Public space transformation in the case of “Skopje 2014″

The politics of the post-socialist era, during the transitional period in the Republic of North Macedonia, left dark marks in the city morphology and deeply influenced urban planning. This paper explores the most notable example of this particular trend - the project named “Skopje 2014”. The paper analyses the project’s underlying feature, which can be described as an attempt to recast a national profile, affecting public space and built heritage, without any awareness of the gap between nationalistic theory and the desperate economic realities. In hindsight, the paper argues that, unfortunately, this project was brought to life without any public participation or by taking into consideration the expert-based evaluation. Therefore, many new buildings were built and much more covered in new architectural styles, which led to uncontrolled city growth and a vague makeover of the city.

Edge of the Grid: Defining Wellington’s Edge through Intensification

<p><b>The concept of growth limits is reoccurring within city theory. If city growth is constrained, then denser development patterns must be used. Contemporary theory on city form is centred on arguments for more sustainable cities, so methods of densification must be sustainable. Very little work in the field of architecture or urban design has been done to investigate the potential of defining the edge to the city through built form. None has been found that translates the edge of a green-belted city into a built form.</b></p> <p>Therefore, this thesis suggests that in some cases, defining the edge of a green-belted city through built form is a logical step to take in the evolution of these cities. The greenbelt is a widely used tool in cities around the world and has been implemented in various ways. In order to produce a site-specific response to the edge condition created by greenbelt and city, the design is located in Wellington. Wellington is highlighted as an unusual case for the relationship between city and greenbelt for two reasons.</p> <p>The first is that the Wellington Outer Green Belt, formally established in 2004, has grown from a public desire to have a continuous network of recreational tracks running the length of the western edge of the city and protecting the highly valued visual amenity of ridgelines and hilltops. This is opposed to cities which have implemented greenbelts primarily to constrict growth. The second, closely connected to the first, is that the greenbelt boundary has largely been influenced by topographical constraints on settlement patterns and is not an arbitrary planning gesture.</p> <p>Wellington is also unusual because of the inclusion of a town belt in the original colonial layout of the city in 1841. The belt has survived largely intact, and can provide insight into the nature of city growth up against a green edge. This thesis aims to draw together two aspects of city form; the relationship between greenbelt and city and the understanding that denser, intensified settlement patterns provide a more ecological form and therefore poses the hypothesis that defining the edge of the city through intensification can contribute to an ecological city form.</p>

Edge of the Grid: Defining Wellington’s Edge through Intensification

<p><b>The concept of growth limits is reoccurring within city theory. If city growth is constrained, then denser development patterns must be used. Contemporary theory on city form is centred on arguments for more sustainable cities, so methods of densification must be sustainable. Very little work in the field of architecture or urban design has been done to investigate the potential of defining the edge to the city through built form. None has been found that translates the edge of a green-belted city into a built form.</b></p> <p>Therefore, this thesis suggests that in some cases, defining the edge of a green-belted city through built form is a logical step to take in the evolution of these cities. The greenbelt is a widely used tool in cities around the world and has been implemented in various ways. In order to produce a site-specific response to the edge condition created by greenbelt and city, the design is located in Wellington. Wellington is highlighted as an unusual case for the relationship between city and greenbelt for two reasons.</p> <p>The first is that the Wellington Outer Green Belt, formally established in 2004, has grown from a public desire to have a continuous network of recreational tracks running the length of the western edge of the city and protecting the highly valued visual amenity of ridgelines and hilltops. This is opposed to cities which have implemented greenbelts primarily to constrict growth. The second, closely connected to the first, is that the greenbelt boundary has largely been influenced by topographical constraints on settlement patterns and is not an arbitrary planning gesture.</p> <p>Wellington is also unusual because of the inclusion of a town belt in the original colonial layout of the city in 1841. The belt has survived largely intact, and can provide insight into the nature of city growth up against a green edge. This thesis aims to draw together two aspects of city form; the relationship between greenbelt and city and the understanding that denser, intensified settlement patterns provide a more ecological form and therefore poses the hypothesis that defining the edge of the city through intensification can contribute to an ecological city form.</p>

Matured Infrastructures Strategizing Architectural Growth Through Infrastructure

Serving the movement of people and goods, infrastructures of mobility guide city growth, by framing and connecting sites to accommodate new development. For decades, infrastructures of mobility have inspired architects to explore how forms of growth could be achieved in architecture. Based on the research of relevant precedents, this thesis strategizes how architecture can (i) emulate, (ii) hybridize with, and (iii) liberate from types of infrastructure, as a means of serving a more prioritized role in guiding city growth. These strategies inform a design proposal that encourages a method of architectural growth in Toronto’s Don Lands.

