areas

Report this area as â&#x20AC;&#x153;ped-priority

t areas of public importance

precintâ&#x20AC;? in a clear and visible

(such as hospitals, city halls,

way. It is here that the design

theatres, auditoriums, ...) should

165

concentrate,

sometimes

compatible

uses

(commercial,

setting back and protecting the

light industrial) and the specialist

sensitive function.

chatacter blocks, hosting specialist activities. If those specialist activities are public

Blocks and street-fronts

in nature and ownership (like city halls, libraries, hospitals, theatres)

consequently blocks take shape. colour on the map, while if they are transformation areas.

of public relevance but privately

Now, with a further subdivision,

owned (like commercial centres,

distinguish the basic blocks, namely

healthcare or directional) they are

those with a prominent residential

tracedwith a different colour.

more or less integrated with other

Before

moving

with

the

Opposite page: Current Street

division by carving out the streets

for the Masterplan

In this page: Proposed Street division by carving out the streets

for the current Masterplan Area

hierarchy is pointed hierarchy is pointed

meet (i.e. a “+” and “-”), that of each block the extension of the

higher hierarchy prevails. In this way,

street-front following the hierarchy

greater continuity is accorded to

suggested by the street network.

more important roads.

More important street fronts are

Depending on the character you

marked with the symbol +, the less

want to give to the different areas

important ones overlooking less

and to the different fronts, specify

central roads will be marked with

where you want to have the fronts

the sign = or -.

with an exchange between street

The main problem at this stage is how to behave in the block’s

of active fronts. They are home

corners: as a general rule, to be

commercial

activities

and

applied as far as possible, when two street-fronts of different hierarchy

and

should

therefore

coincide

167

Opposite page, from the top: a draft foundation

the Masterplan

and ped priority precints have not

grades of density has been assigned to each street

concentrations corresponds to higher hierarchy of

the Concept Plan

The Foundation Masterplan

with urban main roads and major

gathers the spatial observation of the Concept Plan and the Strategic Plan

series of circles you have broadly

intersections. higher or lower density. A

subsequent

deepening

will

At that moment, you have not

allow you to specify the valuable

assigned them numeric values, but

elements within the Masterplan

you have only established mutual

such as landmarks and stages.

relations of density depending on

Landmarks are all those punctual

the importance of served centres

elements (such as buildings or

(or nodes), representing them in the

monuments) that stand out in the

form of concentric circles

ordinary urban fabric because of

Now you have to assign a range of

their prominent location. As they

density, high, medium or low (H, M,

are exceptionally visible they do not

L), according to the concept plan.

follow the rules of LUC but behave

Transposing the real densities onto

as anomalies.

the urban grid, you do not need

Remember not to exagerate with landmarks compared to the ordinary fabric as these, on average, do not exceed 5% of the buildings in the city. Stages are coherently and uniformly designed frontages that do not follow the rules of diversity normally dictated by the LUC. They are portions of urban space that, for their exclusive location or for their functional or symbolic importance,

require

special

treatment so as to suggest an idea of compactness. Stages must be shown on the fronts Masterplan they will be handled with a special care.

to follow the exact circumference size but rather to adapt the general concept according to the actual situation you are operating in, always comparing your assumptions with the current density map you made in the earlier stages of your work, so as to avoid sudden jumps. When you assign the new density, you should address to street fronts and not to blocks: this is because the attribution of the density is strongly tied to the importance of the streets bounding the block. The street-front hierarchy is dictated by by the MCA assessment. As a general rule, denser street fronts within the same block correspond to urban roads of higher hierarchy.

Density distribution Focusing

the

transformation

in your mind a block facing an urban high street: there is a more important

distribution of density and shown

front, with taller buildings overlooking

in the new concept plan. With a

the main road and less important

169

Opposite page, A Foundation Detailed location detail is enough to of designing the describing building

fronts corresponding to minor mainly

You

have

certainly

made

local roads on the other sides. Within the same high density block

eventually you will have came up

(H), the four street front surrounding will not all have density H +, but H= or

area that originates from the one

H- depending on the street they are

made referring to the whole city

sitting on, following the rule above.

which contains unique typological solutions.

numerical values, but rather mutual

This way you bridged the gap

relations, in this case between street

between past, the current types

fronts.

and those to be adopted in the

At this point you are still in the situation

future

of not knowing what exactly match

learning from evidence rather than

the density values assigned: how

from abstract theories.

much is H +? what is M-? what does

The structure and hierarchy of the

L= mean?

road system, the precise distribution

But now thanks to Local Urban Code

of the density according to nodes,

you have an additional piece of

the location of new train stations,

information: you know what is meant

bus stops or cycling paths, the types

in the city you are planning in for high

of buildings to be implemented, the

medium or low density,

system of access and the edges

Referring to the Street Front analysis

between public and private space

and to the compiled LUC, pick the

is here drawn in preliminary form.

cases that suits the most to what

The

you expect to see realised in each

in conclusion, together with the

street-front in your masterplan area.

Local Urban Code, the regulatory

under

your

foundation

Masterplan,

masterplan

is,

By looking at those cases and their actual densities, their typology and uses try to assign to each street-front a reference case, using the code showed above (i.e. 01.A.a = high density, mixed use, aggregated or 02.B.b = medium density, mostly residential, isolated), that will act as an example of what each front should look like according to your proposal. All street-fronts you have chosen to use as a reference are likely to have been adapted to be applied in the Masterplan.

171

MASTERPLAN

Opposite page: Detail of a Final Masterplan Colours for building stand

to the character to needing a special

spatial masterplan

detailed design and

comprehensive output of a thorough analysis

to private and collective space is

and the concrete application of the initial assumptions made by the

In summary, so far you have set:

t t t t t t

layout and hierarchy of streets layout of blocks, and the hierarchy of street-front for each block basic blocks and specialist functions density, and type, of fronts of the ordinary blocks exceptional elements: ped-priority precints, landmarks and stages

established in a draft version will be tested and if necessarily reviewed and subject to change. For simplicity we will split the work in points, even if they should be Those points are:

t t t t t t

plot design accesses and transitional spaces specialist blocks treatment design of the exceptions: stages and landmarks green and open public spaces

Finalizing the Masterplan Ken Greenburg

175

Active frontage

Minimum privacy level

Plot design In

the

Foundation

Masterplan

each street front was associated with

building

typology

and

comprising it. You should now divide the streetfront in the single plots and for each plot correspond the right proportion of built to non built area dictated by the indicators. The covered area will form the individual unit and its pertinence, while the non-covered area will be devoted to private,

Low privacy level

Moderate privacy level

semi-private or collective green space depending to the number of units contained by the plot. Point out with the same key used in the Front Analysis and Coding phase the building typology (yellow stands for single use, orange for aggregated, black for multiple etc.) assigned to the plot and extend it to the whole front. Repeat the same procedure for all the fronts of all the blocks of your Masterplan. If this will lead you to parametres slightly different from the coded

High privacy level

typologies, this is not a problem at all: a certain deviation is expected by the indicators. fronts,

you should consider the

possibility of having chosen the wrong type, in which case you can select a different one or conduct further morphological analysis if none of those coded is satisfying. Eventually, for each plot, as well as the type, specify the height of the building by assigning the number of

Opposite page and in this page: Special care is

delicate edge

of building interface

of privacy to sensitive

and its dynamics a more or less blended threshold

transitions can be

guarantee a more

managing privacy

level throughout the area is fundamentale to understand the system of mutual and streetfronts (as

Accesses and trasitional spaces

on.

For each plot, specify whether the

You must also have a clear idea of

building sits directly on the street or,

how the access system to individual

rather, is set back, if it has arches

plots and units works and represent

or canopies and it features active

it graphically using the same key

fronts or not. This will impact on the

from the Coding and Front Analysis,

level of publicness of a front with

denoting with arrows of different

respect to its reference street.

colours and sizes vehicular and

It is helpful, but not required, to

pedestrian access, and, within the

produce an overall privacy map,

latter those occurring from public,

identifying for each street front

semi-public or semi-private space,

and in relation to the centrality

specifying primary or secondary

and hierarchy street, the type of

entrances to the buildings.

transition

between

public

and

private space: the design of the edges is crucial as transitional

Specialist blocks treatment

spaces are most delicate the

Specialist blocks are non-ordinary

interface elements of the public

features

realm and a careful management

they often are not tied with the

allows to achieve smooth and

surrounding streets, they are hardly

calibrated shifts between the two.

accessible and their size are often

You can also draw up detailed

consistent.

studies in order to clarify which

Partitioning these blocks is very

the

urban

fabric:

elements will make up this threshold: fences, small gardens, on-street

characterized by a unique private

parking, changing materials and so

ownership and resist to externally

177

Opposite page:

therefore need

of a stage: in the studentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s masteplan -

In any masterplan

bourhoods and

prominant vistas if be more interesting or sensitive than others and they

In this page:

core of the project: public realm and buildings have been shaped at the

of beauty to the

imposed changes.

Design of the exceptions: stages

As you focus on the ordinary urban

and landmarks

fabric, you do not directly deal

Stages and landmarks are extra-

with them but you can always try

ordinary elements which, unlikely

to facilitate their integration into

the rest of the urban fabric, should

the urban fabric or reduce their

be designed in detail, at the

intrusiveness,

architectural scale.

especially

their

size is likely to be a problem for

They

determine,

accessibility

and

characterise

areas.

Look

between for

different

examples

differentiate places,

and

contribute to deliver legibility and

reintegration of these elements

imageability.

through literature and precedents

Pick one or more of these elements

at the international level.

to be designed: as we said they do not fall under the same rules of the

179

Opposite page,

giving panoramic

In this page: Before and after

of a future Students tried to character of the different areas by

the changes to be conveyed to the

architectural style over the others but to communicate the sense and

in the physical plan and sections help to get a better

LUC and they are unique. Landmarks base much of their

In the previous phase you set the

impact on visibility and therefore

street network layout, now you

should be placed in strategic locations

of the streets. Not all are the

particular views: you have to study

same and not only for a matter of

the different viewpoints from which

hierarchy: roads of the same type

they can be appreciated and

can be very different, more or less

design them accordingly.

walkable, more or less public.

