Urban design method and techniques

URBAN DESIGN: METHOD AND TECHNIQUES This Page Intentionally Left Blank URBAN DESIGN: METHOD AND TECHNIQUES Cliff Moughtin, Rafael Cuesta, Christine Sarris and Paola Signoretta OXFORD AUCKLAND BOSTON JOHANNESBURG MELBOURNE NEW DELHI Architectural Press An imprint of Butterworth-Heinemann Linacre House, Jordan Hill, Oxford OX2 8DP 225 Wildwood Avenue, Woburn, MA 01801-2041 A division of Reed Educational and Professional Publishing Ltd A member of the Reed Elsevier plc group First published 1999 © Cliff Moughtin, Rafael Cuesta, Christine Sarris and Paola Signoretta 1999 All rights reserved No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form (including photocopying or storing in any medium by electronic means and whether or not transiently or incidentally to some other use of this publication) without the written permission of the copyright holder except in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 or under the terms of a licence issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London, England W1P 9HE Applications for the copyright holder’s written permission to reproduce any part of this publication should be addressed to the publishers British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Urban design: method and techniques City planning I Moughtin, J C 711.4 ISBN 7506 4102 Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication Data Urban design: method and techniques/Cliff Moughtin [et al.] p cm ISBN 7506 4102 City planning I Moughtin, Cliff NA9031.U69 99–24321 711'.4–dc21 CIP Composition by Scribe Design, Gillingham, Kent Printed in Great Britain CONTENTS Preface vii Notes on the authors ix Acknowledgements x Definitions Negotiating the programme 15 Survey techniques 27 Analysis 67 Generating alternatives 87 Project evaluation 139 Presentation 151 Project management 171 Conclusion 185 Figure sources 189 Index 191 v This Page Intentionally Left Blank PREFACE The subject matter of this book is an introduction to the method of urban design It is the fourth book in this series on urban design and builds upon the ideas in the first three The first volume, Urban Design: Street and Square, outlined the meaning of and role played by the main elements of urban design discussing, in particular, the form and function of street and square The second volume, Urban Design: Ornament and Decoration, dealt in detail with the ways in which the elements of the public domain are embellished It outlined the general principles for the decoration of: floor plane, or pavement; the faỗades of street and square; roofline; roofscape; skyline; and street corners It also examined the arrangement of three-dimensional city ornaments, such as sculpture and fountains, which are placed in public places The third volume, Urban Design: Green Dimensions, relates the main components of urban design to a general theory of urban structuring, paying particular attention to the city and its form, the urban quarter or district and the street block or insulae The third volume examined the logic and imperative of sustainable development and then formulated principles of urban design based upon this particular environmental code This volume assumes the case for sustainable development is proven; it explores a design method capable of delivering both development and environmental protection My interest in urban design began in the mid1950s but it was not until the early 1980s that I started serious work on these four volumes During the last sixteen years my ideas about the subject have changed radically The most significant change was brought about by a growing awareness of the damage being inflicted upon the global environment by thoughtless development Much of the development was for the betterment of an already affluent West and many of the ill effects of development were and still are being felt by the poor of the underdeveloped world It seemed to me that any discussion of urban design which did not address environmental concerns was highly superficial, particularly at a time of increasing pollution, growing fears of the greenhouse effect and the consequences of climate change Urban Design: Green Dimensions was my first attempt to address environmental issues directly, though one perceptive critic considered its conclusions to be a little tentative or guarded This current volume fully accepts the environmental crisis which the planet faces It therefore attempts to develop an urban design method which has sustainability and environmental protection at the centre of its philosophy vii URBAN DESIGN: METHOD AND TECHNIQUES Urban design is a legitimate concern for architects, planners and landscape architects It is, therefore, reasonable that the subject matter of urban design should inform the curricula of those disciplines Urban design, however, is itself a nascent discipline That is, it is potentially the core subject area for University undergraduate degree courses leading to a qualification in that subject For urban design to achieve respectability as a discipline it requires its own body of theoretical literature supported by research, its own history and method together with a wide range of techniques Urban design has a large and distinguished body of theoretical works starting with the work of the subject's founding father, Camillo Sitte (1901) The first three volumes