Amer Alwarea, University of Dundee, SCOTLAND. Factors and Priorities for Valuating Residential Neighbourhood Level Master-Planning
In the UK, the current economic and environmental macro-conditions, with reduced public spending and pressures on the environment in the search for places to accommodate growth, are increasingly challenging built environment professionals, developers as well as public and private agencies that aim to demonstrate value and create quality places. This changing environment poses a major challenge for master-planning. In this paper, we argue that there is a need to overcome skepticism about the added value that masterplans can bring to places that make a difference for people on ‘the ground’.
The main two objectives of this paper are to: firstly, define the potential problems, complexities, and subjectivity in selecting effective qualities that can increase value created by residential neighbourhood. Secondly, test stakeholders’ perceptions of the selected value map. This paper uses a benefit/resource model to determine the importance of the objectives, which is analysed using a multi-criteria analysis (MCA) model for determining its importance.
The paper commences by reviewing the literature on the value types created by neighbourhood development, and presents a pilot-study investigating the problems of complexity and subjectivity. In which, a value-map is proposed set out to connect the relationships and the flows of qualities that master-planning process should achieve in practice. This study is based upon a survey judgments held by 110 stakeholders on their perception and the importance they attribute to the objectives that can increase value created though neighbourhood master-planning.
It is argued that the objectives selection process is largely dependent on the imperatives and the interests that stakeholders hold when they engage in the development process.
Findings of this survey enrich the field of master-planning in two ways. Firstly, it gives a detailed insight into the selection of value-objectives, as well as their degree of importance. Secondly, the paper raises questions of future research into the complexity of understanding stakeholders’ values within the task environment of neighbourhood level master-planning process.
Keywords
Master Planning, Neighbourhood, Value, Stakeholders
Anna Katharine Averett, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA. Physical Planning for Healthy Cities
As part of an international service learning collaboration between the University of Georgia and Istanbul Technical University, this project focuses on the city of Eskisehir Turkey. Located in the North West part of Turkey, Eskisehir is a dense city of about 650,000 people. The city itself encompasses the long history of human urban settlement dating back to the Hittites in 1600 B.C. This service learning project, done on behalf of the municipality of Eskisehir, Turkey, provides planning students with an opportunity to work in an international setting.
Due to changes in Earthquake building codes, the municipality currently plans to demolish to majority of buildings in the study-area which offers the students an opportunity to completely redesign the urban landscape. A new plan was developed which emphasizes improvements in walkability and green-space. Integration of improved recreation opportunities, educational outreach, and outdoor green spaces allows for citizens to utilize the walkability of their city. The plan develops the historical character, pedestrian and automobile interface, as well as existing land uses; creating a new urban land use plan. The project exemplifies the successful implementation of service learning projects in a studio setting with a focus on physical planning for healthy living.
Joanna Barnes, Dr., Research Fellow, Air Quality Management Resource Centre, University of the West of England, Bristol, UK. Learning from Bristol: a novel method for local air quality action planning UK.
The primary source of air pollution in urban areas is road traffic with >60% UK local authorities exceeding the health-based annual mean air quality objective for NO2. Ambient air pollution is carcinogenic and the cardiovascular and respiratory effects of poor air quality are long-established. In Bristol, research has shown that 188 people every year die from exposure to air pollution, contributing towards the 29,000 UK annual deaths estimated by the Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollution (COMEAP). Local authorities have a statutory duty to manage air quality in their jurisdictions, however limited funds, powers and political will have meant that progress in implementing measures to reduce air pollution has been limited.
This paper presents a novel methodology to address the problem of quantifying the impact of air quality action plan measures to ensure they are calibrated to achieve national health-based objectives as soon as possible. The project team worked with Bristol City Council to calculate the reduction in vehicle numbers necessary to meet the national air quality objectives in the city. Delphi methodology was used to derive consensus on local action plan measures from a broad panel of stakeholders and experts to achieve the required reduction in vehicles. NOx emissions resulting from the proposed measures’ impact on traffic volume were modelled and converted to nitrogen dioxide (NO2) concentrations to confirm when/whether the air quality objectives would be achieved. The outcomes from this research will form best practice guidance for local authorities to use across the UK and internationally.
Mark Butt, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, UK. Is adaptive re-use of buildings in cities effectively promoted?
