Hierarchy of spaces –

Spatial scales
• Regions,
• metropolitan areas,
• cities,
• towns,
• neighbourhoods,
• individual spaces, and finally, buildings.

• ‘Open Space’ – Areas of greenery in or near the city --

natural, park-like
• ‘Urban Space’ – Public Spaces within cities, created through
arrangement of buildings and other built elements
TYPES OF ‘URBAN SPACE’ : Streets, squares, precincts

STREETS (Roads, Paths, Avenues,Lanes,Alleys)

Corridors of Space, Channels (Paths); A public

thoroughfare in the built environment, a
public parcel of land adjoining buildings in an
urban context, on which people may freely
assemble, interact, and move about.

Streets: dynamic spaces with a sense of

movement

street’ denotes a delimited surface

characterized by an extended area lined with
buildings on either side.
TYPES OF ‘URBAN SPACE’ : Streets, squares, precincts

Squares / Piazza / Plaza

Square--planned open area in a city,

originally rectangular in shape;
‘hardscapes’ suitable for open markets,
music concerts, community gatherings,
political rallies, and other events that
require firm ground
Squares: static spaces with less sense of
movement

Three elements’ of URBAN SQUARE

• Surrounding structures
• floor and the
• Imaginary sphere of the sky above
Plaza-“An open space available for civic
purposes and commercial activities”
• Is defined by buildings frontages and
usually attached to important building.
• Its landscape shall consist primarily of
pavement, Trees are optional

Plaza–a Spanish word describes an open

urban public space. At times of crisis or
celebrations, it was the space where a
large crowd might gather

Piazza--an open square in a city, found

in Italy.
The term is roughly equivalent to the
Spanish
Plaza.
 TYPES OF ‘URBAN SPACE’ : Streets, squares, precincts

Precincts

• Area around a place or a building, which is

enclosed by a wall
• A well-defined large urban zone that includes
several urban spaces but has certain consistent
visual or use characteristics.
Urban open spaces are:

All types of spaces between buildings in the town

which include paths- squares- gardens – parks etc
• They give form and shape to the city.
• They provide space needed for recreation
• They Create chances for interaction between
people.
• They Preserve natural beauty .
• They provide places for economic activities.
 Open Space Urban Green Spaces

Evaluation of green spaces-

a) One of the main factors in determining the nature of green spaces
is their quantity in the city.
b) Existing qualities like activities and experiences, and perceived
benefits to the users determine the utilization of green spaces.
c) The functionality of those green spaces is equally influenced by
the location and distribution (accessibility) in the whole city.

TYPES OF OPEN SPACES

1. Parks :
“Is a natural preserved area available for recreation .”

Its landscape shall consist of

meadows, waterbodies,
woodlands, and open shelters.
 2. Urban Green Spaces
• The green is Surrounded by the city
elements from all sides.
• The green can be naturalistically or
formally disposed.

3. Playing field
• Are open space dedicated for playing
sports such as football, basket ball, golf
courses

4.Playground
Is an open space which is designed
and equipped for the children.
Urban Open Space Typologies

• City-Wide Parks: Large, flat and open expanses of land that accommodate events
and celebrations that attract people living in all parts of the city

• Linear Greenways: Characterized by pathways that provide recreational, health and

social opportunities, as well as transportation linkages. They are the “lungs” of the
city and serve to connect people to nature.

• Downtown Neighbourhood Parks: Family-focused, with playgrounds, picnicking,

swimming, tennis or basketball, as well as un-programmed open space areas which
provide recreational opportunities for a neighbourhood.

