URBS 250 MIDTERM

Wide range of topics
‘Big picture’ plan
Long-range outlook (10+ years)
May be required by law (eg state, provincial)
Ex: regional plans; municipal development plans; city master plans; neighbourhood plans

A specific topic
Focused: only issues directly impacting topic
Shorter time frame (5-10 years)
Often produced as a compliment to a comprehensive plan
Ex: transportation plans, housing plans, economic development plans; sustainable development plans; parks and green space plans

general statement about desired future: “increase public transit use”

measurable advancement of goals: “increase public transit by 10% over the next year”

represent things and relationships
Bubble diagram, concept maps, venn diagrams, flow charts, timeline

Using bubble diagrams (or other abstract shapes) to conceptualize spaces
Very common in architecture and design processes

provides the context to interpret the chart

Most non-data elements can be removed
Most of the ‘ink’ (coverage) should be used by the content itself, not the scaffolding
Decluttered graphs have been found to improve interpretation

Maps for use by a general audience, with a range of information
Contain physical and cultural features
Focus on geographical location, no particular theme
Includes: road maps, national maps, Google maps

Maps showing information on 1-2 topics
Quantitative or Qualitative information

Date
Orientation
Grid
Scale
Title
Author
Index
Legend
Source

stay true when map size is transformed (e.g. photocopying)

the ‘hinge’ or reference for other views
Does not depict optical reality
Horizontal plane
Used for: site context, analysis and design, street design, block structure and street network analysis

Shows the facades or sides (but not both)
Vertical Plane
Gives sense of streetscape, dimensions and details
Used for: streetscape character, façade details, infill fit, building guidelines

Intersects with a building or other surface
In architecture, shows interior dimensions and structure of buildings
Used for: streetscapes, underground structures, utilities, topography (esp. landscape architecture), airflow and sunlight/shadow, vertical use mix

Represents a position or location, independent of length or area

Represents linear phenomenon, independent of width or area

Represent phenomenon with measurable size, shape and orientation

Ordered (larger size = larger value)
Area size cannot vary, but can apply to texture
Linear size: weight (thickness) or multiple parallel lines
Some small sizes may become imperceptible

Unlimited variation can be tempting to abuse
Can be difficult to distinguish
Can connect to symbolic meaning (cultural, sectoral)

darkness or brightness (aka ‘value’, ‘luminosity’)
Ordered (if darker = more, then lighter = less)
Texture can produce tone effects
Recommend no more than 6 steps of tone for best perception

number of separable marks in an area
Areas can support the largest number of perceptible steps
Lines should be limited to 3-4 steps, points even fewer
Can produce vibration (moiré) effects

difference of angle
Mark must have a linear aspect

Endless combinations of hues (ROYGBIV), saturation (intensity) and tone (darkness- brightness)
Can be used to great effect, but also very badly!
Colour blindness: a variety of forms, no sure guidelines to avoid
Difficult to reproduce consistently (device calibration, colour modes)

1. Connections
Good pedestrian routes connect to where people want to go
Realistic
Take into account existing paths in new developments
2. Convenience
Easy, not wait too long
3. Convivial
Well lit, safe
If street is attractive, variety
4. Comfortable
Safety
Spacious
Presence of abstractions
Protected from harsh weather, emissions
5. Conspicuousness
How easy a route is to find and follow
Way-finding signage- easy to find
6. Co-existence
Ability for the needs of pedestrians to be meant in terms of other transports
Share lanes, crossing
7. Commitment
Local authorities should support a walkable and livable environment

Centre development on existing and planned public transit
To increase their use

Standard unit 5 mins (400m, or ¼ mile)
Not just transit: community services, shopping, wayfinding
Varies per person and situation: age, gender, health, weather, type of trip
Other suggest around 60m-120m as safer estimates for pedestrian access
Used to asses need of services

the extent to which the built environment is publicly-accessible space

More connections mean more options, better access
Shorter blocks promote a more permeable street grid
Structured by:
Building footprints
Inaccessible private space (barriers)
Publicly-accessible space (shortcuts)

street segments

intersctions and dead ends

refers to travel distance to access a service (transit station, community centres. businesses)

