ELEMENTS OF URBAN STRUCTURE

The physical elements of the city can be divided into three categories:

networks

refer to the interconnected systems, structures, and facilities that make up a city, including
transportation, communication, infrastructure, etc.

buildings

structures that are constructed for a specific use or purpose. They can include residential buildings,
commercial buildings, institutional buildings, and industrial buildings, among others.

open spaces

refer to areas within a city or town that are not occupied by buildings or structures and are instead
designated for public use

B. EVOLUTION OF URBAN FORM

 Urban settlements first emerged around 3,000 B.C. in ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the
Indus Valley at Moen-Jo-Daro.
 These early cities displayed a mix of organic and planned urban forms and were characterized by
intricate religious, political, and military structures.

1. ANCIENT CITIES

Two typical features of the ancient city are the wall and the citadel:

wall

The wall served as a means of protection, enclosing the city and keeping out unwanted elements. It also
symbolized the power and strength of the city and its people.

Citadel

The citadel was typically located within the walled city and was the seat of government and military
power. It was often the tallest and most fortified structure in the city, and served as a symbol of the
city's authority and control.

Jerusalem, Israel - 3000 B.C Kirkuk, Iraq - 3000 B.C.

Luxuor, Egypt 2160 BC Moen-Jo-Daro, Sindh, Pakistan 2600

BC

2. GREEK CITIES
 Greek cities exhibited a diversity in urban form
 Some cities grew slowly from old villages and had an organic, irregular form
 Form shaped by topography and history
 Other cities, particularly colonial cities, were planned before settlement
 Utilized the grid system in planning
Heraklion, Greece – Founded by the Arabs in 824 AD
Athens, Greece -1400 BC Acropolis of Athens

3. ROMAN CITIES
 Rome displayed a mix of organic growth and planned design
 Complexity arose from centuries of growth
 Particular temple and public districts were highly planned
 Military and colonial towns were laid out in a grid variation
 Roman city-building activities were extensive as they consolidated their empire
 European cities, such as London and Paris, emerged from Roman origins with a grid-iron
pattern
 According to Roman tradition, the city of Rome was founded by Romulus on 21 April
753 BC
4. MEDIEVAL CITIES
 The medieval times also known as the middle ages started after the fall of the western
Roman Empire (5th Century)

Features Of the Medieval Cities

 Narrow winding streets converging on a market square with a cathedral and city hall.
 Many cities of this period display this pattern, the product of thousands of incremental
additions to the urban fabric.
 However, new towns seeded throughout undeveloped regions of Europe were based
upon the familiar grid.
 In either case, large encircling walls were built for defense against marauding armies;
new walls enclosing more land were built as the city expanded and outgrew its former
container.

View of Marrakesh and El Badi Palace – 1640

5. CITIES OF RENAISSANCE PERIOD (1350-1550)
 City Growth: During the Renaissance, many cities experienced growth in terms of
population and territory. Cities expanded their boundaries and saw an increase in
commerce, industry, and culture.
 Urban Renewal: Urban renewal was a major theme during the Renaissance, as cities
were transformed with new buildings, public spaces, and infrastructure. Many cities also
underwent significant redesigns to better accommodate the growing populations.
 Architecture and Art: The Renaissance was a time of great artistic and architectural
achievement, with many cities showcasing their newfound wealth and cultural
sophistication through grand buildings and public spaces.

Features of Renaissance Cities

  Parts of old cities were rebuilt to create elegant squares, long street vistas, and
symmetrical building arrangements.
 Responding to advances in firearms during the fifteenth century, new city walls
were designed with large earthworks to deflect artillery, and star-shaped points
to provide defenders with sweeping lines of fire.
 Spanish colonial cities in the New World were built according to rules codified in
the Laws of the Indies of 1573, specifying an orderly grid of streets with a
central plaza, defensive wall, and uniform building style

(Florence), Italy, with the bridges over the river Arno

Rome's city skyline.

6. MODERN ERA
A. The Grand Manner

 Grand Manner is an aesthetic style from classicism and the High Renaissance
 Used by British artists and connoisseurs to describe paintings with noble qualities
 Term popularized by Sir Joshua Reynolds through his Discourses on Art
 Reynolds advocated for perception of subjects through generalization and idealization,
not copying nature
 Reynolds referred to it as the "great style" or "grand style".
 The spooked wheel was deemed to be the most perfect city shape for the purpose of
military and civil defense - to allow easy routes for the movement of troops to quell
riots in the center of the city - or to move rapidly to defend the walls against external
enemies.