• Public Sitting Area in a Pedestrian Walkway: Sitting areas on a sidewalk of a

pedestrian-oriented street

• Non-Permanent Green Spaces: Unused streets and public rights of-way that are
quickly and inexpensively turned into new public plazas and parks for a temporarily
period of time in order to provide some open space and often additional outdoor
seating
Sequence and stimulus space

Studying the relationship between human behaviour and the socio-

physical environment has an important role in environmental psychology,
which leads to recognition of people’s reaction to the environment and
interaction with each other in public spaces/squares
Sequence space

The sequential quality of our visual experience has been

recognized, to varying degrees, in all periods of history; and
has served as a determinate for some notable architectural and
urban works.
Sequence of spaces

• City design is a temporal art, but it can rarely use the controlled and
limited sequences of other temporal arts like music. On different
occasions and for different people, the sequences are reversed,
interrupted, abandoned, cut across.
• For emotional security as well as functional efficiency, it is important
that such sequences be fairly continuous, with no long gaps,
although there may be a thickening of detail at nodes.
• The sequence facilitates recognition and memorization. Familiar
observers can store up a vast quantity of point images in familiar
sequences, although recognition may break down when the sequence
is reversed or scrambled.
• Purposeful movements accomplished only by an elaborate
memorization of sequences of distinctive detail , so closely spaced
that the next detail is always within close range of the previous land
mark .
Sequence of spaces

• Sequences are not only reversible, but are broken in upon at many points.
• A carefully constructed sequence, leading from introduction, first statement,
and development to climax and conclusion, may fail utterly if a driver enters
it directly at the climax point.
• Therefore it may be necessary to look for sequences which are interruptible
as well as reversible, that is, sequences which still have sufficient
imageability even when broken in upon at various points, much like a
magazine serial.
Sequence of spaces
Plan of the sequence from Piazza
Montecitorio to Piazza della Rotonda,
showing the visual references that attract
and re-orient the pedestrians

A graphic study made by students at the

University of Notre Dame – walking in Rome
from Piazza Montecitorio to Piazza della
Rotonda
Sequence of spaces

This view shows how, when we enter Piazza Montecitorio, our attention is first
attracted by the obelisk (displayed in a place that creates an ideal separation
between the two spaces of the “T” shape piazza), then we are attracted by the
presence of the dome of Santa Maria in Aquiro’s Church.
Sequence of spaces

This second view shows how, when the dome of Santa Maria in Aquiro’s Church
is no longer visible, there is a bell tower of that church and the glimpse of the
piazza in front of it inviting us to walk in that direction.
 Sequence of spaces

When we get to Piazza Capranica, the church is behind us. We immediately notice that the
piazza is almost rectangular, because two sides are just a little bit inclined and create a sort
of “cone” which leads us into the alley that appears as the major axis of the piazza (the
presence of retail confirms its hierarchical value).
 Sequence of spaces

Still in the piazza, just before approaching the alley, our view is attracted by a glimpse
of a corner of the Pantheon, framed by the volumes of buildings flanking the alley: we
are invited to proceed in that direction.
Sequence of spaces

Finally, at the end of the alley we can approach, in oblique, the grandiose
presence of the Pantheon
Sequence of spaces
Stimulus space

• The stimulus load theory conceptualizes the environment as a

source of sensory information (referred to as stimulus or
stimuli), that provides people with psychological stimulation
(gifford 2002; veitch and arkkelin 1995).

• These stimuli can range from simple ambient features such as

light, sound or temperature, to complex physical features such
as buildings, streets, land forms and the presence of other
people.
Stimulus space

Physical stimuli in an urban environment consist of physical features like

• geometric shape
• Size
• material, etc.
• their content (their uses, activities, etc.)

In fact, Physical stimuli include the physical elements of the environment,

natural elements, as well as physical qualities such as variety, legibility,
flexibility, and place identity.

Physical qualities are a combination of physical elements, urban activities,

and environmental elements which are formed as a result of an interaction
between concrete physical stimuli, on the one hand, and the observer's mental codes
and patterns.

There are other basic properties in a beautiful environment meaning or

expressiveness, sensuous delight, rhythm, choice
 Stimulus space

Environmental stimulus refers to a trigger that directly affects one of

our five senses . There is a belief in the philosophy of environmental
planning and design that the form of a city leads to radical changes in
social behavior and interaction, thereby increasing happiness among
citizens (Kuo Wei Tchen 1990; Rappaport 1997; Montgomery 2013).

• The space environment must be compatible with the human

biological structure and must provide for human needs.
• It needs to provide visual information in a desirable manner,
so that neither it does not force a person nor deprive him of
the necessary stimuli
Scale time formation and dynamics

Although some times considered to be a matter of

working in three dimensions, urban design is four
dimensional: the fourth dimension being time.

