scholarly journals Urban archetypes applied to the study of cities in historic contemporary fictions. Symbolic urban structures in Age of Empires III and Bioshock Infinite

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 006
Author(s):  
Manuel Sánchez García
Keyword(s):  
Video Games ◽  
Urban Form ◽  
Variable Structure ◽  
Experimental Methodology ◽  
Ancient Rome ◽  
Urban Structures ◽  
Urban Foundation ◽  
Urban Settlements ◽  
The City ◽  
The Town

In “The Idea of a Town: Anthropology of Urban Form” (1976), architecture historian Joseph Rykwert defined six archetypes used in Etruscan rites for the foundation of urban settlements, which continued to be used in Classical Greece and Ancient Rome. He proposed to use these same categories for the study of cities in different eras, as a methodology to develop a global urban history. This paper projects Rykwert’s concepts to cities created during the XXI century, specifically those designed for video games with historical themes, and provides the reader with an experimental methodology for assessing digital architectures and environments. Spatial and narrative archetypes will be identified in two different video games, as well as their connections to imaginaries born in the Classic period. In Age of Empires (Ensemble Studios, 1996-2005) urban foundation corresponds to the idea of the town as a place for dominating territory. Their variable structure is grounded on a systemic set of rules that benefits tactic configurations designed by players. In contrast, Bioshock Infinite (Irrational Games, 2013) proposes an immobile storyline built around the city as its leading narrative voice. Its urban spaces direct the action through archetypes such as the “center”, the “labyrinth”, and the “door”.

scholarly journals Sustainable urban structures to challenge climate change

2012 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emil CREANGA ◽  
Maria DUDA
Keyword(s):  
Public Space ◽  
Urban Space ◽  
Urban Form ◽  
Private Investment ◽  
Public Spaces ◽  
Capital City ◽  
Urban Structure ◽  
Urban Structures ◽  
Modern Development ◽  
The City

Public spaces within the city in all their form of different types - streets, boulevards, squares, plazas, market places, green areas - are the backbone of cities. Over the centuries buildings defined the shape and quality of public spaces, valorising them in various ways. The post-modern development of urban form generated a great number of “urban spaces”, where there is no longer correspondence between architectural forms and social and political messages: shopping malls and theme parks, inner public spaces, strip developments etc. Urban sprawl accompanied by loss of agricultural/rural land and its impact on the environment are serious concerns for most cities over Europe. To strike the right balance between inner city regeneration, under-use of urban land in the old abandoned sites and the ecological benefits that accompany the new private business initiatives in suburban areas, is one of the major challenges confronting cities in Europe. The paper will analyze the complex relations between architecture and public space, in an attempt to understand how traditional urban structures, public and green spaces, squares and streets, could provide orientation for quality-oriented regeneration. Case in point is Bucharest - capital city of Romania - where aggressive intervention in the urban structure during the 1980s disrupted the fabric of the city. The investigation is oriented towards fundamental questions such as: how to secure and preserve sites that serve as initial points in upgrading processes, how to balance private investment criteria and the quality interests of the urban communities.The major aim is to provide a support for decision making in restoring the fundamental role of public urban space in shaping urban form and supporting community life.

scholarly journals THE DEVELOPMENT OF TOWN-SHIELDS’ PLANNING IN BISHOPRICS OF LIVONIA DURING THE 13TH–14TH CENTURIES

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 795
Author(s):  
Silvija Ozola
Keyword(s):  
Urban Planning ◽  
Residential Building ◽  
Research Problem ◽  
Distinctive Features ◽  
Urban Structures ◽  
The North ◽  
Research Goal ◽  
Temple Mount ◽  
The City ◽  
The Town

