Presentation of urban design 1

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Statuary Publication
The document which are published here is the sole publication of the Author. Any
misuse and the mis-interpretation of this document by anyone, author does not
take the responsibility for the same.
Er. Amit Pokhrel
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Theories of Urban Design
Pedestrian Zones
11/26/2012
Amit Pokhrel

Pedestrian Zones
The article presented by Roberto Brambilla and Gianni Longo offers guidelines and
checklists for design of pedestrian streets, created as traffic free zones.
First pedestrian experiments was done in Europe and it provided examples for a new
approach to renewal, appropriate for preservation and revitalization of historic urban
centers.
A pedestrian street often features for relaxation, entertainment or set of activities.
The space may be landscaped with trees, flower and water. fountains can be a centre of
attraction for children as well as adults.
Street lightining is usually proportioned to pedestrian scale, with variations for dramatic
effects and for safety.
Benches and tables are provided for places for socializing.
The term “traffic free zone” defines area where motor vehicle traffic is banned and
priority given to pedestrians.
A pedestrian street can attract a diversity and range of activities.
Drawing all ages and social strata, ttourists and residents into the public life of the city

*Design of pedestrian precincts described in this article include*
Pedestrian districts:
-Many European cities have adopted this type of trafic free zoning because it suits the
physical conditions of historic central areas.
- Characterized by eliminating vehicular traffic over a portion of a city and considered as
a unit for architectural, historic or comercial reasons.
Pedestrian streets:
-Pedestrian streets are individual streets from which traffic has been eliminated
-Emergency vehicles, however have access and service and deliver trucks are often
allowed during restricted hours.
-The term “pedestrian streets” is synonymous with “pedestrian mall”, a term that was first
used in North America to describe traffic free zones, such as a central street.
-Many pedestrian streets have been built as an omnibus solution to all of city’s problems,
and in such cases they are failed.
- unless a traffic-free zones is conceived in the context of an overall city effort to solve.
its problem- it cannot succeed for long, furthermore the project must be designed at a
time and for a place where it can function as designed.

A. Establishing Design Principle Criteria
 Design objectives should be stated in terms of the performance criteria to be used as a
basis for evaluation of the design proposals
 In formulating design objectives within a community, the experience of another city,
while familiar to the community, may not be applicable to every situation and to the
proposal project context.
Grouping a list of daily activities into a reasonable number of categories can facilitate
design proposals. the following division provides a workable model:
1. Functional Objectives
-Use of the street, its accessibility, maintenance and services
2. Improved Mobility
-For people, goods, services and emergency vehicles and access for maintenance of the
utility system.
3. Improved access by car/or public transport
-This may involve updating streets or highway patterns, modifying existing bus and or by a
subway lines, or adding a few more facilities. signs, lighting and traffic information may
need improvements.
4. Social and community improvements
-Participation in as well as the observation, of activities such as resting, talking, playing,
celebrating festivals and events, promoting educational and culural peformances
5. Economic improvement
6. Environmental improvement
B. Traffic Management
A pedestrain street must be seen as part of a traffic system plan, that is , the success of the
pedestrain zones depends on a larger, overall traffic plans that address the urban wide
transportation needs.
The plan must address potential problems of increased traffic, and parking an adjacent
streets. in many cities such as Portland, Oregon, the downtown pedestrain zones are
supported by an affordable, efficient and attractive public transportation.

Pomona, Fresno, and Sacramento, in California, provide colorful electrically powered
vehicles for shopper’s convenience. improving public tansportation is fundamental to the
success of a pedestrian zone.
In a number of North American cities, pedestrian streets have been created to provide
better accessibility to downtown stores and offices
The point of traffic-free-zoning is not to eliminate the automobile, but to seprate
vehicular and pedestrian movement
For parking, a large area should be selected outside the pedestrian zones
Annual growth rate of population and private automobiles in selected cities like
Washinton DC, London, Paris, Calcutta, Mexican city, Istanbul, Tehran and Tokyo in
1960/1970, automobile > population(greater)
C. Economic Revitalization
Encouragement of national level products to sell for tourism management, as well as
expensive hotels, book stalls, theatres, resturant and movies houses are also typically
included in the plans
D. Environmental Improvement
Noise level will be eradicated
Pollution free
Helps in preservation and enhancement of urban and historic districts
Friendly streetscape
E. Social Benefits
Safety is improved by pedstrian zoning
Providing socially responsible places in crowded downtown area in an important service
to an urban population
An environment free from the restraints imposed by traffic inorder to offer unhampered
movement
F. Community Participation
By way of summary , the following list of reasons to create “Traffic-free-zone” provides
some, a useful summary of the above points:-

