PUP 301 Exam 2 (ZA)
Explain the concept of urban design, and the historic and evolving relationship between urban
planning and design - ANS Not just architecture on its own, but the connection of buildings
together; how to best serve the community; coordinated and planned form for functional
purposes; Began at Harvard in the '60s and expanded; integrative field (arch, land arch, civil
eng, sus, and planning); there was a historic relationship between planning + design, then
planning shifted towards policy and spatial analysis; renewed interest evident in form-based
codes emphasizing the space between planning
Define the term "public realm" as a behavior setting for human activity, and how it differs from
public or private space - ANS Public right to entry, but not public property necessarily; access
may be controlled, like a shopping mall; open to public, but not always "public"
Differentiate between functional, recreational, and social activities, and how urban design affects
each - ANS Functional activities such as transportation- trip length and mode choice,
Recreational activities such as sports- frequency and duration of optional activities are
impacted, Social activities such as talking to people and resultant activities derived from
functional and recreational- impacts interactions + passive contact
Discuss the significance of "imageability" and the impacts of urban design - ANS How we
identify cities and their culture and navigate around them through sensory cues and orientation
Differentiate the role of paths, edges, districts, nodes, and landmarks in the urban image - ANS
-Paths: along which a person moves (bike paths, streets, etc.)
-Edges: linear elements that break continuity (water line, mountains, tree lines, borders, etc.)
-Districts: sections of 2D extents with identifying character (Old Town Scottsdale, Mel Rose, Mill
Ave., etc.)
-Nodes: strategic points into which one enters (junctions, concentrations- like the MU, lots of
activity, important area)
-Landmarks: external reference points- distant or local (A-mountain, Statue of Liberty, etc.)
Describe the types and characteristics of new towns, urban precincts, and infrastructure as
urban design products - ANS Think of the word projects instead of products:
Build from scratch and have all necessary urban amenities VERSUS new or renewed and lack
some amenities VERSUS particular infrastructure development
Identify the two types for urban precincts as mid-scale urban design products, and how they
differ from new towns - ANS New and renewed precincts; but they lack some urban amenities
, Explain the role infrastructure (as well as its removal) plays as a micro-scale urban design
product - ANS Catalyst for development; like the freeway -> river project in Seoul, South Korea
Differentiate between and describe all-of-a-piece, piece-by-piece, plug-in, and total urban design
procedural types - ANS -Project initiation; master plan design; various individual developers;
uses city center design guidelines; lots of developers use design guidelines (a vision)
-Applied to a precinct to steer development; set general object, then use controls or incentives
to achieve that goal (theater district example in New York)
-Create infrastructure for developers to plug into or plug infrastructure into a city
-Entire projects (from planning to implementation) under 1 designer(s) and patron(s); this is
more common in a dictatorship (1 vision); infrastructure, buildings, public realm all identical
Identify the various characteristics of "good" urban design discussed in class - ANS Mixed use
space (compatible land use); ground-floor orientation/walk-ability; public space and amenities
(movable seating, ambiance, etc.); comfort + pleasantries like all-season design and greenery;
safety + security like an island in the middle of an intersection crosswalk
Describe the all-of-a-piece new town of Seaside, Florida, and how it's design and guidelines
illustrate New Urbanism - ANS Neo-traditionalism: vision was good connectivity. Design
guidelines: corrugated metal roofing, front porches, indigenous plants, white picket fences
(diverse styles), etc.
Describe the plug-in urban design and all-of-a-piece development of the La Défense precinct
near Paris - ANS The 1960 plan envisioned an edge city of Paris that integrated the hideous
tower landmark of Tour Montparnasse. Pedestrian esplanade and multi-layered transportation
plugged into the plan.
Describe how the total urban design of the new town of Brasília illustrates modernist design and
planning principles - ANS Considered residential and monumental axis. Only took 3 and a half
years to completely build. Exemplifies modernism: monumental buildings, open space,
large-scale super-blocks (groups/building blocks of city), and traffic flow and separation
(car-centric).