The stages are characterized by a

Before

greater uniformity

designed streets on the masterplan,

Not to

and

necessarily be

intended

highlighted

uniformity as

annotating

the

freshly

repetition:

clear idea of what options do you have: we suggest to preliminary

recurring presence of string-course

evaluate

different

street

types,

or similar treatments of the corner,

looking for examples in literature or

a particular rhythm of the facades,

in the urban environment, setting

the use of similar materials â&#x20AC;Śthere

one or more street design standards

are many expedients that can help

for vary street type by drawing

you to achieve this goal.

existing and proposed plan and

These characteristic places are

sections at 1:200 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 1:250 scale.

the main points on which to focus

Helping yourself with the Manual

design and give you the opportunity

for Streets (also available online),

to unleash all your creativity from

consider ideal proportion between

constraints of any kind.

building height and street width and take into account different grades of publicness, to cover the

Current state

Proposed

181

highest possible number of different

include on-street parking,

solutions.

bicycle lanes or whatever physical

Try to refer to a recurrent formal

element is thought to be relevant

lexicon which, declined in each

for that each type of street.

different

Clearly you can not design a

solution,

results

coherent outcome.

bus or

typology for each street of your

In this step you can get into a

substantial

sidewalks

detail

and

designing

lay out two or three different types

carriageways,

for every category dictated in your

selecting the most appropriate

street hierarchy.

materials, giving the right space

As for the LUC, they will be

to vegetation, choosing carefully

eventually adapted to be place-

can decide whether or not to

Hopefully, not all the streets of your

Opposite page,

devices to be

is a strategy for controlling

calming measures has to be place-

speed of vehicles and increasing pedestrian safety

inherently based in establishing a good street

must be evaluated in sensitive road

cars and pedestrian

higher safety these

masterplan will undergo changes:

greenery, carriageways narrowing,

while some will be designed ex-

shared space streets, roadway

novo, others will only change in size

irregularity..., if wisely designed and

or in layout, other will stay as they are.

and

promote social interaction

To have an overall idea of what

and a more safe and intense use of

is changing and what is not, you

the public realm.

can trace a planimetric diagram

Frequently they are applied to

referred to the whole masterplan

correct existing negative situations

area.

while you, in addition, will design new streets that will not need to

In this design phase, some points

be â&#x20AC;&#x153;calmedâ&#x20AC;? in the future, but that

will be more sensitive than others: walking down a same street, the

very beginning with the purpose of stimulating a safe and mutually

change from section to section, and

pedestrian/bicycles

all

function.

urban streets.

The ped-priority precincts are an

Figuring out what are the best

example of areas needing precise

places to apply these measures is up

precautions to facilitate integration

to you: make your consideration on

between vehicles and pedestrians

the street network you set previously

but the necessity of slowing down

as at this point you achieved a high

cars and empower pedestrians

degree of knowledge of the main

or creating more shared spaces

issues in your area.

may vary according to the desired outcome. You can achieve this using different

Green and open public spaces You do not have to design the architectural detail of open spaces,

road

engineering

and

urban

unless they are elements which

design born in the 30s in the UK

require greater care for the special

to protect residential areas from

role played in the articulation of the public realm.

for people and to reduce noise

Try to include a good variety of

and air pollution as unwanted side

public spaces, from large to small squares

providing a fairly mixed

Today this set of procedures is

environment, so that they are busy

widely practiced to ameliorate

during different hours of the day

liveability

(i.e. in the mornings from mothers

and

sociability

along

and their children, at mealtimes surprising positive effects. Chicanes,

by employees who are outdoor

183

eating, in the afternoon by the

are part of the green network and

elders taking a walk)

they can therefore be used to enrich the urban experience and

Parks

are

also

fundamental.

to connect green areas placed at

Great parks are rare and should

a certain distance one another.

not

short

There are many other elements that

distance, because if too large or

you can include in your masterplan

inappropriately placed, they are

and it is your call how much to go

urban voids that do nothing but

into details.

divide neighbourhoods appearing

These are only few suggestions

dangerous

and issues to be dealt with, which,

located

and

too

often

beyond

control at certain times of day.

if not properly estimated, could

At the same time, pocket parks and

undermine all the work you have

collective gardens are vital in the

done so far and do not provide the

urban public space dynamics as

desired results.

they act as meeting and relaxation points for its users being small enough to be more easily surveilled also when their use is less intense. Both, however, are of the broader network of green spaces, with which

Cities are not built in a day, they are complex organisms that, to be as we now know that have been able to continuously regenerate, adapt and change.

they must be integrated, trying to

You have to accept the fact that

make sure to guarantee continuity

your

masterplan

the

formal

between the various elements of the ecological network.

if youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re lucky, it is only one of the many possible that may occur.

Opposite page, These diagrams depict a trend that occurs over the course of

the proposed

and economic recession (bottom

is that it can adapt to the changing

period of economic

of population increases

survival of any portion of the City

plots can adapt to changes in socio-

Thanks to the method undertaken,

Design lectures at the University

your masterplan can withstand

of Strathclyde: â&#x20AC;&#x153;no one can plan

substantial changes and adapt to

cities. It is cities that plan us. But

different conditions, being based

the mission that we have in front

on small and discrete units as the plots.

understanding how it works and

You can not foresee everything

how we can contribute to the

and you can not (and should

great gameâ&#x20AC;?

not) expect the perfect shape as

and putting ourselves to its the

it does not exist. Each individual

service and to the service of all

lot is able to adapt to the needs

those people that live and work in

of its inhabitants: superfetations, enlargement,

demolition

and take care of its great fragility.

individual buildings or entire fronts can occur for various reasons and the character that you have set for an area perhaps, in time, will different that you can not control and that in any case you should not try to prevent. It is the life of the city, it is the complexity that you agreed to deal with in the very moment you have decided to take part in its evolution. In

this

incredibly

articulated

organism you tried to orient yourself and take action. You tried to grasp its underlying mechanisms, you have built a new

knowledge

and

acquired

skills to deal with the most diverse problems, with the humility to learn from every piece of information You

experienced

complexity

and

stunning

realized

how

delicate is the balance on which it relies.

185

Final masterplan: plan of the area

Alessandra Feliciotti

187

Final masterplan: sections of the area

Alessandra Feliciotti

189

WORK

Opposite page,

are simultaneously impressed in this

the picture: the Clyde Arc is in the Finnieston Crane The future and the the image of its

What will be explored in the following pages of this dissertation is the crucial theme of how to deal with growth, repair and sustainable survival of our cities applying appropriate design strategies and tools to reconnect communities severed, split, cut at a local scale by decision taken to a global scale, such as infrastructures like motorways, railways, electroducts etc. The result is that areas affected by the presence of these elements very often fall into disgrace: land value drops drastically, unclaimed land offer little incentive for use and investments, growth is retarded and weakened, although these areas, perhaps more than any other, need resolute interventions to re-establish links and stimulate uses. Aside from creating unsustainable communities and feeding suburban car-dependant sprawl, the effect of a large infrastructure on a typical urban fabric is detrimental to the city. Referring to relevant literature, international experience and by experimental work, it has been studied how to deliver urban sustainability by dealing with this massive structures with a special focus on reclaiming the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lost spaces.

Scare tissue The project focuses on the city of Glasgow, one of the biggest and more of inhabitants. Glasgow is a city deeply touched by these issues, being a prime rail node and intersecting one of the busiest motorways across UK.

The big city challenge Richard Rogers and the Urban Task Force

193

Today’s Glasgow is a city which,

wealthy.

post-industrial

Nevertheless, in shaping Glasgow,

settlements in Europe, is affected

also shipyard industry played a

critical role setting the standards in

many high

other

car-dependency

and

naval engineering and construction symptoms

the

dispersal

for half of a century. Almost every

character, lack of compactness as

ship

worth

remember

built

well as uncontrolled unplanned low

between the end of XIX century

density growth. Glasgow

characterised

city

parts

moored on the Clyde’s banks

strong

discrepancies in social dynamics

Britannia, The Lusitania are only few

and uneven distribution between

examples among the others.

the rich and the poor in the different

At the end of World War I the

areas.

city’s shipyard momentum had

It is a territory severed by strong barriers, both physical (human made or natural) and social.

already passed but the industrial predominance still was the most noticeable character of the city. Not by chance Glasgow at the time

At the same time the city shows,

was also known as the “Workshop

in the central areas and in the

of the World”.

Victorian decentralised residential

At the beginning of the 1915-16,

districts,

historical

Glasgow was characterised by a

astonishingly

compact and dense centre on

character beautiful

substantial and

architectures,

telling

both sides of the river Clyde and its

the story of a city rich for its trade

edges were gradually pushing out,

(mainly tobacco) and outrageously

spreading all around, to the North,

Opposite page,

boundaries set by the current path otf

in this page:

Ordinance Survey river Clyde during the heyday of the

The dense and compact centre spreads further beyond the

to the East and to the South, across

In these very same years Robert

the East-West railway line and then

Bruce, a visionary engineer showed the

way

how

regenerate

and West where Govan, Partick

Glasgow without relying too much

and Maryhill stand.

on shipyard and heavy industry.

What is remarkable is that in spite

The so-called Bruce Reports were

of this consistent growth the overall

two

city was quite compact and thick

and

as mince. In an area which is less

Glasgow Corporation overturning

than 45% of today’s extension

the city from the mid 50s to the

(7.763

Council

late 70s, encompassing the First

estimated a gross population of

Planning Report to the Highways

871700 inhabitants with a density

and Planning Committee of the

approximately around 110 pph,

Corporation of the City of Glasgow

one of the highest values present

published after World War I.

in the historical core of today’s city.

The

Glasgow was a multi-ethnic melting

were

pot and a thriving and mixed city.

determined the blueprint of today’s

After World War II, the shipyard

Glasgow. Bruce took inspiration

hectares),

City

from

impressive

regeneration

redevelopment

Bruce never

earlier

Reports, fully

reports

although

implemented,

experiences,

such

signs of decline, and by the end of

as Vienna’s Ring Road and the

the 60s it was not still recovering.

Hausmann and Ildefonso de Cerdà

Heavy industry was not enough to generate wealth and economic growth

and

new

course

needed to be undertaken.

plans for Paris and Barcellona in keys to ensure future growth and wealth. By reducing overpopulation and

195

Opposite page,

The fabric of the city dramatically

The City Centre is clearly cut through by the

morphological level but it has also and economic implications on the perceptions of the

not only on the

dispersing people to outer areas

fabric. This happened because the

and new towns, by giving priority

Bruce Plan was never approved in

to transportations for fast-through

its entire form and, anyway, it was never completely realised.

growth was promoted.

In Bruce’s plan an inner ring road

Believing that high-speed roads,

encircling the city centre was to

quality transportation means and

be built. The construction works

infrastructural links were the priority

started in 1965 and by 1972 half of

in order to create new economical

it circumference was completed

momentum, Bruce proposed a

and no further trunks where built up,

system of arterial motorways in the

being the remaining plans formally

City Centre in the form of an Inner

abandoned in 1980. After 30 year,

Ring Road encircling it.

in October 2011, the southern

In its urban part the M8 cut through

section proposed by Bruce’s Inner

the very core of Glasgow, in an “L”

Ring Road became part of the new

shaped trunk which runs from the

M74.