Traditions of the Christianity centres’ formation can be found in Jerusalem’s oldest part where instead of domestic inhabitants’ dwellings the second king of Israel (around 1005 BC–965 BC) David built his residence on a top of the Temple Mount surrounded by deep valleys. His fortress – the City of David protected from the north side by inhabitants’ stone buildings on a slope was an unassailable public and spiritual centre that northwards extended up to the Ophel used for the governance. David’s son, king of Israel (around 970–931 BC) Solomon extended the fortified urban area where Templum Solomonis was built. In Livonia, Bishop Albrecht obtained spacious areas, where he established bishoprics and towns. At foothills, residential building of inhabitants like shields guarded Bishop’s residence. The town-shield was the Dorpat Bishopric’s centre Dorpat and the Ösel–Wiek Bishopric’s centre Haapsalu. The town of Hasenpoth in the Bishopric of Courland (1234–1583) was established at subjugated lands inhabited by the Cours: each of bishopric's urban structures intended to Bishop and the Canonical Chapter was placed separately in their own village. The main subject of research: the town-shields’ planning in Livonia. Research problem: the development of town-shields’ planning at bishoprics in Livonia during the 13th and 14th century have been studied insufficiently. Historians in Latvia often do not take into account studies of urban planning specialists on historical urban planning. Research goal: to determine common and distinctive features of town-shield design in bishoprics of Livonia. Research novelty: town-shield plans of Archbishop’s and their vassals’ residences and capitals in Livonian bishoprics subjected to the Riga Archbishopric are analyzed. Results: study formation of Livonian town-shields’ layout and structure of the 13th and 14th centuries. Main methods: inspection of town-shields in nature, analysis of archive documents, projects, cartographic materials.  

scholarly journals Análise das Mudanças Ambientais Provocadas pela Expansão Urbana na Cidade de Mossoró-RN, Através do Uso de Técnicas de Sensoriamento Remoto (Environment Change Analysis Due Urban Expansion in Mossoró-RN City, with Remote Sensing)

2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 636
Author(s):  
Francisco Das Chagas Araujo Nascimento ◽  
Fabiane Regina Da Cunha Dantas Araújo ◽  
Carlos Antonio Costa dos Santos ◽  
Elder Guedes dos Santos
Keyword(s):  
Surface Temperature ◽  
Surface Albedo ◽  
Urban Expansion ◽  
Net Radiation ◽  
Change Analysis ◽  
Environment Change ◽  
Urban Structures ◽  
Urban Heat ◽  
The City ◽  
The Town

Este trabalho tem como objetivo analisar com base no albedo da superfície, no índice de vegetação por diferença normalizada (IVDN), na temperatura da superfície e no saldo de radiação, as alterações ocorridas na cidade de Mossoró-RN provenientes do aumento da área urbanizada nos anos de 1994 a 2009. Utilizou-se 3 imagens do Mapeador Temático do satélite LANDSAT-5 dos dias 06 de julho de 1994, 06 de julho de 2000 e 31 de julho 2009. O processamento das imagens foi desenvolvido através da ferramenta Model Maker do software ERDAS Image. Os resultados mostraram que a medida que ocorre a aproximação em direção a região central da cidade as maiores temperaturas são registradas e com o distanciamento as temperaturas caem em torno de 3 a 5K. A implantação das construções civis aumentaram as áreas com baixos valores de IVDN por conta da retirada da cobertura da vegetação nativa. A supressão de áreas verdes na região estudada e sua substituição por estruturas urbanas como asfalto e concreto, resultaram no aumento da quantidade de energia disponível para aquecimento, justificando o aumento da temperatura da superfície. Ao longo dos 15 anos decorridos de 1994 a 2009 o crescimento urbano foi visível e consequentemente o aumento do calor aprisionado, podendo assim o centro urbano de Mossoró ser considerado uma ilha de calor urbano.  ABSTRACT This work aims to analyze based on surface albedo, the index of normalized difference vegetation (NDVI), in surface temperature and net radiation, the changes occurred in the town of Mossoró–RN from the increase in urbanized area in the years 1994-2009. We used 3 pictures of the Thematic Mapper satellite LANDSAT – 5 of days July 6, 1994, July 6, 2000 and July 31, 2009. The image processing was developed through the Model Maker tool of ERDAS Image software. The results showed that occurs as the approximation toward the center of the city the highest temperatures are recorded and distancing temperatures drop to around 3 to 5K. The implementation of civil buildings increased areas with low values NDVI due to the removal of native vegetation cover. Suppression of green areas in the study area and its replacement by urban structures such as asphalt and concrete, resulted in increased the amount of energy available for heating, justifies the increase of surface temperature. Over the 15 years elapsed from 1994 to 2009 urban growth was visible and thus increasing the heat trapped, can thus urban center of Mossley be considered an urban heat island. Keywords: urban expansion, heating, vegetation 

scholarly journals The Impact of Passive Green Technologies on the Microclimate of Historic Urban Structures: The Case Study of Lodz

