Module One Reflection
This introduction to Urban Design
really helped give me an idea of the upcoming and background of urban design
and urban theory. The beginning of the first PowerPoint begins explaining some
of the history of urban design, mentioning precedents from thousands of years
ago, places such as the Forbidden City in Beijing China, as well as several
different Greek and Roman cities, and a more recent and close to home city,
Washington D.C. Urban planning has always been around, but only recently was it
named. It was first coined in 1956 at Harvard, in the upcoming of a new design
program that they were implementing.
Diving a little deeper, these PowerPoints
and readings explain what an urban designer is hoping to design. A successful
design addresses several different issues which are important for use, and
depending on the context, the importance of these issues may vary. Some of the
most important issues to address include historic preservation, design for
pedestrians, vitality and variety of use, cultural environment, environmental
context, and architectural values. Having the right combination of each of
these will allow for a good urban design. As mentioned, the context of the site
can vary the different needs. Sites that have been around for several decades
may have made an impact on the site. For example, Xinmin St. in Changchun,
China, has several historical buildings that have not only impacted the site,
but had been part of the culture of the site and surrounding area. Historic
preservation is important for similar sites, as good design promotes culture,
and removing these buildings could have a negative impact on the area and
culture. Similar to this, designing for the pedestrians is extremely important,
making a safe and enjoyable space attracts the very people who make the culture
of the site, and attracting more people makes for more culture.
In the reading assigned with the
first PowerPoint, Roles and Challenges of
Urban Design, by Ali Madanipour, he discusses some of the challenges of
designing for these different aspects of urban design, and how success in these
areas can benefit the surrounding city. A well designed city plays first hand
in some of the most important parts of a city. It can make it a more
competitive city, shapes the future of the city, and even help develop a more
uniform government. Urban design can improve the competitiveness of a city by
providing areas that attract a wide variety of users. These areas are a
necessity to a cities success, giving the city an attractiveness to outsiders
and making it able to compete with surrounding cities, bringing in money into
the economy. Touching back to China, in Shanghai, the city skyline acts as a
tourist site, so in response to that, urban planners took advantage of this,
creating a massive public space, allowing users to travel efficiently through
the site, as well as almost framing the city skyline for the public. A
successful design can also help shape the future of a city, both culturally and
politically. Planning with government and political officials, designers can help
create a space that will help push the public in the desired direction believed
to be the best for the future of the city.
Urban design has a massive
influence on all parts of a city, from the individual user, all the way up to
the government officials that are behind the city scenes.
Urban design products are unfinished projects resulted from the dynamic forces for change to urban environment. The challenge is its complexity because urban issues involving many actors requiring many actions in implementation.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your statement regarding urban design having a massive influence on all parts of the city and can determine how the city grows and responds the people that coexist within it as time goes on.This module opened my eyes to the way i think about my projects and the effect that they would have on people as the building ages and reacts in the urban environment.
ReplyDeleteNow that you seem to have a good grasp on what the key features are of urban design I look forward to seeing how you implement these features in your future designs.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate how you related this topic of good Urban Design to experiences you have had in China. It is good that you are able to recognize successful design strategies and how they are able to greatly affect the nature of the urban project. You can look to these developments as great examples and strive to implement the successful design elements in your own designs.
ReplyDelete