Urban Design Studio

Module 3 – Urban Design Process and Techniques

5. What was the prevailing design thought during the

time the City Beautiful movement peaked?
LEARNING a. Beau Arts
OBJECTIVES b. Art Deco
c. Neo Classic
After studying this module, you as a future Architect
should be able to: URBAN DESIGN PROCESS
1. Define Urban Design Process
2. Identify and explain each and every process A reading excerpted from Time Saver Standards
as discussed for Urban Design:

Processes on How Plans Work

TOPIC
An agenda is a list of things to do.
OUTLINE An agenda works by recording a list to remind us what
to do, or to share publicly a commitment to do these things.
1. Urban Design Process Agendas work when there are too many actions to remember or
when there is benefit in gaining trust among people affected or
legitimating actors as accountable. Publishing or publicly
advocating an agenda serves both as a memory device and a
OVERVIEW commitment. We write down an agenda for a meeting so we will
remember to discuss the intended issues. An agenda also implies
repeated efforts to accomplish something. Agendas may merely
Module 1 serves as a brief discussion on an American list independent actions that only come together because
someone chooses to focus on them at the same, or nearly the
text about the basic concepts of Urban Design
same, time. Once created, a Capital Improvements Program (CIP)
Process and how it worked in some Cities in America. or budget may function as an agenda. It keeps a record of a list
This module is good for 3 hour lecture. too long to remember and known to be within the budget
constraint set by projected revenues. Citizens who know that an
ACTIVATING item is on or not on the Capital Improvements Program list find
some creditability in the assumption that it will or will not be built
PRIOR KNOWLEDGE within a particular time. In this explanation, each citizen or each
city council member is not concerned about any relationship
Looking back at the vocabulary learned from previous among the projects or any interdependence among the decisions.
Module, identify whether the following is a CONCEPT or a Deciding on the CIP, however, is a focus of conflict among
THEORY. projects for different departments and different political wards
1. What was the general idea of The Garden City? and different interest groups as well as a competition for
a. Xx available budget. The process of creating a CIP is thus working in
b. self-sustainability and self-sufficiency some way other than as an agenda.
c. Xx
2. Which building by Le Corbusier was patterned using Agendas differ from objectives. Agendas identify issues
gridiron-following the concept of Ville Radiuse? or actions; objectives identify valued attributes of outcomes. We
a. Villa Savoye, Paris can check off everything on our list of things to do, but still not
b. Legislative Bldg, Chandigarh accomplish the objectives that led to the list of things to do. We
c. Unite d’habitation, Marseille could create a list of measurable objectives but still have no ideas
3. Who was the proponent of Industrial City? about what actions to take to achieve them. All explanations of
a. Le Corbusier plans must contend with the relationships of actions to outcomes
b. Tony Garnier and outcomes to objectives.
c. Ebeneezer Howard The items in the agenda of a meeting have in common
4. What was the concept of the Broadacre City? the timing of decisions at the same meeting and perhaps a
a. Decentralization/in commune with nature common decision maker’s authority, but the choice for one item
b. use of the grid as generator of urban growth need have no relation to the choice for another. Agendas are of
c. beauty as social control device interest to planners because they are a tool that focuses the