Atmosphere ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 974
Author(s):  
Anna Dominika Bochenek ◽  
Katarzyna Klemm
Keyword(s):  
Urban Form ◽  
Green Roofs ◽  
Outdoor Environment ◽  
Rapid Population Growth ◽  
Green Technologies ◽  
Urban Climatology ◽  
Urban Structures ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The City

Rapid population growth necessitates modifications of urban form, especially in city centers. Consequently, the correlation of the outdoor environment with the occupant’s behavior has profoundly changed. In this study, the authors describe a method, that allows for the estimation of the impact of passive green technologies on the microclimate of historic urban structures, taking into account the city-specific conditions. The Envi-met application, which is widely applied in urban climatology, was used to create the atmospheric processes simulation. Passive scenarios such as green roofs, living facades, and high greenery for chosen periods—warm conditions and the hottest day—were considered. It enabled an assessment of microclimatic outdoor conditions at the pedestrian (1.4 m) and living level (5 m). The results suggested that the highest temperature reduction was related to the tree scenarios (0.09 °C at 1.4 m and 0.18 °C at 5 m height for warm a period; 1.23 °C at 1.4 m and 1.31 °C at 5 m height for the hottest day). The thermal comfort was calculated through the usage of simulated output data. In our investigation, the maximum change in PET was 1.51 °C (for the warm period) and 5.41 °C (during the hottest day of the year). The findings have valuable implications for the design of the city’s structure.

scholarly journals Dialectic contradictions of global and local within the city transformations. (Case study of Russian cities)

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irina Kukina
Keyword(s):  
Urban Form ◽  
Urban Transformation ◽  
Global Trends ◽  
Urban Structures ◽  
Urban Rural ◽  
Urban Problems ◽  
Speed Of Propagation ◽  
Global And Local ◽  
The City

The results of morphological analyses of the urban structures more and more attract attention with the aim of understanding the processes and laws of transformation of the city fabric. Comparison of the case studies representing different regional cultures gives reasons to presume the presence of global trends as well as local features. Their dialectical contradictions lead to a unique urban form very often. Thus, recent global conversion caused very similar urban problems as well as methods for their solution characteristic to the whole world. Popularization rate of the past is comparable to the speed of propagation of a certain fashion lifestyle. As the result - reversal of thinking to find local uniqueness of each settlement and this tendency again step by step became global. From other side universal morphological conceptual apparatus built on factual analysis allows to trace the objective process of urban transformation and to give some forecasts concerning changes in their structure. Assumptions must be considered with the adjustment for the modern scale. Never the less contemporary cities - Krasnoyarsk, Nizhnyi Novgorod, Irkutsk demonstrate building and fabric adaptation, redevelopment, additive processes, contrast with transformative processes, agricultural residual (areas of town dachas in Russian urban tradition), augmentative redevelopment, different scales of changes of use, loft-cycle (second, re- use) development, street markets concretion, other, characteristic not only for the historic heritage areas but for the modern city as well. Russian cities in our days demonstrate urban-rural fringe development - somewhat even similar to “cocktail-belts” but with the local eclectic Siberian architecture.

scholarly journals TRANSFORMATION OF SMALL SLOVAK TOWNS IN THE ERA OF SOCIALISM EXAMPLE OF BÁNOVCE NAD BEBRAVOU / NEDIDELIŲ SLOVAKIJOS MIESTŲ KAITA SOCIALISTINIU LAIKOTARPIU BANOVCE NAD BEBRAVOU PAVYZDŽIU

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (0) ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Andrea LACKOVÁ ◽  
Lívia ŠIŠLÁKOVÁ
Keyword(s):  
19Th Century ◽  
Urban Form ◽  
Industrial Development ◽  
Compact City ◽  
Sustainable City ◽  
The 19Th Century ◽  
The City ◽  
The Town

