Urban Design


Book Description

This edition of 'Urban Designs' analyses the relationship between urban structures and the deepening environmental crisis from which the human race may not recover.




Urban Design: Green Dimensions


Book Description

In Green Dimensions, Cliff Moughtin relates sustainable development and green design to the realm of urban design and development. Examining regional and local frameworks for design and planning, this book shows how sustainable urban design can be implemented on every scale. Working from a strong theoretical base, the author uses case studies and discusses policy developments, in order to challenge the conventional wisdom on sustainable design. The book provides a rounded discussion of the application and suitability of current practice, and predicts future design needs. Updating the reader on topics such as energy efficiency, sustainable city forms and the culture of new urbanism, this completely revised and restructured second edition also includes brand new chapters on the Urban Park and Bio-diversity.




Public Places - Urban Spaces


Book Description

Public Places - Urban Spaces is a holistic guide to the many complex and interacting dimensions of urban design. The discussion moves systematically through ideas, theories, research and the practice of urban design from an unrivalled range of sources. It aids the reader by gradually building the concepts one upon the other towards a total view of the subject. The author team explain the catalysts of change and renewal, and explore the global and local contexts and processes within which urban design operates. The book presents six key dimensions of urban design theory and practice - the social, visual, functional, temporal, morphological and perceptual - allowing it to be dipped into for specific information, or read from cover to cover. This is a clear and accessible text that provides a comprehensive discussion of this complex subject.




Dimensions of the Sustainable City


Book Description

The CityForm consortium’s latest book, Dimensions of the Sustainable City, is the first book to report on an empirical multi-disciplinary study specifically designed to address urban sustainability. Drawing together the various dimensions of sustainability – economic, social, transport, energy and ecological – the book examines their relationships both to each other and to urban form. The book investigates the sustainability dimensions of cities through a series of projects based on a common list of elements of urban form, and which draw on the consortium’s latest research to review the sustainability issues of each dimension. The elements of urban form include density, land use, location, accessibility, transport infrastructure and characteristics of the built environment. The book also addresses issues such as adapting cities, psychological and ecological benefits of green space and sustainable lifestyles, each presenting a critical review of the relevant literature followed by an empirical analysis presenting the key results. Based on studies across five UK cities, the book draws out findings of relevance to sustainable cities worldwide. As well as an invaluable reference to researchers in sustainable planning and urban design, the book will provide a useful text for advanced undergraduate and graduate courses and for policy makers dealing with these issues. The CityForm consortium is a multi-disciplinary group of researchers from five universities funded by the UK Engineering and Physical Science Research Council from 2003-07.




Sustainable Urban Design


Book Description

By the end of the twenty-first century it is thought that three-quarters of the world’s population will be urban; our future is in cities. Making these cities healthy, vibrant and sustainable is an exceptional challenge which this book addresses. It sets out some of the basic principles of the design of our future cities and, through a series of carefully-selected case studies from leading designers’ experience, illustrates how these ideas can be put into practice. Building on the first edition's original format of design guidance and case studies, this new edition updates the ideas and techniques resulting from further research and practice by the contributors. This book emphasises the enormous progress made towards exciting new designs that integrate good design with resource efficiency.




Dynamic Urban Design


Book Description

Advance Praise for Dynamic Urban Design “Finally, in one book a complete guide to the theory, practice, and potential of urban design by one of Canada’s preeminent urban designers.” —David R. Witty, former dean, School of Architecture, University of Manitoba, Canada “Michael von Hausen has given us a clear and hopeful path to the creation of a sustainable urbanism, one that will be inspiring and instructive to practitioners, students, and all those who are focused on the most fundamental issue of our time.” —Jim Adams, architect and principal, McCann Adams Studio, Austin, Texas “Dynamic Urban Design establishes Michael von Hausen as a sustainable urban design authority. Sharing insights taken from six millennia ... von Hausen articulates a clearly understandable and masterfully illustrated process.” —Kevin Harris, architect and principal, Kevin Harris Architect, Baton Rouge, Louisiana Whether we are practicing urban designers or interested citizens, virtually all of us want to live in communities that are safe, attractive, and healthy. Yet our good intentions face conflicting goals. How are we going to improve community health, reduce crime, and improve mobility in cities while at the same time expanding our cities to accommodate growth? How are we going to do all this with seemingly limited financial resources? How do we do more with less, live within our means, and still create a higher quality of life? The list of challenges is almost endless. Urban design is emerging as a critical interface that brings various professions together to address these challenges and improve our communities. For future human survival and quality of life, the world needs a more inclusive, rigorous, socially inspired, and comprehensive urban design model integrated with sustainable development. This book delivers that model—a reference guide for doing it right.