South-East to the North-West of the City Centre, ideally from Tradeston to Townhead. Together with the Renfrew

Bypass

the

South-

western corner, and the Monkland Motorway on the East, they make up the current M8. This intervention was massive in proportions and (the Tradeston - Townhead section) costed something like 27 million pounds,

massive

investment

at the time for the construction of a 4 kilometres long road with 6 junctions, 10 bridges and 6 pedestrian underpasses for more than 1500 metres of passages, that where trying to sew back the two halves of a city that once was united. Some of them are still incomplete nowadays,

the

so-called

Nevertheless civic, economical, architectural,

demographic

and environmental characters of today’s Glasgow are deeply affected by it. Due to the new Motorway plan, in few more then a decade Glasgow changed dramatically. Established communities

where

and

dispersed.

grid

structure

local

severed

The

unbroken

was

dissolved,

connections

weakened,

morphological unity was lost for good and a deep unhealed scar ripped the urban fabric, dividing the city centre from anything else, and enclosing it by the North-West the East and by the River Clyde on the South. Some of the most lively and

“Tradeston sky-jump” and the two

swarming

infamous Bridges to Nowhere in

where split in two and inhabitants

Charing Cross area, only recently

forced to move out.

partially integrated in the urban

neighbourhoods

197

It must be said that the new

Axe, had to face drastic cuts

highway plan was an extraordinary

between 1963 – 1965: 2.363 stations

boost

and 8.000 km of railway line across

for

expansion,

leading

to an unprecedented wave of suburbanisation and growth. The

made

possible

representing 55% of all stations for

and 30% of route miles, with an

commuters to easily reach the City

objective of stemming the large

Centre, for working classes to live in healthier environment, instead of

during

period

the dense, dangerous and polluted

competition from road transport.

City Centre.

Glasgow followed a similar fate:

Working classes which couldn’t

a vast unused underground rail

afford individual vehicle, extremely

network is today still existing and

expensive at the time, had to rely

clearly visible throughout the whole

on public transport, characterised

city to witness the consequences

by a wide range of accessible

of the Act.

means.

Working

Local transport was mainly based

transport means were trams and

on the subway network, covering

trolleybuses respectively adopted

a relatively small portion of the city

from 1922 -1949.

(mainly City Centre, the eastern

Because of the Beeching Axe they

part of the West End, and a bit of the

both disappeared in 1962 and in

Northern part of Clyde’s Southern

1967 while ordinary buses became

bank)and on the rail network, wider

more common and popular.

and more evenly distributed linking

Hard criticism and heavy and

the west to the east and the south.

frequent manifestations for what,

The railways, due to the Beeching

especially talking about Anderston

classes

increasing

most

diffuse

Opposite page:

level of the Mitchell

for goods the very sense of places

and its realisation in the North of the

historical pictures of

illustration of the Illustration of the

In this page:

surrounded by high-

realisation changed

and Charing Cross was referred

infrastructure are still strongly vivid

to as a massacre, with thousands

in Glasgowâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s present and it will

of people forced to clear and

always undermine the possibility

leave their houses and hundreds of

of gaining back unity and a more

buildings, even the most historically

even development.

were knocked down.

accessibility are undeniable, the

There

surprise

price paid was way too high. Only

acknowledging that following the

in the last two decades many

construction of the M8 in Glasgow,

regeneration

and

revitalisation

plans have been approved and that it would be the last motorway

applied, setting the basis for the

scheme built across a city in the UK.

healing of the M8 and Bruce

The negative effects of this massive

Reports wounds, to give a new life

199

to neighbourhoods and areas that once where lively and united. But it is a long way to succeed and a more comprehensive, less fragmented

and

vision

based

strategy is fundamental to set the framework to a successful future development.

A city with character Glasgow is characterised by easily recognisable features, both in its structure and in its morphology and architectural language. From its early days these character are

the sizes and boundaries of urban blocks can be noticed. As we get closer to the City Centre the grid is more compact and blocks show reduced surface and higher density, more storeys per building and higher built ratio. At the same time we can see how, in the industrial areas close to the Clyde docks, the block shape tends to be thin and deep towards the river. The grid is more or less regular, adapting to terrain morphology and context conditions, successfully incorporating pre-existing historical patterns. The unbroken grid was one of the most remarkable features of denser and more vital areas in Glasgow and it set the rules of urban growth for centuries.

Opposite page: a detail of a sequence of

stone facades and articulated

In this page: West end of

tenements is still the type most typical

The city’s regular grid made out of

its red sand

of aggregated in-line tenements

General

good permeability .

or mediate by small semi private-

perimeter block, both close - fully

gardens or partially set back by a

built-up on the four sides - and

fence and few steps.

open, characterise central as well

As it happens in many UK’s cities,

as suburban low-density mostly-

although not at this frequency,

residential neighbourhoods.

urban fabric is characterised by

Perimeter block

common

the repetition of few standard

European

building types and predominance

feature

predominance

most typical morphological

most

a of

historical cities and responds to the necessity of fairly dense urban

Glasgow’s

environment and to the need for

building type is the tenement, a

vicinity to the public infrastructure

multi-storey (generally from three

such

streets,

squares

most

noticeable

and

transport hubs.

areas) aggregated in-line building

Access from the street front and

with red sandstone block façade

good integration with the public

as prime construction method and

realm, specially referring to the

characteristic

Victorian buildings, can be easily

windows. In spite of the obsessive

perceived by simply walking down

repetition of the same façade

any street, both mixed use and

across entire streets, roughness and

residential, allowing a good blend

rhythm of architectural elements

between public and private space.

create an impressive light effect

Delicate edges between private

waving the street-scape.

and public realm are present in a

This

good variety of solutions achieving

the Victorian age and mainly

different

and

addressed to working classes, is

permeability: access can be direct

well integrated with outrageously

level

privacy

trapezoidal

typology,

bow-

originated

201

Opposite page:

is often referred to as a gigantic “Modern Catherdal to its non-human

This concrete massive structure

rich and decorated buildings, once

most technologically advanced

houses of wealthy tobacco traders,

and modern of the European cities.

very common in the City Centre.

The monumental and infamous

Tenements

large

M8 which now runs across the very

percentage of the housing stock of

core of the city, a complex trunk

make

Glasgow. They provided multy-occupancy

rate in Europe and a very articulate

houses for working classes. Between

morphology, alternating bridges,

the end od the XIX and early XX

viaducts, on surface and cut-and-

century a demographic boom due

cover segments, with six massive

to the Industrial Revolution boosted

interchanges

up the population to 1 million

fabric characterised by intrusive

people

slip roads and underpasses.

Tenements

hosted

the

urban

huge

The elevated trunk of the urban M8,

number of people immigrating

due to its incredible proportions, is

in the city to work, often in the

always referred to as a modern

poorest conditions. Incrdibly dense

cathedral of engineering as its 30

tenement’s

metres tall viaducts are told to instil

slums

within

where

very

common in the compact centre,

a sort of religious sense of fear.

associated with

lack of hygiene,

Together with the M8, the river

promiscuity, high rate of crime and

Clyde is the most effective barrier

the unhealthies environment.

within the City. In particular the river

A large number of the tenements

with its lack of North-South crossing

in Glasgow were demolished in

bridges always acted as a natural

the 1960s and 1970s due to slum

boundary between the City Centre

conditions, overcrowding and poor

and the South, that almost works as

maintenance of the buildings.

a separate entity.

However,

remaining

To give the measure to this feature,

tenements in various areas of

it is enough to say that before the

Glasgow

Clyde Arc and the pedestrian

resurgence in popularity due to

Squiggly Bridge (formally known

their large rooms.

as Tradeston - Broomielaw Bridge)

The most characteristic features of

were

Glasgow’s industrial past are still

September 2006 and May 2009, in

acknowledgeable today, although

the City Centre area (approximately

the city undoubtedly changed

a 2800 m length) there were, on

dramatically across the XX Century.

average 1 bridge every 700 metres

the

many

have

experienced

realised,

respectively

(excluding the railway bridges and of those changes was determined

the M8 Kingston Bridge, which is

by the approval of A highway Plan

only meant for passing through

for Glasgow, in 1965, with the clear idea of turning Glasgow into the

designed for pedestrian, the Bell’s

203

Bridge in the new SECC area and

public infrastructure recorded an

the Carlton Bridge, near Merchant

astonishing peace of growth.

City.

In 1924, in Italy, 85 km of new highways, the so called MilanoLaghi itinerary, were realised, shortly

The birth of the Age of cars

followed by other private plans

In the XX Century, we assisted to the

and initiatives for the realisation of

realisation of an impressive amount

new high-speed roads (now part of

the common public domain).

infrastructures

and

buildings

which records no precedents in

In the United States new roads

human history.

were commissioned as part of the

Starting from the 20s and 30s and

national agenda for large public

with a decisive boost after War

infrastructures around the 30s, to

World II, the provision of roads and

give new spin to the economy,

Opposite page: General Motors

the name of the

futuristic city on the

by Norman Bel the Bel Geddes

dreaming about a future of edless progress and evolution in technology that

generation of planners and in chairs could

after the recession of the ‘29.

an ambitious plan in the 30s for the

By the end of the decade General

realisation of 6900 km of highways

Motors’

New

of which 4300 km had already been

York Universal Exposition was the

realised by the 1939, gaining the

portrait of the aspirations of a

admiration of leading american

whole country. Not by chance

companies. Not surprisingly German

it was called Futurama and it

motorways were so celebrated

was

Bel

that they had become one of the

Geddes, a theatrical and industrial

most favourite subjects in cinemas

designer, dreaming of suggestive

at the time!

futuristic concepts, author of the

After the World War II, the US

book “Magic Motorways” in 1940,

launched a new highway program,

promoter of advanced highway

approved in 1956, the so called

design and transportation.

“Interstate

Futurama set a narrative in which

unprecedented

cars and roads where the main

for the realisation of 62000 km of

characters

highways, 12000 of which within the

pavilion

designed

and

the

Norman

showed

the

Highway

Act”,

massive

an plan

world the way that needed to be

urban area.

undertaken to, literally, drive into

The dreams of a whole generation

the future.

of visionary engineers sharing the

The exhibition was much more than

ideas promoted by the 1939’s

an advert for General Motors: the

Futurama were coming true.

gigantic model of an high-speed roads (some of which counted 16 also an attempt to promote the idea of a new network of national

The destruction of entire urban

the program of Urban Renewal.

highways.

