Elements of Harmonious Societies & Cities

8/14/2019 Elements of Harmonious Societies & Cities

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and managed cities. The streets of these early cities were often paved and laid out at right

angles in a grid pattern, with a hierarchy of streets from major boulevards to residential

alleys. Archaeological evidence suggests that many Harrapan houses were laid out to

protect from noise and enhance residential privacy; also, they often had their own water

wells for probably both sanitary and ritual purposes. These ancient cities were unique in

that they often had drainage systems, seemingly tied to a well-developed ideal of urban

sanitation.

The Greek Hippodamus (c. 407 BC) is widely considered the father of city planning in

the West, for his design of Miletus; Alexander commissioned him to lay out his new city

of Alexandria, the grandest example of idealized urban planning of the Mediterranean

world, where regularity was aided in large part by its level site near a mouth of the Nile.

The ancient Romans used a consolidated scheme for city planning, developed for military

defense and civil convenience. A river usually flowed through the city, to provide water,

transport, and sewage disposal. Many European towns, such as Turin, still preserve the

essence of these schemes. The Romans had a very logical way of designing their cities.

They laid out the streets at right angles, in the form of a square grid. All the roads were

equal in width and length, except for two. These two roads formed the center of the grid

and intersected in the middle. One went East/West, the other North/South. They were

slightly wider than the others. All roads were made of carefully fitted stones and smallerhard packed stones. Bridges were also constructed where needed. The city was

surrounded by a wall to protect the city from invaders and other enemies, and to mark the

city limits. Areas outside of the city limits were left open as farmland. At the end of each

main road, there would be a large gateway with watchtowers. A water aqueduct was built

outside of the city's walls.

Urban development in the Middle Ages, characteristically focused on a fortress, a

fortified abbey, or a (sometimes abandoned) Roman nucleus, occurred "like the annular

rings of a tree" whether in an extended village or the center of a larger city often on high,

defensible ground. A few medieval cities were admired for their wide thoroughfares and

other orderly arrangements. Florence was an early model of the new urban planning,

which rearranged itself into a star-shaped layout adapted from the new star fort, designed

to resist cannon fire. This model was widely imitated, reflecting the enormous cultural

power of Florence in this age. All this occurred in the cities, but ordinarily not in the

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without a comprehensive zoning ordinance. Houston does, however, have many of the

land use restrictions covered by traditional zoning regulations, such as restrictions on

development density and parking requirements, even though specific land uses are not

regulated.

Sustainable Development and Sustainability

Sustainable development and sustainability have become important concepts in today's

urban planning field, with the recognition that current consumption and living habits may

be leading to problems such as the overuse of natural resources, ecosystem destruction,

urban heat islands, pollution, growing social inequality and large-scale climate change.

Many urban planners have, as a result, begun to advocate for the development of

sustainable cities. However, the notion of sustainable development is a fairly recent

concept and somewhat controversial. Wheeler, in his 1998 article, suggests a definition

for sustainable urban development to be as "development that improves the long-term

social and ecological health of cities and towns." These include compact, efficient land

use; less automobile use yet with better access; efficient resource use, less pollution and

waste; the restoration of natural systems; good housing and living environments; a

healthy social ecology; sustainable economics; community participation and

involvement; and preservation of local culture and wisdom. The challenge facing today's

urban planners lies in the implementation of targeted policies and programs, and the needto modify existing urban and regional institutions to achieve the goals of sustainability.

Aspects of Planning

Aesthetics

Towns and cities have been planned with aesthetics in mind. In developed countries, there

has been a backlash against excessive human-made clutter in the visual environment,

such as signposts, signs, and hoardings. Other issues that generate strong debate amongst

urban designers are tensions between peripheral growths, increased housing density and

planned new settlements. There are also unending debates about the benefits of mixing

tenures and land uses, versus the benefits of distinguishing geographic zones where

different uses predominate. Regardless, all successful urban planning considers urban

character, local identity, respect for heritage, pedestrians, traffic, utilities and natural

hazards.

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Planners are important in managing the growth of cities, applying tools like zoning to

manage the uses of land, and growth management to manage the pace of development.

When examined historically, many of the cities now thought to be most beautiful are the

result of dense, long lasting systems of prohibitions and guidance about building sizes,

uses and features. These allowed substantial freedoms, yet enforce styles, safety, and

often materials in practical ways. Many conventional planning techniques are being

repackaged using the contemporary term smart growth. There are some cities that have

been planned from conception, and while the results often don't turn out quite as planned,

evidence of the initial plan often remains.

