The Elements Of Urbanism An Encyclopedia
FERNANDO MIER
Illinois Institute of Technology AURB201 - The Elements of Urbanism Fall 2012
THE ELEMENTS OF URBANISM
AURB201 - The Elements of Urbanism, Fall 2012 This book is a summary of the components, topics and content covered the introductory Architecture and Urbanism course (AURB201) at the College of Architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology. As an encyclopedia, it is a demonstration of my understanding of the course content and is intended to serve as a robust reference for my future work. All text and images included are my original work, unless otherwise noted or cited.
Fernando Mier on December 4th 2012
THE ELEMENTS OF URBANISM Table of Contents Elemental
p. 06 -15
The City as Artifact
p. 16 - 21
Chicago – Past and Present
p. 22 - 27
Center to Periphery
p. 28 - 33
The Space of the Street
p. 34 - 39
People in Motion, People at Rest
p. 40 - 41
Transit Networks
p. 42 - 45
The Metabolism of Cities.
p. 46 - 51
Infrastructure
p. 52 - 53
Open Space, Public Space
p. 54 - 59
Urban Housing
p. 60 - 63
Appendicies Bibliography
p. 64 - 65
Introduction to the “Elemental” The term “City” is often used to designate a certain political-administrative urbanized entity. The term is vague and lacks a universal definition, sometimes used quantitative criteria such as the number of inhabitants and population density, and sometimes qualitative criteria, such as the urban landscape and the predominant economic activities. A city is an urban area with high population density which is dominated mainly manufacturing and services. Cities are normally created by an urban entity. “Urbanism” is the discipline that study aims to cities, from a holistic perspective, facing the responsibility to study and manage urban systems. The current term comes from the concretized-Urbanism-Spanish engineer Ildefonso Cerdá. Is technically the science of design, construction and management of cities; by extension, urban design, although not planned; is the art of designing and building cities so that all assumptions are met to ensure a decent life for men and effectiveness of the corporation that is the city. The class “The Elements of Urbanism” is an introduction and study to both of these terms and the way cities work. For those reason the motive of this collection of urban terms will be to define and to explain the urban world that surround us every day. And there is no better way of explaining cities than explain Urban Vocabulary in general; that’s why during this “Elemental” we will talk a little bit about on some of those terms and to define our Urban Dictionary.
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Image”City” designed by Thibault Geffroy from The Noun Project
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Elemental
The Urban Dictionary Urbanization
Etymological and initially, the word urbanization comes from the Latin word URBS-URBIS, meaning city. According to the etymological meaning, urbanization is the body of knowledge relating to the study of the creation, development, reform and progress in the villages, in order for the material needs of human life. Is a process of adaptation present through history, that occurs thanks to the Urban Growth Rate thanks to the increasing size of a city. And it takes care of the development of towns and cities.
Globalization
Is the international integration phenomenon that happens all over the world thanks to the arising interchange of world views, products, ideas, and other aspects in culture. Contrary to what people thinks, globalization is not something new since cultural exchange existed way before modern technologies were invented. Still the increasing flow of people, ideas, commodities, languages, and traditions throughout the world helps the concept to grow faster each day. Globalize cities like New York, London, Paris, Tokyo and Chicago, are a result of this process. This cities not only integrate different societies through their neighborhoods and suburban areas, but are also a point on global economy, making them a reference and example to the world.
New York City Chinatown’s McDonald’s in a Pagoda is an excellent example of globalization thanks to the mix of cultures represented in the establishment.2
Megacity
All cities that exceed a population greater than 10 million and that by default has a high degree of centrality within the national economy. The term was first described by Manuel Castells to describe this large, intensely concentrated urban spaces. It is projected that by 2015, there will almost be thirty-six ‘megacities’ with populations of more than 8 million residents and by that reason Urban Planning and Globalization are really important factors in this world. 10
Megacities are growing each day since more people is moving from their rural way of living to a suburban / urban life thanks to the globalization and the way economy works nowadays 3
Population Density
Is the measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans in an specific area (mostly urban). And it works as a key role while defining the geographic term of a city. This term is an important fact in mega cities and the urbanization process and a “Either a species learns to control its own population, key role in globalization. or something like disease, famine, war, will take care of the issue” (Chuck Palahniuk, 1961). 4
Urban Growth Rate
It’s the growth rate of an urban population, meaning that it counts the amount of people migrating from a rural area to the cities. And it’s the main responsible of the urbanization process. Its study is also important when taking consideration the Population Density and for determine if an area is safe to expand or the problems it could have of an overgrowth. Image taken from Kevin’s Travel Journal. Accessed: November 28, 2012. Available at http://kevinstraveljournal.com/dining/next-stop-chinatown-new-york-city/. 3 Image taken from Cease Fire Magazine, “Global Cities: the rise and rise of Capitalism’s behemoths”, Accessed: November 28, 2012. Available at http:// ceasefiremagazine.co.uk/in-theory-global-cities-1/ 4 Image taken from Wolf, “El alcance del diseño urbano”, Plerus, UPR Puerto Rico, 1967 Accessed: November 28, 2012. Available at http://amazon.com/kindle. 2
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Wealth vs. GDP
The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is a measure of economically active a country is as a whole. The GDP is so dominant in the economic world that the general term “growth” is implicitly assumed to be the growth of GDP. Still the GDP cannot measure everything, and is for that reason that the Gross Domestic Product doesn’t always measure how Wealthy a country is; and it’s because the GDP generally does not include or measure transactions in which no money changes hands.
The GDP not always means the total wealth of a contry, plus in big contries most of the time this value doesn’t change drastically, that’s why there is other studies to see the richness of a place in general.5
Zoning
Is the designated way of studying the land use planning used by local governments in most developed countries. Zoning is a way to describe the practice of designating an area on the mapped zones to make a virtual separation of lands. Zoning is also responsible sometimes on define how the user-based areas work and to designate a lot of code ethics and methods. Such as the regulation of building height, lot coverage, and similar characteristics, or some combination of these.