B. Transition to the Industrial City

 Cities have changed more since the Industrial Revolution (Nineteenth century) than in
all the previous centuries of their existence.
 In the United States, which had much sparsely populated land, the industry typically
preceded the town; the town grew up around a factory, mine, or source of water power.
As the industry grew, and it and its employees needed goods and services, the town
grew with and often around it, until in some cases the town became a city. It is a
capitalistic and typically unplanned expansion.
 The Rust Belt is a region of the United States in the Great Lakes area that experienced
industrial decline and economic downturn starting in the 1950s. Cities in the Northeast
and Midwest regions, such as Allentown, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus,
Detroit, Jersey City, Newark, Pittsburgh, and New York, have been impacted the most by
this decline.

 In Europe, where industries more frequently arose within existing cities, industrialization
affected the internal structure of many of them.
 By the end of the nineteenth century the shape and functions of most cities, along with
social relations, appeared fundamentally changed.
 Manchester, England, is considered to be the archetype of the industrial city on the
basis of Friedrich Engels' observations.

 In the Chinese-speaking world, the term "industrial city" refers to cities in which the
municipal economy is led by heavy industries or the heavy industry is a significant
impression of the city to people other than its local residents.

C. The Parks Movement

 Based on landscape architecture & garden design

 Parks shifted from private
 Naturalistic parks were created in the U.S. by Frederick Law Olmstead to public settings
Goals:
 support active and passive uses
 collect water

RIVERSIDE ILLINOIS
 designed by Olmsted, 1869
 fashionable location for the wealthy to live
 often copied

SETTLEMENT HOUSE MOVEMENT

 Idea of housing studies by Jane Addams; more responsive and scientific
 Resident's survey of slum populations goals: educating, elevating and saving the poor
the gathering of information
 from such surveys and studies became central to urban planning

GARDEN CITIES

 Ebenezer Howard: Garden Cities of To-morrow (1902) garden city would house 32,000
people on 24 sq. km area
 Planned in concentric pattern with open spaces
 Self-contained city with
 gardens separated from central city by greenbelt

Key Proponents:

Ebenezer Howard - British urban planner and social reformer, who first proposed the
concept of the Garden City in his book "To-morrow: A Peaceful Path to Real Reform".
 Patrick Geddes - Scottish biologist, sociologist, geographer, philanthropist and
pioneering town planner, who developed the idea of "regional planning".

Lewis Mumford - American historian, sociologist, philosopher and literary critic, who
wrote extensively about urbanism, the city, and technology.

Clarence Stein - American architect and urban planner, who was instrumental in the
development of the first Garden City in Letchworth, England.

 would combine the best elements & would avoid the worst elements of city and country
two actually built in England
 Letchworth
 Welwyn

THE CITY BEAUTIFUL MOVEMENT

 The City Beautiful Movement was a reform philosophy of North American architecture
and urban planning that flourished during the 1890s and 1900s with the intent of
introducing beautification and monumental grandeur in cities.
 It was a part of the progressive social reform movement in North America under the
leadership of the upper-middle class concerned with poor living conditions in all major
cities.
7. AMERICAN CITIES
 emerges during the first third of the 20th c.
 first national conference on city planning in
 Washington D.C., 1909
 shifts slowly from concern with aesthetics (city beautiful) to concern with efficiency and
scientific management

LE CORBUSIER’S PLAN
 access to greenspace
 between 48% and 95% of the surface area is reserved for greenspace
 with no sprawl, access to the “protected zone” (greenbelt/open space) is quick and easy
 gardens
 squares
 sports fields restaurants
 theaters

Elements of Le Corbusier's Plan

 The Plan Voisin consisted of 18 identical skyscrapers, which were spread out evenly over
an open plain of roads and parks.
 These skyscrapers would have adhered to the Le Corbusian model of the unité
d'habitation, a comprehensive living and working space, and an early inspiration for
brutalism.
 The development could accommodate 78,000 residents over an area of 260 hectares.
 In stark contrast to the dense urban area that the plan intended to replace, only 12% of
the area of Plan Voisin was to be built-up. Of the built-up area, 49% was partitioned for
residential use, while the other 51% accounted for all other uses of the space.
 Roughly a third of the open area was reserved for vehicle use, while the rest was
pedestrian-only.