Safety and Security

The medieval walled city of Carcassonne in France is built upon high ground to provide

maximum protection from attackers. Historically within the Middle East, Europe and the

rest of the Old World, settlements were located on higher ground (for defense) and close

to fresh water sources. Cities have often grown into coastal and flood plains at risk of

floods and storm surges. Urban planners must consider these threats. If the dangers can

be localized then the affected regions can be made into parkland or Greenbelt, often with

the added benefit of open space provision.

Extreme weather, flood, earthquakes or other emergencies can often be greatly mitigated

with secure emergency evacuation routes and emergency operations centres. These are

relatively inexpensive and non-intrusive, and many consider them a reasonable

precaution for any urban space. Many cities will also have planned, built in safety

features, such as levees, retaining walls, and shelters.

In recent years, practitioners have also been expected to maximize the accessibility of an

area to people with different abilities, practicing the notion of "inclusive design," to

anticipate criminal behaviour and consequently to "design-out crime" and to consider

"traffic calming" or "pedestrianisation" as ways of making urban life more pleasant.

To build city districts that are custom made for easy crime is idiotic, yet that is what we

do. Jane Jacobs

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City planning tries to control criminality with structures designed from theories such as

socio-architecture or environmental determinism. These theories say that an urban

environment can influence individuals' obedience to social rules. The theories often say

that psychological pressure develops in more densely developed, unadorned areas. This

stress causes some crimes and some use of illegal drugs. The antidote is usually more

individual space and better, more beautiful design in place of functionalism. Many

scholars dismiss architectures inherent role in shaping society, just as they dismiss the

role that socio-economics play in causing conflict. Perhaps this denial is rooted in fears of

moral obligation. However, in examining such cases which rapidly deteriorated into a

trash-ridden, mold and rat-infested cesspool of vandalism, drug abuse and crime, one can

clearly see that architectural design, specifically a lack of security and amenities, not only

encouraged social ills, but simultaneously contributed to social unrest.

In her essay The Architecture of Deceit, theorist Diane Ghirardo writes, the position

that only formal elements matter in architecture bespeaks a monumental refusal to

confront serious problems; it avoids a critique of the existing power structure, of the ways

power is used, and of the identity of those whose interests power serves. To do otherwise

might entail opening a Pandoras Box of far more complicated issues.

Oscar Newmans defensible space theory cites the modernist housing projects of the1960s as an example of environmental determinism, where large blocks of flats are

surrounded by shared and disassociated public areas, which are hard for residents to

identify with. As those on lower incomes cannot hire others to maintain public space such

as security guards or grounds keepers, and because no individual feels personally

responsible, there was a general deterioration of public space leading to a sense of

alienation and social disorder.

Jane Jacobs is another notable environmental determinist and is associated with the "eyes

on the street" concept. By improving natural surveillance of shared land and facilities of

nearby residents by literally increasing the number of people who can see it, and

increasing the familiarity of residents, as a collective, residents can more easily detect

undesirable or criminal behaviour.

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Post-Modern Interpretations of Community Security are reflected in the work of

postmodern theorists Jane Jacobs and Oscar Newman wherein both single out the need

for security in urban contexts. The two differ only in the way in which they seek solutions

to insecurity; Jacobs focuses on the role that a communitys citizens play in indirectly

deterring crime, while Newman focuses on the aspects of specific physical design that

directly dictate safety. Both physical structures and the people who inhabit them have

been shown to have reformative powers in a public housing complex. However, this

realization also means that poor architectural design, which discourages community

relationships and eliminates physical boundaries, can also result in increased rates of

crime and feelings of isolation. Findings also support the argument that in order to have

concern over politics, the fundamental needs for physical security, i.e. housing, must first

be met. Only after abject poverty is addressed can one truly focus on issues of politics

and nationality, or self-actualization.

According to psychologist Abraham Maslows Hierarchy of Needs, developed in the

1940s and 1950s, basic physiological requirements such as food and shelter lie at the

foundation of human needs. Housing is one of the important prerequisite of the three

basic needs of a living being to be able to survive. Humans need food, clothing and

shelter as much as any other species. These are followed next by the need for physical

security. Maslow notes that adults have little awareness of their security needs except intimes of emergency or periods of disorganization in the social structure (such as

widespread rioting), and that children more acutely display the signs of insecurity and the

need to be safe. Tertiary needs include those for love and a sense of belonging, as well as

requirements for self-esteem, and finally self actualization.

The "broken-windows" theory argues that small indicators of neglect, such as broken

windows and unkempt lawns, promote a feeling that an area is in a state of decay.