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Example of Zoning on the city of Chicago.6
Urban Planning
Means to give an order to the development of a space, that is based on the material and spiritual circumstances that can best serve the future needs or a urban area. Planning, as a continuation of a process of evolution, requires being fully informed about the circumstances, problems, and possibilities of a place.
Urban Design
The technical / artistic process of ordering urban spaces in its macro to micro levels, in response to the need for adaptation of urban space to reality psychosocial, physical, economic and historical. The Urban Design is an activity plan aimed or oriented on society institutions, functions and uses of land in the most desirable locations, achieving order and efficiency, first in the main skeleton of spaces, and then into the small details of the cities, so that all urban elements and devices help to maximize opportunities for exchange of ideas, information, goods and services among the population, thereby promoting the well-being of the inhabitants.
Urban Design is one of the new majors offered all over the world, students gets excited to know that not only they will plan the building and it’s surroundings but the way people lives .7 Image taken from Zorach Blog, Accessed: November 28, 2012. Available at http://zorach.wordpress.com/2010/08/27/why-gdp-gross-domestic-product-is-apoor-measure-of-wealth-and-prosperity/ 6 Image taken from City of Chicago, Accessed: November 28, 2012. Available at https://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/dcd/supp_info/ 7 Image taken from Prof. Weldon Price Blog, Accessed: November 28, 2012. Available at http://myweb.wit.edu/priesw/istanbul/ 5
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Urban Ecology
Is the study of the relation of living organisms (in most cases humans) with each other and their surroundings in the context of a urban environment; such as high-density residential and commercial buildings, paved surfaces, and other human influences. Elements that create a unique landscape dissimilar to many previously studied environments in the field of ecology.
New York City Central Park is a perfect example of what it’s consider Urban Ecology, Millennium Park in Chicago is another good example of the same
Urban Economy
Is the area in the urban studies that studies elements such as crime, education, public transit, housing, and local government finance inside of a city. More narrowly, it is a branch of microeconomics that studies urban spatial structure and the location of households and firms.(Quigley 2008)
Markets and GDP’s changes all the time, the urban economy takes care of tracking all those changes for the world to know.9
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Urban Networks
Etymological and initially, the word urbanization comes from the Latin word URBS-URBIS, meaning city. According to the etymological meaning, urbanism is the body of knowledge relating to the study of the creation, development, reform and progress in the villages, in order for the material needs of human life.
City-State
Is an self-governing or self-ruling entity whose area consists only of a city which is not administered as a part of another local government and for default they rule their own “expansion� an economy. Today, only three independent, sovereign city-states exist: Monaco, Singapore, and Vatican City, still there is a lot of federal based cities that act like a City-State.
Vatican city is surrounded by the city of Rome, still it doesn’t share anything with it and before the Euro was implemented it even had a different currency.10
Municipality
Is usually an sub division on the urban administration of a state, having corporate status and usually powers of self-government, but still regulated by the main division. The term is also used to mean the governing body of a municipality and the way it works is different depending on the country. Image taken from Liberty Harbor: November 28, 2012. Available at http://www. libertyharborrv.com/central-park 9 Image taken from Wikimedia Foundation, Accessed: November 28, 2012. Available at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:GDP_PPP_Per_Capita_IMF_2008.svg 10 Image taken from Info Please, Accessed: November 28, 2012. Available at http://www.infoplease.com/atlas/country/vaticancity.html 8
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Local Government
Is a form on the public administration which in a majority of contexts, exists as the lowest tier of administration within a given state and it serves mostly to separate the same positions between the municipality and the state. Local government generally comprises the third (or sometimes fourth) tier of government on a developed country
Land-Use
Refers to the way in which land is used and the location of activities within a geographic area. Often activities are grouped into relatively basic categories, such as residential, industrial, recreational and commercial (Mead et al, 2006, p110). It’s defined by the city zoning plan and it’s controlled and regulated by the local government of the municipality in which it’s located, unless otherwise stated by the state / country.
Land-Use is something critical to know when building and it’s one of the first thigs that a good urban designer needs to define while planning a city.11
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Image taken from New York Deparment of City Planning, Accessed: November 28, 2012. Available at http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/html/fdb/fdb5.shtml 11
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The City as an Artifact
Subtitles (Title Case, 12pt Bold Font) Settlement and Informal Settlement.
A Settlement is a permanent or temporary community in which people live or have lived, without being specific to a size, population or importance. We consider them a informal settlement if this communities doesn’t include any constructed facilities such as roads, enclosures, field systems, boundary banks and ditches, ponds, parks and woods, wind and water mills, manor houses, moats and churches and therefore doesn’t have a urban form.
Urban Form
Is the spatial imprint of an urban space including it’s adjacent physical infrastructures and socioeconomic activities. Urban form usually refers to the physical layout and design of the city and it takes in consideration the growth it could have. Growth management issues such as urban sprawl, growth patterns and phasing of developments also heavily influence urban form.
Examples of Urban Forms that makes visible how different a city can be from each other, and the different changes it has experience over the time.13
Urban Process
Refers to the development of cities and their suburban area based on growth, decline, renewal, consolidation, and the gentrification they may experience at the time of the development. Normally all of these processes are the result of social, cultural, economic, technological, historical, political, and geographical changes that are made by the city and its authorities. 18
Geographical Effect on City Settlement
Human settlements not always have the same conditions, an thanks for that cities grows different depending on where they were started. A hill, mountain or a huge body of water can change the shape of the city and its conditions. Examples of this can be demonstrated in the next image where different kind of cities are base on different functions.
Examples of the Geographical Effect on City Settlement.14
Different kind of Cities
The Cosmic City 15 A city spatial developed based on the social hierarchy.
The Practical City 16 A city spatial developed based on functionality.
The Organic City 17 A city without any particular urban planning.
