A REVIEW ON PUBLIC PLACES AND

URBAN SPACES-IMPLEMENTING URBAN

DESIGN
BY
MADHURIMA ROY
LIANE LEWIS
IMPLEMENTATION
THE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS
To facilitate the study and understanding of the development process, several models have been
devised and can be grouped as follows:
o Equilibrium Models: Derived from neo classical economics, these assume that development activity is
structured by economic signals about effective demand, as reflected in rents, yields , etc.
o Event Sequence Models: Derived from estate management, these focus on the management of stages
in the development process.
o Agency Models: Derived from attempts to explain the development process from a behavioural or
institutional point of view, these focus on the actors in the development process and their relationship.
o Structure Models : Grounded in political economy , these focus on the way markets are structured.
o Institutional Models: It describes events and agencies, and explains how they relate to broader structural
forces.
DEVELOPMENT ROLES
Each development role can be considered in terms of 5 generalized criteria:
Financial Objectives: Whether the person has a primary concern for cost minimization or for profit
maximization.
Time Span: Whether the persons involvement and interest in the development is primarily short or long
term.
Design: Functionality : Whether the person has a specific concern for the developments ability to serve
its functional purpose ( eg: to be used as an office )
Design: External Appearance : Whether the person is primarily concerned with the developments
external appearance.
Design: Relation to context : Whether the developments relation to its context is a primary concern to
the developer.

LAND RELEASE STRATEGIES
THE DEVELOPER - DESIGNER GAP
The developer must give enough oppourtunity space to the designer to
carry out a viable development.
THE CONTROL
PROCESS
The public agencies must use
a range of statutory powers not
only to provide a quality
threshold over which
development proposals must
pass, but also to guide ,
encourage and enable
appropriate development and
to enhance the public realm.
It is vital for urban designers to
understand where public
sector interventions into the
public sector development
process can be most effective
typically before or during the
development design stage
rather than after it.


DESIGN
GUIDELINES
Every city or place has its own design
gudelines . Example: following are the
guidelines of Portland,Oregon.
DESIGN REVIEW AND EVALUATION
MANGEMENT
Management processes are central to any conception of urban design , and particularly to public sector
regulatory functions
The public sector has a key part to play, particularly through its management of transport, urban regeneration,
conservation and cleaning and maintainence processes.
TRANSPORT:
A role central to securing and maintaining a high quality public realm .
For the public sector, the aim should be to encourage equitable access for all sections of society by , for
example, taming private car use, freeing space for pedestrians and cyclists , reducing situations of auto-
dependency by providing a choice of travel modes and intergrating public transport at local and spatial
scales.
REGENERATION:
The public sector has a key role to play in managing these processes through planning activity, but also
through urban regeneration policy including land reclamation , place promotion , direct investment(eg:
infrastructure), and in providing subsidies or starting capital for revolving funds.


CONSERVATION:
In each location,
the built heritage
and the cities
existing character
and history must
be conserved to
get the essence
of the city or
place.

THE COMMUNICATION PROCESS
Communication is an important tool that can influence decision making.
The watch points in the communication process are :
Ensure all involved l, understand the process of illustration.
Clearly communicate the level of precision or impression to the audience.
Use the appropriate technique to convey information- analytical ,
conceptual, perceptual , measurable.
Understand the strengths and limitations of hand drawn and computer
generated techniques before deciding which to use.
Avoid using graphics to mislead the audience.
HOLISTIC URBAN DESIGN
Finally urban design is taken up as a design process and the key context : the global consequences of
design , is discussed.
It is necessary to have a continual questioning and inquisitive approach to urban design.
As in any design process there are no right or wrong answers in urban design there are only better
and worse answers , the quality of which may only be known in time.
Urban designers practitioners can move beyond short sighted, hard edged, professional approaches
and adopt more collaborative working relationships focused on the creation of good places.
Sustainability does not require re-inventing the wheel, but, instead, is an over arching lens through
which the dimensions (morphological, perceptual , social , visual ,functional , temporal) and processes (
development , control , communication) of good place making should be seen that is , a holistic
view.
DEFICIENCIES IN THE EXISTING URBAN DEVELOPMENT
PLANNING APPROACH
The present urban planning system based on A MASTER PLAN


The master plan decides the frame of a city after 10-20 years.
But, to prepare a master plan a complete team of town planners , architects , engineers, sociologists ,
economists , landscape and environment experts are required.
And this master plan preparation takes 4-5 years.
Sometimes, proposals are not executed because of lack of finance.
Excessive delays are also caused during the process.
Also, the implementation of urban plans in Indian cities is hampered by the fact that water and
sewerage systems, power and telecommunication services, roads public transport , etc are controlled
by the state governments.

