Module 2 - "Contemporary Urban Design Theories"

Module 2 – “Contemporary Urban Design Theories”

Much of what I have gleaned from the reading required for the second module of this course’s workload carefully confronts the challenge of essentially defining the otherwise undefinable. By applying theories and intellectual consideration to aspects of human existence the authors we have read for this exercise attempt to quantify concepts that are difficult in nature to describe.  Despite the many ideologies regarding a city’s sense of place, it seems to me that it remains an almost impossible feat to put in to words how the physical world that surrounds you influences your interest and emotion.

After having read the material for this course module the contemporary urban design theories that resonate with me the most have been centered around the concept that to achieve a functional urban design the built environment that surrounds us must exist in conjunction with the open space that has been left behind both intentionally, as well as by accident after a project’s construction. In a sense, our community’s positive and negative spaces have to be in harmony in order to achieve the social balance of activity and calm we seek to achieve in urban design. Seamon and Sowers confront this notion in their critique of Edward Relph’s work Place and Placelessness by describing it as “the relationship of space to a more experientially-based understanding of place, space too must be explored in terms of how people experience it.” To me, this means that we as designers are only truly accomplishing our design intentions if we hold to the same consideration the informal and undefined spaces created by community design as we do those formal and more strictly planned places. The theory of urban phenomenology requests that we acknowledge equally the intangible as we do the intangible.

These sentiments are reiterated in The City as Text: Architecture and Urban Design, defined in the section of the reading Architecture and “Mere Building”. In this section the author outlines the difference in priority that separate building from architecture. Building, as I have interpreted in from this reading, considers primarily the economic function of a structure and its surroundings, whereas architecture must further recognize the social and psychological impacts that a building, and its adjacent landscape has on both its admirers, as well as its users.

While I feel as though many of the positions outlined in this module’s reading have been well thought out, and are applicable in certain urban design scenarios, I am left wondering if such design theories can be used as absolute when creating a new urban experience or if they are more valuable as case studies whose qualities can be drawn from piece by piece rather than as a whole. From the limited education I have in the field of urban design it strikes me that every project carries unique circumstances that should have some influence on the resulting design, and that in many cases those circumstances might require an individual approach appearing more like an amalgamation of contemporary theories instead of something more cut and dry like the theories presented in our readings. Maybe human society and urban life is less predictable than we have given it credit for?

Module 1 – “Background of the field”

Module 1 – “Background of the field”

It seems only logical that we begin the first module of this semester by forming what we as a cohort deem a suitable definition of Urban Design, and once that definition has been clearly represented we may work towards a more in depth discussion regarding the idiosyncrasies of planning. Although I had the pleasure of attending courses in both Urban Theory and Urban Design last semester with Professor Xiao Hu I absolutely consider myself a novice when it comes to the art and science of metropolitan procedure and arrangement. Thankfully I will be contributing to this seminar and taking another urban design studio simultaneously this semester in effort to further strengthen my personal understanding of urban design as a discipline.

From the studies I have completed to date in the field of urban design, including the lessons from Module 1 of this course, I have begun to understand that much of the results of new urban design projects stem from a wide reaching and comprehensive initial process of analyzing conditions of an urban situation. By that, I mean it is clear that any successful urban design project must start with an acute consideration of an urban area in order to truly accomplish a design that suits its users. This “Design as a Process of Actions” is outlined in the second lecture of module 1 (Exploring Urban Design), described as “problem finding, fact finding, idea finding, and an acceptable solution.” It seems to be that while a project must begin with such research, that study seem to never really end. That even in post design the strength of a design’s function is always in discussion.

From our module 1 readings we can determine that a successful urban design will have many critical pivot points that must remain nearly in balance in order for that design to sustain. These Pivot points may include, but not be limited to economic growth, residential density, diversity, and accessibility. Pre-design analysis of these qualities and many more must be completed in order to achieve a plan that leads towards a blooming future. By communicating such analysis visually we can more clearly characterize a city or neighborhood’s strengths and weaknesses. Below are examples of some analytical diagrams I created for an urban design studio project last semester. These graphics helped to better describe conditions in an urban context that worked, and those that required rethinking.   

 

 

              

This brand of research and analysis helps us as designers to understand not only the contemporary character of urban places, but also to better recognize the moments in that place’s history that have led up to its current circumstance. With knowledge of a city’s ethno demographics and industry we can anticipate how a city has shaped its own identity and sense of place, for example. By understanding the endeavor and vision of design predecessors we can further support future design aspirations. In order to glean this kind of obscure knowledge urbanist Kevin Lynch has outline five elements of a city whose interpretation by which we may better perceive the less tangible aspects of a city’s personality. Lynch’s five elements, in no particular order, are paths, edges, districts, nodes, and landmarks. By examining a city’s elements we can examine its past, its present, and its future, as well as its spatial priorities.

I look forward to applying the concepts and theories that we have learned from this first module and the remaining modules throughout the duration of this term to current, as well as future urban design projects. I believe a deeper investigation of such urban ideologies will help to strengthen my knowledge of urban practice and vocabulary.

Eamonn Parke