Image taken from Bricoleurbanism: November 29, 2012. Available at http:// www.bricoleurbanism.org/ideas/urban-fabric-form-comparison/ 14 Image taken from the book The Image of The city. Kevin Lynch 1960 15-17 Images taken from the book The City Shaped. Spiro Kostof 1991 13
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Roman Settlement Planning
Examples of a Roman Settlement. 18
Cardo Maximus Was the main north-south street in every planned Roman city – it was the “main street” and economic center, lined with shops and vendors.
Decumanus Maximus Was the main eastwest street – which connected the forward and rear military encampments and was typically a second “main street”
Nolli Map of Rome
Examples of a Roman Settlement. 18
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Medieval City
As time passed urban planning changed, and the medieval times came when the Romanized barbarians invaded Europe in the year 476,thanks to that new populations that couldn’t find work in the field, takes refuge in the cities and the new urban planning takes, different kind of cities emerged and all of them with different purposes and way of working.
Linear cities. Are formed along a path. 20
Crucial cities. Cities where two streets that intersect. 21
Nuclear cities. Cities built around one or more key points (church, cathedral, abbey, castle, etc..). 22 Image taken from the book Atlante di Storia dell’Urbanistica. Mario Morini 1963 Images taken from Grande Map of Rome. Giambattista Nolli, 1748 20 Images taken from Planificacion y Configuracion. Priz Dieter, 1983 21 Images taken from Planificacion y Configuracion. Priz Dieter, 1983 22 Images taken from Planificacion y Configuracion. Priz Dieter, 1983 18 19
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Grid cities. They are called regular medieval cities. 23
Fish Bone cities. A main road leaving the other parallel to each other, but oblique to the first.. 24
Circular cities. Cities formed based on circular forms. 25
Medieval City Forts
Every Medieval city should have walls to defend themselves from the outside world. Usually it was the most expensive work in the city. This forts used to have an irregular shape and rounded towers. 22
Pack Donkey’s Way
Man walks in a straight line because he has a goal and knows where he is going [...]. The pack-donkey meanders along, meditates a little in his scatter-brained and distracted fashion, he zigzags in order to avoid the larger stones, or to ease the climb, or to gain a little shade; he takes the line of least resistance. [...] The Pack-Donkey’s Way is responsible for the plan of every continental city; including Paris, unfortunately. (Le Corbusier, 1929)
Commissioners Map of NY
Images taken from Planificacion y Configuracion. Priz Dieter, 1983 Images taken from Planificacion y Configuracion. Priz Dieter, 1983 25 Images taken from Planificacion y Configuracion. Priz Dieter, 1983 26 Image taken from Omnibus: December 03, 2012. Available at http:// urbanomnibus.net/2011/03/the-omnibus-roundup-95/ 23 24
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Chicago – Past and Present City founding and particulars of Location
While Louis XIV reigned in France, plans were made to investigate the American continent that had been visited by French, English and Spanish explorers and settlers. Two young men, Louis Joliet, a fur trader, and Jacques Marquette, a Jesuit missionary, were chosen to lead an expedition from a mission at the northeast corner of Lake Michigan into the center of the unknown continent. On May 17, 1673, Marquette, Joliet, and five men on two birchbark canoes set off. Following the northern and western shores of Lake Michigan, they paddled down the Fox River, portaged to the Wisconsin River, and then found themselves on the Mississippi. More than a month into their journey, Marquette and Joliet, leaving their men to guard their canoes, walked unarmed into an Illinois Indian village. Marquette’s robes were recognized and they were welcomed into the village and fed. On their departure, the chief of the village gave them a calumet, a peace pipe, to present to potentially hostile tribes, and lent them his own ten-year-old son, who would help guide them on their journey. In 1696, French Jesuits built the Mission of the Guardian Angel to Christianize the local Wea and Miami people. French and allied use of the Chicago portage was mostly abandoned during the 1720s because of continual Native American raids during the Fox Wars. During the mid-18th century, the Chicago area was inhabited primarily by the Potawatomi, who displaced the Miami, Sauk, and Fox tribes. They had previously controlled the area and moved west under pressure from the Potawatomi and European settlers. The city was founded in the 1830s and grew rapidly from real estate speculation and the realization that it had a commanding position in the emerging inland transportation network, controlling access from the Great Lakes into the Mississippi River basin The name “Chicago” is the French version of the Miami-Illinois word shikaakwa (“Stinky Onion”), named for the plants common along the Chicago River. The city lies within the humid continental climate zone, and experiences four distinct seasons. Summers are hot and humid; Winters are cold, snowy, and windy, with some sunny days. Spring and autumn are mild seasons with low humidity. The city lies beside huge freshwater Lake Michigan, and two rivers (the Chicago River in downtown and the Calumet River in the industrial far South Side) flow entirely or partially through Chicago. Chicago is a world port city as the St Lawrence Seaway connects Lake Michigan with the Atlantic Ocean.
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The Chicago River
River that cross the city of Chicago,and that is one of the main reason of why the city is funded, it ends in one of the Great Lakes (Lake Michicagan)
The Chicago River is one of the most important features of the city. 27
Chicago River Reversal
In the early 1900’s a plan to change the flow of the river to reduce the pollution caused by sewage and that was already causing problems to the people in the city, since lake Michigan the main fresh water source for the city. The plan is an innovation of the old 1848 plan and what it does is that at the surface, the river flows east to west, away from Lake Michigan, as expected. But deep below, near the riverbed, water travels, seasonally, west to east, toward the lake
Metropolitan Water Reclamation District
Is the District that protects the health and safety of the public in its service area, protect the quality of the water supply source (Lake Michigan), improve the quality of water in watercourses in its service area, protect businesses and homes from flood damages, and manage water as a vital resource for its service area. The District’s service area is 883.5 square miles of Cook County, Illinois and is compromise into achieving the highest standards of excellence in fulfilling its mission.