Conceptualized just to cater the requirement
of the urban development act.
EVALUATION OF INDIAN URBAN DEVELOPMENT
PLANNING PROCESS IN CONTEXT TO U.K AND OTHER
WESTERN COUNTRIES
In U.K. and Other Western Countries
AGENCIES INVOLVED IN THE FORMATION OF
PLANS: NGOs representatives of public,
experts and govt. agencies equally
participate in planning process.
FORMULATION OF OBJECTIVES: Goals of
society are set first by targeted community or
group. of people.The plan has to be
prepared and to achieve these goals specific
short term objectives are framed.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION: People actively
participate in preparation, monitoring
evaluation and implementation of plan.

In India
Government that prepares the plan .

Objectives are derived from the book
of Urban development act and all
town plans have broadly similar
objectives.
In India it is restricted only up to inviting
objectives from public on draft plan.



In U.K. and Other Western Countries

MONITORING AND EVALUATION OF THE PLAN: In U.K.
and in other western countries plans are periodically
checked, monitored and evaluated and if required
proposals are changed/ rearranged.
MANPOWER AND EXPERTS: Beside general public &
community participation , participation from various
fields Engineering Town planning architecture, urban
design, conservation experts, geographers,
environmental planner, transport planners etc also
takes place.
USE OF MODERN TECHNIQUES: Latest techniques
available are used for surveys ,collection of data,
analysis of data future projections and study of
existing conditions

In India

In India Urban Development Planning Process
no system of monitoring/ evaluation of plan is
there.

Where as in India generally town planner of the
level of district town planner prepare the entire
proposals.

Where as in Indian system age old visual
surveys ,traffic and transport surveys are not
properly conducted before formulation before
formulation of plan.




URBAN DESIGN AND THE PLANNING
PROCESS
Urban design is incorporated into a variety of planning processes:
Official planning and zoning by-law amendment applications.
Site plan applications.
Minor variants and consent applications.
Sub division applications.
3 major steps are:
Plan out the city well and then go into detailing of each building, space etc.
See through the connectivity/ relationship of each building or space.
Segregating the public and the non public spaces , at the same time there must be good connectivity
between these spaces.
Incorporating quality urban design elements into a project DOES NOT have to be expensive. Its all
about responding to urban design objectives.
Urban design id not simply about aesthetics or architectural design.In general terms urban design seems
to facilitate:
People first development.
Quality public spaces and places.
Better connected forms of development.
Mixed use development- in a variety of different forms.
More compact forms of development.
Higher quality built form-both buildings, and the spaces between them.
Functionally and economically successful development.
Development which preserves natural and built heritage.
Development that recognizes and builds local character.

CONCLUSION
A strong change is required through legislation at state as well as central level for:
Strengthening of State Town and Country Planning deptt by including experts from the field of Architecture, Town
Planning, and Engineering conservation, Urban Design, Environment, Geography, Sociology, Economics, Manage
Information Technology etc.
Strengthening through modern equipment technologically advanced manpower and facilitating to assist plan
formulation, implementation monitoring and renewal/ revision.
New act for Urban Planning & Development should be flexible enough to address and suit problems & priorities of
different towns with in the same frame work.
Objectives and goals should be town specific and can address to ground problem and should be able to improve
it.
There should be an inherent system of monitoring and evaluation periodically and powers of modification of plan
up to certain level should be made possible through local authorities to avoid delays.

UPDFI team has recommended an efficient approach that still needs more deliberations in term of:
Regulating urban form of the city.
Catering to problems of ecology and environment.
Catering to problems of urban governance in present socio-economic framework.
Re-appropriation of norms and standards required in byelaws and zoning regulation to suit lower strata of society.
Each level of plan recommended needs further detailing of its contents and scope.
Ensuring more public participation at level of plan formulation, evaluation, revision and implementation.
Urban development plan should be made a dynamic phenomenon and should be a process rather than an end product.