Since then, it is always referred

In the totalitarian regimes, the

to as the most upsetting set of

realisation of massive infrastructural

demolitions in the modern history of

projects was an important element

western cities.

of propaganda: it was perceived as

The Boston Central Artery is a

the clearest expression of Regime’s

paradigmatic

power.

elevated

In Italy, the Fascist Regime planned

through the core of the historic

the realisation of something like

medieval city destroyed century-

a 6850 km long wire of highways,

old neighbourhoods and bustling

starting from 1938, a massive project

commercial

only interrupted by the World War II

the eviction of 20.000 people in

outbreak.

the 50s and in the 60s an entire

Hitler’s project was even more

neighbourhood in the West End of

outrageous: the Regime approved

the city was completely knocked

example: highway

districts

an cutting

causing

205

Opposite page: Le Corbusier’s plan the arrangements of buildings and de-la-Cité and the Ile St Louis at the bottom are still

down, destroying the houses of

Le Corbusier’s plan to rip the centre out of Paris and replace

though his intention

What Le Corbusier did at the time

30.000 people. Boston’s

catch the power of infrastructures

downtown to car and truck access,

and to organize life and services

the highway cut a two-mile-long

around It. His deeply antisocial city

gash through the nation’s oldest

is a city in which public space for

and most historic city, destroying

people to meet is considered not

or casting a shadow over some of

essential, expendable.

Designed

open

Le Corbusier will produce many buildings.

other visionary projects founded

Project like this were starting to

on the principle of giving best

be common all over the world:

value to the street network and

Glasgow an its Motorway, in the very same years, is an example

following decades shaped the

of the attitude proclaimed by the

cities we live in today.

Urban Renewal.

Taken to the extreme, this view

But planners and administrators

was

were not the only ones pushing

when describing his Roadtown, a

towards the New Age of cars.

hypothetical model of the city of

In Europe prestigious names of

the future in which all American

Architecture

Corbusier

urbanization is concentrated into a

were praising the speed and the

single linear city, built over the New

technology

vehicles.

York-San Francisco railway. The roof

In its plan for the Contemporary

of this hypothetical megalopolis

City for three million inhabitants,

was intended for urban gardens.

introduced at the 1925 International

Infrastructure was at the crest of a

Exposition des Arts Decoratifs, Le

wave.

Corbusier suggested a ten lanes

A similar vision was elaborated by

highway running in the middle of

Kenzo Tange who designed a grid

a metropolitan centre made of 40

of elevated highways, intersected

storeys tall skyscrapers. This plan

by long residential blocks. In this

clearly

traditional

technocratic utopia, land is left

pattern of the city: streets were no

entirely free from buildings and can

like of

inverted

Le motor

the

acquired

Chamberless

be used as a public park. in between buildings, but buildings

Despite

the

appearances,

this

model of city is terrifying: it is the asphalt. It’s interesting to realise that

space of life, connections, public

the main sponsor of this plan was an

realm and countryside do not work

automobile manufacturer named

in an integrated way, in which

Voisin (from which the name of the

squares do not exist and streets

plan itself, The Plan Voisin).

become no man’s land.

to some of the appalling slums and

social utopia that shaped the minds of many generation

Chamberlessâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s anti-urban and anti-

linear multifunctional buildings freeing the ground and that carrying auto-

of the structure of this city in a time

the incredible possibilities of fast

is the lead manager

207

Our cities are now torn by gigantic arteries and highways, symbol of the ecological disaster. They produce noise and air pollution and

cause

accidents,

urban

deterioration and disorientation. Brasilia, capital of Brazil is one of the few worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s capitals entirely designed ( built between 1956 and 1960. Dream of every architect (Oscar Niemeyer was the most famous author of the plan and architect of some of the most important public buildings), Brasilia is a city characterized

celebrated

public architectures and a futuristic seems to embody all the good of the Modern Movement. But Brasilia lacks of social vitality. The distances are so big that citizens, to

move

from

various

mono-

functional districts, in order to carry out normal daily activities, have no other choice but take the car. Paradoxically, the quality of urban life is higher in unauthorized neighbourhoods, not included in the Pilot Plan, as they are born from a spontaneous design and have a more human scale.

The case of UK: The Age of Motorways In UK the so called Age of Motorways the 5th December 1958, with the opening of the 13 kilometres long Preston bypass, a trunk road with

Opposite page: This 1969 aereal photograph

one of the tallest

on the city of the

also the most

system and the building of the

the British road-

no speed limit or hard shoulders.

The opening of the new roads of progress was covered by

an almost 100 kilometres long sixlane Motorway plus various spurs. Its design capacity was for 14,000 vehicles per day and today it carries about ten times this volume

and attracted people’s interest. Even

the

games

for

children

took the form of models of small motorways.

The

Governement

considered the construction of

been seen before in the UK. The AA President, Edmund King said:

these giant concrete structures as the best way to stimulate economic growth in Great Britain.

“

In the early 60s one of the objectives of the government was to build 1600 kilometres of motorway by the end of the decade, target largely

journeys of the past gradually ” Great steps forward had been made since the beginning of the 20s when, while in the United States citizens had its own car, only one out of every forty-four had it in most European countries, such as UK and France. The motor car started to become an issue just before the Great War due to the inadequacy of the road network. Unsurfaced and largely unmaintained roads were acknowledged by the government, which set up the Road Board, a public program for surfacing and improving the roads. After the Grear War outbreak the work of the Board slowed down and only accelerated

between

the

two

wars, but still at a really slow peace. During the 60s the motorway mania was spreading around UK.

achieved.

Consequently

the government planned to build another thousand miles over the following decade, of which many were urban roads. By the end of the 60s the construction of new roads seemed unstoppable: with the famous Beeching Report, the central government decided to

rationalize

uneven

and

abundant rail network and close numerous stations and railways, and shift investments on a massive plan to build new roads. Along with Glasgow, Manchester and

London

demanded

investment and funds to build for themselves a network of futuristic urban highways. The realization of these gigantic projects had reached its peak but the public did not like those most monsters of cement, which were destroying their neighbourhoods and cities. Eventually a six lanes

209

tune with the otherwise beautiful

main objective of the government

Victorian-style buildings.

is now to squeezing more capacity

The most striking case was that of

out of the developed world’s most

London and the A40 (M) Westway,

congested road network rather than following motorist’s wishes.

above

Victorian

suburban

Today

deal

with

the

neighbourhood, up to the City

consequences that reckless and

Centre. This segment became the

uncontrolled

postcard of the unacceptable

to: high level of car dependency,

ongoing

The

congestion and pollution and the

urban

disruption of ample natural, rural

development.

campaigns

against

development

led

motorways, growing for some time,

and urban areas.

started to be stronger and stronger

The

and gaining the accordance of

engineers and administrations all

the public opinion. Afterwards only

over the world are asked to face in

few urban roads on the same scale

the present days is how to reverse

were ever built in the UK and even

the effect of these trends and

Glasgow Ring Road and its complex

some excellent examples have

system of arterial motorways was

been put into practice in different

only partially realized.

countries. Learn from them and

The oil energy crisis of the 70s, and a newborn awareness to the environmental issues had led to the ultimate turning point.

challenge

that

planners,

continue to act for a more socially, economically and environmentally sustainable future is the only way to regain control of our cities.

Glasgow’s urban trunk of the M8 was the last example of a motorway intercepting an urban core ever realised in the UK. The goal of building the second 1600 kilometres long stretch of roads by the end of the 70s was not accomplished. The construction of new roads continued to proceed, albeit with less enthusiasm. In 1984, only two minor road sections were opened, and in the last twenty years the main works were related to

the

projects,

completion specially

of in

existing Scotland,

the gaps in the Central Belt. The

Changing times Referring to the futuristic visions of the 20s, Jane Jacobs says: “it is understandable that men who were young in the 1920’s were captivated by the vision of the freeway Radiant City, with the specious promise that it would be appropriate to an automobile age. […] But it’s harder to understand why this form of arrested mental development should be passed on intact to succeeding generations of planners and designers.”. Her critics to the predominancy accorded to the road network over

In this page:

ordinary urban

From the top: The Penthagon Centre and a XIXth Century old elementary school in Anderston: pillons of the viaduct rise in the middle of the

are nearly touching the building;

over the core of the City; one of the massive

the Hilton Hotel to the North of

211

neighbourhoods and people, as

listened at all.

well as the priority given to vehicles

And maybe it is true, maybe we

over pedestrian we can experience

have not heeded enough, but

everyday,

something has been learned and

were

ferocious

and

to test it you just have to look in a dissatisfaction towards the urban environment of contemporary post-

Talking about this issue, Philip Enquist,

industrial cities. Her and many other

leader of the global city design

studies set the basis of a reformed

practice of Skidmore, Owings &

idea of urban development which

Merrill LLP (SOM), the world’s most

still today is trying to deal with the

highly awarded urban planning

infamous heritage of this kind of

group, sadly says: “We basically

planning.

sold our soul and great cities lost

Jane Jacobs talks about isolation

their quality to accommodate fast-

of people, of stores forced to shut

moving cars”.

down for goods, referring to the

And if there is anything that the

New York Cross-Bronx Expressway

mistakes of the past have taught

cutting

vital

us about the city is that, to quote

neighbourhood and turning it in a

Mehaffy in a lecture at the University

slum.

of Strathclyde “it’s not necessary

What made her most angry was

to chop them up in the name of

that in addition to the immediate

mobility, as we did in the United

damage to communities and built

States, very much to our regret”

environment, these infrastructures

and that “the more we try to built

were

areas,

for mobility, the more we tend to

and

lose it – the paradox of “induced

through

penalizing

making

them

once

those

underused

severely curtailing their potential in

demand”.

the name of faster mobility.

We have been given many times

This critic was made at the dawn

with the opportunity to put into

of the 60s, yet even today we

practice what we have heard and

learned

and

worth

situation.

understanding what we’ve came

“Death and Life of Great American

up with.

Cities” recently celebrated the 50th anniversary and, to be true, it does

The city of Portland, Oregon, is an

not show the signs of the ageing:

amazing source of good practices.

for the astonishing actuality of its

The Harbour Drive Freeway, a

observations it seems to have been

high capacity highway running

written yesterday. But what we

along the western shore of the

should be thinking is that, looking

Willamette River in the downtown

at the situation today, not much

area and fragmenting the city,

has changed, as if people had not

was built in 1942. This three-mile

In this page: Portlandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Harbour Drive before the demolition in a postcard of the riverfront from the

Tom McCall one of the most attractive areas of todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s city.

long ground-level highway carried

along it, imagined so as to keep

25000 vehicles per day worsening

intact the walkable street grid

the condition of urban decay of

above it.

faces by the very heart of the city in the 60s. It was during this period

United States to suggest the idea

that the idea to reestablish a more

of a freeway removal and the case

accessible road system by taking

of Harbour Drive is now considered

down the freeway came up.

a milestone in infrastructure repair:

Even though for the most part still

the project managed to stitch together the otherwise severed

across the city centre was knocked

urban grid, turning what once was

down to make way for the new Tom

a barrier into a nice and active

McCall Waterfront Park, a 37-acres

area,

linear park with many added uses

mobility

without across

compromising the

city

and

213

blocks hospitals, In

the

following

decades,

(hosting

functions

commercial

centres)

the

by extending the regular urban

suppression of Harbour Drive has

grid and guaranteeing walkable

made it possible in the heart of the

accessibility led Portland to be

city, many regeneration projects

nicknamed with the epithet of

to take place by skyrocketing the

“Bridge City”.

value of the surrounding areas (a

Portland’s example shows us that

10.4% rate of annual growth, from

very often the urban network can

a total of $ 466 million to more than $ 1.6 billion).

than what we expect and that

The idea of bridging the gaps

reinforcing the ordinary urban grid

caused

barriers

urban

freeways, rivers or large specialist

and real estate, on liveability and

Opposite page: San Francisco’s

the Octavia

areas before (on

the boulevard

accessibility

neighbourhoods,

in 1999 through a referendum,

giving the chance to implement

citizens of San Francisco voted for

interesting activities that attract

the latter option, sanctioning the

money, people and tourists.

birth Octavia Boulevard in 2005.