Chicago Area Waterway System (CAWS)
Is a series of canals and rivers that connects Lake Michigan with the Mississippi River via the Lower Des Plaines and Illinois rivers Image taken from Zazzle: December 02, 2012. Available at http:// www.zazzle.com/antique_map_of_chicago_lasalle_street_and_river_ invitation-161687960210798788 27
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Canals and Rivers that compromise the CAWS. 28
Shaping of the Lake Shoreline
The city has been reshaped several times to accommodate new services and areas for the habitants, as well as creating new views for the city and its commercial area. 29
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Chicago’s City Grid
Chicago got its start from the federal and state governments. The small grid of streets that the commissioners platted in 1830 at the junction of the north and south branches of the river set the street pattern that private developers began to extend as early as 1834
The City Grid is really consisted and admired by a lot of other cities. 30
The Aldermanic Ward System
Ward-based elections and services have encouraged ethnic and neighborhood politics, providing an obstacle to centralized government. Chicago initially had a board of trustees elected at large for annual terms. Its 1837 municipal charter established a popularly elected mayor and Common Council, which in 1875 became the city council. In 1923, the city was divided into 50 wards,each represented by one alderman elected for two-year terms. Aldermen have been elected on a nonpartisan basis since 1920, with a run-off election between the top two candidates if no one receives a majority in the first election.
Image taken from Circle of Blue: December 02, 2012. Available at http://www. circleofblue.org/waternews/2012/world/study-outlines-plans-to-stop-asian-carpat-chicago/ 29 Image taken from Blackboard: December 01, 2012. Available at http:// blackboard.iit.edu 30 Image taken from Etsy: December 02, 2012. Available at http://www.etsy.com/ listing/69082567/chicago-city-map-original-watercolor 28
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Historical Chicago Neighborhood Map 31
Chicago’s Neighborhoods
Cartographers distinguish between over 200 neighborhoods and 77 community areas in the city of Chicago, Illinois, United States. The broader community area usually shares the name of one of the neighborhoods within its boundaries. Within the broader boundaried community areas, there are many separate neighborhood names and boundaries. New neighborhoods may be added by developers 28
New Chicago Neighborhood Map 32
Image taken from Chicago Land Real Estate: December 02, 2012. Available at http://www.chicagolandrealestateforum.com/tag/free-chicago-neighborhoodposter/ 32 Image taken from Lucid Realty: December 02, 2012. Available at http:// lucidrealty.com/chicago_communities.php 31
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Center to Periphery Elements of Urban Form Edge
The imaginary line that marks the end of a city
Boundary
The imaginary line that marks the end of a city and the beginning of another territory
Periphery
The perimeter of a city
Node
When more than two roads collide / meet
Intersection
When two roads collide / meet
Network Road system within a city, it’s boundaries and it’s suburbs.
City Center
The main economic / social part of a city, normally located on its downtown.
Examples of the City Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.33
Neighborhood
Is any identifiable subdivision of a city, village or parish. Its origin may be an administrative decision (in which case equivalent to a district), a planning initiative (ex. The set of a company builds houses for the workers of one of its factories) or simply common sense membership of its inhabitants based on proximity or history, often reinforced by antagonism with the neighboring district. 30
Suburb
Is a neighborhood, sector or residential district, away from the city center or at the periphery thereof, and generally poor nature, this does not mean that it is always so. Some suburbs have developed some services, such as hospitals, schools and shopping centers, making them independent of the city.
Examples of a suburban grid. 34
Exurbs
Is a city, neighborhood, sector or residential district with a lower rank within an urban agglomeration makes relying on a major city or suburb, whose area of influence belongs.
Sprawl
Is the extension or growth of a city and it’s suburbs thanks to it’s economic and density growth. It’s normally a multifaceted concept that normally takes the city to low-density and auto-dependent development on rural land and make them new areas within it.
Conurbation
Is when two large urban region comprising a number of cities, large towns, and other urban areas have merged to form one continuous urban and industrially developed area.
Decentralization
Is when companies start moving their downtown offices to the suburbs to benefit themselves with cheapest spaces and their employees for being closer to them.
Image taken from Cracked: November 29, 2012. Available at http://www. cracked.com/funny-7405-5-reasons-las-vegas-city-center/ 34 Image taken from Spencer in Ghana: November 29, 2012. Available at http:// spenceringhana.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-suburb-analogy.html 33
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Ville Radieuse
Was an unrealised project designed by the French-Swiss architect Le Corbusier in 1924. Although Le Corbusier had exhibited his ideas for the ideal city, the Ville Contemporaine in the 1920s, during the early 1930s, after contact with international planners he began work on the Ville Radieuse. In 1930 he had become an active member of the syndicalist movement and proposed the Ville Radieuse as a blueprint of social reform. The principles of the Ville Radieuse were incorporated into his later publication, the Athens Charter published in 1933. His utopian ideal formed the basis of a number of urban plans during the 1930s and 1940s culminating in the design and construction of the first UnitÊ d’Habitation in Marseilles.
Drawings of La Ville Radieuse by Le Corbusier.35
Broadacre City
Broadacre City was an urban or suburban development concept proposed by Frank Lloyd Wright throughout most of his lifetime. He presented the idea in his book The Disappearing City in 1932. Many of the building models in the concept were completely new designs by Wright, while others were refinements of old ones, some of which had been rarely seen. Some of the earlier garden city ideas of the landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted and the urban planner Ebenezer Howard had much in common with Broadacre City, save for the absence of the automobile, born much later. More recently, the development of the Edge city is like an unplanned, incomplete version of Broadacre city. 32
Sketches of how Broadacre City could look like. 36
Image taken from Art and Culture: November 29, 2012. Available at http:// www.artandculture.com/media/show?media_id=116147&media_type=image 36 Image taken from Wikimedia: November 29, 2012. Available at hhttp:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Wright_Sketches_for_Broadacre_City.jpg 35
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Ebenezer Howard’s Garden City
The garden city movement is a method of urban planning that was initiated in 1898 by Sir Ebenezer Howard in the United Kingdom. Garden cities were intended to be planned, self-contained communities surrounded by “greenbelts� (parks), containing proportionate areas of residences, industry and agriculture. Inspired by the Utopian novel Looking Backward, Howard published his book To-morrow: a Peaceful Path to Real Reform in 1898 (which was reissued in 1902 as Garden Cities of To-morrow). His idealised garden city would house 32,000 people on a site of 6,000 acres (2,400 ha), planned on a concentric pattern with open spaces, public parks and six radial boulevards, 120 ft (37 m) wide, extending from the centre. The garden city would be selfsufficient and when it reached full population, another garden city would be developed nearby. Howard envisaged a cluster of several garden cities as satellites of a central city of 50,000 people, linked by road and rail. (Goodall, 1987).