There is a need to understand activity patterns, how

to encourage activities through different time periods.
Scale time formation and dynamics

As Kevin lynch observes:

We experience the passage of time in the urban environment

in two ways:
1. through “rhythmic” reputation: the heart beat, breathing,
sleeping and waking, hunger, the cycles of the sun and moon,
the seasons, waves, tides, clocks.
2. And through progressive and irreversible change: growth
and decay not recurrence but alteration.

Time and space are intimately related and the great

frame work within which we order our experience
Scale time formation and dynamics

• Activities are fluid in space and time

• The main time cycles are based on natural cycles, the
dominant one being the 24 hour circadian cycle that results
from the earth’s rotation, and affects sleeping and waking
and other bodily cycles.

The timing of activities needs to be managed.

Activities may be prohibited at certain times to prevent

conflicts; be separated in time to alleviate congestion; or be
brought together in time to allow connections and a
sufficient density of use.
Scale time formation and dynamics

• At different times of the day and night, the urban

environment is perceived and used differently.
• Facilitating and encouraging the use of urban
spaces requires an understanding of the effects of
the cycle of day and night, the seasons, and related
cycles of activity.

https://ideabatch2.wordpress.com/2017/01/29/mapping-manek-chowk-
transformation-through-the-day/
 Mapping Manek Chowk – Transformation Through The Day

Activities of the Main Square,

Early Morning

Activities of the Main Square, Noon Time

Activities of the Main Square, Night Time

Mapping Manek Chowk – Transformation Through The Day
Mapping Manek Chowk – Transformation Through The Day
Mapping Manek Chowk – Transformation Through The Day
It can be a rewarding and enlightening experience for urban
designers to observe a ”life in a day” of a public space, or the same
space over the course of the seasons.

That is to study its social anthropology and notice, for example, its
changing rhythms and pulses – now busy, now quite – and different
people using the space- more women at same times, more men at
others.
Cycles of activity are also grounded in the changing seasons:

• During the winter in northern temperature climates, for example,

even at noon, the sun is low in the sky. Days are typically grey,
wet, windy and cold. People may use external spaces only when
necessary.
• In the spring, leaves start to appear on trees, and people begin to
linger in urban spaces, enjoying the warmth of the sun.
• In summer, the trees are in full leaf, the sun is high in the sky,
days are long and light, and people opt to stay longer in urban
spaces.
• In the autumn, the leaves turn rich reds and browns and
eventually fall from the trees. People may linger in urban spaces
to enjoy the last warmth of the sun before the onset of winter.
It can be deliberately exploit
the changing day and the
changing seasons to bring
greater variety and interest to
urban spaces
FUNCTIONAL DIMENSION OF URBAN DESIGN

The different ways of using space – FUNCTION

ACTIVITIES are simply the things people do-what, where, when,

and how long.
• movement
• design of ‘people places’
• environmental design
• designing for healthier environments
• aspects of infrastructure necessary to support
contemporary life
FUNCTIONAL DIMENSION OF URBAN DESIGN

• The design of urban spaces should be informed by

awareness of how people use them
• Public places should be designed and managed to serve the
needs of their users

• Public spaces should be:

1. Meaningful
2. Democratic
3. Responsive Adds:
-Comfort
-Relaxation
-Passive engagement
-Active engagement
-Discovery
FUNCTIONAL DIMENSION OF URBAN DESIGN
FUNCTIONAL DIMENSION OF URBAN DESIGN
BUILT FORM

• A good urban space is not just an open space, it is a space formed

by arrangement of many built forms, and to make such a space.
• It requires a conceptual leap from the individual components to a
vision of the whole.
• The choices available in the history timeline represent various ways
of assembling the built forms around such spaces.
• The basic parts of any urban open space can be put together to
make more than just basic parts: they can also make spaces,
patterns, and domains around the built forms.
• The arrangements and the placement of the buildings dramatize
the most elementary act which architecture has to perform.
• To make one plus one equal more than two, we must in doing any
one thing we think important, do something else that we think
important as well (make urban spaces to live, establish a
meaningful pattern and realms which are beneficial for the social
development).