Spatial Logic and the Distribution of Open and Green Public Spaces in Hanoi: Planning in a Dense and Rapidly Changing City

Vietnam recently started to recognise the multiple benefits brought by open and green spaces to urban population and environment. In this paper, we analyse the provision of open and green spaces (parks, public gardens and lakeshores) in Hanoi. Using a model proposed by Talen (2010), we examine the spatial evolution of these spaces between 2000 and 2010, their level of proximity to residential units, and the extent to which their distribution matches social needs (defined in terms of population density). We find that while the absolute number and surface area of parks and public gardens has increased significantly in Hanoi, these new public spaces are mainly built on the city’s newly urbanised periphery. As a result, in 2010, only 15% of Hanoi’s residential blocks had access to a park or public garden within a reasonable walking (1000m) or biking distance (2500m). Moreover, the city’s densest residential areas have only access to relatively small gardens and parks, resulting in overcrowding. Lakeshores, however, represent an opportunity to enhance access to open and green spaces in Hanoi due to their spatial distribution. We conclude by advocating for the integration of spatial measures of proximity and needs into Hanoi’s public space planning policy framework.     

When the railway reached Istanbul: the making of Sirkeci terminus, 1870–1888

Since its establishment as a capital city, the historical topography of Istanbul has witnessed significant changes, created not only by devastating earthquakes and fires, but also by the implementation of large-scale imperial projects. In the existing literature, the transformation of Istanbul’s urban area in the nineteenth century has largely explored the topics of new urban regulations, institutions and their implication after the Tanzimat (reform) decree of 1839. This article aims to explore a lesser-known dimension of nineteenth-century developments of the city: the extension of the railway into the heart of Istanbul’s historical peninsula, and the spatial change around the Sirkeci district due to the physical expansion of the terminus area. The construction of a larger terminus (inaugurated in 1890) is relatively well documented in architectural history, yet developments prior to this monumental construction have been less explored so far. Thus, this article also aims to investigate the project’s development and implementation phases in the second half of the nineteenth century, when the city witnessed continuous urban reformation processes by focusing on the intertwined relations of different agents in the urban space.     

‘Fourth places’: the contemporary public settings for informal social interaction among strangers

This paper introduces ‘fourth places’ as an additional category of informal social settings alongside ‘third places’. Through extensive empirical fieldwork on where and how social interaction among strangers occurs in the public and semi-public spaces of a contemporary masterplanned neighbourhood, this paper reveals that ‘fourth places’ are closely related to ‘third places’ in terms of social and behavioural characteristics, involving a radical departure from the routines of home and work, inclusivity and social comfort. However, the activities, users, locations and spatial conditions that support them are very different. They are characterized by ‘in-betweenness’ in terms of spaces, activities, time and management, as well as a great sense of publicness. This paper will demonstrate that the latter conditions are effective in breaking the ‘placelessness’ and ‘fortress’ designs of newly designed urban public spaces and that, by doing so, they make ‘fourth places’ sociologically more open in order to bring strangers together. The recognition of these findings problematizes well-established urban design theories and redefines several spatial concepts for designing public space. Ultimately, the findings also bring optimism to urban design practice, offering new insights into how to design more lively and inclusive public spaces.     

Vitality evaluation of the waterfront space in the ancient city of Suzhou

With a history spanning thousands of years, the water system of Suzhou is an indispensable carrier of urban space and civil culture. Quantificational model analysis of the waterfront in the ancient city of Suzhou has significant implications for the future design of waterfront space and the establishment of an evaluation method to determine the vitality of such space. In this study, a vitality evaluation model was first constructed using river attributes, the spatial type of waterfront areas, vision accessibility, transportation accessibility, and combined new data extracted using spatial factor analysis. Second, a vitality evaluation matrix was established using the analytic hierarchy process to simulate the vitality of waterfront spaces. Third, a hash algorithm was employed to determine the fitting degree between the vitality model of Suzhou's waterfront space and crowd activity. The different areas between them were found and then the factor evaluation process was adjusted on this basis of analyzing the causes. Thus, this study identified the factors influencing the vitality of Suzhou's waterfront. Furthermore, this research constructed a model for evaluating the vitality of waterfront spaces. Finally, some guidelines were presented regarding the design and implementation of waterfront spaces in urban design.     