DOXIADIS 1964

 The modern city should be a combination of the human scale and the mechanical scale.
 Smaller units, which can be planned on human dimensions, should be based on the
human scale
 While larger areas are based on the mechanical one.
 Islamabad
 The Developing Urban Detroit Area Guanabara and Rio de Janeiro Aspra Spitia. A New
"Greek" City
 The University of the Punjab
 Doxiadis Office Building

FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT

 1867-1959
 532 architectural
 designs built (twice as many drawn) designed houses, office buildings and a kind of
suburban layout he called “Broadacre City”
BROADACRE CITY
 Each house 1 acre low-density
 car-oriented
 train station and a few
 office and apartment
 buildings also proposed freeways +feeder roads multinucleated

PLANNING PROCEDURE
 Typical urban planning procedure follows a cyclical process:
 Data collection, estimates, diagnostics, Determination of stakes and objectives,
Definition and choice of strategy, Drawing up of plans of action,
 Promotion and implementation, Assessment and check.
PLANNING TODAY
 Urban planning today is a multidisciplinary field that combines elements of architecture,
geography, engineering, economics, and other related areas to address the challenges
and opportunities of urban development.
 Modern urban planning focuses on creating livable, sustainable, and inclusive cities that
can support the social, economic, and environmental needs of their residents.
 Urban planners today use a variety of tools and strategies to shape the development of
cities, including land use planning, transportation planning, zoning regulations, design
guidelines, and community engagement.
 They work with government agencies, developers, community organizations, and other
stakeholders to develop plans and policies that address issues such as housing
affordability, transportation accessibility, environmental sustainability, and access to
amenities and services.

 HISTORICAL OVERVIEW OF PLANNING AND URBANIZATION
FIRST WORLD, THIRD WORLD, and THE PHILIPPINES

WHAT IS URBANIZATION?
 Movement a demographic and social process whereby people move from urban areas to rural
areas. (Thompson and Lewis)
 Land Use Urbanization refers to the concentration of human populations into discrete areas.
This concentration leads to the transformation of land for residential, commercial, industrial and
transportation purposes. (US EPA)
 Transformation The transformation of a rural area into an urban area. (Burgel)

Urbanism is the study of how inhabitants of urban areas, such as towns and cities, interact with the built
environment.

Urban Population
The percentage of total population of a country, territory, or geographic area living in places defined as
urban, at a specific point of time, usually mid-year. The term urban refers essentially to cities, towns,
and other densely populated areas.

Urban Agglomeration
An urban area, built-up area or urban agglomeration is a human settlement with a high population
density and infrastructure of built environment.

Urban Growth
It refers to an increasing proportion of a population residing in urban areas in comparison to rural areas.
The difference between urban growth and urbanization is that urban growth reflects a general increase
in either the land area or the population size of an urban area.

History of Urbanization
 Urbanization in First World Cities Pre-industrial, Mercantile Phase, Industrial, and Post-Industrial
 Urbanization in Third World Cities Pre-colonial, colonial, and post-colonial
 Urbanization in the Philippines Spanish Colonial, and American Colonial

Urbanization in 1st World Countries

Pre-industrial
Presence of a favorable resource base, an advance technology, and complex social organization
usually small, sometimes walled and serves as residence of the political, religious and political
elite; secondarily as commercial center, storage for accumulated social surplus, protection of
citizens against enemies
Minimum specialization in land use, a single site serves multiple functions
Elite
Lower Classes
Outclasses
Priests
Administrators
Urban Commoners
Craftsmen
Bureaucrat
Lower than lower class

Urbanization in 1st World Countries

Mercantile Phase
Closes the pre-industrial phase and transits to the industrial age
Transition to industrialization was small due to: Unwillingness of merchant capitalists to invest in
manufacturing; and shortage of suitable areas where water power is available
Production system dominated by independent artisans and small masters
Merchants-
Middle Men-
Laboring Classes-

Shipping merchants-
Importers-
Brokers-
Auctioneers
Commissioning Merchants

Artisans
Journeymen
Apprentices
Casual Day Laborers

Urbanization in 1st World Countries

Transition to Industrialization

Made possible by conversion of water power to steam power

Industrial location shifted from near waterfalls to coal fields

Urban Development now focused on "Coketowns"

