Towards a Metropolitan Public Space Network


Book Description

This book explores the hypothesis that public space – if conceptualised, imagined, and shaped at the metropolitan scale, through innovative territorial design approaches – offers the possibility to interconnect and integrate various systems in search for synergic responses to emerging societal challenges that impact large, urbanised landscapes. The book offers a multidimensional and multi-geographic framework to discuss the role of public space on contemporary metropolitan territories, as part of MetroPublicNet - Building the foundations of a Metropolitan Public Space Network to support the robust, low-carbon and cohesive city: Projects, lessons, and prospects in Lisbon research project. The reader will find a critical and overarching perspective on the conceptual, methodological, and empirical lenses that unfolded throughout the research process, namely a systematised decoding of the public space projects, policies, and rationales that shaped the recent transformation of Lisbon Metropolitan Area. With a diverse range of authors actively engaged in academic research and professorship, in design practice, and in policy-oriented roles, the book concludes with the outlining of forward-looking guidelines, policy recommendations, and design experimentations. This book will be of interest to researchers and students of architecture, urbanism, landscape architecture and geography.







Metropolitan Open Space and Natural Process


Book Description

Open space in urban regions is fast disappearing, but it can still be saved by coordinating man's design with the processes of nature. The authors demonstrate here methods that permit better and more profitable economic and industrial development, while raising the quality of life and saving the environment. The problem is all around us, David Wallace observes: "As metropolitan areas grow and Megalopolis takes shape before our eyes, nearby open space where nature predominates seems doomed. Forces apparently beyond our control eliminate all traces of an untouched countryside, and replace it with thousands and thousands and thousands of houses. The pattern of ultimate suburban development finally removes the last vestiges of woods, streams, thickets, and wildlife with the filling of vacant lots carelessly left over from the first great surge of growth. The individual houses that result art perhaps pleasant enough in the micro-scale. But unrelievedly continuous urbanization—even in the case where the individual parts are attractive—appalls, bores, and numbs the senses. . . . Must it be this way?" This study, based on research at the Institute of Environmental Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, suggests how the process of indiscriminate exploitation of open space can be reversed through understanding and application of natural processes in the environment. When these natural processes are understood, planners can discriminate among land that should be retained as open space in a natural state, land that can stand limited development, and land that can be fully developed without significantly affecting natural processes. Contributors: William G. Grigsby, Ian McHarg, William H. Roberts, Ann Louise Strong, Nohad A. Toulan, and David A. Wallace.




Reclaiming Public Space through Intercultural Dialogue


Book Description

The challenges rapid urbanisation encompasses are manifold, so are the efforts addressing sustainable and inclusive development frameworks. "Reclaiming Public Space through Intercultural Dialogue" is an intercultural and interdisciplinary initiative, which focuses on how social and spatial segregation can be overcome in metropolitan areas. Through joint research and teaching activities in the cities of Dortmund and Amman, three comprehensive topics emerged: urban transformation and the role of public space; social and cultural dimensions of cities; and nature-based planning approaches. The book compiles contributions to these topics from researchers, practitioners, and students, which were presented in an international conference held at the German Jordanian University in Madaba, Jordan, in November 2017.




Advances in Human Factors in Architecture, Sustainable Urban Planning and Infrastructure


Book Description

This book presents human factors research focused on achieving and assessing sustainability in the built environment and architecture. It reports on advanced engineering methods for architecture and design, and on assessments of the social, environmental, and economic impacts of various designs and projects. The book covers a broad range of practical studies relating to ergonomic design and assessment of public and private places, urban ecological constructions, and urban planning for smart city. Further topics include green area planning, environmentally-responsive architecture, and conservation and adaptation of vernacular architectures in modern design. Based on the AHFE 2021 Conference on Human Factors in Architecture, Sustainable Urban Planning and Infrastructure, held virtually on 25–29 July, 2021, from USA, this book offers a wealth of perspectives on sustainability and ergonomics in architecture and urban planning. As such, it represents a timely source of inspiration for designers, architects, urban planners, as well as civil and environmental engineers, and other professionals, including policy-makers, involved in the development of sustainable buildings and infrastructure.