1) To attract people which creates more oppurtunities for shopping, socializing, business
and fun, along with increased financial sources for both the citizen and municipality
2) To provide a sense of place that strengthen community identity and pride
3) To reduce noise and air pollution
4) To provide a safe and attractive environment
5) To provide urban conservation
6) To increase property values
7) To improve the visual environment
8) To invite walking and to permit special right of way to be reserved for bicycles and
public transportation vehicles
9) To decrease the number of motor vehicles related to accidents, saving lives, police work
and judical time
10) To promote citizen participation in the planning and implementation of the pedestrian
areas
Planning Surveys
-Planning a traffic free zone is a complex process
-Potential problem should be studied
-Local, physical, economical and social resources must be properly evaluated.
The survey has 3 objectives
-It provides the information about the city
-It provides tools for sponsors and designers
-It provides information, which may be useful in the full scale feasibilty study
Natural Evironment
-Temperature and humidity
-Precipitation and wind
-Solar access
-Lanscape

Built Environment
-Building and open space
-Type, scale, configuration and materials
-Function
-Ownership
-Outdoor services and amenities
Thank you

THE NEW URBANISM—
Andres Duany and Elizabeth plater-zyberk
New Urbanism is an urban planning and design movement that began in the United States in the
early 1980s. Its goals are to reduce dependence on the car, and to create livable and walkable,
neighborhoods with a densely packed array of housing, jobs and commercial sites.
New Urbanism also promotes a return to the traditional town planning seen in places such
as downtown Charleston, South Carolina and Georgetown in Washington, D.C. These locations
are ideal for New Urbanists because in each one there is an easily walkable "Main Street," a
downtown park, shopping districts and a gridded street system.
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).[1]
It is also closely related
to regionalism, environmentalism and the broader concept of smart growth.
The movement also includes a more pedestrian-oriented variant known as New Pedestrianism,
which has its origins in a 1929 planned community in Radburn, New Jersey
History of New Urbanism

In the beginning of the 19th century, development of American cities often took a compact,
mixed-use form, reminiscent of that found in places like old town Alexandria, Virginia. With the
development of the streetcar and affordable rapid transit however, cities began to spread out and
create streetcar suburbs. The later invention of the automobile further increased this
decentralization from the central city which later led to separated land uses and urban sprawl.
New Urbanism is a reaction to the spreading out of cities. The ideas then began to spread in the
late 1970s and early 1980s, as urban planners and architects started to come up with plans to
model cities in the U.S. after those in Europe.
In 1991, New Urbanism developed more strongly when the Local Government Commission, a
nonprofit group in Sacramento, California, invited several architects, including Peter Calthorpe,
Michael Corbett, Andres Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk among others, to Yosemite
National Park to develop a set of principles for land use planning that focused on the community
and its livability.
The principles, named after Yosemite's Ahwahnee Hotel where the conference was held, are
called the Ahwahnee Principles. Within these, there are 15 community principles, four regional
principles and four principles for implementation. Each one however, deals both past and present
ideas to make cities as clean, walkable and livable as possible. These principles were then
presented to government officials in late 1991 at the Yosemite Conference for Local Elected
Officials.
Shortly thereafter, some of the architects involved in creating the Ahwahnee Principles formed
the Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU) in 1993. Today, CNU is the leading promoter of
New Urbanists ideas and has grown to over 3,000 members. It also holds conferences yearly in
cities across the U.S. to further promote New Urbanism design principles.

Core New Urbanists Ideas
Within the concept of New Urbanism today, there are 3 key ideas.
-The first of these is to ensure that a city is walkable. This means that no resident should need a
car to get anywhere in the community and they should be no more than a five minute walk from
any basic good or service. To achieve this, communities should invest in sidewalks and narrow
streets. In addition to actively promoting walking, cities should also de-emphasize the car by
placing garages behind homes or in alleys. There should also only be on-street parking, instead
of large parking lots.
-Another core idea of New Urbanism is that buildings should be mixed both in their style, size,
price and function. For example, a small townhouse can be placed next to a larger, single family
home. Mixed-use buildings such as those containing commercial spaces with apartments over
them are also ideal in this setting.
Finally, a New Urbanists city should have a strong emphasis on the community. This means
maintaining connections between people with high density, parks, open spaces and community
gathering centers like a plaza or neighborhood square.
Examples of New Urbanists Cities
Although New Urbanists design strategies have been tried in various places across the U.S., the
first fully developed New Urbanists town was Seaside, Florida, designed by architects Andres

Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk. Construction began there in 1981 and almost immediately, it
became famous for its architecture, public spaces and quality of streets.
Criticisms of New Urbanism
Despite the popularity of New Urbanism in the recent decades, there have been some criticisms
of its design practices and principles. The first of these is that the density of its cities leads to a
lack of privacy for residents. Some critics claim that people want detached homes with yards so
they are further away from their neighbors. By having mixed density neighborhoods and possibly
sharing driveways and garages, this privacy is lost.
Critics also say that New Urbanists towns feel inauthentic and isolated because they do not
represent the "norm" of settlement patterns in the U.S.
Finally, critics of New Urbanism argue that instead of promoting diversity and community, New
Urbanists neighborhoods only attract affluent white residents as they often become very
expensive places to live. Regardless of these criticisms though, New Urbanists ideas are
becoming a popular form of planning communities and with a growing emphasis on mixed-use
buildings, high density settlements and walkable cities, its principles will continue into the
future.