Public transport catchments: different types of stations will draw on a larger catchment area
Depends on pedestrian sheds/walksheds

Level of interconnection within street network for ease of movement
20th century trend toward curvilinear residential street networks with dead ends and cul de sacs to reduce connectivity and discourage traffic
Lower connectivity→ lower permeability

average block length

connectivity index, network density

gth: total block lengths in a given area divided by the number of segments

Gives sense of average distance between connections
Problems
Cannot identify large or longer blocks among smaller blocks
Does not account for street width

ratio of links/nodes in a given area

Higher value= greater connectivity
Measures relative connections
Can be calculated for motorised or non-motorised vehicles
Does not account for density or distance

intersection/ area

Not including dead ends and cul-de-sacs

Catchment: refers to travel distance or time
Attraction to a service or destination
Includes walksheds

Permeability: refers to movement through the built environment
Barriers vs paths
Includes connectivity
Shapes catchment areas and walksheds

Connectivity: Refers to street network
Connections between routes
Number of connections
Contributes to permeability

Long distance continuous routes, through and between urban areas
Highest volume and speeds
Little access to surrounding land
Not intended for pedestrian and cyclists
Include freeways and major thoroughfares

District distributors
Continuous routes within urban areas
Supplement principal arterials
Medium-high volume and speed (barriers to cyclist and pedestrian traffic)
Access to major commercial and institutional uses (ie job centres)

Local distributor, connections between neighbourhoods and other uses
Limited continuity
From grid between minor arterials and connect local streets
Access to surrounding land uses (residential and/or commercial properties, may have driveways)
Can be good for cyclists and pedestrians

Lowest continuity, volume and speed
All roads not in a higher category
Direct access to adjacent land, esp residential and uses that do not require visibility to traffic
Eg access roads, cul-de-sacs

following industrialisation (post-1916)
Zoning regulations place ‘nuisances’ in separate zones
Pollution, noise, odour from industrial uses
But also…multifamily residential uses considered ‘nuisance’ by single-family home owners
Residential-only zoning meant longer travel
To work, school, services, shopping, etc
At first: streetcar suburbs
Then: car-dependent communities

an observable characteristic of land, based on actual use

Eg ‘office activity’: private law firm, non-profit office, advertising firms, banks- all in the same category (2000) regardless of what sector they serve

the economic use or type of establishment using the land

Establishment can have a variety of activities on their premises (offices, manufacturing) but serve a single function

the structure or building on the land, which suggest the utility of the space

Use and structures are often closely associated, but not always (eg converted buildings)

based on building age, lot size, and building types

maps with areas denied service (marked in red) or the practice of denying areas service (even without a specific map)
Most famous redlining maps: homeowner loan corporation (HOLC) late 1930s
illegal but practiced

Public housing: gov run
Non-profit housing: usually provide support to groups with special needs
Co-op housing: collectively owned by residents (no profit incentive)

Remove land from speculation through collective non-profit ownership
Development decisions based on community priorities
Can include market-rate housing as revenue source for non-rpofit projects

New developments required to include number of social and ‘affordable’ units (below average market rate) or pay into an affordable housing fund
Often in exchange for added height or other zoning allowance

Gestalt: solids and voids appear as subjects and background, but the effect is reversible
Two-tone plan view:
Solids represent se;cetc built form (eg blocks, buildings) while omitting all else
Voids also reveal the urban form (eg open spaces, squares, street grids)
Used to
Analyse the form of a city (urban morphology)
Compare urban morphology of different cities
Compare urban morphology past, present, future
Limitations
Useful for analysing urban form, but must consider this a simplification
No insight into social/ cultural/ political/ economic aspects
No insight into vertical plane, aesthetics, climate, environment, etc

Additive colours (projected light)
For screen display (web, video)