The United States can provide

It featured four central lanes for

many leading examples of ways of rethinking the function major infrastructure: this is the case of San

street parking on both sides.

Francisco’s Octavia Boulevard.

While downgrading the rest of the

Since

Freeway

Central Freeway in the urban area,

represented a source of great

at it’s norther end it featured a new

dissatisfaction

park, Patricia Green, a 1500 square

1959

Central by

the

citizens.

During its construction, the so-

meters

called “freeway-revolt” forced to

revitalized commercial district.

a drastic reduction of the initial

The

project that envisioned the creation

demolition of the bulky highway

of two crosstown highways. Still,

allowed the realization more than

part of it was realised and before

1000 residential units, of which half

the

at its peak,

of affordable housing, resulting in

this freeway carried something like

an increase in the land value: until

100000 vehicles per day.

1996 the value of a building situated

Things start to change when in

in this area did not exceed 66% of

1989 a segment of the Central

the average value of the city, while

Freeway was seriously damaged

10 years later, it was about 91%.

by an earthquake ad subsequently

Following the inauguration of the

demolished.

Octavia Boulevard, the new lower-

Different ideas of what to do were

capacity facility allowed to reduce

rearrangement,

park,

space

serving freed

freshly by

the

put forward: while local authorities were preparing a project for a

corridor decreased by over 50%

revival of the old freeway, other

and the rest of the streams was

citizen groups, accustomed to rely

distributed over the urban road

only on the lower speed network

network, that even when recorded increases in vehicular presence,

and pollution, were considering

this has never exceeded 10% of the

the idea to remove entirely part

situation prior to the downgrade.

of it Including a depressed section

The Octavia Boulevard has also

of the freeway. At the same time

given the opportunity to rethink

a strong consensus was gathering

the public transport system and

around the idea of completely

allowed to reorganize it to a more

removing the freeway and replace

neighbourhood-oriented provision.

it with an urban boulevard.

The surrounding are today rich and

Called to deliberate on the subject

beautifully landscaped areas, in

215

which ample tree-lined sidewalks

from the Waterfront and the historic

are as the perfect setting to the

North End Neighbourhood.

new cafĂŠ and retails.

The construction the Central Artery

Another way to deal with this same

had caused an unprecedented shock

and

recent

years

Boston with the realisation of the

dissatisfaction for its effects led

best known case of replacement

citizens to vote for its demolition

of an urban freeway, the Central

to be turned into an underground

Artery, with a depressed highway

tunnel,

that freed downtownâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s surface,

ambitious

previously split into two by 200000

expensive infrastructural projects

cars each day driving on a colossal

of all times, the Big Dig.

for

one and

the

most

outrageously

elevated viaduct. At the time, it separated the Financial District

the surface has been reconnected

Opposite page: Bostonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Big Dig

the urban section of the Boston

implementation: the tunneling of

one of the most regeneration project of the city put into action to delete the scar of

realised and A regeneration strategy of the

and after (on the

fabric refurbished and revitalised.

through a landscaped boulevard

demanding

options

can

and a new road network, along with

implemented.

neighbourhood parks and facilities

Tennessee,

and new urban developments.

interesting project of â&#x20AC;&#x153;road dietâ&#x20AC;?

Although this project raised much

on its Riverfront Parkway, a 4 lanes

controversy, exceeding by more

freeway designed to handle the

Chattanooga, carried

out

than 1/3 the original forecast of expenditure and extending over 15

with the annoying side effect of

years, an increase of 5% of land value

dividing the city from its riverfront.

in the surrounding areas has been

Since the 60s this infrastructure and

already recorded, a small advance

the general road system designed

compared to the expectations of growth in property values around

the city had led to the decline of

parks and new neighbourhoods for

once vibrant neighbourhoods and

the coming years (which promises

helped transforming the city in the

equal to an increase of 79%), without

most polluted place in the country. Moreover,

the

decline

the

tourists and residents, such as 49000

industrial sector had led to the

new residential units and 36000 new

closure of many manufactures and

jobs.

the loss of thousands of jobs, voiding

With the Big Dig, certain negative

the main reason for the presence

effects were more clearly recorded:

of the giant artery and revealing that the Riverfront Parkway was a

since the opening of the new

piece of infrastructure far greater than what was really needed,

underground tunnel for fast mobility. not constitute more than 2% or 3% successfully separated from the

of all vehicles driving through it. This

more local and urban mobility with

ground-level eyesore became even more cumbersome since it was

At the same time, the increase in the

spoiling a main tourist resource as

realisation costs was also paid by

important as the riverfront.

the waiver of the implementation

Without removing the infrastructure,

of new non-car transit options for

thanks to a series of awareness-

residents and commuters. Despite

raising activities for the revitalization of the downtown, the design of

of the project led to substantial improvements.

become more pedestrian oriented, alternating sections characterised

If Boston is a case of expensive

by the reduction to 2 lanes street

and

to sections characterised by 4

cataclysmic

solution,

less

217

lanes boulevards. This made the

the

surrounding area more attractive

reconnections

and

allowed

eased

pedestrians

crossing the highway,

when

following for

period of a

the

and

the

network equitable

enhancing

safety and promoting downtown

congestion on major arteries.

expansion

TOD

From the analysis carried out in the

interventions. The overall condition

report â&#x20AC;&#x153;6 Case Studies in Urban

of the road network was improved,

Freeway Removalâ&#x20AC;? compiled on

and

Riverfront

the background of the Seattle

Parkway became one of the key

Urban Mobility Plan in January 2008,

components of the new 21st Century

important considerations emerge

Riverfront plan of Chattanooga.

about the effects that highway

the

and

new

renovated

removals, revivals or transformations per day dropped to 13000 in

may sort on the cities:

Opposite page: Chattanoogaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

and for a more

Riverfront it is an important element of the Regeneration Plan

programme for the regeneration of the riverfront

and capacity and

today (on the to the proposed state (on the

The photograph

Reduction of roadway capacity reduces the number of auto trips. To the extent that vehiclemiles traveled can be reduced, a number of additional social and improved air quality and public health; increased safety for motorists, pedestrians and cyclists; a reduction in fumes and noise pollution; and more cost-effective use of existing transit capacity. In Seattle, a reduction in auto trips might help the city achieve its goal of a 7% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2015.

on all modes, with appropriate demand management and land use strategies may be higher than previously believed. Gridded street patterns are especially effective (although the downtown Seattle grid, may be limited in its capacity for such absorption). Studies have shown that the addition of capacity can actually increase over a network. Freeway removal does not require a major shift to transit. Removal of an urban alternate routes and travelers will choose the most convenient mode for their trips or travel at different times or to different locations. Freeway removal has a catalytic effect. Excess right-of-way can often be redeveloped or converted into civic amenities such as open space. Even where this is not the case, however, the impacts of freeway removal tend to be felt over a broad area. Surrounding property values increase, neighborhoods become more attractive to investors and visitors, and crime can be reduced through increased foot perceptions of safety often change. None of the cities studied noted any long term negative economic impact, even to areas that had previously been directly served by the freeway. Design is key. It is not enough to merely replace a grade-separated roadway with an at-grade street. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Completeâ&#x20AC;? street design that seeks to accommodate all

of transportation supply. Reductions of roadway capacity must be managed, mitigated and monitored over time. Freeway removal is not just a one-time demolition project. To be effective, it requires a long-term commitment and a thorough, integrated approach; one that constantly observes conditions and designs solutions for all users. Freeway removal should only be undertaken after careful consideration of trade-offs. Even under the most favorable circumstances, freeway removal is not a panacea atgrade roadways, it may prove challenging to pedestrians; to the extent that it reduces auto mobility, it may promote some types of businesses over others. In any case, a civic conversation about competing values must take place. Reduced auto mobility for some trips may be acceptable if other values, such as quality of life and economic development, are prioritized.

Concluding, we have to register

years have passed: today much

that from the boom of infrastructure

of the infrastructure in the United

realisation, enshrined in the US by

States, is outdated and authorities

the Interstate Highway Program

are concerned about its condition

and the Urban Renewal, too many

as it requires large maintenance

219

expenses (for example the Gardiner

solutions were perfectly doable

Expressway in Toronto, Canada is

and also cheaper.

an eyesore which maintenance

Someone might ask: why do we

currently costs about $ 12 million

have to keep them in town? why

per year).

donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t we send them out of the

We have to accept that some of

way?

them have reached the end of

Unlikely one may expect, is not

their useful life.

by pushing the arterial highways

So whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s next?

out of the urban perimeters that

If it is sustainability we are talking

the problem can be solved. In this

about, it is not possible to think to

way they would only end up being

reconstruct them as they are: the

generators of sprawling out of town

odd is that if we wanted to rebuild a

facilities, acting as a trigger of the

highway, to meet modern planning

growth of even more low-density

standards it would end up being

and car-dependent portions of

even more gigantic than it was

city.

before.

The problem of high speed roads

While this fact is worrying, at the same time it enables us to question the way things are

today,

revolutionizing

portions of infrastructure that hurt

neighbourhoods

and

communities.

in dense urban environment must be solved within the context: we can keep arterial roads in the same place maintaining all the movement generated by people and vehicles as long as we depress them or make them more urban, like turning them into boulevards.

If reconstruction is not a feasible

All the project shown above, tell

option, the complete removal is not

us something. Although different,

the only answer and not necessarily

they show us that the possible

the most appealing.

approaches to the problem are

In New Orleans, stimulated by the

many and they can work in a

desire to renew the elevated section

coordinated fashion to make our

of the I-81, a very lively debate was

cities more liveable. It is not just of

undertaken by local authorities

social and environmental problem:

and transport stakeholders relying on

community

participation.

measures are massive and the

Among the various proposals the

effect of regeneration of the areas

most followed were to turning the

concerned is undeniable.

highway into an urban boulevard

Even though there is a long way

or adopting a deck solution and focusing

reconnecting

the

and

sustainable

solutions

such

surface of the city.

interventions improve the situation

Compared to removal, these two

from very different points of view:

character of the Area of Interest can consistently vary from point as catalysts, making it much more

to point, feature that the analysis

appealing investment for further

carried out and the consequently

development.

embedded strategies had to take into account.