Sustainable Urbanism


Book Description

Written by the chair of the LEED-Neighborhood Development (LEED-ND) initiative, Sustainable Urbanism: Urban Design with Nature is both an urgent call to action and a comprehensive introduction to "sustainable urbanism"--the emerging and growing design reform movement that combines the creation and enhancement of walkable and diverse places with the need to build high-performance infrastructure and buildings. Providing a historic perspective on the standards and regulations that got us to where we are today in terms of urban lifestyle and attempts at reform, Douglas Farr makes a powerful case for sustainable urbanism, showing where we went wrong, and where we need to go. He then explains how to implement sustainable urbanism through leadership and communication in cities, communities, and neighborhoods. Essays written by Farr and others delve into such issues as: Increasing sustainability through density. Integrating transportation and land use. Creating sustainable neighborhoods, including housing, car-free areas, locally-owned stores, walkable neighborhoods, and universal accessibility. The health and environmental benefits of linking humans to nature, including walk-to open spaces, neighborhood stormwater systems and waste treatment, and food production. High performance buildings and district energy systems. Enriching the argument are in-depth case studies in sustainable urbanism, from BedZED in London, England and Newington in Sydney, Australia, to New Railroad Square in Santa Rosa, California and Dongtan, Shanghai, China. An epilogue looks to the future of sustainable urbanism over the next 200 years. At once solidly researched and passionately argued, Sustainable Urbanism is the ideal guidebook for urban designers, planners, and architects who are eager to make a positive impact on our--and our descendants'--buildings, cities, and lives.




Dense + Green


Book Description

The integration of nature in architecture is a key concern of sustainability. However, all too often sustainable design is reduced to improving the energetic performance of buildings and the ornamental application of natural green. Dense + Green explores new architectural typologies that emerge from the integration of green components such as sky terraces, vertical parks and green facades, in high-density buildings. The book describes green strategies in a comparison across different design tasks and climate conditions. In-depth case studies on the most relevant building types, consistently presented with analytical drawings made exclusively for this book, are complemented by expert essays that demonstrate the current paradigm shift in the sustainable urban environment. From the Contents: • Dense + Green Building Types, by Thomas Schröpfer, architect, Singapore University of Technology and Design • Dense + Green Building Technology, by Atelier Ten, environmental design consultants and building services engineers, New York, NY • Dense + Green Landscape Design, by Herbert Dreiseitl, landscape architect, Atelier Dreiseitl/Rambøll Liveable Cities Lab, Überlingen/Singapore/Portland, OR • Dense + Green Botanical Design, by Jean Yong, plant eco-physiologist, Singapore University of Technology and Design • Dense + Green Urbanism, by Kees Christiaanse, urban planner, ETH Zurich • 25 in-depth case studies from Europe, Asia and the USA • Practice Reports by Foster + Partners, WOHA, Ken Yeang, MVRDV and others




Urban Design: Street and Square


Book Description

This book, part of a series of four, offers a detailed analysis of urban design, covering the streets, squares and buildings that make up the public face of towns and cities. It outlines the theory of the principal features of urban design from which method is developed and provides a better understanding of the main elements of urban design. This includes the arrangement, design and details of the streets and squares, and the roles they play in city planning. This third edition includes chapters on "Sustainable Urban Design" and "Visual Analysis", introducing the latest theories and influences in the field and bringing greater practical significance to the book. Cliff Moughtin explores the street and square in terms of function, structure and symbolism and examines fine examples in their historical context. These are set against the background of the laws of urban design composition, culled from Renaissance and modern writers.




Urban Green


Book Description

For years American urban parks fell into decay due to disinvestment, but as cities began to rebound—and evidence of the economic, cultural, and health benefits of parks grew— investment in urban parks swelled. The U.S. Conference of Mayors recently cited meeting the growing demand for parks and open space as one of the biggest challenges for urban leaders today. It is now widely agreed that the U.S. needs an ambitious and creative plan to increase urban parklands. Urban Green explores new and innovative ways for “built out” cities to add much-needed parks. Peter Harnik first explores the question of why urban parkland is needed and then looks at ways to determine how much is possible and where park investment should go. When presenting the ideas and examples for parkland, he also recommends political practices that help create parks. The book offers many practical solutions, from reusing the land under defunct factories to sharing schoolyards, from building trails on abandoned tracks to planting community gardens, from decking parks over highways to allowing more activities in cemeteries, from eliminating parking lots to uncovering buried streams, and more. No strategy alone is perfect, and each has its own set of realities. But collectively they suggest a path toward making modern cities more beautiful, more sociable, more fun, more ecologically sound, and more successful.