The Three Magnets of the Garden City.37
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Levittown
Is the name of four large suburban developments created in the United States of America by William Levitt and his company Levitt & Sons. Built in the post-WWII era for returning veterans and their new families, the communities offered attractive alternatives to cramped central city locations and apartments.
New Urbanism
Is an urban design movement which promotes walkable neighborhoods containing a range of housing and job types. It arose in the United States in the early 1980s, and has gradually reformed many aspects of real estate development, urban planning, and municipal land-use strategies. New Urbanism is strongly influenced by urban design standards that were prominent until the rise of the automobile in the mid-20th century; it encompasses principles such as traditional neighborhood design (TND) and transit-oriented development (TOD). It is also closely related to regionalism, environmentalism and the broader concept of smart growth. (William, 1986)
New Pedestrianism
Is a more idealistic variation of New Urbanism in urban planning theory, founded in 1999 by Michael E. Arth, an American artist, urban/home/ landscape designer, futurist, and author. The New Pedestrianism addresses the problems associated with New Urbanism and is an attempt to solve various social, health, energy, economic, aesthetic, and environmental problems, with special focus on reducing the role of the automobile. A neighborhood or new town utilizing New Pedestrianism is called a Pedestrian Village. Pedestrian Villages can range from being nearly carfree to having automobile access behind nearly every house and business, but pedestrian lanes are always in front (Arth, 2010).
Example of New Urbanism vs New Pedestrianism.38 Image taken from Cornell Library: November 29, 2012. Available at http://www. library.cornell.edu/Reps/DOCS/howard.htm 38 Image taken from Wikimedia: November 29, 2012. Available at http:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:New_Pedestrianism_compared_to_New_Urbanism_ and_suburban_design.jpg 37
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The Space of the Street Pedestrian
A person traveling on foot
Pedestrian vs. Vehicular Street Planning
People normally don’t think on pedestrians while planning the cities, that’s why the new urban plans are always emphasizing this.
Street
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A public way inside a city or town.
Boulevard
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A Broad city street that normally has trees and more
Main street
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The principal street on a city or town, normally the main economic area is located near this area.
Alley
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A narrow street or passageway between or behind city buildings
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Passage
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A even more narrow street that normally is only pedestrian
Crosswalk
A path marked on the streets or in the corner of this, where it shows where pedestrians can cross.
Different kind of Crosswalks over the world.44
Sidewalk
The walking path of the pedestrians that goes aside of the street.
Parkway
A divided between one street and the others, usually ornamented with trees and grass.
Bicycle lane
A path aside the street for people to drive their bikes. Example of a bicycle line on a street. 45
Images taken from Blackboard; Elements of Urbanism : November 29, 2012. Available at blackboard.iit.edu 44 Image taken from Safe and Better Streets : November 29, 2012. Available at http://www.sfbetterstreets.org/find-project-types/pedestrian-safety-and-trafficcalming/crosswalks/ 45 Image taken from Bike Lans : November 29, 2012. Available at http://richmondva. wordpress.com 39-43
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Curb/Gutter
Is the edge where a raised pavement/sidewalk/footpath, road median, or road shoulder meets an unraised street or other roadway.
Median
A smaller parkway that serves also as a separation between to streets.
A median is way thinner than a parkway. 46
Parking zone
A place where people can park their cars, bikes and motorcycles legally without affecting the streets.
Mixed-use zone (flex zone)
A street that can be used for pedestrians or for local business
Mixed vehicle lane
A vehicle lane that can also be used as a pedestrian lane
Designated vehicle
An area where only certain type of vehicles can cross
Lane
A pathway for vehicles, one or more of them plus a sidewalk form a street Different amount of lanes are used to create different kind of streets, highways or toll road lanes. 47
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Arcade
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A storefront where the facade overlaps with the sidewalk, but the entry remains behind in the original place.
Shopfront
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The Facade is aligned directly on the frontage line, with the entrance at grade and it’s mostly used on retail stores.
Stoop
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The facade is aligned on the frontage line, with the first floor elevated to achieve some privacy for the windows; it’s commonly used for residential.
Forecourt
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The facade is set back and replaced by a low wall at the frontage line; the forecourt thus created is suitable for gardens, vehicles, and workshop loading and storage
Image taken from Dot: November 29, 2012. Available at fhwa.dot.gov Image taken from DTR: December 2, 2012. Available at http://www. metwashairports.com/tollroad/921.htm 48-51 Images taken from Blackboard; Elements of Urbanism : November 29, 2012. Available at blackboard.iit.edu 46 47
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Dooryard
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The facade is set back with an elevated garden or terrace in between, and it’s mostly used in residential areas
Porch
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With an encroaching habitable porch, the facade is set back substantially from the frontage line
Front Lawn
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The facade is set back substantially front he frontage line
Fence
A protection that can be used in the front of the storefronts.
Fences are like the modern forts for our storefronts. 55
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Images taken from Blackboard; Elements of Urbanism : November 29, 2012. Available at blackboard.iit.edu 55 Images taken from Asheville Fence: November 27, 2012. Available at http:// www.ashevillefence.com/ 51-54
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People in Motion, People at Rest Pedestrian zone
The zone designed for pedestrians to walk on the city and the streets.
Walking routes
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Paths created for pedestrians to walk in the city
Walkability
The ability to walk in a city, and is based on it’s street design and urban design of the city
Street patterns and the effect on walkability
Depending on the streets is that a city can be walkable or not. Cities in where the vehicles were the principal factor are normally not inside of the walkability patterns of a city, but cities that are designed based on its users and the public transportation trends to be more walkable.