Urbanization in 1st World Countries

The Industrial Revolution

Change in locomotive power from water to steam to electricity

Advances in machine production and heavy engineering

Improved transport technology, especially ship building and railway construction

Investment shift from working capital to fixed capital

City Infrastructure and Urban Buildings

Urbanization in 1st World Countries

The Industrial Revolution

In general, industrialization begets industrialization:

British, European: Industrialization was the catalyst for urban growth, factories gave rise to
towns

New World (American): Industrialization followed urbanization

Town gave rise to factories

The Industrial Revolution

In general, industrialization begets industrialization:

British, European: Industrialization was the catalyst for urban growth, factories gave rise to
towns

New World (American): Industrialization followed urbanization

Town gave rise to factories

The Industrial Revolution

In general, industrialization begets industrialization:

British, European: Industrialization was the catalyst for urban growth, factories gave rise to
towns

New World (American): Industrialization followed urbanization

Town gave rise to factories

Urbanization in 1st World Countries

FACTORS THAT HASTENED URBANIZATION (EUROPE)

Unprecedented population growth in countryside

Mechanization, rising productivity and labor shedding in agriculture

City-ward migration

Rural Population as continuous supply of factory workers

Rural population as source of domestic help

Agricultural revolution took place side by side with industrial revolution

Capital

Shipping merchants

Importers

Labor

Propertyless and dependent on wages\

The Post-Industrial Age

The period of economic restructuring from the 1970s to the present characterized by declining
industrial centers

Plant closure and relocation to other regions and Third World Countries

Deskilling/reskilling labor

Rise of the service economy

Prominence of the global city

Socio-Spatial Structure
Dominant urban form is the metropolitan urban region with redeveloped urban cores as nodes

Former functions of old CBDs now distributed among suburban work complexes (technology
parks, shopping malls)

Stylish and expensive residential developments near CBDs or far on the periphery

New residential developments fully enclosed, separating the homogenous community within
from the diverse population

Increasing distinction between the core city and outer areas

New colonization of the central city by professional and managerial classes quartered in low
density single family estates

The poor kept in high density public housing blocks in accelerating disrepair

Geneva, Switzerland

Geneva is a city in Switzerland that lies at the southern tip of expansive Lac Léman (Lake
Geneva). Surrounded by the Alps and Jura mountains, the city has views of dramatic Mont
Blanc. Headquarters of Europe’s United Nations and the Red Cross, it’s a global hub for
diplomacy and banking. French influence is widespread, from the language to gastronomy and
bohemian districts like Carouge.

Cleveland, Ohio

Cleveland is the county capital of Cuyahoga County in the U.S. state of Ohio. It is situated along
the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. maritime boundary with Canada.

Surveyors of the Connecticut Land Company founded Cleveland on July 22, 1796, when they
divided Connecticut's Western Reserve into townships and a capital city. They christened the
new community "Cleaveland" after their leader, American Revolutionary War veteran General
Moses Cleaveland. Cleaveland directed the New England-style design of the concept for the new
downtown area, which was focused on Public Square, before moving to Connecticut and never
again visiting Ohio.

Detroit, Michigan

Detroit is the largest city in the midwestern state of Michigan. Near Downtown, the neoclassical
Detroit Institute of Arts is famed for the Detroit Industry Murals painted by Diego Rivera, and
inspired by the city’s ties to the auto industry, giving it the nickname "Motor City." Detroit is also
the birthplace of Motown Records, whose chart-topping history is on display at their original
headquarters, Hitsville U.S.A.

Urbanization in Third World Countries

Precolonial Cities

Existed prior to European-based exploration and discovery in the 15th century

Unique and indigenous, the city was a product of local initiative to serve local needs utilizing the
local environment

Population density remained low

Simple and small, performed a few functions and had little spatial differentiation

Precolonial Cities

Economic activities oriented to subsistence needs

Technology was rudimentary

No long-distance trading due to self-sufficient economy and underdeveloped transport

networks

No distinct land use assignments; people of all social classes lived and interacted together in
relatively small space

Colonial Cities

Begun with the rise of mercantilism; reached maturity with the Industrial Revolution

A distinctive product of European colonialism

Colonial urbanization involved dismantling of indigenous technology and implanting European

social and cultural values

TW city served as European colonial outpost

Post-Colonial TW City

Emerged after independence or during the post-World War II period

Control passed on to local elites but colonial influence and legacy lives on
 Increase in population size due to influx of rural migrants

Increase in commercial and industrial land use due to investments by multinational corporations

Urbanization in Third World Countries

Insights on TW Urbanization

False Urbanization

 TW urbanization is often called “false urbanization” because it is driven by demographic forces

and is unaccompanied by economic growth.