Le Corbusier
LA VILLE RADIUSE (RADIANT CITY)
-Originally Charles-Eduardo Jeanneret1887-1965
founding father of the modernist movement
CIAM 1928
-(Congress Internationaux d'Architecture Moderne).
Le Corbusier organized in CIAM, Assembly of Constructors for an Architectural
Renewal(ASCORAL) which systematically studied the problems of construction, architecture
and city planning.
It resulted in the publication of ‘The Three Human Establishments
-The Farming unit–the cooperative village:a unit for agricultural production

-The linear industrial city
-The radio concentric city-same as Radiant city(Ville Radieuse) for the exchange of goods and
services.
philosophy of Le Corbusier
No matter how open and green, cities should be frankly urban,
urban surroundings are to be definitely contrasting with rural surroundings-Densities are in
themselves not a problem.
Congestion and slum conditions in the cities are due to excessive coverage, persistence of old
street patterns and unrestricted land speculation
Slums exist because of the failure to provide the proper surrounding for high density living
He protests against strict functionalism: “Human creations that survive are those which produce
emotions, and not those which are only useful”
LA VILLE RADIUSE
(RADIANT CITY)

 Le Corbusier re-arranged the key features of the ville contemproraine
 The basic idea of free circulation and greenary were still present, but the juxta position of
different land-uses had changed. for example, the central areas was now residential
instead of a sky scraper office core
Element of the Le Corbusier plan
 very high density
-1,200 people per acre in skyscrapers
-over crowded sectors of paris and london ranged from 169-213 pers./acre at the time
-Manhattan has only 81 pers./acre
 120 people per acre in the luxury houses
-6 to 10 times denser than current luxury housing in the united states
 Multi-level traffic system to manage the intensity of the traffic

Analogy of the city with the abstract image of the man

 The skyscrapers(business area) of the ville contemporaine were re-arranged from the city
center at the head'.{the } body was made up of acres of “housing strips” laid out in a
stepping plan to generate semi-courts and harbors of greenery containing tennis-court,
playing fields and path.
 Traffic pattern--an orthogonal system with super imposed diagonals and the civic center
is on the main axis
 light manufacturing, freight yard and the heavy industries at the bottom
 Access to the green space
-between 48% and 95% of the surface area is reserved for green space, gardens,
squares,sport fields, Resturant, theatres, with no sprawl, acess to the “protected
zones”(green belt/open space) is quick and easy
-
THANK YOU
Urban green infrastructure-
Lynda H.Schneekloth, Editor.
The green infrastructure of a city consists of those parts that contribute to the natural processes of
keeping the water and the air clean and recycling of waste, It includes the parks and wild lands,
stream corridors, utility corridors and vacant regenerating sites, These fragments of city property,
if considered as a single system similar to transportation or waste treatment, offer opportunities
for keeping our cities clean and for providing recreational space.
Arboriculture, bios wale, conservation corridor, Eco roof, green walls, heat island, infrastructure,
parks, porous paving, retaining wall, vegetation Cities are a complex interaction of the natural
and built elements. In order to maintain some degree of balance in the natural systems, we have
to introduce engineered systems to create and transport energy, to remove and process wastes, to
control storm runoff, etc

The green infrastructure of the city is comprised of natural and designed systems of the elements
of the city that functions in ways analogous to natural processes in managing air, water,
microclimatic and energy resources
especially for
 Air quality improvement
 microclimatic modification
 storm water management
 density zoning
 cluster development
 street with limits
 pollutant collector

Presentation of urban design 1

next,
GREENWAYS BY –Loring LaB. Schwarz, editor
The term ‘Greenway” suggests two separate images: green suggest natural amenities such
as forests, riverbanks, wildlife; ways implies route or path.
types
1. urban riverside
2. recreational greenway
3. ecologically
4. scenic historic routes
5. based on landforms and other
Design Guidelines
-define a corridor large enough to allow flexibility
-keeping a broadway greenery concept in mind-when defining the primary area
Design Objectives

-safety
-way-finding
interpretation
-universal design

figure of university- planned as a green city concept in Newyork

figure- Texas, based on green infrastructure concept
While comparing Radiant city, New urbanism concept and Green cities, the author has their own
concept of designing and planning; which are very good according to the principles of city
building movement.
Planning is one concept and making that plan possible is another concept.
In my opinion, Green cities or green infrastructure performs ecological, recreational and
aesthetic functions in the city. it improves the quality of urban environment, provides access to
the natural habitat, avoid damage to the built-form, and in general it keeps us healthy. Morever,

wise use and expansion of green structure is cost-efficient at both the individual home/business
level and for the municipality.
Presented by
Amit Pokhrel
Post-graduate student of Urban design and conservation

Presentation of urban design 1

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