URP 308 — Introduction to Urban Design and Planning: Lecture Note

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LA-NET | ONLINE LEARNING VIDEO PLATFORM FOR POST-SECONDARY & HIGHER INSTITUTION STUDENTS

LA-NET | ONLINE LEARNING VIDEO PLATFORM FOR POST-SECONDARY & HIGHER INSTITUTION STUDENTS Course code: URP 308 Course title: Introduction to Urban Design and Planning Course credit load: 2 Units List of Series: • Series 1: Introduction to Urban Design and Urbanization • Series 2: Elements of Urban Design and Environmental Quality • Series 3: Historical Evolution of Human Settlements • Series 4: Civic Design Movements and Town Planning • Series 5: Traditional Urban Design in Nigerian Cities 1 Introduction to Urban Design and Urbanization Series outline • Part 1 (1.1): Defining Urban Design o Sub-Part 1.1.1: Definitions and scope of urban design o Sub-Part 1.1.2: Urban design, urban planning, and architecture: distinctions and overlaps o Sub-Part 1.1.3: Goals and outcomes of urban design • Part 2 (1.2): The Nature and Process of Urbanization o Sub-Part 1.2.1: The concept and meaning of urbanization o Sub-Part 1.2.2: Stages and forms of urbanization o Sub-Part 1.2.3: The urbanization process in Nigeria • Part 3 (1.3): Urbanization Patterns and Drivers o Sub-Part 1.3.1: Global urbanization trends and statistics o Sub-Part 1.3.2: Push and pull factors in urban growth o Sub-Part 1.3.3: Consequences of rapid urbanization • Part 4 (1.4): Urban Design as a Discipline and Practice o Sub-Part 1.4.1: Urban design as a field of study o Sub-Part 1.4.2: The urban designer: roles and competencies o Sub-Part 1.4.3: Urban design process and methods Introduction A planning model is one of the most powerful communication tools available to the urban planner. When a community is invited to respond to proposals for their neighbourhood, when a client needs to understand a proposed development, or when a planner must convey the three-dimensional character of a new layout to decision-makers, a physical model speaks with a clarity and immediacy that drawings and maps cannot match. The ability to design and construct

LA-NET | ONLINE LEARNING VIDEO PLATFORM FOR POST-SECONDARY & HIGHER INSTITUTION STUDENTS planning models is therefore a fundamental practical skill one that links spatial imagination to physical making and that connects the abstract world of planning proposals to the tangible reality of built form. The aim of this Series is to introduce you to the field of urban design: its definitions and scope, its relationship to related disciplines, its goals, and the nature of the urbanization processes that urban designers seek to shape. We shall commence this Series by introducing the concept of the planning model, its types, purposes, and the general model making process. Next, we will examine the cutting and shaping tools used in model making, including knives, saws, and forming tools. Following that, we will explore measuring, marking, and fixing tools, as well as adhesives and finishing equipment. Finally, we will wrap up by examining the range of materials used in planning model making from board and paper through foam and wood to supplementary finishing materials. Series Learning Outcomes Upon completing this Series, you should be able to: • SLO 1.1 define urban design and describe its scope, goals, and relationship to related disciplines, • SLO 1.2 explain the concept of urbanization and describe its nature, stages, and process in the Analysis context, • SLO 1.3 describe global urbanization trends, identify the principal drivers of urban growth, and explain the consequences of rapid urbanization, • SLO 1.4 describe urban design as a field of study and professional practice and outline the roles, competencies, and methods of the urban designer. 1.1 Defining Urban Design 1.1.1 Definitions and scope of urban design Urban design may be defined as the collaborative, multidisciplinary process of shaping the physical setting for human activity in cities, towns, and villages. It operates at the scale between the individual building and the city-wide land use plan, concerned with the arrangement of buildings, streets, spaces, and landscapes and with the quality of the resulting environment as experienced by its users. The scope of urban design is broad: it encompasses the layout and character of streets and public spaces, the massing and height of buildings, the mix of land uses, the provision of green space, and the management of movement through urban areas. Urban design draws on architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning, civil engineering, and the social sciences, and its practitioners must be conversant with tools ranging from site analysis and spatial design to public engagement and development economics. Fill in the blank: Urban design operates at the scale between the individual building and the city-wide __________ plan.