Soft edges
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Mean a façade where a lot of things can happen. It could be many doors, niches, or the seller putting their products on the street, still normally this actions are unexpected and unplanned
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Edge effect
People trends to do weird things to define their private space in a public street, the edges of the building become more important and a resource that is necessary to plan since people nowadays spends more time on them talking over the phone, meeting other people or even waiting for public transportation
Informal seating
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Not city defined spaces that can be use for seating on public spaces, this can be the edge of a fountain, building, the top of a wall, etc.
Formal seating
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City defined spaces where people can seat, this normally includes spaces on plazas and benches on parks.
Image taken from Euro Tour Guide: November 29, 2012. Available at http:// www.eurotourguide.com/costa-blanca-south/travel-guide/city-walking-routes 58 Images taken from typepad: November 29, 2012. Available at http:// haglundsheel.typepad.com/haglunds_heel/2009/05/lincoln-centers-fountain-asmoking-ashtray.html 59 Images taken from Flavowire : November 29, 2012. Available at http://www. flavorwire.com/25189/ 43 56-57
Transit Networks Connectivity The ability to connect two places thought public transportation.
Public transit
A service a city provides to move from one place into another without the use of a personal vehicle.
MTA is NYC Public Transportation Companie.60
Mass transit The ability of move several people thought public transportation.
Multi-modal systems The ability to change from one kind of public transportation to another.
Trains
A series of connected railroad cars pulled or pushed by one or more locomotives and it’s main purpose is to travel long distances.
Metros
Short distance trains located inside of the city and are used as public transportation.
An elevated CTA Train in Chicago, Il.61
Subways
Subterranean metros used in a lot of cities. 44
Monorails
A railway system that only use one rail instead of regular trains that uses two. Is traditionally used in the streets instead of buses.
Light rails
Is a form of public transportation that generally has a lower capacity and lower speed than heavy rail and metro systems, but higher capacity and higher speed than traditional street-running monorail systems and as with the monorails is typically used on the streets. The New Light Rails lets you move everywhere like a bus but without the pollution 62
Buses
A kind of public transportation that uses large vehicles on the streets
Trolleys
A street car that collects electric current from an underground conductor, an overhead wire, or a third rail and transmits it to the motor of an electric vehicle. Trolley systems are still widely use in some cities. 63
Trams
Is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way.
Urban and Suburban rail connectivity
A service that let’s you move through the city and the suburbs between different public transportation systems. Image taken from MTA: November 29, 2012. Available at http://www.mta.org Images taken from Wikipedia: November 29, 2012. Available at http:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_transport 60
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Commuting
The need to move from the city to the suburbs, a suburb to the city or even a suburb to a suburb through public transportation.
Grade or zone separated transit systems,
The possibility of paying less on public transportation depending on the area you go and from where you depart
London uses a diverse and not that much complicated zone system 64
Free-bike program
A new public transportation method that consist on installing several bike lanes and bike rental places / parking in different areas on the city to create a more green way of transportation.
Rapid bus transit
A new public transportation method that consist on installing several bus specific lanes in where no other vehicles has access to them, it works like the metro systems but using buses.
Rapid buses are becoming quite popular on emerging countries 65
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Image taken from Londra US: November 27, 2012. Available at http://www. londra.us/travelcard_metropolitana_londra.html 65 Image taken from Wikipedia: November 29, 2012. Available at http:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_transport 64
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The Metabolism of Cities Sustainable Cities
Cities that produce its own energy, food and that manage it’s own waste
Industrial ecology
Is the study of material and energy flows through industrial systems
Food miles
Is a term which refers to the distance food is transported from the time of its production until it reaches the consumer
Foodshed
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Is the geographic location that produces the food for a particular population
Agricultural
An area within a city dedicated to the production of natural food
Region
A specific geographical area
Cropland
Land suitable for growing crops like corn
Pastureland
Land suitable for grazing and cow feeding. 48
Food Distribution Networks
The different paths on how food is distribute between the producer and the costumer.
Eating local Where costumers are able to eat what is produced in their own city or town
Farm to table
Where costumers are able to eat non processed food that comes directly from the farms instead of being industrially cultivated.
Urban agriculture
Is the practice of cultivating, processing, and distributing food in or around a village, town, or city.
Rooftop farming
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The ability of growing crops or products in your own roof
Market
A not industrialized place that sells groceries, they trend to be local.
Supermarket
A industrialized place that sells groceries and has more variety than markets.
Farmers’ market
A not industrialized place that sells locally produce products, and they trend to be community based.
Food halls
A large dining area where you can buy your food from a huge selection of food stalls Image taken from Columbia Univ.: November 29, 2012. Available at http:// www.urbandesignlab.columbia.edu/?pid=national_foodsheds 67 Image taken from Outnext.: December 3, 2012. Available at http://www. outnext.com/on/2008/08/rooftop-gardens.html 66
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Corner grocer
Little markets usually place at the street corner or the city block of a commonly residential area.
Food desert
Is a district with little or no access to foods needed to maintain a healthy diet but often served by plenty of fast food.
Edible yards
Is a full-service gardening company specializing in design, installation and maintenance of vegetable gardens and edible landscapes.
Victory gardens
Were vegetable, fruit and herb gardens planted at private residences and public parks in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Germany during World War I and World War II to reduce the pressure on the public food supply brought on by the war effort
Fossil fuels
Fuels created by the decomposition of plants and animals from thousand million years ago, for that reason they are not renewable but they’re used in modern technology and they redefined an new era.
Petroleum and it’s plants are one of the principal causes of today’s pollution 68
Renewables fuels
Are fuels created with current modern life things like vegetables, methanol and more. Compare do Fossil fuels they can be renewed easily.
Nuclear energy
Energy produced by nuclear reactors at the time of atom separations. Its sustainable but produces huge amount of radioactivity plus is really dangerous. 50
Energy generation
The ability to produce electric power from any kind of source.
An electric module is used on the plants to create electric power 69
Energy consumption
The consumption of electric power previously generated
Global Energy Network
Is an emerging affiliation of organizations that collaborate on sustainable energy initiatives and generation.
