Urban Forms and Functions Quiz

Urban Forms and Function

• Urban fabric is the physical structure of cities and towns, including streets, buildings, landscaping, signage, and infrastructure.
• Landform (topography) affects urban patterns, influencing circulation, building design, utility systems, and area dimensions.
• Relationship with nature includes landscaping, waterways, and natural elements in the urban environment.
• City shapes include radial, rectilinear, star, ring, linear, branch, sheet, and articulated sheet formations. Constellations are groups of cities near each other, with a satellite pattern around a central hub.

Fundamentals of Urban Design

• Urban size and density are measured by population per area, families per block, houses per area, building floor area per section, and automobile populations. Floor area ratio (FAR) relates built area to lot area
• Routes (outlying and approach) help users understand the city fabric.
• Rights of way (ROW) are areas for highways, streets, and roads of various classifications (national, provincial, city, municipal, barangay roads), with varying minimum widths.
• Urban spaces include public areas like plazas, parks, and playgrounds.
• Architectural considerations include scale, character/theme, and grain/texture of buildings.
• Inhabitant characteristics include ethnicity, social class, sex, and activities.
• Urban movement includes pedestrian and vehicular circulation, potentially mixed if traffic is controlled, and/or layers are used.
• City functions include economic activity (production, markets), defense/protection, worship/government, and transportation.
• Education and culture are also important urban functions.

Urban Models

• Concentric zone model (Burgess): proposes a city grows from a central business district (CBD) outward in concentric rings of different land uses.
• Sector model (Hoyt): assumes uses grow from the CBD outward in sectors along transportation lines.
• Multiple nuclei model (Harris and Ullman): indicates cities develop around multiple nodes based on varying accessibility requirements.

Land Use Planning and Zoning

• Zoning regulates land use based on growth patterns, protecting public health, welfare, and safety.
• Incentive zoning offers incentives to developers for incorporating desirable features (plazas, arcades).
• Cluster zoning enacts specific zoning for certain development projects.

Urban Design Guidelines

• Floor area ratio (FAR) and floor space index (FSI) measure built-up area of buildings to plot areas.
• Urban design controls elements like building heights, setbacks, building bulk, and architectural characters.

Environmental Impact and Preservation

• Environmental impact statements evaluate project effects on the environment, considering existing conditions, impacts, alternatives, and long-term consequences.
• Environmental preservation restricts development in sensitive areas like wetlands or coastal areas.
• Conservation, restoration, and adaptive reuse involve maintaining, improving, and converting old buildings to new uses.
• Urban renewal focuses on renovating aged urban areas.

Mental Mapping

• Mental maps reflect individual perceptions and understandings of urban environments.
• Kevin Lynch's work "The Image of the City" studied how people perceive and interact with their city surroundings. Key elements include paths, nodes, landmarks, edges, and districts.
• Imageability concerns how easily navigable and memorable an environment is.

Characteristics of High Imageability

• Identity, organization, visual clarity, and sensory richness contribute to high imageability creating strong emotional responses.

Responsive Environments

• Permeability refers to the accessibility of spaces and routes.
• Robustness emphasizes the versatility and adaptability to accommodate different activities and uses.
• Variety considers diversity in forms, uses, and meanings.
• Legibility emphasizes clarity of layout and organization.
• Visual appropriateness matches visual appeal with functions and context.
• Richness emphasizes varied sensory experiences.
• Personalization considers how individuals put their own mark on the environment.