Technoparks and Technology Transfer Offices as Drivers of an Innovation Economy: Lessons from Istanbul's Innovation Spaces

Universities can significantly contribute to the regional development and innovation capability of a city if the knowledge produced in universities can be appropriately cycled back to the city in the form of technological innovation. Technology parks and technology transfer offices (TTOs), as urban knowledge and innovation spaces, are two important channels of building research platforms with enterprises where universities can disseminate knowledge. While technology parks create space for knowledge generation and innovation within a city, university TTOs play a critical role in enhancing knowledge spillover and creating new start-up firms. This paper highlights the contribution universities can make to Istanbul's potential of becoming an innovative city that houses successful urban knowledge and innovation spaces. By conducting interviews with the managers of technoparks and TTOs in Istanbul, we explore how the existence of technoparks and TTOs within a university affects the success of technology-transfer mechanisms.     

Social and spatial differentiation of high and low income groups’ out-of-home activities in Guangzhou,China

With China’s rapid urbanisation driving its growing economy, the enlarging socio-spatial inequalities in the cities have received wide attention. Rather than following the largely studied residential spaces, this paper focuses on socio-spatial differentiation based on the spaces of one’s out-of-home activities. Using data of 1006 individuals collected by door to door questionnaires, this paper sets up the spatial and temporal autocorrelation GT coefficient to examine the spatial heterogeneity characteristics of high- and low income groups’ out-of-home activities in a continuous spatiotemporal framework. The factors and different mechanisms influencing the clustering of the activities are discussed to better understand social diversity in post-reform urban China. The results suggest that there is obvious spatial and temporal variation in high- and low income groups’ out-of-home activities, indicating that differing social spaces are not just limited to the macro-static residence-based living space, but also exist in the individual’s daily-activities space. Both high- and low income people have drastically different activity spaces and they may not interact much with each other. This is socially very significant because it means that there is considerable social isolation or segregation for both groups. The results also show that within the same income group there exists a divisive cluster with different formation mechanisms, including the job–housing relationship, the correlation of activity opportunities with those surrounding residential areas and the individual’s ability to access activities (that is, space–time accessibility). Structural transition can also impact on activities choices of various social groups.     

Greenway Planning Context in Istanbul-Haliç: A Compulsory Intervention into the Historical Green Corridors of Golden Horn

In the last two decades, planners and landscape architects have been concerned with the open space planning concept called ‘greenway planning’. This approach aims at nature protection that balances both conservation and growth, creating livable environments and maintaining open spaces. In Istanbul, the functional and spatial connectivity of greenways can protect the local landscape against urbanization and population growth problems. This study aimed to emphasize the natural and cultural heritage in an ecologically based planning approach. After taking into consideration the current greenway planning process in Europe and America, a planning strategy was determined for Haliç reflecting all characteristics of Istanbul and possibly representing the first greenway example in the city. Haliç was degraded by industrialization, urbanization, migration and inappropriate land use plans through the ages and existing greenway corridors had disappeared. As a result, current greenway planning strategies were foreseen as a solution to prevent threats to heritage and re-emphasize the lost identity of Haliç. It was emphasized as the starting point of a greenway plan that could be applied for Istanbul in general.     

Temporary urban intervention in the vertical city: a place-making project to re-activate the public spaces in Hong Kong

This paper describes the effects of Seating for Socializing (SOS), a place-making project designed to revitalize open public spaces in Hong Kong which suffer from a lack of urban life. The study was conducted by combining quantitative and qualitative methods in order to understand the impact of this temporary urban design intervention in different spatial contexts. The results suggest that the use of bottom-up approaches and tactical design actions can be a valuable tool for promoting new social relations among the citizens as well as rethinking existing weaknesses in the conditions of the city’s public spaces.     

珀斯城市发展模式研究及其启示

工业文明时代下诞生出并沿用至今的经典城市理论,需要与现代城市发展环境进行有机融合与演变,生态景观与城市空间的互融共生将是未来探索城市空间布局的新方向。文章基于理查德·韦勒教授研究团队针对澳大利亚珀斯2050年的城市发展研究成果,介绍了POD City、Food City、Sky City、River City、Surf City五种将生态景观与城市空间有机融合的发展模式,并从空间统筹规划、城市个性化发展和生态资源空间开发三个方面对中国的城市发展提出建议。     

欧洲城市河流与开放空间耦合关系研究——以英国伦敦、德国埃姆舍地区公园为例

在绿道、生态廊道、生态网络等多个可持续的规划理念中,河流和开放空间作为遏制城市蔓延的重要生态资源被广泛研究和应用。本文以德国鲁尔区埃姆舍地区公园和英国东伦敦绿色网格规划为例,首先从空间结构、规划策略两个层面探讨了城市区域河流和开放空间的耦合关系的形成,其次对比两个案例,分析了河流与开放空间的耦合关系对城市发展的影响。研究发现河流是城市开放空间组织的重要的中枢系统,开放空间在河流的组织下和其他城市结构相结合使得城市向更可持续的方向发展。     