Tradeston to Townhead: a possibility Innovative analytical and strategic planning tools, part of the main research interest of the University of Strathclydeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Urban Design Studies Unit (UDSU) for the past few years, are applied and implemented to produce detailed design solutions. The detailed area of investigation is the urban section of the M8, from Tradeston to Townhead, across Kingston

Bridge,

Charing

Cross

and Sighthill amongst others. It is a 4500 metres long section with a 400 metres radius wide catchment zone

(corresponding

the

minutes waling distance needed to walk from the centre of the area to the edge). The size of the study area is not unintentional: the 400 metres radius buffer is crucial to analyse the local effect of the infrastructure on urban fabric, accessibility, social behaviours, soil conditions and peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s perception. It is selected based on studies applied to pedestrian movements and social dynamics which can be analysed only referring to a urban fabric surrounding the M8. Since the M8, in its realisation, cut through many different established existing

neighbourhoods,

the

221

Study area and proposed site of analysis and research for the

223

Opposite page: The concept for gas and electricity pipelines and a the for healing

Acting like a zip it will re-connect Glasgow, bringing back communities severed by the M8 scar, for a safer, stronger and greener city. The presented proposal is to tunnel the motorway from Townhead to Tradeston, hiding the eyesore of the M8 creating high quality useable land the motorway. The inclusion of a public transport link within the tunnel will, along with the Cross-rail project, overcome the separation of the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s two main train regional and local connections. Water drainage, gas and electricity systems will be integrated as well. There will be a reduction in the number of junctions within the City Centre will be drastically downscaled but they will manage to carry on their actual capacity. Tunnelling the motorway also presents the opportunity to enhance public transport between suburbs, promote development of city centre motorway junctions. Focus will centre on Sighthill and Port Dundas to improve conditions and reinforce opportunities. Promotion of leisure oriented possibilities, and extension of the Forth & Clyde Canal, will re-integrate the area with the nearby university campuses, Sighthill and the City Centre. Enhancing the green network, especially at Sighthill Park and alongside

A vision for Glasgow regional and local scales

225

Kirklee Springburn Botanic Garden

Barnhill Hillhead Kelvinbridge Interchange Port Dundas

St Georges Cross

Kelvinhall Interchange

Woodlands Kelvingrove Park

Kelvinhall Sport Arena

Sighthill Park

c a

Cowcaddens

Charing Cross Interchange

Queen st

Anderston Interchange

Exhibition Centre

Queen st Low level

Buchanan st

High st

Central Central Low level

Duke street St Enoch

Bellgrove Glasgow Cross

South Central Cessnock Bridge st Kinning park

Shield rd

New Gorbals

West st Interchange

Bridgeton

Opposite page:

the at-ground

and underused capacity constraints for passenger services

infrastructure including a rail bypass and restoring

tunneling and reconnection of

In this page: The Central Belt

the Clyde River, will complete an

with more than double the number

ecological â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;ringâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;.

The creation

of services. This Edinburgh-Glasgow

of new local hubs in Charing

Improvement Programme (EGIP)

Cross

re-

will see train services between the

severed

two cities increase to 13 services

and

Anderston

establish

communities

motorway,

the

will

strengthen

existing unique identities, and help

Scotlandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rail network is the most

prioritising public transport links and

dense in the central belt, reducing

pedestrian movement over private

to a few main lines in the Highlands.

travel.

The rail network in the Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) area is the largest outside of London and

The railway strategy

carries nearly two thirds of all rail

Scotland has an extensive and well

journeys in Scotland.

connected railway network using

It serves the west central Scotland

cross country links and connections

conurbation commuter region and

extends more than 70 kilometres

England,

well

local

commuter links to the other major

outside

central

Glasgow.

cities. Within Scotland, all services

Glasgow plays a crucial economic

are operated by First ScotRail on

and social role within the SPT area

behalf of Transport Scotland.

and is characterised by a high

Recently the public has been proportion of purely urban/local Rail project to provide faster, more

movements.

frequent services, aiming to reduce

The baselining work carried out has

journey times on the main route between Glasgow and Edinburgh, Dundee Perth

Mallaig Stirling Fort William Oban Edinburgh Waverly

Glasgow Central

Glasgow Prestwick Airport Ayr

Carstairs

227

on the existing network. The most

Glasgow. This sector includes the Low and High Level stations at

for

passenger

services

this

route directly interest Glasgow’s

plus Charing Cross, Arygle Street

Metropolitan Area. The interurban market provides links

of the much higher frequency of

between the major centres within

train service and number of radial

Scotland.

routes into Central Glasgow when

Typically

interurban

journeys for business or leisure tend

compared

to be less focused on peak period

number of trips to Central Glasgow

arrivals and experience a more

(42600) is approximately double

even all day demand. Even so,

that of Central Edinburgh (22600).

the morning peak arrivals at major

There are about 9000 trips per day in

centres

experience

each direction from external zones,

load factors in excess of 100 per

principally to Central Glasgow and

cent as they serve both interurban

Edinburgh.

can

often

Edinburgh.

The

and local commuter markets. This occurs on the approach to both Glasgow and Edinburgh.

The missing link

Glasgow is the largest population

In 1966, the closure of Glasgow’s

and

St. Enoch mainline railway station

Scotland and it has the densest rail

as a result of the rationalisation

network.

of the UK railway system, and the

Demand for travel is concentrated

subsequent redundancy of the

in the morning and evening peaks,

‘City Union Line’ crossing of the

and demand can exceed available

River Clyde, meant that the city’s

seating on some services. The level

railway network has been split into

of crowding varies by corridor,

two completely separate North

employment

centre

and South sections. This separation also the demographics. Crowding,

and the inability to bypass the

where the passenger to seat ratio exceeds 100 per cent can occur

one the main weaknesses of not

on certain trains on most corridors

only the city’s, but the nations rail

into Glasgow during the morning

network.

peak.

The current situation dictates that

While Edinburgh is the second

rail users wishing to travel across

largest

Glasgow

city

Scotland,

the

Edinburgh conurbation rail market

between

the

city’s

two remaining mainline stations

is less developed than Glasgow’s. The sector generating the largest

disembark and traverse the city

number of trips per day is Central

centre by foot or public transport. A

In this page: in spite Edinburgh is the most important reference for long distance cross-

in importance and relevance for number of

compared to any other important city across the

consistently higher

36%

114%

London Glasgow

London Edinburgh

19%

Edinburgh -York

27%

10%

New Castle - Glasgow

Edinburgh New Castle

-1%

Carlisle Dumfries

Number of Journeys - 2008/2009

753.000

434.000

Edinburgh New Castle

London Edinburgh

447.000

182.000

149.000

traveling from Edinburgh

London Glasgow

Edinburgh -York

New Castle - Glasgow

147.000

Carlisle Dumfries

Number of Journeys - 2008/2009

traveling from Glasgow

prime illustrator of this problem is the

stimulate economic growth and

Caledonian Sleeper service which

provide faster journey times.

provides overnight transport from London to Fort William, Inverness and Aberdeen. The only way for

Reconnecting the rail network

a mainline train to move from the

The strategy aims in reconnecting

southern to northern networks is

the two separate halves of the rail

by taking an 80 mile detour to

network while at the same time

Edinburgh and back. The implementation of this missing link

network.

would provide huge opportunities

Direct

for new rail connections across

subway network will be increased

Scotland, provide access to some

from 2 to 6 (more than 1/3 of subway

of the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most deprived areas,

stations) and the inclusion of the

interchanges

with

the

229

the new 6.8 km long M74 extension completed in June 2011

Cross-rail project in the proposed

Numbers shows that combined

strategy would satisfy the demand

effects of the new Core Tunnel,

of 4 million passengers each year,

the Crossrail project and the Local

with the result that New Glasgow

Existing Rail reuse will boost the

Cross Station would see 3.8 million

Scottish economy by £5 billion over

passengers a year, becoming the

60 years.

4th busiest station in Scotland) Filling in the missing link in Glasgow’s rail network would provide greater

The

incentive

completion

extend

the

High

road

network:

the

M74

Speed 2 (HS2) rail line north from

In the recent years Scotland’s

Manchester,

see

trunk road network faced great

between

changes in order to solve problem

Glasgow and London, increasing

of congestion and inconsistency

the city’s role as the doorway to

present in many sections of the

Scotland from England.

Central Belt’s network.

On a local level this new link will

In particular it is very interesting and

provide a sustainable transportation

effective on the dynamics in act on

option for residents, commuters

the Motorway in its urban trunk the

and visitors especially including

recent completion of the M74.

new rail routes already existing: an

This new road will complete strategic

invaluable underground unused rail

transport links for West of Scotland

network, in fact, lies in the depths of

business currently handicapped by

much

which

improved

would

links

severe congestion on the M8 while a reason to live again. Also, this will

advance national competitiveness

allow to decrease pollution levels

on the motorway by 1/3 in 30 years.

strategic commercial and industrial

improving

access

key

Opposite page: the route of the

comprises three lanes in each This project is part of a massive infrastructure investment in Scotlandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s transport

fairer Scotland by opening up

achieving Ministersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; objectives for creating a

reducing congestion and investing in easing

facilities.

The M8 tunnel

This will give the opportunity of

The new tunnel will not only provide

assisting development of prime

a home for a new tunnelled M8 but

sites in areas of high unemployment

a vital new Core Rail Link, Mains

throughout West Central Scotland

Services and a high capacity Storm

and open the way for regeneration

Drain.

of derelict land across the South

Due

and East of Glasgow. At the

obstacles, the tunnel will combine

same time the project will help

both bored and cut-and-cover

numerous

subsurface

techniques to minimise disruption local roads across Glasgow and

whilst also providing opportunity for

South Lanarkshire allowing priority

surface development.

to be allocated to public transport

The tunnel between the Tradeston

cyclists and pedestrians, improving

area Cowcaddens will be a double

road safety and reducing road

level bored tunnel.

accidents.

This decision has been taken due

Following the M74 completion of

to the tunnel having to pass under the River Clyde and the proximity of the Argyle Railway Line to the

section of the M8 in Glasgow

north bank of the river making it

The statistics show a reduction of

unfeasible to get the carriageway

more than 20000 vehicles a day

from a bridge into a tunnel within

on the M8 between the Kingston

the distance.