By the year 2050, 75% of domestic buildings and 60% of non-domestic buildings will have been built prior to 2010. Massive population growth is forecast to occur predominantly in urban areas in the same time-frame. Also, cities play in important role is creating sustainable communities. This study aims to evaluate policies and incentives for promoting the adaptable re-use of buildings in cities as a way forward for both carbon reduction and sustainable communities.
The study found that there is a wide range of policy and incentives supporting re-use; however, there could be a lack of awareness and knowledge among property professionals. Land-use policy appears to be less successful due to volatilities within property markets. However, financial incentives, sometimes coupled with land-use tools have been more effective.
Building sustainability assessment standards were found to be promising in terms of promoting re-use. With new and existing buildings employing techniques to reduce operating energy use to very low levels, embodied energy within the fabric of existing buildings can account for around 50% of the overall energy requirements of a building measured over the life-span. With this new information, assessment standards are now employing embodied energy and life cycle assessment (LCA) techniques which support or promote adaptive re-use. Together with measurement of social and economic benefits using new Social Return on Investment (SROI) methods, these tools are recommended to be used to promote adaptive re-use of buildings in cities.
Sara Caramaschi, Università degli Studi di Roma Tre – Department of Architecture, Florence, ITALY. Food Matters. The role of street vending in reinvigorating previously underserved urban spaces
Building inclusive and healthy cities is perhaps the greatest challenge facing humanity today. There are no easy solutions, but a key part of the puzzle lies in some activities that take place in the public spaces. Street vending is an important segment of the food market with significant implications for food security for the marginalized people in urban areas. Across the world this process is growing in popularity, coinciding with a rising interest in local food systems and mixed-use planning in urban neighbourhoods.
Street food has been promoted as a mechanism for ensuring the presence of affordable, good-quality, healthy food in urban areas, thanks to the clear evidence of the contribution it makes towards a wide range of economic and social policy goals. These include benefits in the areas of regeneration, economic development, culture and tourism, but also health, community cohesion and environment.
Identifying and resolving potential urban food deserts presents significant challenges. In this context, markets and food trucks play a crucial role in ensuring that local communities have access to fresh produce, providing information and learning/skills opportunities on a wide range of health issues, including healthy eating and food buying/cooking skills.
Today, communities are increasingly look¬ing to street vendors and public markets as tools of community economic development, a way to enhance food security in underserved communities. Markets and vendors can be a temporary use or they can be permanent fixtures, strengthening local food systems, incubating businesses, filling underutilized spaces, and enhancing sustainable and liveable cities.
Bruna Di Palma, Department of Architecture – University "Federico II" Naples, ITALY. Urban design for archaeological spaces: a public use of history between landscape and city
In the contemporary city the presence of archaeological ruins in the built tissues, within larger open spaces and on the edge between city and countryside is very widespread. However, the recurring state of isolation of archaeological sites from contemporary settlements results in a large spread of degraded areas both within the body of the city and in the urban sprawl areas. From these considerations, it is possible to think over the construction of a network of public spaces based on the redevelopment of archaeological areas. Around them, other in-between and “unfinished” areas of the city must be involved to give form to a cultural public itinerary, between memory and modernity, which may contribute to make historical cities livable by making its system of heterogeneous components a truly unified composition.
A public use of history through the re-discovery of ancient identity relations between town and countryside and the creation of a network of space really able to make the city livable, are the basis of the proposal for the city of Pozzuoli in Campi Flegrei, a west area of Naples. The proposal involves the construction of a system of pedestrian paths connecting the natural area of the Solfatara crater with the center of the city and to the sea, through farmland and vineyards, converted to agricultural park, through the “minor” ancient roman Amphitheater built on the hillside, the "major" ancient roman Amphitheater in the center of the city, the ancient roman Baths of Neptune, within some green areas and terraces close to the subway station (connecting to Naples), up to the Rione Terra, the ancient Greek citadel overlooking the sea.