LA-NET | ONLINE LEARNING VIDEO PLATFORM FOR POST-SECONDARY & HIGHER INSTITUTION STUDENTS Short description: Image showing a well-designed urban public space with people walking and interacting, demonstrating the human-centred quality that urban design seeks to achieve. Plate 1.1 A well-designed urban public space illustrating the human-centred goals of urban design 1.1.2 Urban design, urban planning, and architecture: distinctions and overlaps Although urban design, urban planning, and architecture are closely related disciplines, they are distinct in their focus and scale of operation. Architecture is concerned primarily with the design of individual buildings: their internal organisation, structure, and aesthetic character. Urban planning addresses the strategic level of land use, infrastructure, transportation, and policy across the city and region. Urban design occupies the intermediate scale, concerned with the quality of the built environment as shaped by the relationships between buildings, streets, spaces, and uses rather than with any single structure or city-wide strategy. Effective urban design requires collaboration between these disciplines because no single profession commands all the competencies needed to address the spatial, social, economic, and environmental dimensions of urban form simultaneously. In Nigerian cities, where rapid growth, informality, and limited public resources place acute pressure on the built environment, this collaborative and integrative approach is particularly important. Fill in the blank: Urban design is distinct from architecture in that it is concerned with relationships between buildings, streets, spaces, and uses rather than with any single __________. 1.1.3 Goals and outcomes of urban design Urban design seeks to achieve a range of interconnected goals in the built environment. Functionality ensures that streets, spaces, and land uses work efficiently for the people who use them. Liveability creates environments that are safe, comfortable, and enjoyable for residents and visitors. Visual quality gives urban areas a coherent, attractive, and legible character that

LA-NET | ONLINE LEARNING VIDEO PLATFORM FOR POST-SECONDARY & HIGHER INSTITUTION STUDENTS supports a sense of place and civic identity. Sustainability integrates environmental considerations into urban form, reducing energy consumption, managing water, and preserving green infrastructure. Equity ensures that the benefits of good urban design are accessible to all residents regardless of income or social status. In the Nigerian urban context, these goals must be pursued within conditions of rapid population growth, limited public resources, widespread informality, and a built environment shaped by a complex mix of traditional, colonial, and contemporary influences. Fill in the blank: Among the goals of urban design, __________ ensures that the benefits of a well-designed built environment are accessible to all residents regardless of income or social status. Pilot questions 1.1 1. Define urban design and state two of its principal goals. 2. At what scale does urban design primarily operate and how does this distinguish it from architecture and urban planning? 3. Name three types of professionals who typically collaborate in urban design work. 4. Fill in the blank: Urban design is concerned with the quality of the built environment including buildings, spaces, streets, and __________ considered together as an urban whole. 1.2 The Nature and Process of Urbanization 1.2.1 The concept and meaning of urbanization Urbanisation refers to the process by which a growing proportion of a population comes to live in urban areas. It is important to distinguish urbanisation from urban growth: urban growth simply measures the increase in the total number of people living in urban areas, whereas urbanisation specifically measures the shift in the proportion of the population that is urban relative to rural. A country can experience urban growth without urbanisation if its rural population is also growing at the same rate. Urbanisation involves not only a physical process of urban expansion but also a social and economic transformation, as people move from agricultural and rural livelihoods into urban economies and ways of life. This transformation has profound consequences for housing, infrastructure, employment, social organisation, and the built environment, making it one of the central concerns of urban planning and design. Fill in the blank: Urbanisation measures the shift in the proportion of the population living in __________ areas relative to rural areas.

LA-NET | ONLINE LEARNING VIDEO PLATFORM FOR POST-SECONDARY & HIGHER INSTITUTION STUDENTS Short description: Diagram illustrating urbanization as a shift in population distribution from rural to urban areas, showing proportional bars comparing rural and urban population shares at two points in time. Figure 1.1 Urbanization as a shift in the rural-urban population balance 1.2.2 Stages and forms of urbanization Urbanisation passes through recognisable stages as economies develop. In pre-industrial societies, the vast majority of the population lives in rural areas and urbanisation levels

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