Matured Infrastructures Strategizing Architectural Growth Through Infrastructure

Serving the movement of people and goods, infrastructures of mobility guide city growth, by framing and connecting sites to accommodate new development. For decades, infrastructures of mobility have inspired architects to explore how forms of growth could be achieved in architecture. Based on the research of relevant precedents, this thesis strategizes how architecture can (i) emulate, (ii) hybridize with, and (iii) liberate from types of infrastructure, as a means of serving a more prioritized role in guiding city growth. These strategies inform a design proposal that encourages a method of architectural growth in Toronto’s Don Lands.

How to Understand a City via Mobility

Recent advancements in data science technologies have allowed researchers to utilize large-scale records of human mobility to study various topics from city growth models to tracing outbreaks and analyzing the labor market. In this paper, after introducing recent studies on human mobility using transportation data, we briefly review the existing studies by applying large-scale human mobility data to three different topics: epidemics, economics, and science of science. As the early attempts of interdisciplinary studies, these studies reveal how human mobility records can help us solve significant social, economic, and public health issues in our era.

Voçorocas urbanas e protocolo de avaliação de risco geoambiental aplicado em Açailândia-MA

As formas de uso e ocupação do solo sem planejamento tendem a gerar diversos problemas no processo de expansão das cidades, dentre estes, citam-se os riscos geológicos. Este estudo teve como objetivo a análise do impacto das erosões urbanas, com a apresentação de uma proposta de avaliação, tendo como exemplo de aplicação as voçorocas de Açailândia (MA). A metodologia utilizou análises qualitativas e quantitativas, visando compreender a origem do processo erosivo urbano (natural e/ou antrópico) e os efeitos decorrentes dos fenômenos naturais, fatores controladores e das ações antrópicas. Como aplicação do método foram escolhidas duas voçorocas localizadas em áreas com características distintas, sendo uma em zona de transição rural para urbana (periurbana) e a outra em uma área urbaniza. De acordo com os resultados encontrados as voçorocas analisadas são classificadas como muito grande, com volumes erodidos acima de 40.000 m³, tendo elevada influência do crescimento da cidade, implicando na necessidade de procedimentos e ações voltadas a gestão de riscos a desastres erosivos. As formas de uso e ocupação da terra sem planejamento tendem a gerar diversos problemas no processo de expansão das cidades, dentre estes, citam-se os riscos geológicos. Este estudo propõe uma sistemática base de caracterização de voçorocas em ambientes urbanizados, voltada para a análise de risco geoambiental, tendo como exemplo de aplicação as voçorocas de Açailândia (MA). A metodologia utilizou análises qualitativas e quantitativas, visando compreender a origem do processo erosivo urbano (natural e/ou antrópico) e os efeitos decorrentes dos fenômenos naturais, fatores controladores e das ações antrópicas. Como aplicação do método foram escolhidas duas voçorocas localizadas em áreas com características distintas, sendo uma em zona de transição rural para urbana (periurbana) e a outra em uma área urbaniza. De acordo com os resultados encontrados as voçorocas analisadas são classificadas como muito grande, com volumes erodidos acima de 40.000 m³, tendo elevada influência do crescimento da cidade, implicando na necessidade de procedimentos e ações voltadas a gestão de riscos e de redução dos impactos referentes aos processos erosivos.Palavras-chave: Risco geológico, processos erosivos, uso do solo. Urban gullies and geoenvironmental risk assessment protocol applied in Açailândia-MA ABSTRACTThe land use and occupation without planning tend to generate several problems in the process of expansion of the cities, for example, the geological risk. This study proposes a systematic basis for characterizing gullies in urbanized environments, applied for the analysis of geoenvironmental risk, using gullies in Açailândia (MA) as an application example. The methodology used qualitative and quantitative analyzes to understand the origin of the urban erosion process (natural and/or anthropic) and the effects resulting from natural phenomena and controlling by anthropic actions. As application of the method, two gullies located in areas with different characteristics were chosen, one in a rural to urban transition zone (peri-urban) and the other in an urbanized area. According to the results found the gullies analyzed are classified as very large, with the eroded volumes above 40000 m³, with high influence of city growth, which means the need to implement procedures and actions applied to risk management and reduction of impacts regarding the erosion.Keywords: Geological risk, erosion, land use.