Chan, Hei, The University of Hong Kong, HONG KONG. Study of Window Opening Behaviour in Public Rental Housing Estate during the Mild Season in Hong Kong
With the threat of climate change, a group of scientist from IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) suggested that in addition to mitigation, adaptation is indispensable as the imperative environmental problem is inevitable. They hope that the implementation of this complementary process in different time scale could make humans’ living environment more secured and richer, so that it will be more resilient for resisting the risks. In regard to this idea, green building movement is not only about energy reduction and utilization, but is also about the adaptability for keeping a safe and comfortable indoor environment. Provision of the means for occupants to regulate the indoor climate and use of passive cooling are considered as the current trend of green building development to make buildings adapt to the changing environment with least energy consumption. Common passive cooling strategies are vegetation, orientation, shading and insulation, etc. while the simplest mean to maintain indoor thermal comfort without electricity is opening the window. Studies of window opening behaviour have significance for building design in the light of improving occupants’ health by natural ventilation. This study is going to use structural equation modelling to map and model the various factors of opening windows in two accredited green cheap rental public housing estates in Hong Kong. The author hypothesizes that the perceived benefit of greenery and the passive cooling elements can encourage window opening behaviour, so that there will be a collaborative synergy to maximize the adaptability of buildings.
Gemma Hurst, Post-Doctoral Research Officer, Staffordshire University, Stoke-on-Trent, UK. Use and perceptions of natural environments in different regions of Europe: a qualitative comparison
Background
Despite growing consensus that contact with nature is beneficial for health, proposed mechanisms are not well understood. Within the Positive Health Effects of the Natural Outdoor environment in Typical Populations in different regions in Europe (PHENOTYPE) project, qualitative data was gathered to explore how and why people engage with natural environments in different European cities.
Methods
Participants (n=83) were purposively sampled from a larger PHENOTYPE cohort in four cities (Barcelona, Stoke-on-Trent, Doetinchem, Kaunas). Semi-structured interviews were conducted using a pre-determined interview schedule and analysed using Thematic Analysis in two phases: (1) Development of a coding template through inductive sub-sample coding combined with the PHENOTYPE conceptual model; (2) Cross-country deductive coding using the developed template.
Results
Thematic maps were developed for each country before comparative analysis. Example themes from each country: Stoke-on-Trent – natural environment engagement centred around ‘being active’, socialising and creating a ‘feel good’ factor which was related to relaxation and psychological well-being; Barcelona – ‘purposes of use’ (physical, cognitive, social and children) related to encouraging or discouraging environment characteristics; Doetinchem – natural environment engagement was represented by green(er) living environment, recreational engagement and green transport; Kaunas – most lived in a ‘green’ area but as a consequence of growing up/settling in the area, not choice, with engagement related to passive recreation and active transport.
Conclusions
Models from each country illustrated similarities and differences. Models will be combined to create an overall PHENOTYPE thematic map to better understand patterns in natural environment use and perceptions in different European cities.
Aura Luciana Istrate, Urban Designer, PhD Candidate, DLG Urban Design, University of Liverpool, XJTLU Suzhou, CHINA. Liveable streets in high density cities of China; the case of Shanghai
Liveability in cities is currently receiving more attention in the political context in China. Western researchers relate liveability to place making and social interaction, while in China, the economic and business dimensions are considered as important.
Past empirical studies on liveability have often been connected to the vitality of streets (see Appleyard 1969, Gehl 1987). Since Appleyard’s research, liveable streets in the West have been associated with the reduced number of cars. This paper aims to explore the notion of a liveable street in the context of high mobility needs in high-density Chinese cities, and discusses whether Western concepts of liveable streets apply in China. A particular analysis is carried out in Shanghai, where Western influences seem to be the strongest.
The methodology used is inspired by Appleyard’s original study, put in a high-density context, with sets of streets with low, medium and high traffic volumes, urban features varying within each set. Data is collected on the number of social connections on the same street, the preferred socialising space, and the residents’ perception of home territories, showing the effects of new mobility and street design trends on social interaction.
It is hoped that this study will produce relevant conclusions on how growing transportation needs, the sense of place and community-building objectives can be balanced in the intended healthier urban areas.