Several decades of socialism had their effect on urbanism and architecture of towns. These processes can be found in several post-socialist countries. One of the examples in Slovakia is the town of Bánovce nad Bebravou. Until the end of the 19th century the town was not economically important. During the time of socialism the city underwent significant architectural and urban changes due to large industrial development. The definitive image of the historic core changed according to the principles of modern urbanism. Nowadays with the compact city policies, it is important to find the balance between the traditional compact urban form and the modern urban form. The contribution deals with mapping and the process of former urban changes. The aim is to find locations for the transformation and refurbishment of the town’s historic core, in order to its preserved cultural and historical values, while fulfilling the requirement for an ecological and sustainable city.

scholarly journals The city before its patrimonialization: Urban configuration of Mucugê, Bahia, Brazil

2020 ◽  
pp. 411-420
Author(s):  
Fellipe Decrescenzo Andrade Amaral
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Urban Form ◽  
Mining Activity ◽  
Chapada Diamantina ◽  
Religious Architecture ◽  
Urban Settlements ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The City ◽  
Urban Sites ◽  
Made In

The discovery of diamonds in Mucugê so far exceeded any expectations that it overshadowed all other discoveries made in the region in previous years of the nineteenth century. They attracted thousands of people to this vernacular settlement that was set amid the rocky hills that characterize this region of Chapada Diamantina, in Brazil. Although it also received adventurers from other parts of Bahia, migrants from Minas were the ones who most influenced the new settlement – and, possibly, other urban sites that later appeared in Chapada. This work focuses on the study of Mucugê’s natural site, the structure of its society, economy and culture, its urban form and the introduction of domestic and religious architecture into this ensemble; it analyzes Mucugê’s urban configuration, revealing influences from Minas’ earlier urban settlements that also arose out of mining activity. It also shows how Mucugê developed its own features, especially regarding the relationship between its architecture and the landscape.

scholarly journals Geotourism through Multimedia Exhibition: Improving the Access to Urban Geoheritage

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Melelli
Keyword(s):  
Central Italy ◽  
Natural Environments ◽  
Financial Return ◽  
Interactive Tools ◽  
Effective Dissemination ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Dissemination Activity ◽  
Urban Settlements ◽  
The City ◽  
The Town

Multimedia materials represent a promising approach for the Geoheritage promotion. Despite Geology is normally associated with natural environments, new tendencies are projected towards a better knowledge of the “geological reason” for the location and the development of urban settlements. The urban environment is, in fact, a perfect “laboratory” for opening the scientific topics to a broad audience. In this paper the experience of a geological exhibition organized in the town of Perugia city (Umbria, central Italy) is illustrated, highlighting the SECRET (SEe and CREaTe) for an effective dissemination activity. Panels, interactive tools, laboratories and trekking tours outside the museum represent the main activities, which counted more than eight thousand visitors in a few months. Moreover, the exhibition was the starting point for ongoing projects on geotourism in the city with important consequences in terms of visibility and financial return.

Urban Morphology

Urban Studies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vítor Oliveira
Keyword(s):  
Public Space ◽  
20Th Century ◽  
Urban Form ◽  
Urban Morphology ◽  
Urban Forms ◽  
Urban Structures ◽  
Physical Form ◽  
Physical Elements ◽  
The 19Th Century ◽  
The City

Urban morphology is the study of urban forms and of the agents and processes responsible for their transformation over time. Urban form refers to the main physical elements that structure and shape the city including streets, squares (the public space), street blocks, plots, and buildings, to name the most important. The word “morphology” was first proposed by Goethe, the German writer and thinker, who devoted part of his work to biology. Goethe used the word “morphology” to designate the science that deals with the essence of forms. Although it was proposed as a branch of biology, the general and abstract nature of morphology enabled its application in many different fields, and at the end of the 19th century in central Europe, it started to be used in the study of cities. Urban morphology had a golden age in the first three decades of the 20th century, and then it lost importance, as urban functions and urban structures become the major concerns of urban geographers. In the second half of the 20th century, there were again innovative contributions to the study of urban form, stimulated by the activities of geographers and architects. Some of these individual contributions led to the development of schools of thought, fed by an increasing number of researchers in different parts of the world. Nowadays, four dominant schools of thought in urban morphology can be identified, with their own theories, concepts, and methods to address the physical form of cities and, as such, their impact on the social, economic, and environmental aspects of life in cities. The article is divided into thirteen sections. After this brief introduction and the presentation of some pioneer texts and general overviews on this field of knowledge, it moves to the presentation of works on the elements of urban form, on agents and processes of transformation, and then to the identification of some key works on the history of urban form. The article then shifts the focus from the “object” (the city) to the “researcher,” addressing classics in urban studies and four dominant approaches in urban morphology: historico-geographical, process-typological, space syntax, and spatial analysis. After addressing books and papers on the main theories, concepts, and methods proposed by these approaches, the article focuses on works on how these are applied in professional practice and on their relationship with wider environmental, social, and economic dimensions of cities.