生态文明价值范式转换下的城市生态空间 绩效研究

秉承"哲学为基础、科学理论为依据、技术为手段"的评价等级体系,在自然内在价值与外在价值共存的生态价值认知范式下,以生态学理论为依据构建以内、外绩效为主体的城市生态空间绩效评价体系和内、外绩效协调度模型,以及绩效发展强度模型,并在GIS技术支撑下实现量化结果的空间化表达。实例证明可得到城市生态空间绩效与协调性的数量结构特征与时空变化特点,可识别高效的生态空间格局、定位低效空间,能从数量分布与空间分布方面更全面地了解城市生态空间的质量,协助判断城市发展的趋势。以期为城市评价工作提供新的视角,为城市生态空间质量的监督、监测提供一种可更新、可视化的时空量化方法。     

Understanding the Hobrecht Plan. Origin,composition, and implementation of urban design elements in the Berlin expansion plan from 1862

ABSTRACT

The nineteenth-century master plans for European cities influence their development beyond their intended lifespans and provide a variety of robust urban fabrics to this day. The Hobrecht Plan for Berlin's urban expansion (1862) was intentionally conceived to adapt to an uncertain future, remaining influential even today. For a considerable time, the Hobrecht Plan was disregarded and considered irrelevant across the spectrum of development plans in Europe. This article presents a comprehensive re-assessment of the Hobrecht Plan with an emphasis on its intrinsic value. The plan defined a new set of urban patterns, forms and spaces in 15 section plans and a range of public space typologies defining Berlin's cityscape. The plan developed a spatial and structural framework using three different urban design elements: the ring boulevard, the harbour square, and the neighbourhood square. These key organizing elements have helped public spaces remain the effective planning units of Berlin's neighbourhoods. This analysis provides insight on how contemporary master plans can better formulate long-term strategies to address complexity, adaptability, and flexibility. The article presents novel outlooks on Berlin's city structure and new knowledge of Hobrecht's contribution to the planning discipline.     

Reflection of urban space in Iranian cinema: A review of the last two decades

Cinema as an influential mass medium continuously represents different spaces, environments, events, and symbols, and through which it reproduces viewers’ social reminiscence and merges imagination and reality in a constant manner. This paper attempts to illuminate the outlook of Iranian cinema on urban spaces (In this paper, urban space means “outdoor space” or “open space.” However, our purpose of applying the term “urban space” is an emphasis on the word “urban.” This includes what is connected with a city and its spaces and buildings, residents, and even social, economic, and political issues.), and to analyze the quality of their representation during the last two decades (1979–2006). Identifying displayed urban spaces and determining their strength and limitations, this endeavor not only offers guidelines on urban design pedagogy but also examines impacts of cinema on audiences’ visual literacy and perception, thereby exploring their expectations of urban environment.Based on content analysis of selected movies, we find that the Iranian films only occasionally involve urban spaces, and if they do, this practice is confined to historical or cultural spaces. This failure could be attributed to the poverty of urban spaces and limitations facing the film industry in such spaces on the one hand, and lack of the directors’ appropriate understanding of contemporary urban spaces and their mere attention to nostalgic spaces on the other hand.     

A human-scaled GIS: measuring and visualizing social interaction in Barcelona’s Superilles

Social interaction is a key component of urban sustainability, but its spatial measurement is difficult using existing off-site GIS data. This paper reports on a new method of measuring social interaction using a combination of mobile technology and parametric software, which was tested on two of Barcelona’s new semi-pedestrian superilles. The research is introduced within a theoretical framework for social interaction and cohesion adapted from a broader index of sustainability. It shows how on-site data collection can be used to measure the capacity of urban spaces to support social interaction. It is argued that the combination of mobile technologies, GIS data, and predetermined indicators of the capacity of spaces to support positive human experiences offers an important complement to more traditional methods of recording and measuring the qualities of urban spaces.     

The effects of changes to the post-socialist urban planning framework on public open spaces in multi-story housing areas: A view from Nis,Serbia

This study considers how changes to the post-socialist urban planning framework have affected the treatment of public open space in the transformation of existing mass-housing areas and newly developed multi-story housing areas for the city of Nis, Serbia. The study focuses on quantitative and qualitative changes as well as the physical characteristics of public open spaces, evaluating environmental comfort, safety, accessibility, privacy and intensity of social interactions. The investigation is based on a comparative analysis of three case studies in Nis, which are representative of different developmental, institutional and planning periods. The research indicates a regressive approach in the planning for and treatment of public open space. It also suggests that within the limited economic capacity of local authorities, investors and buyers, the market-oriented post-socialist urban planning framework can lead to spatial and functional fragmentation in housing areas and the degradation or disappearance of not only the public spaces but of open spaces in general.     

