[...]... ‘Introduction: the argument’ – total urban design, all -of -a- piece urban design, piece-by-piece urban design and plug-in urban design – forms the primary dimension of any categorization A further distinction can be made amongst urban design projects based on the vocabulary of patterns that forms the basis of their design The vocabulary, in turn, depends on what is perceived by a set of design theorists,... precincts of cities and suburbs, urban renewal, and urban squares and streets The list is almost endless Broadly speaking, however, there is a single concern: the design of the public, urban realm at a city and precinct level PART 1 3 THE NATURE OF URBAN DESIGN AND URBAN DESIGNING Urban design deals with the creation of the physical public realm of human settlements within the public realm of decision-making... the many strands of place-making, environmental responsibility, social equity and economic viability; for example – into the creation of places of beauty and identity Urban design is derived from but transcends related matters such as planning and transportation policy, architectural design, development economics, landscape and engineering It draws these and other strands together In summary, urban design. .. and private interests in shaping it It is more important to think of differences amongst urban design projects not in the usual way in terms of the nature of products (new towns, urban renewal, squares, etc.), but in terms of the differences amongst four ways of carrying out a project In particular, a distinction, as explained in Chapters 2 and 3, is drawn amongst ‘total urban design and ‘all -of -a- piece... Argument The book is divided into four parts The first part, ‘The nature of urban design and urban designing’, is concerned with defining the nature of urban design as a professional activity The argument is that urban design deals with enhancing the qualities of the public realm of cities and other urban places In so doing, it deals with what actually constitutes the public realm and with the role of. .. demonstrate the nature of urban design and urban designing to both professionals and lay people, particularly politicians The form should also be useful in the education of budding designers The objective is thus to provide professionals with an information base that they can use in the creation of the appropriate design and implementation process for tackling a given urban design problem, and students and other... and Technology in Ahmedabad The individuals who have assisted me include El-Hassan Amr, Oleksandra Babych, Clare Billingham, Kevin Brake, Giancarlo Cerutti di Ludovico, Nick Chapin, Carol Chan, Tao Cheehai, Cheng Tan Fui, Chiu KuoWei, Elizabeth Cox, Janaka Dharmasena, Rich Fowler, Fu Yuan Yuan, Ahmad Kamal Abdul Ghani, Hu Min, Hu Xin, Lee Yun Tae, Lesley Thomas Jacob, Wilderich Kalthoff, Keith Koh, Kwon... urban design has the greatest impact on the nature of cities and city life However logical the land-use pattern prescribed by city planners, the beauty and utility of its buildings and the nature of the landscape, it is the overall three-dimensional combination of forms and spaces as seen in time and over time that gives a city its character Cities evolve at the hands of a myriad designers consciously... they call urban design avoid having to define the term The advantage is that each can claim to have expertise as an urban designer and, if Orwell is correct, talk about it with others without having a common understanding This confusion is both unnecessary and unhelpful if architects, landscape architects and city planners are to make a positive contribution to the development of cities and other human... interests or dreams The fields need to have a sound empirical foundation on which to base their decisions Case studies can provide an important part of that base xxvii The Barbican, London in 2004 THE NATURE OF URBAN DESIGN AND URBAN DESIGNING Today the term urban design is used to describe almost any design that takes place in any city setting ‘It seems that every person and their dog is an urban designer; . autocratic and democratic societies 25 The urban designing process 26 Total urban design 28 All -of -a- piece urban design 30 Piece-by-piece urban design 32 Plug-in urban design 33 Financing 33 The market. urban design? Is urban design just planning? 73 5 The products of landscape architecture and the nature of urban design 75 The products of landscape architecture: malls, squares, streets and parks. in urban space 53 Urban design paradigms 53 A typology of urban design projects 56 Commentary 57 P ART 2THE TRADITIONAL DESIGN PROFESSIONS, THEIR PRODUCTS AND URBAN DESIGN 59 4 The products of