Anticipating decay, people likewise fail to maintain their own properties. The theory

suggests that abandonment causes crime, rather than crime causing abandonment.

Some planning methods might help an elite group to control ordinary citizens.

Haussmann's renovation of Paris created a system of wide boulevards which prevented

the construction of barricades in the streets and eased the movement of military troops. In

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Rome, the Fascists in the 1930s created ex novo many new suburbs in order to

concentrate criminals and poorer classes away from the elegant town.

Other social theories point out that in Britain and most countries since the 18th century,

the transformation of societies from rural agriculture to industry caused a difficult

adaptation to urban living. These theories emphasize that many planning policies ignore

personal tensions, forcing individuals to live in a condition of perpetual extraneity to their

cities. Many people therefore lack the comfort of feeling "at home" when at home. Often

these theorists seek a reconsideration of commonly used "standards" that rationalize the

outcomes of a free (relatively unregulated) market.

Slums

The rapid urbanization of the last century has resulted in a significant amount of slum

habitation in the major cities of the world, particularly in developing countries. There is

significant demand for planning resources and strategies to address the issues that arise

from slum development. Many planning theorists and practitioners are calling for

increased attention and resources in this area, particularly the Commonwealth

Association of Planners. When urban planners give their attention to slums, one also has

to pay attention to the racial make-up of that area to ensure that racial steering does not

occur. The issue of slum habitation has often been resolved via a simple policy ofclearance. However, more creative solutions are beginning to emerge such as Nairobi's

"Camp of Fire" program, where established slum-dwellers have promised to build proper

houses, schools, and community centers without any government money, in return for

land they have been illegally squatting on for 30 years. The "Camp of Fire" program is

one of many similar projects initiated by Slum Dwellers International, which has

programs in Africa, Asia, and South America

Urban decay

Urban decay is a process by which a city, or a part of a city, falls into a state of disrepair

and neglect. It is characterized by depopulation, economic restructuring, property

abandonment, high unemployment, fragmented families, political disenfranchisement,

crime, and desolate urban landscapes. Many planners spoke of "white flight" during this

time. This pattern was different than the pattern of "outlying slums" and "suburban

ghettos" found in many cities outside of North America and Western Europe, where

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central urban areas actually had higher real estate values. Starting in the 1990s, many of

the central urban areas in North America have been experiencing a reversal of the urban

decay of previous decades, with rising real estate values, smarter development,

demolition of obsolete social housing areas and a wider variety of housing choices.

RECONSTRUCTION AND RENEWAL

Urban Renewal

Historic, religious or social centers also need to be preserved and re-integrated into the

new city plan. A prime example of this is the capital city of Kabul, Afghanistan, which,

after decades of civil war and occupation, has regions that have literally been reduced to

rubble and desolation. Despite this, the indigenous population continues to live in the

area, constructing makeshift homes and shops out of whatever can be salvaged. Any

reconstruction plan proposed, such as Hisham Ashkouri's City of Light Development,

needs to be sensitive to the needs of this community and its existing culture, businesses

and needs. Urban Reconstruction Development plans must also work with government

agencies as well as private interests to develop workable designs.

Transportation Planning

Very densely built-up areas require high capacity urban transit, and urban planners mustconsider these factors in long term plans. Although an important factor, there is a

complex relationship between urban densities and car use. Transport within urbanized

areas presents unique problems. The density of an urban environment can create

significant levels of road traffic, which can impact businesses and increase pollution.

Parking space is another concern, requiring the construction of large parking garages in

high density areas which could be better used for other development.

Good planning uses transit oriented development, which attempts to place higher

densities of jobs or residents near high-volume transportation. For example, some cities

permit commerce and multi-story apartment buildings only within one block of train

stations and multilane boulevards, and accept single-family dwellings and parks farther

away.

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City authorities may try to encourage lower densities to reduce infrastructure costs,

though some observers note that low densities may not accommodate enough population

to provide adequate demand or funding for that infrastructure. Increasing development

density has the advantage of making mass transport systems, district heating and other

community facilities (schools, health centres, etc) more viable. However critics of this

approach dub the densification of development as 'town cramming' and claim that it

lowers quality of life and restricts choices.

Problems can often occur at high residential density areas. These densities can cause

traffic jams for automobiles, yet are too low to be commercially served by trains or light

rail systems. The conventional solution is to use buses, but these and light rail systems

may fail where automobiles and excess road network capacity are both available,

achieving less than 1% commuters. The Lewis-Mogridge Position claims that increasing

road space is not an effective way of relieving traffic jams as latent or induced demand

invariably emerges to restore a socially-tolerable level of congestion.