Determinants of a successful public open space: the case of Dataran Merdeka in the city centre of Kuala Lumpur,Malaysia

Successful public open spaces are comfortable arenas where people of different backgrounds, genders and ethnicities benefit from miscellaneous opportunities. This paper seeks to determine the components of a successful public open space. First, a self-administered questionnaire survey identifies the users’ evaluations. Second, structured interviews explore the experts’ opinions about the relevant issues. The results show that social success is the most important factor in making successful public open spaces, while the physical attributes play the least significant role in such spaces. The paper presents a series of pragmatic suggestions that assist urban designers, landscape architects, architects, policy-makers and urban planners in creating lively communities in city centres, which contributes to the social sustainability of cities.     

以人群健康为导向的小型公共绿地建成环境要素分析——以江苏省南京市老城区为例

Urban public green spaces significantly impact public health level, where physical, social, and recreational outdoor activities play an important role in improving people’s physical and mental health. In this paper, a total of 35 samples of small public green spaces were selected, and the data of built environment factors and healthy activities of each sample were collocted through ArcGIS analysis, field survey, and mapping. This paper then analyzes the impact of built environment factors on public healthy activities from a planning and design perspective by establishing a ridge regression model, which adopts location factors and functional / spatial factors in small public green spaces as independent variables, and the frequency density of healthy activities as dependent variables. The research reveals that: To location factors, the small public green spaces located near dense residential areas have a much greater impact on promoting public health activities than the ones sitting in dense mixed land use areas; To functional / spatial factors, facilities are the dominant factor that positively impacts users’ healthy activities, particularly the seating density; Reasonably designed small public green spaces or the ones with more open interfaces can effectively encourage people’s healthy activities, while which would be significantly decreased when the green space rate or the path density is excessively high. Finally, the paper proposes suggestions on the planning and design of small public green spaces.     

立体化超高密度亚热带城市的老年群体休憩用地使用偏好研究

香港的一项调查显示,公共空间的使用频率从年轻人到长者逐渐增加。就老年群体而言,小型公共空间的规模、数量、可达性、品质和设施等均会对其使用产生一定影响。本文对香港湾仔和沙田两个地区50处小型休憩空间的分布可达性与流量潜力、规模、品质及其使用进行了比较,通过网络分析技术、无监督机器学习分类、三维室内-室外完整步行网络、现场调研以及精细化模拟步行路径选择度等研究方法发现,小型休憩用地的面积、可达性等都对其设计品质和长者的使用情况有显著影响。以香港为例,本研究对老年群体的休憩用地使用偏好进行了探索,以期对内地城市老龄化视角下的公共空间系统规划提出启示。     

基于WRF模式的长株潭城市群绿心通风 廊道规划策略研究

在全球气候变暖和快速城镇化背景下,城郊自然开放空间在被城市空间替代的过程中,城市绿地面积的减少引发了一系列的气候和环境问题。而构建通风廊道可以通过提升城市通风能力有效缓解热岛效应和雾霾现象,近年来已成为各领域的研究热点。作为风景园林师,从改善城市风环境角度出发,在宏观层面的空间规划中考虑通风廊道构建方案,提升城市在发展过程中应对气候变化的能力,为创造健康舒适的人居环境创造有利条件。以长株潭城市群绿心为研究对象,采用WRF模式定量分析典型天气条件下绿心空间布局变化对城市群风场产生的影响,在此基础上分析绿心的自然通风潜力并提出相应的规划策略。研究成果可为充分挖掘城市开放空间的通风性能和城市通风廊道规划提供科学指引。     

New Estimates of the Demand for Urban Green Space: Implications for Valuing the Environmental Benefits of Boston's Big Dig Project

Abstract Parks and open spaces enhance the quality of life in urban areas. Over the last 15 years, the city of Boston has sponsored the most expensive urban infrastructure project in history. This project relocates an elevated highway underground and creates urban parks, increasing the city's green space. The study estimates the economic benefits of proximity to parks in Boston, Massachusetts, based on hedonic pricing methods. Using Boston's land use and assessed property price data, it is determined that proximity to urban open space has positive impacts on property values, while proximity to highways has negative impacts on property prices. Based on this observation, it is expected that the spatial alteration will cause a significant increase in nearby property prices.