Urban Energy Network
The complete system of the energy routes pertaining to all means of transport available in a particular area
The Electrical Grid
Is a network of synchronized power providers and consumers that are connected by transmission and distribution lines and operated by one or more control centers
Smart Grid
It’s a way to deliver electricity from suppliers to consumers using digital technology with two-way communications to control appliances at consumers’ homes to save energy, reduce cost and increase reliability and transparency. Image taken from Doe: November 29, 2012. Available at http://www.netl.doe. gov/technologies/coalpower/gasification/pubs/photo.html 69 Image taken from Wikimedia: December 1, 2012. Available at http:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Turbogenerator01.jpg 68
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Example of the Power Grid used at IIT 70
Climate change
The change of the expected weather thanks to the global warming or a terraformation.
Global heat flows The way the global emissions of heat flow through the entire world.
Greenhouse Gases
A gas that contributes to the greenhouse effect by absorbing infrared radiation
Energy use of buildings
The amount of energy use and distributed on a building, and it helps to define it’s sustainable status.
Energy use of transportation
The amount of energy use and distribution on a transportation system, and it helps to define it’s sustainable status.
Composting
The ability to produce renewable fuels created by garbage disposal and arrangement.
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Example of a typical composting mix and the way it needs to be separated 71
Zero waste
The ability to reuse all of your normally produced waste to produce fuels, reused supplies and more without creating any additional waste.
Watershed
An area or ridge of land that separates waters flowing to different rivers, basins, or seas.
Water supply
The source of water in a city, region or town.
Wastewater treatment
The ability to process already wastewater for further non edible use through different water purification methods.
Chicago’s Wastewater trreatment plant 72
Water ethics
The ethical use of pure / fresh water in a city or home.
Bioswales
Are landscape elements designed to remove silt and pollution from surface runoff water.
Urban wetlands
Fake lakes created in already urbanized areas. Image taken from Wikimedia: December en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ 70-72
1, 2012. Available at http://
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Infrastructure Urban Infrastructure
It’s called urban infrastructure (as etymology Infra = below) to human fulfillment that designed and managed by professionals of Architecture, Civil Engineering, ([Planners] etc, that support for the development of other activities and operations necessary in the organization structural city.
Manufacturing districts
Places designated for the manufacturing industry within a city or town.
Centralization
The condensation of similar industries in the same area for different purposes and uses in the global or local market.
Ports
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A specific part of a town or city with a harbor where ships load or unload
Shipyards
A place in the port where Ships are created or repaired.
Canals
An artificial waterway constructed to allow the passage of boats or ships inland or to convey water for irrigation.
Locks
A mechanism to lock water in different areas of the city or town for storage or water control purposes 54
Urban rivers Is a formerly natural waterway that flows through a heavily populated area
Chicago River is an Urban River that also happens to have a riverfront 74
Riverfront
Is the boundary of a heavily populated area and the river.
Day-light waterways
Canals in which the water flow is controlled during the daylight and stopped at dawn.
Water supply system
Is a system that provides water to different places over the city
Example of a Water Supply System 75
Wastewater Treatment System
The system inside of a water treatment plant that makes wastewater in to pure water based on a water filter system. Image taken from Epa: December 2, 2012. Available at http://water.epa.gov/ lawsregs/rulesregs/sdwa/tcr/distributionsystems.cfm 69 Image taken from Wikimedia: December 1, 2012. Available at http:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ 73-74
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Open Space, Public Space The Public Realm
Is defined as any publicly owned streets, pathways, right of ways, parks, publicly accessible open spaces and any public and civic building and facilities. The quality of our public realm is vital if we are to be successful in creating environments that people want to live and work in.
Public Buildings
Any human made structure that it has a public use for the people on the city, region or town. And it’s normally owned by a national or local government body.
Chicago Public Building Commission
Is an organization that take scare of the professional management of public construction projects in the city of Chicago.
Public open space
Is a space owned by a national or local government body that it’s open for public recreation.
Plaza
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Is a gathering place on a street or between buildings normally pavemented.
Piazza It’s a tiny public plaza at the meeting of two streets.
Court Is an enclosed plaza, enclosed by a building that is open to the sky. 56
Square
Is an open space with buildings surrounding a garden, the main different with it and the court is that normally this is a green area and that is often located in fashionable urban areas
Example of a Square in London 77
Park
Is a big open area provided by the city for recreational use. It can be in its natural or semi-natural state, or planted, and set aside for human enjoyment, or - in addition- for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats
Field, Is a big open recreational area for diverse use and sport like activities.
Hardscape
In the practice of landscaping, refers to the paved areas like streets & sidewalks, large business complexes & housing developments, and other industrial areas where the upper soil profile is no longer exposed to the actual surface of the Earth. Example of a Hardscape and a Softscape 78
Softscape
Refers to the elements of a landscape that comprise live, horticultural elements. Softscaping can include, flowers, plants, shrubs, trees, flower beds, etc. Images taken from Wikimedia: December 1, 2012. Available at http:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ 78 Image taken from Sleepy Hollow Landscaping: November 29, 2012. Available at http://www.sleepyhollowlandscaping.com/hardscape.html 76-77
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Landscape Ecologies
Is the science of studying and improving relationships between ecological processes in the environment and particular ecosystems normally applied to the art of landscaping.
Private Open spaces
Is an open space owned by private individual and therefore it can or cannot be used for public access or recreation.
1944 Greater London Plan
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Was a plan for the development and improvement of London through the construction of park, public spaces and more.
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Large Open Spaces
Are public or private spaces for open public access or recreation and normally are consider as a city landmark and they also help to define the city culture. Examples include the (NYC’s Central Park, Boston Common, Moscow’s Red Square, Beijing’s Tiananmen Square)
NYC’s Central Park
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Is a public park at the center of Manhattan in New York City. The park initially opened in 1857, on 843 acres of city-owned land. In 1858, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they entitled the Greensward Plan. Construction began the same year, continued during the American Civil War, and was completed in 1873. (Miller, 2003)
Boston Common
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Is a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts. It is sometimes erroneously referred to as the “Boston Commons”. Dating from 1634, it is the oldest city park in the United States. The Boston Common consists of 50 acres of land bounded by Tremont Street, Park Street, Beacon Street, Charles Street, and Boylston Street.