in this series on urban design aim to join that growing body of theoretical literature The extent of the literature in this subject can be gauged by the bibliographies at the end of each of the three earlier volumes This volume, however, does not include a bibliography, relying instead on references at the end of each chapter There are books which can reasonably be defined as History of Urban Design, though many are an extension of the treatment of an allied subject such as architecture or city planning Few books on history take the evolution of the design of urban public space as the main theme of the text, treating other matters such as city morphology or building design as subsidiary Nevertheless, it could be argued that there is, indeed, a body of literature on the history of urban design Similar arguments cannot be raised with regard to a literature of urban design method This seems to be an almost totally neglected area This book aims to introduce the topic to the reader It is by no means an exhaustive treatment of urban viii design method, being limited by length and by the interest and expertise of the authors Individual techniques are not explored in depth since each technique could be, and in many cases has been, the subject matter of a specific book Nevertheless, a number of techniques are illustrated by example or case study Where techniques are discussed they are located within the structure of the design process This book, therefore, aims to develop a logical framework for a process which includes problem definition, survey, analysis, concept generation, evaluation and implementation It is this framework which is presented here as a discourse towards the development of an urban design method I have worked with three young practising environmental designers in the development and preparation of this manuscript It is their expertise in the fields of aesthetic control, design brief formulation, environmental impact studies and project management which provides the practical background so important for a study of method and technique Where possible, techniques have been illustrated by case studies, some of which draw on the experience of one of the authors This book should be regarded as a practical guide, one which the authors themselves would have found useful as students or in the early years of their professional careers The book has been organized so that each chapter can stand alone and can be read for purposes of reference Each chapter provides guidance which, hitherto, students and practitioners in this field have had to discover for themselves, often with some difficulty, since methods and techniques for urban design is a broad topic thinly spread in published form Cliff Moughtin NOTES ON THE AUTHORS Emeritus Professor Cliff Moughtin is a consultant in Urban Design He holds degrees in Architecture and Planning and was awarded the degree of Doctor of Philosophy by The Queen's University of Belfast He worked for many years in developing countries both as an architect and as a planner He was Professor of Planning in The Queen's University of Belfast and in the University of Nottingham He is the author of a number of books, including Hausa Architecture, published by Ethnographica in 1985 and three other books in the current series on Urban Design, published by Butterworth-Heinemann's Architectural Press Rafael Cuesta is currently Senior Officer with the Programme Management Team of Nottingham City Council He studied Natural Resource Management in Norway and holds an MA in Environmental Planning from the University of Nottingham He previously served as Principal Planner with the Light Rapid Transit Team of Nottinghamshire County Council and for some years was Special Lecturer in Environmental Impact Assessment with the Department of Urban Planning at the University of Nottingham Christine Sarris received her undergraduate degree in Earth and Life Studies from the University of Derby and holds an MA in Environmental Planning from the University of Nottingham Her specialism is in bringing forward major sites for development, incorporating urban design principles and accepted development control practices She is presently a Senior Planner working with Leicester City Council in Environment and Development Paola Signoretta is currently Research Fellow, Sheffield Centre for Geographic Information and Spatial Analysis in the University of Sheffield She was awarded a degree in Town and Country Planning by the University of Reggio Calabria, Reggio Calabria, Italy She has also been awarded the degree of Doctor of Philosophy by the University of Nottingham for her research into Sustainable Development in Marginal Regions of the European Union Her specialism is in project and plan evaluation ix .. .URBAN DESIGN: METHOD AND TECHNIQUES This Page Intentionally Left Blank URBAN DESIGN: METHOD AND TECHNIQUES Cliff Moughtin, Rafael Cuesta, Christine Sarris and Paola Signoretta OXFORD AUCKLAND... attempts to develop an urban design method which has sustainability and environmental protection at the centre of its philosophy vii URBAN DESIGN: METHOD AND TECHNIQUES Urban design is a legitimate... Publication Data Urban design: method and techniques City planning I Moughtin, J C 711.4 ISBN 7506 4102 Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication Data Urban design: method and techniques/ Cliff