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attention of a constituency, whether an individual, a legislature, succeeded eventually. A vision can help to motivate continued
a group, an electorate, or the public at large. Setting agendas effort.
and pursuing agendas are thus ways of affecting the decisions A design is a fully worked out outcome.
that will be made. Agendas keep our attention focused on Designs work by determining a fully worked out
important actions or issues rather then merely on what “comes outcome from interdependent actions and providing this
across our desk” at the initiative of others. An agenda is one way outcome as information before any action is taken. Designs fit
to focus the attention of decision makers on some decisions situations in which there are highly interdependent actions,
rather than others. actions are easily inferred from information about the outcome,
A policy is an if-then rule. and there is little uncertainty about implementation of actions.
A policy works by automating repeat decisions to save We usually think of design as a process in which many ideas are
time or by ensuring that the same action is taken in the same tested and modified, but entirely in some simulated environment
circumstances, which yields fairness or predictability. Policies fit before any action is taken in the real world. Harris (1967)
situations in which there are many repeat decisions and decisions identifies design decisions as reversible at zero cost. All the
are costly to make, consistency is viewed as fair, or predictability decisions involved in design of a single building are tested as
of repeat decisions is beneficial. For example, if the developer will hypotheses in combination through diagrams and calculations to
pay for the cost of the sewer extension, then extend the sewer. see how they fit together before any action is taken to construct
This policy would save the costs of making this decision in each the building. Designs usually focus on patterns of capital facilities
case, treat all developers alike, and make development actions rather than on the human activity patterns that will occur given
predictable. Knowing the policies of other decision makers these facilities. Measures of success should, however, access
provides evidence for forecasting their decisions. Policies are these human activity patterns.
distinct from regulations in that regulations change legally or Design works by figuring out a result for many
administratively enforceable rights whereas policies identify interdependent actions before acting. It thus avoids the problems
standard responses for repeated instances of the same situation. of interdependence, indivisibility, and irreversibility through a
If the policy is to grant tax incentives to new industrial firms, then presumption of perfect foresight. There is no iterative
when a new industrial firm proposes to locate in the community, adjustment; the result is determined first so that each action can
tax incentives should be granted. The policy simplified decision immediately fit the solution. Bacon (1974, pp. 260– 262)
making by deciding once on a decision rule to apply to all illustrates how the design concept breaks down over time in
situations of the same class (Kerr 1976). Policies work in three urban design but still results in somewhat coherent physical
ways: saving decision costs, ensuring consistency (fairness), and forms. A complete and coherent design for a section of a city is
increasing predictability. proposed. Some elements of the coherent design get
A vision is an image of what could be. implemented, but other elements do not because of citizen
Visions compel action. Visions work by changing beliefs complaints, budget constraints, changes in government, or
about how the world works (beliefs about the relationships power relations. Then, situations change and new designs are
between actions and outcomes), beliefs about intersubjective proposed that in part relate to the elements of the previous
norms (peer group attitudes about good behaviors), or beliefs design. Some of the elements of the new design are
about the likelihood of success (raising aspirations or motivating implemented. The realized urban form results from this sequence
effort). A vision could be interpreted as a normative forecast: a of dependent designs, none of which is implemented in its
desired future that can work if people can be persuaded that it entirety.
can and will come true. Visions, however, focus first on the As projects become more complex and more easily
outcome and then on the possibility of actions to attain this decomposed into actions that can be carried out separately (e.g.,
outcome. Henry David Thoreau expressed it this way in the more than one building, phased buildings to be constructed with
concluding chapter of Walden: “If you have built castles in the long periods between each phase), they take on the character of
air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now a sequence of design projects linked by strategies about related
put the foundations under them.” Visions are useful in situations decisions. Although any architect designing buildings will point
in which they can change beliefs and thereby change investment out that in many cases the design may be modified during
actions, regulations, or activity patterns of residents. Visions are construction and that the cost of design changes is not zero,
distinct from target designs, which are focused on a feasible these costs are small and these modifications are minor relative
solution to a complex problem of interdependencies. Visions to the whole design. In larger urban development situations,
work by their effect on beliefs, not by their feasibility of actions taken at different times are each of similar magnitude,
construction. such as building an interceptor sewer now and an expressway
A vision can help overcome resilience in a system. later. Modifying the expressway capacity or service area before
Resilience dampens feedback that would give immediate it is built to complement a sewer system designed to absorb
responses to actions we might take. Lack of feedback makes twenty-five years of growth is a different level of relationship
intentional action both difficult and risky. If you are trying to from modifying details as a building is constructed.
change the attitudes of one ethnic group about another ethnic A design approach solves problems before acting on
group, resilience is a hindrance. Even interventions that might any decision, whereas a strategy approach decides what action
change attitudes eventually with sufficient time or effort might to take now cognizant of related future actions. We do not need
not yield visible results in time to keep the effort going forward. to make all related decisions simultaneously, but we can consider
The effort will then be stopped even though it might have potential future decisions before making a decision now. Note
that the target creating of design is also different from agenda

