PLN2 Module 2.1: Elements, Signs, & Symbols of Urban Design

1. Urban Spatial Structure

2. Urban Beautification

3. Urban Decoration

3 Urban Design Components

Urban Spatial Structure

Urban Design Component:

- MACRO SCALE urban design communities

- e.g. locating, linking, and defining activity centers

Urban Beautification

Urban Design Component:

MEDIUM SCALE urban design which involves landscaping public and private areas and the defining relationship between spaces for different uses and building location.

Urban Decoration

Urban Design Component:

MICRO-SCALE Urban Design, which involves detailed work for hardscaping, street furniture selection, choice of colors, and textures, and the overall detailed imagery of the city

3 Components + Development Controls

Public Sector Involvement

1. Procedural

2. Substantive

2 Important Concerns about the Elements of Urban Design

Procedural

Product focused; Emphasis on the product during the decision making processes

Substantive

Biological and Sociological Concerns; Behavior and Space are to be analyzed together

1. Land Uses

2. Behavior Settings

3. Characteristics of Spaces

Classification of Elements of Urban Design

1. Buildings

2. Public Space

3. Streets

4. Transport

5. Landscape

5 Elements of Urban Design

1. Local Character

2. Neighborhood Character

3. Heritage Character

4. Increased Choices

5. Facilitating Redevelopment

Core Elements of Urban Design

Local Character

Core Element of Urban Design:

- Distinctive Identity

- Results from interactions (built form, people, activity, history)

- Calls for Responsive Strategies

Neighborhood Character

Core Element of Urban Design:

Place-specific identities may be defined at city-wide or regional levels, with support for local character is strongest at the scale of individual

Variation in character increases SELF-EXPRESSION that creates unique experiences in different places

Mediates "localism and smallness are associated with higher quality of life"

Group Identity

Neighborhood Character

Develops personalization and helps people orient themselves within the city.

Heritage Character

Core Element of Urban Design:

Respect for local character may lead to more responsible use of non-renewable resources

Historic Buildings make " a great contribution to the character, diversity, and sense of identity of urban areas but heritage is also an important REPOSITORY OF KNOWLEDGE

Increased Choice

Core Element of Urban Design:

Distinct localities add variety to a city and help to satisfy a growing preference for DIVERSITY OVER STANDARDIZATION.

People have increasingly value

By imprinting a variety of taste cultures and freedom are important, then CULTURE DIFFERENTIATION is present rather than the blandness of modernism

Increased Choice

"Urban regions should be a blend of distinct communities - centers within centers, villages within cities - with unique economic, social and cultural characteristics. They will become the focal points for interaction and enterprise within the larger regions, all with their own purpose, flavor and community pride.

Facilitating Redevelopment

Designing in SYMPATHY with local character (i.e. for housing) It may facilitate the introduction of MORE COMPACT DWELLING TYPES that could otherwise encounter resistance from host communities.

"Higher-density developments gain better acceptance to the extent that they resemble modestly sized versions of single family homes found throughout the community."

1. Value Assets

2. Tangible Assets

3. Intangible Assets

3 Urban Identity

Value Assets

Urban Identity:

Abstract and Norms

Tangible Assets

Urban Identity:

Intangible Assets

Urban Identity:

Culture, literature, tourism, events

Tangible Assets

Urban Identity:

Physical heritage, natural features (land & water), Built Environment

Sense of Place

A place has distinct physical and human characteristics. It is usually characterized by unique sites and elements.

A place usually has a distinct identity, where there is a recognition of subjective meaning, that connects to emotional attachment.

1. Builds and supports local economy

2. Nurtures and defines community identity

3. Fosters frequent and meaningful contact

4. Creates improved accessibility

5. Promotes sense of comfort

6. Draws a diverse population

Benefits of "Place" (6)

1. Ornament and Decoration

2.

Signs and Symbols of Urban Design

Ornament and Decoration

Ways in which the main elements within the city are arranged to form a pleasing and memorable pattern.

Ornament

- has more formal overtones

- the architectural work associated with certain architectural styles or the work of individual architects.

Decoration

used to describe populist activities

1. City into comprehensive wholes

2. Strengthen the city's image and enhance its attraction for citizen and visitor;

3. Contribution to formal qualities of the city such as visual order or unity, proportion, scale, contrast, balance and rhythm

Primary Roles of Signs and Symbols

1. Enrich local decorative themes

2. Enhance physical, social and spiritual qualities of location

3. Develop legibility and imageability

Functions of Signs and Symbols

1. The quality of the space which is both the setting for the decoration and which in turn is enhanced by it.

2. The physical form and the pattern of decoration.

3. Circumstances under which the decoration is seen.

4. The perceptial framework of the observer

4 factors that affect aesthetic and visual appeal of decorations

1. Unity

2. Proportion

3. Scale

4. Harmony

5. Balance & symmetry

6. Rhythm

7. Contrast

7 Physical Variables of Decoration

1. Site Development Plan

2. Master Development Plan

3. Barangay/District

4. Law Plans

5. Regional Plans

6. National Plans

MACRO ______ (ano tawag)