Architecture Student Chronicles

How is land divided in a town/city?

December 7, 2013October 7, 2013 by Architect

Distribution of Land uses in a town/city

Zoning is done at different levels. Macro level and micro level. Macro level zoning includes the representation of all the natural bodies such as sea, rivers, lakes, mountains, hills, valleys, large open areas and potential sites for building new towns and cities. Micro zoning includes the zoning of individual towns or cities. It consists of six distinct parts.

1. Town centre

This is the place where major commercial activity takes place. It indicates the central area containing commercial and administrative blocks, theatres, principal library, museum etc.

2. Residential area

It is evenly distributed across the town depending upon its suitability. This part is mainly used for providing residential accommodation to the inhabitants of the town. But it also contains small shops, primary schools, gardens and small service industries.

3. Commercial area

We have retail and wholesale commercial spaces across the town. Commercial area is the heart of any town or city. Without commerce, the town/city would not survive. Hence, it is very important to have commercial areas spread evenly across the town.

Necessity of Town Planning

October 5, 2013October 5, 2013 by Architect

What is Zoning?

The local governments in developed countries designated permitted uses of land based on mapped zones. The mapped zones help in separating one set of land uses from another. This device of land use planning is called zoning.(1) Zoning is one of the principles of town planning.

Zoning is used to specify the use of land and is called functional zoning. It is also used to regulate the height of the buildings and density (ground coverage specifications).

A town/city is divided into different zones such as:

Residential zone (housing)
Commercial zone (retail/wholesales shops/malls – anything related to commerce)
Industrial zone (Industries/factories)
Recreational zone (Parks/Playgrounds/spaces for recreational activities)
Mixed use zone (Commercial + Residential)

All of the above mentioned zones cater to their specify type of usage.

Why is Town planning important?

It is evident that a small house if well arranged and planned, looks far more better than a disordered big palace. In a similar way, a town which is properly planned provide people with more comfort and convenience.

The necessity of town planning can very well be appreciated by mentioning the evil situations which a town has to face in the absence of town planning. They are as follows:

1. Defective road system resulting in the formation of narrow streets and lanes;

Defective road system is a problem in most countries. It is due to the fact that towns and cities were never planned. They gradually grew with the help of the developers which resulted in bad road network giving rise to bad transportation network.

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.