What is urban design?
Urban design is the practice of arranging the elements of a city that provides an infrastructure for a healthy, lucrative and productive environment for its’ residents. Urban design deals with built form, transportation, density, public space, architecture, landscape design, land use, public transportation, public health, recreation, sustainability, politics, public art, microclimates, and ultimately the character and quality of the built environment. It is a wholistic practice that considers the complexities and inter-relationships of all these systems.
Urban design must therefore be a collaborative effort, and must acknowledge and embrace the political, economic, environmental and cultural complexities as the context in which it is practiced. Many voices must be heard and included to ensure success.
Urban designers
Unlike the roles of planners, architects and engineers, urban design is relatively new profession. The title ‘urban designer’ was coined over 25 years ago but there is no professional for this role. It is a curatorial activity that considers and acknowledges the many forces that shape a city.
Good urban design
Urban design should consider the ideal quality of the human experience. It’s proactive in that it delivers a quality master plan that the individual interventions strive to satisfy and support a vision. Issues arise when there is an over emphasis on zoning, often creating unnatural environments based on an artificial and arbitrary set of rules that are inherently inflexible, rigid and predetermined.
For the role of urban designers to reach its full potential, they need to be at the table as a primary driver of vision alongside of planners. They also need to make sure that when individual interventions are made, they are not in conflict with the mission and values of that vision.
Even when the best process is followed, some results will be unexpected. Such is the nature of such a complex and unpredictable system, and for that we need urban designers.