Suburbanization

In some countries, declining satisfaction with the urban environment is held to blame for

continuing migration to smaller towns and rural areas (so-called urban exodus).

Successful urban planning supported Regional planning can bring benefits to a muchlarger hinterland or city region and help to reduce both congestion along transport routes

and the wastage of energy implied by excessive commuting.

Environmental Factors

Besides community centers and playgrounds, the other major amenity that dramatically

improves living conditions by ensuring the presence of residents and providing clear

definitions of public and private space is landscaping. In 1922, in his planned

Contemporary City for 3 Million People, Le Corbusier explained that planted areas are,

the only way to promote healthy conditions and create a tranquil atmosphere. He went

on to note that the new spirit of architecture and the emerging art of urban planning can

satisfy our deepest needs by bringing nature into the city landscape. Surrounded by these

new high-rises, he acknowledged that we must bridge the painful gap between man and

his city by introducing a means that fits into both scales we must plant trees!

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Environmental protection and conservation are of utmost importance to many planning

systems across the world. Not only are the specific effects of development to be

mitigated, but attempts are made to minimize the overall effect of development on the

local and global environment. This is commonly done through the assessment of

Sustainable urban infrastructure. In Europe this process is known as Sustainability

Appraisal.

In most advanced urban or village planning models, local context is critical. In many

cases, gardening and other outdoor activities assumes a central role in the daily life of the

inhabitants. Environmental planners are focusing on smaller systems of resource

extraction, energy production and waste disposal. There is even a practice known as

Arcology, which seeks to unify the fields of ecology and architecture, using principles of

landscape architecture to achieve a harmonious environment for all living things. On a

small scale, the eco-village theory has become popular, as it emphasizes a traditional 100-

140 person scale for communities.

An urban planner is likely to use a number of quantitative tools to forecast impacts of

development on the environmental, including roadway air dispersion models to predict

air quality impacts of urban highways and roadway noise models to predict noise

pollution effects of urban highways. As early as the 1960s, noise pollution was addressedin the design of urban highways as well as noise barriers. The Phase I Environmental Site

Assessment can be an important tool to the urban planner by identifying early in the

planning process any geographic areas or parcels which have toxic constraints.

Light and Sound

The urban canyon effect is a colloquial, non-scientific term referring to street space

bordered by very high buildings. This type of environment may shade the sidewalk level

from direct sunlight during most daylight hours. While an oft-decried phenomenon, it is

rare except in very dense, hyper-tall urban environments, such as those found in Lower

and Midtown Manhattan, Chicago's Loop and Kowloon in Hong Kong.

In urban planning, sound is usually measured as a source of pollution. Another

perspective on urban sounds is developed in Soundscape studies emphasising that sound

aesthetics involves more than noise abatement and decibel measurements. Hedfors coined

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'Sonotope' as a useful concept in urban planning to relate typical sounds to a specific

place.

Light pollution has become a problem in urban residential areas, not only as it relates to

its effects on the night sky, but as some lighting is so intrusive as to cause conflict in the

residential areas and paradoxically intense improperly installed security lighting may

pose a danger to the public, producing excessive glare. The development of the full cutoff

fixture, properly installed, has reduced this problem considerably.

Process

Blight may sometimes cause communities to consider redeveloping and urban planning.

The traditional planning process focused on top-down processes where the urban planner

created the plans. The planner is usually skilled in surveying, engineering or architecture,

bringing to the town planning process ideals based around these disciplines. They

typically worked for national or local governments. Changes to the planning process over

past decades have witnessed the metamorphosis of the role of the urban planner in the

planning process. More citizens calling for democratic planning and development

processes have played an important role in allowing the public to make important

decisions as part of the planning process. Community organizers and social workers are

now very involved in planning from the grassroots level.

Developers too have played important role in influencing the way development occurs,

particularly through project-based planning. Many recent developments were results of

large and small-scale developers who purchased land, designed the district and

constructed the development from scratch. Recent theories of urban planning, espoused,

for example by Salingaros see the city as an adaptive system that grows according to

process similar to those of plants. They say that urban planning should thus take its cues

from such natural processes.

CONCLUSION

Housing and environment play the most important role towards development of

harmonious cities and societies. Equity and sustainability are the two key pillars on which

the harmony among the spatial, social and environmental aspects of a city and between

their inhabitants hinges. Urban, city and town planning is the integration of the

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disciplines of land use planning and transport planning whereas Regional planning deals

with a still larger environment but at a less detailed level. Harmonious societies and cities

develop as a result of synergy of the disciplines of urban planning, architecture and

landscape architecture along with urban renewal and re-generation of inner cities by

adapting urban planning methods to existing cities suffering from long-term

infrastructural decay.

