Placemaking: An Urban Design Methodology

174 Pages·2016·53.471 MB·English

by  Derek Thomas

Placemaking
End-users provide the most valuable perspective and insights into how
public social space should function. Much of the failure of urban settings
can be related to overstructured urban environments which determine
their prescribed usage, thereby inhibiting instead of enabling socio-spatial
performance.
Decisions by urban planners and designers should be made with the
participation of the end-user to minimise uncertainty as far as possible.
Placemaking: An Urban Design Methodology presents a procedure that
evaluates the preferences of urban dwellers and synthesises these with the
planning specialist’s expertise, better representing all views. Derek Thomas
adopts the Sondheim methodology where cultural clues are linked in a
matrix with planning primers which in turn are extended into appropriate
planning actions.
A unique new tool for planning authorities, urban designers and planners,
this book emphasises the importance of the community while taking into
account the expertise of the specialists in creating public spaces.
Derek Thomas holds a master’s degree in Environmental Science from Cape
Town University, South Africa. His research into the design and planning of
socially responsive urban space has explored a methodology that engages all
stakeholders. He trained at the Oxford School of Architecture, UK, and is a
published author on architecture and urban design.
Routledge Research in Planning and Urban Design
Series editor: Peter Ache
Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
Routledge Research in Planning and Urban Design is a series of academic
monographs for scholars working in these disciplines and the overlaps
between them. Building on Routledge’s history of academic rigour and
cutting-edge research, the series contributes to the rapidly expanding
literature in all areas of planning and urban design.
Brand-driven City Building and the Virtualizing of Space
Alexander Gutzmer
Deconstructing Placemaking
Mahyar Arefi
The Empty Place
Democracy and public space
Teresa Hoskyns
Dealing with Deindustrialization
Adaptive resilience in American Midwestern regions
Margaret Cowell
Public Space and Relational Perspectives
New challenges for architecture and planning
Chiara Tornaghi and Sabine Knierbein
Heteroglossic Asia
The transformation of urban Taiwan
Francis Chia-Hui Lin
Building the Inclusive City
Theory and practice for confronting urban segregation
Nilson Ariel Espino
The Robust City
Tony Hall
Planning Urban Places
Self-organising places with people in mind
Mary Ganis
Planning for the Material World
Laura Lieto and Robert Beauregard
Planning and Citizenship
Luigi Mazza
Paris under Construction
Building sites and urban transformation in the 1960s
Jacob Paskins
Territorial Governance across Europe
Pathways, practices and prospects
Peter Schmitt and Lisa Van Well
Actor Networks of Planning
Exploring the influence of ANT
Yvonne Rydin and Laura Tate
Neoliberal Spatial Governance
Philip Allmendinger
Placemaking
An urban design methodology
Derek Thomas
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Placemaking
An Urban Design Methodology
Derek Thomas
First published 2016
by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
and by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2016 Taylor & Francis
The right of Derek Thomas to be identified as author of this work has been
asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in
any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation
without intent to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Names: Thomas, Derek, 1940– author.
Title: Placemaking : an urban design methodology / Derek Thomas.
Description: New York : Routledge, 2016. |
Series: Routledge research in planning and urban design | Includes
bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2015044003| ISBN 9781138124509 (hardcover) |
ISBN 9781315648125 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: City planning—Social aspects. | City planning—Citizen
participation.
Classification: LCC HT166.T445 2016 | DDC 307.1/216—dc23
LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015044003
ISBN: 978-1-138-12450-9 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-64812-5 (ebk)
Typeset in Sabon
by Keystroke, Station Road, Codsall, Wolverhampton
Contents
List of illustrations ix
Preface xi
Acknowledgements xiii
Introduction 1
Chapter One 5
Planning tools for shaping the urban spatial character 5
Existing and new directions 6
Socio-cultural variables and perceptions of spatial quality 7
Democratising the urban design process 10
Chapter Two 13
Decoding the cultural clues in settlement patterning 13
The urban spatial network as a methodological frame 20
Chapter Three 25
The Sondheim methodology 25
The Spreadsheet linking SPGs to PPs and planning actions 26
Chapter Four 29
Spatial performance goals derived from socio-cultural
invariants 29
Chapter Five 60
Modelling the elemental ingredients of the Sondheim
matrix 60
Two matrix methodology options 62
Operationalising the unstandardised procedure in a
hypothetical situation 66
viii Contents
Chapter Six 67
The making of ‘place’ 67
Chapter Seven 87
Linking planning primers with planning actions 87
Conclusion 137
Appendices 139
Appendix 1: Polling sheet (1) 139
Appendix 2: Polling sheet (2) 142
Appendix 3: Environmental specifications 145
Appendix 4: Online references sourced from the internet 152
Index 154
Illustrations
Figures
2.1 Stylised urban space network 21
3.1 The Spreadsheet 27
3.2 Standard matrix configuration for SPGs and PPs
coordinates 28
5.1 Template A: The matrix using standardised ratio scores 63
5.2 Template B: The matrix using unstandardised interval or
ratio scores 64
6.1 Environmental scoping matrix 80
Images
2.1 Authentic settlement patterning 17
4.1 Social encounter: pedestrian-only streets 31
4.2 Aesthetic appeal: formal and informal social space 33
4.3 Sense of belonging: shared courts and streets 36
4.4 The formal and informal centre city 41
4.5 Social amenity for relaxation and recreation 44
4.6 Personal space in a tight urban fabric 46
4.7 Safety in precincts or traffic-free pedestrianways 48
4.8 Food gardening in remnant city space 49
4.9 Spontaneous use of unstructured urban space 51
4.10 City spaces for impromptu activities 53
4.11 Access to nature for relaxation and education 55
7.1 Places to linger: waterfront and inner city 91
7.2 Colour and texture: contemporary and traditional 95
7.3 Architecture: the vertical element in tandem 98
7.4 Structured space with territorial markers and formal
gardens 104
7.5 Sense of place with experiential choice 108
7.6 Flexible use of urban space 117
7.7 Street vending: typical across continents 123