Subtractive colours (wavelengths absorbed by ink)
For print (aka processed colours)

RGB and CMYK have more limited range (gamut) of colour than visible to the eye

image made of a grid of pixels
Appropriate for gradients
Resolution dependent
File size depends on encoding

Geometry drawn by equations
Best for crisp, continuous lines
Infinitely scalable
File size depends of complexity

dots (pixels per inch)

Work in the highest dpi to ensure highest quality
But more pixels tradeoff with file size: file compression to reduce file sizes

Vector and raster components
Widely supported for print and digital distribution
Contains what you put into it- ‘saving as’ pdf does not make a raster file vector

Best for photos and complex images
Most widely supported image filetype (web, photo, software)
No layer, no transparency
Lossy compression
RGB and CMYK support

Encoding best for large areas of colour
Transparency with alpha channel
Lossless compression
No CMYK support

Parallel projections but not perpendicular
Measurements may be distorted

Primary views- plan, elevation, section

Axonometric views- isometric dimetric, trimetric

all angles equal (all 120)

2 angles equal

all 3 angles unequal

Used to show:
Building volume and form
Zoning setbacks
Neighbourhood building density
3 dimensions without foreshortening

Limitations: ‘impossible objects’ can be depicted due to lack of differentiation of depth

Sometimes oblique projections are difficult to distinguish from axonometric
The term ‘axonometric’ is often used as shorthand to refer to all parallel projections showing more than 1 face (ie including oblique)

Function: office, commercial
Form: low-rise, mid-rise, highrise
Core: contains most mechanical, electrical, elevator and service functions
Floorplate: determines leasable area

1-3 levels
cottage, bungalow, mansion

2-4 levels
duplexes, townhouses

Subtype: garden, courtyard

5-12 levels
Slab and court

13+ levels
Point and slab

Degree to which people, buildings and activities are concentrated
T1: natural zone, T2: rural zone, T3: suburban zone, T4: general urban zone, T5: urban centre zone, T6: urban core zone

Most are a ratio of indicator/denominator
Denominator can be
Area (eg people/ha)
People (eg park space/person)

Gross density: area includes infrastructure, streets, parks, etc
Will always be lower than net density- often 75% of net density
Net density: only includes area dedicated to structures (i streets, parks and infrastructure are excluded)

inhabitants/aea

Does not account for living space per person
Less reliable during business hours

jobs/area
Useful when planning for daytime activity levels in not-exclusively-residential areas

Functional density= (residential population + jobs)/ area
Activity density= people (residents + jobs + students + tourists)/ area

Useful in mixed-use areas
To estimate demand on public facilities, transportation, businesses etc

Floor area ratio (FAR)= total floor area/ site area
Reflects site coverage and building height
Same FAR can have multiple massing configurations

Dwelling unit density (DUD); liveable density
DUD= dwelling units/ area= bedrooms or habitable rooms/ area
Relationship to population depends on household size
Buildings with the same FAR can have different numbers of units

Open space ratio (OSR)=undeveloped area/ FAR
Expresses the pressure of building height on open space
Used in zoning to require setback by height (eg min 20% OSR)

Green space or park area (ha)/ 1000 people
Relative to population (not built space)
Open space standard= 9m^2/person

Jacob Riis (1890) how the other half lives
Tenement housing acts- ‘old law’ (1879-1901), ‘new law’ (1901_
How owns sunlight?
1916 zoning ordinance
Defined zoning districts specifying:
Separation of uses
Building envelopes (height, bulk, and area restrictions)

Design or style
Construction materials
occupancy

when zoning regulations are applied where existing buildings do not conform, they may gain an acquired (‘grandfathered’) right; or they may be given a timeframe to become compliant

Variance: exceptions granted to the existing zoning regulations
Incentive zoning: programs detailing features that can be included in development in exchange for variances

Ability to sell unused height envelope to adjacent developments

Definition: building footprint/ lot area

Def: the regulated min and max for structure

total floor area/ lot area

distance between building and property line
Front, side and rear