Bridge and the junction with the

This section of the tunnel will house the

Core

Tunnel

Railway

Link,

which will constitute a quadruple a key target of the project. Up

track layout, providing space and

to 60000 vehicles used the new

facilities for both local suburban commuter

trains

and

mainline

existing M74 at Fullarton with the M8

express trains whilst also providing

motorway in Glasgow city centre,

adequate

capacity

for

future

expansion. The rail line will be However, at the busiest section

located above a dual carriage

of the M8, between junctions 16

motorway.

and 15 in Glasgow City Centre,

As the tunnel diverges to the north

there were 26000 fewer vehicles in

at Cowcaddens on the new Port

July 2011. These numbers suggest

Dundas Link the tunnel will remain

the M74 completion lives up to

a bored tunnel until it has passed

expectations, however we will need

under the Forth & Clyde Canal, it

many months worth of data to get

however will be reduced to a dual

the true picture, especially taking

track layout.

into account seasonal variations.

231

placed into a cut-and-cover tunnel which will have the capacity to cut & cover

house the dual carriage motorway and a dual track railway line. The tunnel will unlike the bored tunnel section be on a single level and will house the railway line inbetween the two carriageways of the M8. A deeper cut and cover provision

bored tunnel

will need to be made in order for the tunnel to go under the extended Forth & Clyde Canal but this will not present any problem. The M8 will emerge from the cut and cover section after Junction 14 at Alexandra Park.

road tunnel

rail tunnel

gas and electricity

air adit

References and good practices The proposed project has been evaluated

comparing

other major investments in the infrastructural sector. Few project represent the background of the proposed intervention. The ambitious infrastructure project to bury part of Madridâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s busy M30 orbital motorway is one of the most

air adit

important

gas and electricity

references.

Requiring

120 hectares of excavations, the scheme embraces 43 kilometres of rail tunnel

motorway, including six kilometres along the banks of the River Manzanares. It also features the longest urban motorway tunnels in

road tunnel

Europe. The solution adopted for the area up on the urban surface

water drainage

inspired the strategy and are an important precedent. Another

important

example,

Opposite page: Proposed morphology of the

of the City Centre and emerge on the surface near

more than ten

In this page:

and numerous

arose in the place of an old ring

cut-and cover section in the North

cycling routes

mainly for its typology, is Denmark

the rest of greater Boston. The

tunnel

project

built

under

the

was

submerge

the

Fehmarn Belt, between Germany

highways below ground, allowing

and Denmark from 2014 to 2020,

pedestrians

achieving a dramatical reduction

between both districts and adding

public parks. To excavate beneath

travel

times

from

Hamburg

easily

move

to Copenhagen, for one of the biggest

public

infrastructure

engineers designed a complex

projects ever undertaken in Europe.

array of underground highways,

Currently,

bridges, ramps and braces to

the

stretch

between

RĂ¸dby in Denmark and Puttgarden

support the existing roadway.

in Germany, north of Hamburg, has only been served by ferry. The transit passage would consist of three tunnels: two containing a four-lane highway and a third one with two train tracks. In

terms

tunnelling

and

reconnecting the above urban space the Big Dig is the leading reference, also being the largest public works project in American history. It was designed to revitalize and reconnect the north end of Boston where,

formerly,

and

elevated

highways divided the district from

233

Opposite page:

be allocated for

refurbished and reunited: the former

usage including the tunnel control and the interior

and the perimeter

By tunnelling the M8 and converting the Clydeside Expresssway into an Urban Boulevard, Glasgow is going to change in practical and essential more integrated and accessible neighbourhoods, and improved land values. itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s character, heritage or existing structure. This detailed and sensitive plan for change over the next 25 years aims to recreate, reintegrate and reform 6 essential neighbourhoods. These six neighbourhoods, each with distinctive characteristics and attributes, blocks, safe and traversable streets, central transportation links, abundant amenity centres and beautiful and intriguing design. At the heart of this regeneration plan, there are three underlying motives:

t Creating and maintaining necessary local, city-wide, regional and national transportation links:

The Glasgow bypass line will make

Glasgow a crucial part of the national train network. This new train line City subway system and an unaltered North / South bypass of the City.

t Establishing more integrated, diverse and accessible communities receive the essential local and district amenities that have been unable to survive due to the M8 coursing through the City. Proper

Masterplanning going to be successfully integrated and unite through 235

St. John kirk, Anderston

Old Tenement, Argyle Street

Ex-Bilsands Bakery, Anderston

Menzies Hotel, Argyle Street

Elementary school, Anderston

Pentagon Centre, Anderston

The Finnieston Crane, Finnieston

Warehouse, Finnieston

Ex-Kingston Halls, Morrison Street

The Rotunda, Finnieston Street

Credit Union, Morrison Street

The â&#x20AC;&#x153;Angel â&#x20AC;&#x153;, Morrison Street

Opposite page:

The pictues display the historical conservation

Masterplan Area is subdivided (on the

different areas: The City Centre

The colours identify historical relevant

Argyle Street

Tradeston (light

densities will be established,

commercial functions.

centred on new local and district centres. The entire City will become more accessible through

improved

transportation

and

public a

t CCEI (City Centre Expansion Initiative):

pushing

the

Centre

Eastwards

City and

Southwards The City Centre Block quantity will increase

Expansion initiative essentially

dramatically as size decreases

extends the ‘boundary’ of the

permeability,

City Centre to the West and

safety and compatibility within

South. The river and M8 no

neighbourhoods.

longer limits the area’s growth.

promote

t Improving land Values: High-

The proposed state intends to

potential land will no longer

maintain the existing distribution

remain

of densities. Examine how the

derelict

valuable

areas of the City. Immediate effects will be seen with the

Centre expands to the South.

t Old

Argyle

Street:

M8 out of sight, yet equally

neighbourhood

accessible,

around the reconnection of

space

will

as be

valuable created

Argyle Street

revolving The Old Argyle

geographically precious sights

Street

close to the City Centre and

share similar characteristics to

the Clyde River, linking already

any of Glasgow’s major high

established

streets: Duke Street, Byres Road

and

functioning

areas of the City.

neighbourhood

will

or Great Western Road. Nonresidential activities represent almost half of the total density.

The six areas

A variety of uses makes this

The success of any area of a

area more diverse than others.

City can largely be attributed

t South

Commons:

wide

to the proper placement and

variety of uses, densities, new

distribution of functional densities.

and

The Masterplan Project Area is

buildings, featuring integrated

comprised of 6 sub - areas, all of

light industrial spaces. A density

which work together and whose

study of the 2012 area can be

success is mutually dependent,

misleading. Blocks of very high

yet in unique ways. These unique

residential density border on

manners of functioning are driven

extremely low density blocks

by various densities and allocations

of purely light industrial use.

frontages, light industrial space,

in density and integrates these

community/ public uses and other

various functions into a more

existing

functions

and

237

In this page, From the top: The Clyde River as a communal

interesting and an important central point in the community;

North from the Pedestrian promenade: a

diverse community.

New Finnieston: a local node established to the South West and new developments along previously empty street fronts. A diverse, high density area. Ammendments to the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;New Finniestonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

area

focus

integration of global nodes built up street fronts. Major improvements are categorized by the changing street front analysis: increased built front ratio and mixitĂŠ index.

t Kingston

West:

remediation

efforts in place to ensure post25

year

development.

Low

intervention in Kingston West. Efforts are made to maintain the existing densities but prepare for future development along Paisley Road. Compare with Clarence Drive in the West End, a local node in the centre of a similar low- density community.

t Tradeston Central: The new South Central rail station links a

previously

disconnected

and isolated area to the rest of

the

City.Currently,

the

density is attributed to about 4 of the 20+ blocks in the area. Unbalanced distribution of density and effectively no active frontages. Remediation lies in distributing the densities properly and creating a district node. Compare with Glasgow Cross area near Argyle station.

South Commons living neighbourhood: The area hosts a

the Argyle Street High st and South Commons shared space

be part of an important â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;trailâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; in

Morphological

analysis

selected

At the heart of this community is the

and refurbished

the

Masterplan Project Area The

private and social

within a a locality. For example, the

Masterplan

Area,

Clydeside Expressway A814 brings

currently is dominated by medium

motorists across several localities

to heavy industry and communities

toward the M8, while Broomielaw

for the workers. The blocks at this

is only to be used by Glasgow

point served a function that was no

motorists.

longer present or dying, although

Major Distributor Streets in the South

essential links such as the complete Argyle Street stood the test of time.

than they are designed for.

These large blocks were once suited to medium industry but now

Centre over the George the 5th

are mundane. The blocks are too

and Glasgow Bridges and is no t

large and there are limited acceses

distributed equally among roads in

to the main streets. They are no

the area due to inadequate River

longer practical nor viable. As well

crossings.

as limiting permeability, safety is

Very

few

options

access

also a problem. This plan retains the basic block structure so as to create the least disturbance in the City and

This

capitalize on existing infrastructure.

between pedestrians, storefronts

The new block pattern is natural

and motorists.

and sensical.

Neighbourhoods linked

together

are by

properly local

prevents

the

new

balanced

masterplan

use

evenly distributed Distributor Street

and

urban main routes and have many incorporated local streets.

The most important feature in reorganising

the

road

network

is that the removal of Motorway Reorganizing the street network

interchanges will not cause increase

Distributor Streets are the parts of the road network which are

distribute it more appropriately. More river crossings will also be

accessing

and

leaving

major

realised, reducing the strain on low

motorways, the M8, M77 and M74

level streets in Tradeston.

in Glasgow. Distributor Streets are

The new North / South Central

categorized as being either Main

Avenue will give access to many

or District. Main Distributor Streets

new Distribution Routes

are resonsible for routing larger

More opportunities to enter and exit

level infrastructure, while District

the

Clydeside

Expressway

promise a more equal distribution

239

of vehicles seeking high speed

A great motivation of the plan

infrastructure.

was the historic use of Argyle

The backbone of this regeneration plan lies in the street network. The

accounts of the liveliness that this

plan capitalizes on existing roads

street brought to the area. In 2037,

and preserves as many as possible.

when the Masterplan will be fully

While some roads are maintained

implemented, the re-connected

exactly, various changes in ‘layout’

Argyle street will accomplish what

are

These

it did in 1910, and more. As well as

changes include pavement width,

being a key link between the City

applied

others.

Centre and the West End, it will host measures or changes to parking

a vibrant high street and countless

and lane usage. Several streets

transportation connections. Another major improvement of the

Where possible, structural changes

regeneration plan is the conversion

in the layout were applied, but

of the A814 Clydeside Expressway

the streets characterized by a

into

‘change in layout and size’ are

Finnieston Street, the Expressway

normally to be increased in size.

downgrades

Where necessary new streets are

Boulevard, complete with East and

to be constructed. Overall, this

West local lanes, as well as express

plan places a high emphasis on the

lanes leading to the City Centre.

preservation of existing streets and

This scheme is the only way to

Urban

Boulevard.

into

Urban

applying necessary changes to their structure so that they can serve

connectivity of the expressway,

the purpose they are intended to

but also to create a permeable

serve in the street heirarchy.

and pedestrian friendly street.