Appleyard, Donald, 1981 (1969), “Livable streets”, University of California Press
Gehl, Jan, 1987, “Life Between Buildings: Using Public Space”, The Danish Architectural Press
Heather Jones, Department of Geography and Environmental Management, UWE, Bristol. Understanding How the Built and Social Environment Shapes Willingness and Ability to Cycle in Later Life
The planning and layout of urban areas affects the ease of using different forms of mobility and the experience can vary within settlements. Broadly speaking, travel distances can be shorter within the urban core but with little space to provide segregated space for cyclists, whereas destinations can be more diffuse within the urban fringe but with more space to accommodate segregated facilities for cyclists. Policy and practice, cultural representations and indeed the profile of cycle users in the UK tend to mitigate against the possibility of older people cycling, yet some older people do cycle, or are inclined to cycle. This can be a time in life when roles and activities can bring about more localised patterns of daily mobility, making cycling a feasible option for some travel. Urban environments that are more age-inclusive for cycling have the potential to enhance wellbeing in later life, not only through physical exercise but as enabler of social interactions and connection to place and community. Planning for such environments should be informed by the current practices and experience of cycling later in life. To this end we have researched the past cycling experiences, current cycling practices and anticipated cycling futures of groups of adults over the age of fifty living in the urban fringe and inner areas of Greater Bristol. Those who still rode were accompanied on a ride in their locality. From this we will present description and discussion of the role of the built environment in shaping ‘ageing velomobilities’.
Nora Osama Mohamed, Assistant Lecturer, Housing and Building National Research Center (HBRC), Giza, EGYPT. Improving Street Livability in Egypt
This Paper is concerned with public streets and their role in creating the livability in a city, which goes above the generally accepted belief that streets are simple means of transportation, whether on foot or in a vehicle, on this basis this paper focuses attention on streets that are not only ‘corridors’ but also ‘rooms’ in which much of city living happens, and taking such streets towards livability requires strengthening their role as multiuse places.
The paper seeks to address the problem of neglecting the multifunctional role of streets generally and especially in Egypt, this objective is with special reference to the new concepts for a viable street design options that balance, multiple traffic use of street space; so the paper discusses these approaches in relation to the concept of “Livable Streets” through identifying this concept in literature, besides investigating the criteria of the design guidelines of previous experiences in creating their successful livable streets.
The study concludes with a checklist matrix for the design guidelines of livable streets and examining its appropriateness on two public use streets in the Egyptian context in an attempt to estimate applicable livable street design guidelines that contribute in creating safe, attractive and enjoyable streets and accordingly contribute in creating livability in the Egyptian context that encourage walking, bicycling and transit use while promoting safe use and operation for all users; minimizing the negative impacts of automobile use on pedestrians and create engaging public spaces that draw people in.
Drielle Vargas Nunes, University of Lisbon, PORTUGAL. Physical characteristics that influence urban design qualities of livable and walkable places: lessons from Portuguese cities
It is known that the walkable friendliness and livability of space is a function of its physical characteristics, urban design qualities, and individual reactions, in an interrelated way. There is already some evidence regarding the physical aspects that contribute to several urban design qualities, but there are several qualities yet to be measured and the vast majority of research has been focused on North America. This article tries to contribute to this discussion, bringing evidence from Portuguese cities.
We have identified physical characteristics that can reflect already measured urban design qualities, namely imageability, enclosure, human scale, transparency and complexity, but also other less known qualities such as legibility, linkage, coherence, and tidiness. A group of experts, consisting of architects, urban planners and designers, validated the urban design qualities and identified the physical characteristics for each. The experts were selected in order to have a broad and diverse group of people, working in different urban settings. Our results validate some of previous identified physical characteristics, but also reveal that their relative importance varies in a European context. Therefore, it seems that the urban design qualities have a different importance in accordance to the urban context, which in turn helps to identify physical characteristics that can be used to measure them.
Ann Rothove, Arizona State University, Scottsdale, AZ, USA. Millennials in Phoenix: Identifying Generational Preferences to Transform a Sprawl City
The Millennial Generation, the group of young adults between the ages of 18 and 33, also known as Generation Y or the Echo Boom, is moving to the dense urban cores of America that allow them the freedom to live without an automobile, leaving the suburbs they grew up in behind. This generation is now the largest in the nation, larger than their parent’s generation, the Baby Boomers, and larger than the generation after them, Generation Z (Hais & Winograd, 2009). Millennials seek locations that support their lifestyle, one centered around social connections and technology, as well as healthy choices for them and their environment. Most importantly, they “vastly favor communities with street life, the pedestrian culture that can only come from walkability” (Speck, 2012).
