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URBAN  CENTRES  &  URBAN  ELEMENTS

compiled by Assoc. Prof. Dr. A. Ghafar Ahmad

1. Urban centres:

i.        Basic design principles (Andrew Blowers et. al):

·   De-congest the centers

·   Augment their density

·   Increase the means of getting about

·   Increase recreational parks and open spaces

·   Provide various amenities for city dwellers and tourists

·   Centres that are marketable for investors, developers, city dwellers and tourists

ii.       Methods of urban design growth (Edmund N. Bacon):

·   Space as connector

·   Axes as connector

·   Mass as connector

·   Interlocking spaces as connectors

·   Growth by tension

·   Growth by extension

iii.     Great city planners:

·   Major Pierre L ‘Enfant (Washington DC)

·   William Penn (Philadelphia, USA)

·   John Nash (London)

·   Le Corbusier (Brasilia, Brazil)

·   Baron Georges Haussmann (Design structure of Paris, France)

·   Walter Bowley Griffin (Canberra, Australia)

·   Colonel William Light (Adelaide, Australia)

iv.     Urban characters : derived from the styles of buildings, sidewalk cafes, street patterns, friendliness of the local people, unique cultures, nature of environment and urban activities or festivals

·   Windy City (Chicago, USA)

·   City of Angels (Los Angeles, USA)

·   Brewer City (Milwaukee, USA)

·   Shakespeare’s Birthplace (Stratford on Avon, England)

·   Wall City (York, England)

2. Urban elements:

·   Main street (USA) / high street (UK)

·   Buildings

·   Landmarks

·   Pedestrian precincts (town squares, piazza, pedestrian malls)

·   Skywalk

·   Water  elements

·   Street furniture

·   Signage / corporate advertisements

·   Landscaping

·   Parks and gardens