Harmonious societies and cities are in consonance with the concept of sustainable

development and sustainability, with the recognition that current consumption and living

habits may be leading to problems such as the overuse of natural resources, ecosystem

destruction, urban heat islands, pollution, growing social inequality and large-scale

climate change. There is an advocacy now for the development of sustainable cities

which include compact, efficient land use; less automobile use yet with better access;

efficient resource use, less pollution and waste; the restoration of natural systems; good

housing and living environments; a healthy social ecology; sustainable economics;

community participation and involvement; and preservation of local culture and wisdom.

Harmonious societies and cities combine in them all the aspects of planning like

aesthetics, safety and security and above all inclusiveness so as to be accessible and

secure for those with different abilities with structures designed from theories such associo-architecture or environmental determinism by making provisions for individual

space and better, more beautiful design in place of only functionalism. Jane Jacobs "eyes

on the street" concept for improving natural surveillance helps residents easily detect

undesirable or criminal behaviour. Slums and urban decay are dealt with smart options

through projects initiated for slums and wider variety of housing choices for the

inhabitants through mutual consent and partnership.

REFERENCE

Andersen, Hans Skifter, (2003). Urban Sores: On the Interaction between Segregation,

Urban Decay, and Deprived Neighbourhoods ISBN 0754633055.

Deirdre Roy, Megan. (1968-1998). Divis Flats: The Social and Political Implications of a

Modern Housing Project in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Iowa Historical Review

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Helfritz, Hans (April 1937), "Land without shade", Journal of the Royal Central Asian

Society 24 (2): 20116.

Eapen J. (1997), Indus River Valley Civilization.

000). "Planning in the Face of Conflict", ISBN 0-415-27173-8, Routledge, New York.

Garvin, Alexander (2002). The American City: What Works and What Doesn't. New

York: McGraw Hill. ISBN 0-07-137367-5.

Grogan, Paul, Proscio, Tony, (2000). Comeback Cities: A Blueprint for Urban

Neighborhood Revival,. ISBN 0-8133-3952-9.

Hogan, Michael, (1973). Analysis of highway noise, Journal of Water, Air, and Soil

Pollution, Volume 2, Number 3, Biomedical and Life Sciences and Earth and

Environmental Science Issue, pages 387-392, September, Springer Verlag, Netherlands

ISSN 0049-6979

Jacobs, J. 1961. The Death and Life of Great American Cities.

Newman, O. (1960). Defensible space theory: The modernist housing projects of the

1960s.

The Christian Science Monitor: Kenyans buy into slum plan, 26 May 2004

UNHABITAT, 2008, State of the Worlds Cities 2008/2009 - Harmonious Cities, ISBN:

978-92-1-132010-7.

Wheeler, S. (1998). "Planning Sustainable and Livable Cities", ISBN 0-415-27173-8,

Routledge, New York.

Wikipedia, (2008), Urban Design and City Planning For a New Generation of Planners.

the free encyclopediahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_planning".

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Matheos Santamouris (2006). Environmental Design of Urban Buildings: An Integrated

Approach.

Tunnard, C. & Boris Pushkarev (1963). Man-Made America: Chaos or Control?: An

Inquiry into Selected Problems of Design in the Urbanized Landscape, New Haven: Yale

University Press.

Notes

Urban Planning, 1794-1918: An International Anthology of Articles, Conference Papers,

and Reports, Selected, Edited, and Provided with Headnotes by John W. Reps, Professor

Emeritus, Cornell University.

City Planning According to Artistic Principles, Camillo Sitte, 1889

Tomorrow: A Peaceful Path to Real Reform, Ebenezer Howard, 1898

The Improvement of Towns and Cities, Charles Mulford Robinson, 1901

Town Planning in practice, Raymond Unwyn, 1909

The Principles of Scientific Management, Frederick Winslow Taylor, 1911

Cities in Evolution, Patrick Geddes, 1915

The Image of the City, Kevin Lynch, 1960

The Concise Townscape, Gordon Cullen, 1961The City in History, Lewis Mumford, 1961

The City is the Frontier, Charles Abrams, Harper & Row Publishing, New York, 1965.

Urban Development: The Logic Of Making Plans, Lewis D. Hopkins, Island Press, 2001.

ISBN 1-55963-853-2

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Elements of Harmonious Societies & Cities