Basic Urban Planning Concepts and Theories

Kevin Lynch - Image of the City

• It's important to consider how people perceive and navigate urban environments
• Kevin Lynch wrote "The Image of the City"

Paths

• Paths are routes of movement, including streets, walkways, and transit lines
• People navigate cities primarily through paths
• EDSA in Metro Manila is a major arterial road deeply embedded in the urban experience
• Calle Crisologo in Vigan is a historic pedestrian path that reinforces a strong sense of place

Edges

• Edges are boundaries between two areas and can be physical or symbolic
• They help define districts and structure urban form
• Pasig River separates districts and cities in Metro Manila
• Manila Bay Coastline is a natural edge framing the city's western boundary

Districts

• Districts are larger sections of the city with a common identifying character
• Residents often have a strong sense of belonging in their district
• Intramuros, Manila is a historic walled district with colonial architecture
• Bonifacio Global City (Taguig) is modern, clean, organized, and distinct from nearby areas

Nodes

• Nodes are Strategic focal points that people can enter
• Nodes are often junctions of paths or activity centers
• Quiapo Church area serves as a religious, cultural, and commercial hub
• Ayala Triangle (Makati) connects major corporate and retail areas

Landmarks

• Landmarks are physical objects used for orientation and navigation
• They are often visual anchors of the cityscape
• Rizal Monument (Luneta) is a National symbol and orientation point
• SM Mall of Asia Globe is a visual landmark near Manila Bay

Garden City (Ebenezer Howard)

• There is a vision of self-contained communities surrounded by greenbelts
• Aims to combine the benefits of both the city and the countryside
• Focuses on greenbelts and self-contained towns
• Filinvest City in Alabang and Nuvali in Laguna adopt garden city concepts with mixed-use communities and green open spaces

Linear City (Arturo Soria y Mata)

• The Linear City is designed as a series of developments along a transportation corridor
• It emphasizes efficient transit and land use along a linear axis
• Focuses on urban growth along transport corridors
• EDSA acts as a linear development spine where urban activities align with retail centers (SM Megamall), MRT stations, and offices

Regional Planning Movement

• This looks beyond the city to the broader region
• Aims for balanced development and equitable distribution of resources across cities and rural areas
• There is a focus on Planning at a regional scale
• Metro Cebu Urban Development Plan and NCR + Mega Manila Development Plan address regional connectivity and urban-rural balance

City Beautiful Movement (Daniel Burnham)

• This is focused on beautification and monumental grandeur
• It is believed that aesthetically pleasing cities promote moral and civic virtue
• There is a focus on Aesthetic urban design for moral upliftment
• Burnham Plan of Manila (1905) is a classic case with wide boulevards, green spaces (e.g., Luneta), and formal city design

Towers in the Park (Le Corbusier)

• This involves High-rise buildings surrounded by green open spaces
• Emphasizes modernism, light, air, and separation of uses
• Focuses on High-rises with surrounding green areas
• Bonifacio Global City (BGC) applies similar ideas with high-rises, parks (e.g., Track 30th), and open plazas

Decentralized Planning

• Moves away from central urban cores
• Encourages the development of smaller, self-sustained communities
• Spreads development beyond core cities
• Clark Green City / New Clark City (NCC) is a government-initiated decentralized urban center in Central Luzon. New Clark City Phase 1 had 60 hectares, 2 Sports Facilities and 6 Buildings

Systems Theory

• The city is an interconnected system
• Planning involves understanding relationships between subsystems like transport, economy, environment etc
• Cities are interrelated systems
• Metro Manila's Flood Management Master Plan uses system thinking that links urban drainage, land use, social housing, and relocation

Geddian Trio (Patrick Geddes)

• This comprises Place, Work, and Folk
• Emphasizes holistic planning rooted in geographic and cultural context
• Planning is grounded in local culture, environment, and economy
• Baguio City's heritage preservation plan integrates its mountainous "place," creative industries "work," and indigenous communities "folk."

City of Tomorrow (Le Corbusier's)

• Envisions technologically advanced, efficient, and sustainable cities
• Focuses on innovation, mobility, and green design
• Focus on futuristic, tech-integrated, sustainable cities
• New Clark City envisions smart city tech, renewable energy, walkable neighborhoods

Broad Acre City (Frank Lloyd Wright)

• There is a Utopian concept where every family has an acre of land
• Emphasizes decentralization, individual freedom, and automobile use
• There is a focus on low-density development, each family with land
• Gated subdivisions like Ayala Alabang resemble this model being self-contained, auto-dependent, residential enclaves

Neighborhood Unit (Clarence Perry)

• Planning model is based on walkability, schools, and community institutions within a residential area
• Promotes a sense of community
• Has walkable, self-contained neighborhoods centered around schools and parks
• Diliman, Quezon City was planned with neighborhood units surrounding UP Diliman and government offices

Mile-High City (Frank Lloyd Wright)

• A visionary concept for a supertall skyscraper, also a nickname for Denver, USA
• Represents vertical urban growth to save land
• Focuses on Vertical urbanism
• Grand Hyatt Manila and Metrobank Center reflect high-rise ambitions in dense areas

Single Nuclei / Multi-Nuclei Theory (Harris & Ullman)

• Single Nuclei is a traditional model with a central business district (CBD)
• Multi-Nuclei consists of modern cities that have multiple centers of activity (malls, tech hubs, airports, etc.)
• Single Nucleus cities are centered around a CBD such as Old Manila (Binondo, Intramuros)
• Multi-Nuclei means the growth of multiple urban hubs, such as Metro Manila being Makati, BGC, Ortigas, and Quezon City