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setting. An agenda is a list of things to do; a target is something Neuman 1998). As in political interpretations, these different
to shoot at. A target might prompt an agenda. A strategy might types of actions imply different tasks for plans (Table 2).
be devised to achieve a target. Investments, whether by public agencies or private firms, change
the capital stock of infrastructure or buildings. Regulations
A strategy is a set of decisions that forms a change rights, the range of discretion in making decisions. Plans
contingent path through a decision tree. often include recommendations for enabling legislation from a
Strategies work by determining what action should be higher level of government to allow a lower level of government
taken now contingent on related future actions. Strategies fit to take certain kinds of actions. Enabling legislation is thus
situations in which there are many interdependent actions under analogous to regulation but is among levels of government
the authority of many actors and occurring over a long time in rather than between governments and individuals. That we
relation to an uncertain environtnent. In sequential decision observe this pervasive focus of plans, whether made for
making, at the time action is taken on a current decision, the governments or private firms or individuals, suggests that we
future decisions have been thought through for each outcome should be able to explain why plans are made for investments in
from that current decision. Saying that we plan to do something physical facilities and regulations rather than for other types of
means that we will take certain actions under certain conditions actions.
when the time comes. Design and strategy represent the The simple explanation is that infrastructure
continuum sometimes described between synoptic or blueprint investments, whether by public, private, or joint actors, are
plans and incremental, decision-centered planning (e.g., Faludi interdependent with other investments. They are partially
1987). The crucial difference is the degree to which all decisions indivisible and subject to significant economics of scale; they are
should or can be taken at once or only sequentially, durable, long lasting, and costly to reverse once action is taken;
Strategy is arguable the most inclusive and thus they are subject to imperfect foresight with respect to demand,
fundamental notion of plans because it is the most explicit about technology, and related actions. When iterative adjustment does
the relationships among interdependent actions, their not work, plans that work as designs or strategies can yield
consequences, intentions, uncertainty, and outcomes. Strategies improved outcomes because such plans consider other actions
address most completely the problems of interdependence, before taking an action now. Plans can yield such improvements
indivisibility, irreversibility, and imperfect foresight. In contrast, not only from the perspective of a government, but also from the
designs focus primarily on outcomes. Visions, agendas, and perspective of a private firm or individual.
policies are often joint effects of plans that also work as Investments in physical facilities mediate between
strategies or designs. Visions, policies, and agendas, as explained geographic space and people’s behaviors. Thus two kinds of
earlier, can also address situations that do not meet the strict decisions matter: the decision to invest in infrastructure and the
criteria of interdependence, indivisibility, irreversibility, and decisions to use the resulting infrastructure in particular ways.
imperfect foresight. Indicators of quality of life depend on activities on populations,
Plans address spatial phenomena, which is a direct including their interactions with each other; the physical facilities
result of interdependence among decisions in space. On the other in which they live and work, including the networks that connect
hand, policy analysts tend to ignore spatial phenomena and these facilities; and the geographic locations in which these
focus on the impacts of individual programs or policies, not on activities and facilities occur. Thus an indicator of vehicle miles
plans for related actions. Analysis for a single decision or for traveled per person per day depend on where people who work
repeat decisions of the same type may benefit from forecasts of downtown live and over what type of network they travel, which
impacts, but when interdependence actions can be taken depends in turn on the geographic character of the site of the
sequentially, the relationships between decisions and forecasts city. The important point is that investments occur in fixed
become more complex. Plans working as strategies depend on locations and they create the physical context within which
functional, spatial, and temporal relationships among decisions locational choice and daily behaviors occur. Whether
themselves and their impacts. Policies are distinct from investments are in buildings, housing, schools, treatment plants,
strategies, because policies apply to repeated decision situations or networks, roads, sewers, lightrail transit, they are fixed in
of the same kind whereas strategies coordinate different but place and cannot be moved without great cost. They are built
related decisions. Strategies may yield policies as statements of with specific capacities, which cannot be changed without
decision rules, such as “Allow development if the developer pays additional investment. Increments of capacity are subject to
for the cost of sewer extensions.” This policy might implement a significant economies of scale. It is less costly per unit of
strategy of providing sewer infrastructure over time concurrent treatment, for example, to build a larger rather than smaller
with development. Plans may be hierarchically related. For sewer treatment plant. Although a treatment plant may take ten
example, under California planning legislation, area plans (or years to site, design, and build, it will still be expected to serve
specific plans) are subject to policies and strategies set out in expected demand for a fifty-year life. Thus forecasts of demand
general plans (Olshansky 1996). The Chicago plan of 1966 (City for sixty years may be pertinent and must be precise enough to
of Chicago Department of Development and Planning 1966) set be useful. If demand occurs more slowly or at different densities
policies for area plans that were developed for each than forecasted, however, contingent pipe sizes and construction
neighborhood. timing should be available as strategy. It is very expensive to
Investments and Regulations replace pipes to increase their capacity, however, so robust
Investments in physical infrastructures or facilities and strategies for the major pipes in the network may be appropriate.
regulations are widely recognized as the two major components Regulations have a structure similar to investments
of urban development plans (see, e.g., Alexander 1992, 98ff; with two kinds of decisions: decisions to regulate and decisions