Victorian Year Book


Book Description




Green and Ecological Technologies for Urban Planning: Creating Smart Cities


Book Description

Ecological and technological (eco-tech) planning provides a possible response to the essential issues of sustainability and rehabilitation in rapidly growing urban spaces. Green and Ecological Technologies for Urban Planning: Creating Smart Cities addresses the ecological, technological, and social challenges faced in the smart urban planning and design of settlements when using eco-technologies – from sustainable land use to transportation, and from green areas to municipal applications – with a focus on resilience. Containing research from leading international experts, this book provides comprehensive coverage and definitions of the most important issues, concepts, trends, and technologies within the planning field.




Portuguese Landscape Architecture Education, Heritage and Research


Book Description

In 2022, the Landscape Architecture course in Portugal celebrated 80 years of existence. This edited collection, Portuguese Landscape Architecture Education, Heritage and Research, commemorates this important milestone by bringing together some of the most respected names in Portuguese Landscape Architecture. Although the book’s content is targeted at the assessment of the Portuguese history and influence, the themes under analysis are all-encompassing within the major fields, namely pedagogy; heritage; theory and methods; and design and landscape planning and management. The book seeks to address several research questions, including How has Landscape Architecture evolved in Portugal and how has it been revealed in the different disciplinary areas and educational institutions, particularly considering the great challenges of today? What legacy did Cabral, Sousa da Câmara and the first generation of landscape architects leave us that can be identified in the theory and practice of research projects, recent or ongoing, carried out by Portuguese landscape architects? How has the education, research and practice of Landscape Architecture in Portugal been influenced or reflected by the exchange of knowledge with other countries? This book will be of interest to researchers and students, as it encompasses an extensive contribution to the field of Landscape Architecture studies, aiming to impact both on the theory and practice of the discipline.




Urban Transport XXVI


Book Description

A continuous requirement for better urban transport systems and the need for a healthier environment has resulted in an increasing demand for new solutions. Innovative systems, new approaches and original ideas need to be thoroughly tested and critically evaluated before they can be implemented in practice. Moreover, there is a growing need for integration with telecommunications systems and IT applications in order to improve safety, security and efficiency. This volume also addresses the need to solve important pollution problems associated with urban transport in order to achieve a healthier environment. The variety of topics covered by the included research works, which were presented at the 26th International Conference on Urban Transport and the Environment, reflect the complex interaction of urban transport systems with their environment and the need to establish integrated strategies. The goal is to arrive at optimal socio-economic solutions while reducing the negative environmental impacts of current transportation systems.




To Heal the Earth


Book Description

Ian L. McHarg's landmark book Design with Nature changed the face of landscape architecture and planning by promoting the idea that the design of human settlements should be based on ecological principles. McHarg was one of the earliest and most influential proponents of the notion that an understanding of the processes that form landscapes should underlie design decisions. In To Heal the Earth, McHarg has joined with Frederick Steiner, a noted scholar of landscape architecture and planning, to bring forth a valuable cache of his writings produced between the 1950s and the 1990s. McHarg and Steiner have each provided original material that links the writings together, and places them within the historical context of planning design work and within the larger field of ecological planning as practiced today. The book moves from the theoretical-beginning with the 1962 essay "Man and Environment" which sets forth the themes of religion, science, and creativity that emerge and reappear throughout McHarg's work--to the practical, including discussions of methods and techniques for ecological planning as well as case studies. Other sections address the link between ecology and design, and the issue of ecological planning at a regional scale, covering topics such as education and training necessary to develop the field of ecological planning, how to organize and arrange biophysical information to reveal landscape patterns, the importance of incorporating social factors into ecological planning, and more. To Heal the Earth provides a larger framework and a new perspective on McHarg's work that brings to light the growth and development of his key ideas over a forty year period. It is an important contribution to the literature, and will be essential reading for students and scholars of ecological planning, as well as for professional planners and landscape architects.