scholarly journals Pisae Forma Urbis. Digital drawing and ‘reading’ of the city

ZARCH ◽  
2017 ◽  
pp. 200
Author(s):  
Massimo Gasperini
Keyword(s):  
Urban Form ◽  
Urban System ◽  
Town Planning ◽  
3D City Model ◽  
Territorial Structure ◽  
Instrumental System ◽  
City Model ◽  
Analytical Phase ◽  
The City ◽  
The Town

Se il territorio costituisce il supporto materiale sul quale si sono impressi e sovrapposti i segni lasciati dall’uomo attraverso i secoli, la città può essere a ragione considerata la massima manifestazione dell’intervento dell’uomo su di esso. I processi urbani che determinano un impianto con tutte le sue modificazioni dinamiche sono interconnessi senza soluzione di continuità storica tanto da essere riassunti e rinvenuti nella trama stessa della città. Possedere gli strumenti per cercare di comprenderne i contenuti costituisce un primo atto cognitivo di fondamentale importanza qualora si intenda partecipare consapevolmente all’accumulazione di nuove proposte all’interno del tessuto storicizzato.La fase analitica della lettura conduce alla comprensione di questi processi dinamici che hanno determinato storicamente gli assetti insediativi e infrastrutturali del territorio. In analogia con la letteratura possiamo asserire che il palinsesto territoriale corrisponde al testo della storia dell’uomo e per essere compreso deve essere letto con la logica del progetto, lo strumento eletto della disciplina dell’architettura. Il documento principale per la lettura è il rilievo. Sottoporre la forma urbana di Pisa all’indagine sperimentale della lettura mediante l’adozione di nuovi strumenti digitali costituisce un momento di approfondimento e di sintesi delle conoscenze acquisite oltre ad esperire nuove metodologie analitiche sia nel campo degli studi storico-archeologici che in quelli dell’urbanistica e dell’architettura. I modelli tridimensionali digitali di Pisa e del suo territorio entrano per la prima volta a far parte di tale apparato strumentale, potenzialmente aperto verso nuovi possibili modi di utilizzazione. In particolare la Pianta della città si pone come supporto tecnico per molteplici e multiformi applicazioni.If the territory is the material support on where the marks left by man through the centuries are impressed and superimposed, the city could be rightly considerated as the greatest manifestation of the human intervention on it. The process that determine an urban system with all its dynamic changes are interconnected in a historical continuum so as to be summarized and found in the same interlaced city. To have the means in such a way as to try to understand its contents is primary importance if one intends to participate with good knowledge of a case in proposing new plans within the historical tissue. The analytical phase of reading leads to understand these dynamic process that have historically caused the settling down order and the territorial structure. On the analogy of the literature we can assert that the territorial palimpsest accords with the man history text and to be understood should be read with the logic of the plan, the elect instrument of the architectonic discipline. The main document for reading is the survey. To submit the urban form of Pisa to the experimental research of the reading by using new digital instruments is an opportunity of search and synthesis of the acquired knowledges besides to test new analithical methodologies both in the field of historical and archaeologic studies and in those of the town-planning and architecture. For the first time the digital threedimensional models of Pisa and its territory take part of this instrumental system, potentially open to new modes of use. Particularly the 3D representation of the town is a technical support for many and multiform applications. However, these new instruments of representation need to be connected with new methods of ‘reading’ and interpretation.KEYWORDS: 3D city model, G.I.S., territory and town, reading and typological interpretation

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