Caused Primarily by Demographic Factors

 High natural growth rate due to modest decline in birth rates, and steep decline in death rates.
Heavy migration from rural areas to urban center.
 Urbanization in the Philippines
Historical Perspective

 Spanish land policy has led to the dispossession of native inhabitants.

 American colonial policy of speculative land development also led to the marginalization of the
peasants.

 Post-war post-colonial rural-to-urban migration, accelera

 ted suburbanization, and further contributed to the marginalization of the poor.

Urbanization in the Philippines

Spanish Colonial Period

 Pre-colonial natives had free access to common land; to work and/or to own.

 Upon colonial contact, the King of Spain awarded large land grants to Spaniards.

 Masses of native inhabitants were left landless, dispossessed.

 Native elite also received land grants taken from formerly common lands.

 More landless peasants and laborers became farm workers or share croppers in the big
haciendas.

 The social structure became more complex but the poor as always occupied the bottom.

 Native settlements were too small and dispersed to be Christianized effectively.

 Within each town there was an urban core called “poblacion” and rural hinterlands called
“barrios.”

Spanish Urbanization Policy

 Native settlements were too small and dispersed to be Christianized effectively

 The Spanish friars reduced the number of native settlements to a few larger pueblos

 Within each town there was an urban core called poblacion and rural hinterlands called barrio

Spanish Colonial Period

 The Laws of the Indies specified that towns should be established in vacant places or in areas
where the natives allowed them. A new town should be able to defend itself, have sufficient
 water source, arable land, and be accessible. If it is a seacoast town, the plaza and church should
be near the port.

Forced Urbanization

 The Spaniards urged the natives to concentrate themselves in the poblacion for easier
indoctrination and protection from their enemies ("moros")

 Only the rich landowners could afford to live in the poblacion

 The poor peasants stayed put in barrios.

American Colonial Period

 American "land reform" further concentrated wealth in the hands of the elite inquilinos, the
majority remained landless and poor.

 Introduction of real estate business sparked free-for-all urban development

 Speculative builders created suburban enclaves for the rich.

 The less well-off were left in the inner cities

American Colonial Period

Post-war Urbanization Trends

Universal public education loosened the rules of social mobility and encouraged spatial mobility
as well

Spatial mobility led to rural-urban migration

Rural-to-urban migration led to expansion of the cities creating two new urban morphologies:

Type 1: Town/City Expanded Built Up Area but Still Confined within Its Original Territorial
Boundaries, with an urban core which is the original poblacion where rural-urban migrants may
find/expect to find jobs

Type 2: Metropolitan area where the central city spreads into adjoining towns due to (1)
construction of high-capacity radial roads, (2) decentralization of manufacturing, (3)
promotional gimmicks of speculative subdivision developers

Post-Colonial Urban Form

 In the post-colonial/contemporary era, urbanization in the Philippines has been characterized by

rapid and often uncontrolled growth of cities, particularly in Metro Manila and other major
urban centers.
 This has been driven by a combination of factors, including rural-urban migration, population
growth, and the concentration of economic and political power in urban areas.

 The result has been the proliferation of informal settlements, inadequate infrastructure and
services, and environmental degradation.

 In recent years, efforts have been made to address these issues through sustainable urban
planning and development initiatives, but progress has been slow and uneven.

 Urban planning in the Philippines today is an evolving field that is seeking to address the
challenges posed by rapid urbanization, population growth, and changing societal and economic
trends. While there have been significant strides made in recent years, particularly with the
passage of the Philippine Urban Development and Housing Act of 1992, many challenges
remain.

 Lack of comprehensive planning and coordination among government agencies and

stakeholders is a major issue in urban planning in the Philippines.

 This has resulted in the proliferation of informal settlements and inadequate infrastructure and
services in low-income areas.

 Sustainable urban planning and development strategies are being implemented to address
these issues.

 These strategies include developing eco-friendly and walkable communities, expanding public
transportation, and promoting mixed-use developments.