As Millennials are now entering the workforce, the city of Phoenix, known for its sprawling suburbs and car dependency, is faced with the task of creating an image that is attractive to this generation so as not to lose a population that is going to fuel a large portion of the economy. This paper identifies what aspects of the designed environment Millennials prefer and seek out, as well as how these features can be applied to Phoenix to sustain it’s relevancy for the future.
Samuel Stockley, PhD, Researcher, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK. The City Walking: From Drifting & UrbEx to Practice & Method
Whether termed dérive, flânerie or UrbEx, various forms and practices of walking have been used as methodologies for understanding or critiquing city space. Stemming from the Situationist International’s condemnation of Paris in the early 20th Century, right through to global networks of Urban Explorers place-hacking secured locations in the 1990’s and 2000’s, the efficacy of walking as a method is rooted in its capacity for uncovering, through on-foot exploration, a more nuanced sense of place than can be achieved through sedentary and non-immersive methods. Whilst such forms of heightened walking are myriad in their specific objectives and practices, walking’s various incarnations aim to access authentic urban experiences by tapping into the life of cities that’s obscured by excessive planning, development and security. Walking, as method, aims to unearth these obscured spaces in pursuit of urban experiences that are at once both physical and metaphysical.
This paper brings together various histories of critical walking practice onto a single continuum, connecting the phenomenological to the habitual, via a series of gradations from Flânerie to UrbEx. Drawing on insight from both academic and artistic accounts of walking – including Charles Baudelaire, Guy Debord, Laura Oldfield Ford, & Bradley Garrett – the paper explores the merits of urban walking beyond a mode of travel.
Ben Williams, Research Associate, University of The West of England, Bristol, UK. Learning from Bristol: Identifying the challenges and solutions to Urban Air Quality Management
Poor urban air quality is second only to smoking in the number of premature deaths caused. In Europe, 116 million deaths were attributed to air pollution during the 20th century and it was estimated that 29,000 deaths were due to poor air quality within the UK annually. On a local level, 188 deaths a year have been linked to air pollution in Bristol, compared with only 9 deaths from road traffic accidents. Furthermore, air pollution was designated a Class 1 carcinogen in 2013, the same class of carcinogenicity as Asbestos, crystalline silica and smoking. Despite this, inertia within successive governments has resulted in 16 zones within the UK failing to meet health-based air quality targets, resulting in the European Commission commencing legal action against the UK government. This has increased the onus on local authorities to improve air quality in their areas and create a healthier environment for their citizens.
Bristol has been designated the European Green Capital 2015 and as part of that an air quality masterclass workshop was held in October 2014, bringing together policy makers, practitioners and other stakeholders from across Europe to identify challenges and opportunities to improve air quality. This paper will present the process and outcomes resulting from this workshop to quantify the expert and stakeholder consensus on measures to improve urban air quality and provide a source document of good practice to inspire and inform local air quality action plans.
Fei Xue, The University of Hong Kong, HONG KONG. Healing Space Research in the post-Garden City Era: London Revelation for Health, Well-being and Liveability
After the Industrial Revolution in the 19th Century, the fast urbanization attracted almost 3/4 population to live in towns in 1900, which caused serious social and environmental problems in the UK. The Garden City Movement launched by Sir Ebenezer Howard proposed the “marriage of town and countryside” and “city with garden therapy” to fix the urban crisis and promote human health. The legacy of Garden City has inherited the liveable environment and healthy lifestyle in London. In the post Garden City era, London has targeted as a world leading city with the highest built environment and quality of life counting on the sophisticated urban green space networks. There is roughly 47% green space and 17.88% designated public open space in Greater London which could be identified as healing space for promoting users health and their well-being. These healing spaces have bridge the gap between human biophilic behaviour and the scarcity of nature in the compact cities.
In this paper, the authors investigated fifteen selected cases with superior criteria and interviewed a number of users for their perception and use pattern of healing space in Greater London. The estimated outcome will include a discussion on 1) London context of gardens and parks review; 2) the built standard and management of public facilities assessment in the select cases; 3) the key design indicators evaluation upon the questionnaire data analysis. The conclusion will contribute to the healing space design for a better liveable city and health promotion for inhabitants.