Image taken from Media Architecture: November 27, 2012. Available at http:// www.mediaarchitecture.at/architekturtheorie/patrick_abercrombie/2011_ patrick_abercrombie_links_en.shtml 80-81 Images taken from Wikimedia: December 2, 2012. Available at http:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ 79
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Moscow’s Red Square
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Is a city square in Moscow, Russia. The square separates the Kremlin, the former royal citadel and currently the official residence of the President of Russia, from a historic merchant quarter known as Kitai-gorod. The Red Square is often considered the central square of Moscow and all of Russia, because Moscow’s major streets—which connect to Russia’s major highways—originate from the square.
Beijing’s Tiananmen Square
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Is a large city square in the center of Beijing, China, named after the Tiananmen Gate (Gate of Heavenly Peace) located to its North, separating it from the Forbidden City. Tiananmen Square is the third largest city square in the world. It has great cultural significance as it was the site of several important events in Chinese history.
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Small Open Spaces
Are public or private spaces for open public access or recreation and they can be consider as a city landmark or as a way to help on enhance it. Examples include the (Piccadilly Circus, Placa de Sant Just and more)
Piccadilly Circus
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Is a road junction and public space and small plaza of London’s West End in the City of Westminster, built in 1819 to connect Regent Street with the major shopping street of Piccadilly. In this context, a circus, from the Latin word meaning “circle”, is a round open space at a street junction.
Placa de Sant Just
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Is what today remains of the old cemetery of Sant Just, in which, according to legend, the first Christian martyrs of Barcelona were buried. The highlight of this landmark is the Gothic fountain positioned on the corner of the streets, Palma de Sant Just and de Lledó, which was installed by Joan Fiveller in the year 1367
Flexible use
Are different spaces either public or private, open or enclosed that can work for diverse uses. Images taken from Wikimedia: December 3, 2012. Available at http:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ 85 Images taken from Interferencia: December 2, 2012. Available at http://www. interferencia.info/PAGS/fotos.htm 82-84
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Urban Housing Low-rise housing
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Is a type of residential housing with no more than four floors, it can be a single house or an apartment building within the city.
High-rise housing
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Is a type or residential building that has more than four floors (in European countries) or in an apartment / condominium building (USA)
Apartments
Is a self-contained housing unit that occupies only part of a building
Condominiums
Is a self-contained housing on a part of a building owned by the person who habits the space.
Cooperatives,
Is a legal entity, usually a corporation, renting owns real estate, consisting of one or more residential buildings; it is one type of housing tenure. 62
Dormitories
Is a residence hall consisting of sleeping quarters for a large group of people and they are often located on boarding school, college or universities.
Singleroom
Is a kind of apartment where there is only one room that is supposed to be for one or two people.
Occupancies,
Is a building with several rooms that tries to give support to people based on the need of his habitants.
Townhomes
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Is a style of medium-density housing that consist on a row of identical or mirror-image houses share side walls.
Single-family homes
Is a free deatached building where one family or individual (or group of individuals) lives.
Multi-family dwellings
Is a housing type where multiple separate housing units for residential inhabitants are contained within one building or several buildings within one complex.
Residential districts
Is a part within the city assigned for residential purposes. Example of Residenial Disctrict acording to Wolf Plerus 89
Images taken from Metaefficient: November 29, 2012. Available at http:// www.metaefficient.com/architecture-and-building 88 Image taken from Real Estate Vegas: November 26, 2012. Available at http:// www.real-estate-in-las-vegas.com/2008/04/tuscanys-fiori.html 89 Images taken from the book The scope of urban design. Wolf Plerus 1991 86-87
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Zoning restrictions on dwellings (particularly in Chicago) * Licenses for the retail sale of alcoholic liquor will not be issued for establishments within 100 feet of any home for the aged or indigent. * Prohibit exterior physical changes to the home for the purposes of conducting business * Prohibit outside business activities, storage, or displays * Restrict or prohibit signage or commercial vehicles * Prohibit use or storage of hazardous materials
Live/work
Is an area in the city where there is apartment and office building located next to each other or even in the same building
Example of a Mixed-use area with Live / Work 90
Mixed-use buildings
Are buildings that can be commercial and residential at the same time.
Social housing (public housing)
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Is a type of housing in which the property is owned by a government authority, which may be central or local.
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Image taken from Archidaily: December 3, 2012. Available at http://www. archdaily.com/2218/oma-presents-design-for-coolsingel-mixed-use-building-inrotterdam-and-announces-construction-at-the-hague/ 91 Image taken from Top Box Design: November 28, 2012. Available at http://www. topboxdesign.com/tag/public-housing/ 90
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Bibliography • Le Corbusier, The City of Tomorrow and its Planning, 1929. • Miller, Sara Cedar. Central Park, An American Masterpiece: A Comprehensive History of the Nation’s First Urban Park. New York: Abrams, 2003. ISBN 0-8109-3946-0. • Jan Wong, Red China Blues, Random House 1997, p.278 • Gleick, James. Chaos: Making a New Science. New York: Penguin, 1987. Print. • Wolf, The scope of urban design, Plerus, UPR Puerto Rico, 1967. • Spiro Kostof, The City Shaped, Bulfinch, 1993 • Carl Smith, The Plan of Chicago: Daniel Burnham and the Remaking of the American City, University Of Chicago Press, 2007 • Jane Jacobs, The Death and Life of Great American Cities, Modern Library 1951 • Ducci, Elena Maria, Introduccion al Urbanismo, Ed. Trillas 1989. • Dieter, Priz, Planificacion y Configuracion Urbana, Ed. Gustavo Gili, 1983. • • Image Bibliography is at the footnote of each section
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