| Architecture Student Chronicles

Principles of Town planning

September 22, 2013 by Architect

Principles of Town Planning

Town planning cannot be studied in isolation. It involves the study of various subjects such as engineering, architecture, surveying, transportation planning etc. The intention of the town planning is to satisfy the needs of our future generations and prevent the haphazard growth of the town. Some of the guiding principles of town planning are as follows:

1. Zoning

The town should be divided into suitable zones such as commercial zone, industrial zone, residential zone, etc and suitable rules and regulations should be formed for the development of each zone.

2. Green belt

Green belt is non-development zone on the periphery of the town. It prevents the haphazard sprawl of the town restricting its size. In essence, a green belt is an invisible line designating a border around a certain area, preventing development of the area and allowing wildlife to return and be established. Greenways and green wedges have a linear character and may run across the town and not around the town.

3. Housing

Housing has to be carefully studied and designed to suit the local population. Care should be taken to see that there is no development of slums since it would be responsible for degrading the life of the citizens. There are various types of housing styles. When a landuse plan is made, zones for independent housing, midrise buildings, high rise buildings are allocated. Landuse maps are of two types. Type 1 helps us study the landuse on a broad range. All we can see are the residential, commercial and recreational zones.

Objects of Sustainable Town planning

September 21, 2013 by Architect

Four objects of Sustainable Town planning

Beauty

The potential of the natural surroundings is exploited and the architectural finished are used to design various components of the town. The trees, natural greenery are preserved. Architectural control is imposed on the public as well as the semi-public buildings, ancient architectural buildings, temples, churches, mosques, buildings of cultural and historical significance etc.

Convenience

It is important to take care that various economic, social and recreational amenities are given to the public. These amenities include cheap power and electricity, proper sites for industrial wastes, facilities to commercial units etc. Recreational spaces are very important to be designed and appropriately located. Places of recreation include open spaces, parks, town halls, playgrounds, cinema houses, community centres, stadiums etc.

Environment

Towns should be designed in such a way that the environmental factors are taken into consideration. People should be able to carry on with their daily activities without much effort. The problems evolved with the rise in tiresome travel to work, long hours of work, limited time spent within the community etc. These mal-adjustments have tended to destroy the vitality of urban living and the town planning is mainly concerned with bringing about a better relation between man and his environment.

The future development in Brighton and Hove

July 27, 2013 by Architect

The redevelopment of Brighton and Hove

30 years ago, sea side towns like Brighton were dead. The towns and cities around Brighton are being reborn. These are exhilarating times. New settlements are springing up. South and south east pressure is increasing because people are moving out of London.

Cities are densely populated and the density is on the rise. Controversy is raging. It is the crucial time for Brighton and Hove.

It is estimated that the population of Brighton will increase 22000 in the next ten years.

3 radical developments altering Brighton seafront

1) 176m high spike – designed by the people who designed London Eye

2) At the Marina, far east end of the city, huge 40 storey tower – centre of more than 850 new apartments with some restaurants and shops.

3) Far west of the front – most controversial project – a plan to rebuild King’s sports centre along with another 750 more flats.

Bogota – A sustainable city

July 23, 2013 by Architect

Sustainable Living introduced in the city of Bogota

How could a modern way of life that threatens our planet to have become our way of life?

Opportunities to reinvent and redesign

Could poverty be connected by hope through way of design?

America has huge inequalities. People migrating from rural areas to the cities has increased considerably.

In 100 years, Bogota grew from 100,000 persons to 7 million. It has grown in an illegal way.

There is lack of infrastructure, quality, security and safety. No good leaders. They had no direction. They had no money for the progress of the city. The quality of life in Bogota was the worst in Columbia and Latin America. People hated Bogota for what it was. It was a city without hope and self esteem.

City Design

They wanted to make a city for the people and not for cars. Changing the way of life was the focus of the designers in Bogota. It was believed that Sustainable Urban design will lay the foundation for social justice. The way we design cities would have an impact on our lifestyles which would determine our happiness and well being.

For example: Amsterdam

As it is said, fish needs to swim, we need to walk not in order to survive but be happy. For 5000 years, we had pedestrian streets only. So when cars appeared, the street should have been divided into two halves; half for cars and the other half for pedestrians to keep the balance.

Designers thought that correcting this enormous error was a necessity and could only be achieved by putting some restriction to car use.

Every Sunday, in Bogota 120km of main arteries are closed from 7 am to 2.00pm in the afternoon. All people are brought together and all the vehicles are blocked. This helps people to interact with each other. This has been going on every Sunday since 1982 and has been growing since then. This is a way in which they are trying to reduce car use in Bogota by getting people to cycle on the main streets on Sundays.