Opposite page and in this page: Cross section of the

pedestrian friendly

venue is the

substantial barrier Street and the Clydeside Boulevard in a dynamic central

In designing the new street network

bypass connections throughout the

some streets had to face changes

entire country.

necessary to adjust their level in the

The new motorway scheme does

street hierarchy according to the

not interrupt the previous links with

new overall asset. This will be the

the M8 or interchanges with the

case of local or local main roads

City.

highly dominated by vehicles: in so it can truly behave as a local

Designing transitional spaces

road: wider pavements, more on-

The masterplan is conceived to be

street parking and more street

extremely sensitive to the existing

vegetation.

built form in Glasgow. Although

Thanks to the plan, the former

unique, the basis of the proposed

site of the M8 will hosts a wide

Urban Structure in this regenerative

variety of above ground streets,

plan

boulevards, and public spaces, but

Code.

more importantly these places are

implemented, the application of

major connecting sites that were

the LUC ensures that that the area

impossible to establish with the

will be unique, yet consistent with

motorway above ground.

the greater Urban Form in Glasgow.

The motorway tunnel incorporates

In this, particular care has been

train

reserved to the design of so called

carriageways of the M8, a service

transitional edges, as they are

rails,

separate

lies

critical

the

Studied,

and

Local adjusted

extremely

between

Urban and

sensitive

The M8 connectivity and usage will

treshold

public

realm

not change but the incorporated

and private space. That is why a

train lines will allow for needful

hierarchy in the level of privacy

241

of the built-up ordinary urban environment and the streetscape are the interface elements that considerations. Amongst

the

possible

ground

publicness, active fronts exhibit the lowest level of privacy. Here, the line between public and private is units are a permeable interface between the private and the public In spaces. Buildings are built directly to the pavement with no form of barrier between the public and private space. A higher level of privacy, even if anyway minimal, host buildings with similar characteristics as those Phase 1: 0 to 5 years

Phase 2: 6 to 10 years

with active fronts, but do not have

the public/ private interface. This functionality is commonly applied in the City Centre where there is such high density and quantity of pedestrians for which efforts to increase street front privacy would be fruitless. Street fronts with a discrete levels of Phase 3: 11 to 15 years

Phase 4: 16 to 25 years

privacy usually have a very discreet barrier between the public and the private space. Low fences, light vegetation, pavement changes and bollards are typical examples. These subtle measures are ways of informing pedestrians that there is only a small portion of the public realm which is not â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;theirsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. Low levels of front privacy are typical

Opposite page:

of the various The phases are then displayed individually to

simultaneously all the changes to the urban fabric

to the completion of the project (on

the temporal and geographical distribution

divided by period

found adjacent to local / district

avenue will be constructed but not

nodes.

connected at Anderston Station.

With moderate levels of privacy,

The St. Vincent Street junction will be

buildings are offset slightly more

completed and function. The Brown

from the street front (at 2-3m) and

Street Bridge will be completed to

the privacy barriers are a bit more emphasized.

the motorway are controlled (per

There may be more concentrated

Foundaton

vegetation, slightly taller fences,

building construction will occurr but

Masterplan).

Some

gates or even empty space in front of basement units. Moderate levels front privacy are found in

true

transitional places between the

the area. With the M8 tunnelled,

very public and the least public.

the, focus is on above- ground

Street

remediation.

fronts

privacy

with are

high

levels

characteristic

changes

The

Clydeside

implemented

Boulevard will be converted into

exclusively on vehicular dominated

an Urban Boulevard. Argyle street

streets fronts and in very private

is reconnected and a majority of

areas. This ensures the greatest

the proposed development will be

separation between public and private space. These buildings are

ripe for development without the

offset 5m from the street front, and

central transportation links that will

include a strong mix of

fencing,

be created: the cental bus transit

gates, vegetation and pavement

hub, Anderston Station and South

changes. Here, the separation of

Central

public and private space is sharp

commences and strengthens in

station.

Development

other areas. With the motorway tunnelled, the Clydeside

Boulevad

complete,

Phasing

the central transport hub serving

Phasing is imagined to be divided

as a major connecting point for

in four main steps of development

the entire City, and the South

and will be adressed to he long period of the 25 years previously set

to Tradeston, it is now suitable

in the strategic phase.

complete

development

most of the neighbourhoods. A focuses almost exclusively on the

majority of development North

tunneling of the M8 motorway.

of the Clyde will be completed

The â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;big digâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; precendence in

entirely. Development in Tradeston for moderate commercial usage

tunnel. At this time, the N/S central

and the foundations for a district

243

700

PHASE 02

PHASE 01

PHASE 03

350

0 node. Neighbourhood character

can adapt to changes in socio-

is palpable throughout the entire

economic conditions.

study area.

The entire masterplan is prepared

The major changes in the fouth

to face and adapt to the most

phase include the integration of

probable

variances

the

planned states. Those variances into a fully functioning district node in Tradeston, centred on the South

the urban environment due to

Central station with connections

social, economic, political and

to Bridge Street subway station.

environmental change. Population

The South Commons shared space neighbourhood sets a new standard

downtune

for

changes. Block sizes, plots sizes,

mixed

use

development.

Areas marked for post- 25 year

geometry

are and

the density

analysed are

all

climates

development begin to change, providing the foundations for future development. The CCEI continues

socio-

Southwards and Eastwards and

the unknown future and have

prompts

the ability to incorporate active

established development in the

frontages or other compatible uses

South.

within the single plot boundaries.

stronger

and

The key to the survival of any portion of the City is that it can adapt to the changing climate of the times. This section focuses on the ways in which blocks (representative of different areas of the masterplan)

economic

Opposite page: Changes in the land-use as set by the Masterplan in the various stages of implementation

timeframes set out light industry active front housing other social

245

fatto da professori e studenti che, in uno spirito di condivisione e collaborazione continua, mi hanno permesso di raggiungere questi risultati e di scrivere questa tesi. Tutto quello che è stato descritto, analizzato e progettato, ma anche tanto altro che non è stato possibile includere, non sarebbe mai esistito senza l’attento lavoro di tutti gli studenti dell’Urban Design Studio, dei docenti e tutors della Urban Design Studies Unit della University of Strathclyde di Glasgow, UK, che hanno operato con passione ed incessante impegno per creare qualcosa di valido ed importante.

Eghosa Aiyevbomwan, Nathan Bliss, Ioannis Bourlakis, Hui Lih Cheah, Jacob Dibble, Martina Donatova, Sean Fisher Tereza Haubeltova, Jak Hui Ho, Felicia Lee, Barbara Le-Fort, Edmund Wei Yang Lieu, Afton Montgomery, James Nolan Pei Ei Sin, Maria Siti, Patrick Vogel, Amily Voon, Gina Zadeikyte

Un ringraziamento speciale ai professori Ombretta Romice, Sergio Porta e a Peter Russel,

Dulcis in fundo... Un grazie ai miei amici, sparsi qua e là, ma sempre presenti e sempre disponibili a starmi vicino, aiutarmi e ospitarmi nelle mie varie trasferte. Mi rivolgo soprattutto agli

mitici, stupendi ed appassionati: non ce ne sono di migliori.

Un grazie a Maddalena, senza la quale forse la mia avventura glaswegiana non sarebbe neanche iniziata, la prova vivente che i sogni vanno afferrati e che spesso sono più a portata di mano di quello che uno possa credere. Un giorno progetteremo ancora insieme, è una promessa. Un grazie a Matteo, per quella volta che ha affrontato sei ore di treno per cucinare un piatto di spaghetti ad una studentessa catatonica in piena anche negli sbalzi d’umore ricorrenti ad ogni esame, scadenza, revisione.

trascorrere tutti i momenti che meritiamo di vivere insieme. Grazie a mio padre, che mi ha ispirato a puntare sempre in alto, a non scendere a compromessi, specialmente mai con se stessi, a non essere mai un numero fra tanti, a credere in quello che faccio e a fare quello in cui credo. So che se fosse qui ora sarebbe orgoglioso di ciò che ho raggiunto. Grazie alla mia squarda del cuore, la mia famiglia, Grazie ai miei fratelli, Alessandro ed Emilio, lo ying e lo yang, i pianeti opposti del mio universo, i miei migliori amici. A mia madre, a cui dedico questo lavoro (e a cui devo il 50% di tutti gli altri) un grazie solo non basta: per le confessioni fatte col cuore in mano, senza nascondersi mai niente, i momenti di gioia come quelli di tristezza. Grazie per avermi messa sempre al primo posto: anche se non te l’ho mai detto, lo vedo in ogni cosa che fai, e so che non c’è amore più grande. Grazie per la forza e la caparbietà che mi hai trasmesso, ma anche per l’umiltà e il coraggio di mettersi sempre in discussione. Se c’è qualcuno che non ha mai smesso di credere in me, sei proprio tu. Spero di essere sempre la persona che tu hai cresciuto.

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Stories, MSc/PgDip/PgCert - Urban Design Studio 2011/2012 [2011] PORTA S. and ROMICE O. and tutors Stories, MSc/PgDip/PgCert - Urban Design Studio 2011/2012 [2011] PORTA S. and ROMICE O. and tutors , MSc/PgDip/PgCert - Urban Design Studio 2011/2012 [2011] PORTA S. and ROMICE O. and tutors

Experiencing

and comparing places, MSc/PgDip/PgCert - Urban Design Studio 2011/2012 [2011] PORTA S. and ROMICE O. and tutors of streets, MSc/PgDip/PgCert - Urban Design Studio 2011/2012 [2011] PORTA S. and ROMICE O. and tutors MSc/PgDip/PgCert - Urban Design Studio 2011/2012 [2011] PORTA S. and ROMICE O. and tutors MSc/PgDip/PgCert - Urban Design Studio 2011/2012 [2011] PORTA S. and ROMICE O. and tutors

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Department of Architecture [2008] ROMICE O. and FREY H. Edinburgh: University of Strathclyde, Glasgow [2003] ROMICE O., THWAITES K.,PORTA S. and MEHAFFY M. Responding to In: Vulnerability, Risks and Complexity. Impacts of Global Change on Human Habitats. Ashald, Gottingen: Hogrefe Publishing [2012] The Scottish Government [July 2007] The Urban Task Force

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Websites: http://it.wikipedia.org/ http://wikimapia.org/ http://www.cbrd.co.uk/motorway/ http://www.glasgow.gov.uk/ http://www.sns.gov.uk/ http://www.skyscrapercity.com/ http://www.futureglasgow.co.uk/ http://www.gha.org.uk http://www.udsu-strath.com/ http://www.hiddenglasgow.com/ http://www.transportscotland.gov.uk/