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to act given the regulations. A decision to zone a municipality by
land-use type and density is a decision to regulate. A decision to
build a house in one of these zones is an action given the LEARNING ACTIVITY 3
regulation. Usually the decision to regulate will be collective and
the decision to act individual. In order to use regulations,
decisions must be made about where to impose what Home Reading Assignment on other related text on
regulations. These decisions are analogous to investments in that Urban Design Processes to be given by the
they face interdependence, indivisibility, irreversibility, and Instructor on Messenger group chat.
imperfect foresight. To implement a zoning regulation, we must
consider a sufficiently large area to figure out a pattern of land
uses that will reduce negative effects of adjacency of different
uses and provide access to services. The area to be zoned must
be considered in finite increments; it is indivisible. As with REFERENCES
investments, regulations cannot, therefore, work by iterative
adjustment. If a regulation is to reduce external effects of Watson, Donald et.al (2003). Time Saver Standards
adjacent land uses, it will be effective only if it is imposed before for Urban Design. The McGraw-Hill
the conflicting land uses invest in location next to each other. If a Companies, Inc.
regulation is to match density with infrastructure capacity, it can
only be effective before investments are made.
www.Wikipedia.com
Investments and regulations are logical elements of
plans that work as designs or strategies because they are likely
to benefit from such plans. Social programs or other actions that Prepared by:
are not interdependent, indivisible, irreversible, and subject to
imperfect foresight are much less likely to benefit from such ARCH. ALBERT T. PASCUA, LRA
plans. For example, state-funded health care would affect quality Faculty, College of Engineering and Architecture
of life and is worth careful analysis. A housing voucher program
may be a valuable public program. Such programs may be on an
agenda, may be implemented through policies, or be expressed
as visions, but they are not likely to be the focus of a design or a
strategy because they do not have the attributes of capital
investments or spatially expressed regulations of interdependent SUMMARY
actions.

Aspect Agenda Policy Vision Design Strategy

Definition list of things to do, if-then rules for image of what could target, describes fully contingent actions
Actions not action be an outcome worked out
outcomes outcomes
Examples list of capital if developer pays for social equality building plan or city road project built
improvement project roads, then permit picture of beautiful master plan depend on how Land
development city development Occurs
when and Where

Works by reminding, if publicly automating repeat motivating people to showing fully worked determining which
shared, then decisions to save take actions they out results of actions to take when
commitment to act time taking same believe will give the interdependent and where
action in Same imagined result actions depending on
circumstances to be situation when
fair actions are taken
Works if Many actions to Repeated decisions Can raise aspirations Highly Interdependent
remember and need should be efficiently or motivate effort interdependent actions by many
trust among people made, consistent and actions, little actors over long time
affected predictable uncertainty about in relation to
actions, and few uncertain events
actors are involved
Measures of Are actions on list Is rule applied Are beliefs changed Is design constructed Is contingent
effectiveness taken? without constant as evidenced by or achieved? interdependence
reconsideration, or is beliefs elicited sustained in actions,
rule applied directly or revealed and is information
consistently in actions? used in timely
fashion?

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