Discuss the four eras of US transportation, and resulting impacts on urban form, commuting
patterns and mode share - ANS -1800-1890: Walking/horse-car era. Omnibus (horse-drawn
cart) on rail
-1890-1920: Electric streetcar era. No horses., power lines instead; privately funded
-1920-1956: Recreational automobile era. Assembly line/Model-T Ford
-1956-present: Freeway era. Limited access and increased suburban growth
Results: automobile dependence
Discuss the poor accessibility and high cost of mobility in contemporary US cities, as well as
resulting external costs - ANS Much less options for walking. External costs of transportation
system that society pays for: air pollution, noise pollution, resource consumption, &
Explain the concept of urban design, and the historic and evolving relationship between urban
planning and design - ANS Not just architecture on its own, but the connection of buildings
together; how to best serve the community; coordinated and planned form for functional
purposes; Began at Harvard in the '60s and expanded; integrative field (arch, land arch, civil
eng, sus, and planning); there was a historic relationship between planning + design, then
planning shifted towards policy and spatial analysis; renewed interest evident in form-based
codes emphasizing the space between planning
Define the term "public realm" as a behavior setting for human activity, and how it differs from
public or private space - ANS Public right to entry, but not public property necessarily; access
may be controlled, like a shopping mall; open to public, but not always "public"
Differentiate between functional, recreational, and social activities, and how urban design affects
each - ANS Functional activities such as transportation- trip length and mode choice,
Recreational activities such as sports- frequency and duration of optional activities are
impacted, Social activities such as talking to people and resultant activities derived from
functional and recreational- impacts interactions + passive contact
Discuss the significance of "imageability" and the impacts of urban design - ANS How we
identify cities and their culture and navigate around them through sensory cues and orientation
Differentiate the role of paths, edges, districts, nodes, and landmarks in the urban image - ANS
-Paths: along which a person moves (bike paths, streets, etc.)
-Edges: linear elements that break continuity (water line, mountains, tree lines, borders, etc.)
-Districts: sections of 2D extents with identifying character (Old Town Scottsdale, Mel Rose, Mill
Ave., etc.)
-Nodes: strategic points into which one enters (junctions, concentrations- like the MU, lots of
activity, important area)
-Landmarks: external reference points- distant or local (A-mountain, Statue of Liberty, etc.)
Describe the types and characteristics of new towns, urban precincts, and infrastructure as
urban design products - ANS Think of the word projects instead of products:
Build from scratch and have all necessary urban amenities VERSUS new or renewed and lack
some amenities VERSUS particular infrastructure development
Identify the two types for urban precincts as mid-scale urban design products, and how they
differ from new towns - ANS New and renewed precincts; but they lack some urban amenities
, Explain the role infrastructure (as well as its removal) plays as a micro-scale urban design
product - ANS Catalyst for development; like the freeway -> river project in Seoul, South Korea
Differentiate between and describe all-of-a-piece, piece-by-piece, plug-in, and total urban design
procedural types - ANS -Project initiation; master plan design; various individual developers;
uses city center design guidelines; lots of developers use design guidelines (a vision)
-Applied to a precinct to steer development; set general object, then use controls or incentives
to achieve that goal (theater district example in New York)
-Create infrastructure for developers to plug into or plug infrastructure into a city
-Entire projects (from planning to implementation) under 1 designer(s) and patron(s); this is
more common in a dictatorship (1 vision); infrastructure, buildings, public realm all identical
Identify the various characteristics of "good" urban design discussed in class - ANS Mixed use
space (compatible land use); ground-floor orientation/walk-ability; public space and amenities
(movable seating, ambiance, etc.); comfort + pleasantries like all-season design and greenery;
safety + security like an island in the middle of an intersection crosswalk
Describe the all-of-a-piece new town of Seaside, Florida, and how it's design and guidelines
illustrate New Urbanism - ANS Neo-traditionalism: vision was good connectivity. Design
guidelines: corrugated metal roofing, front porches, indigenous plants, white picket fences
(diverse styles), etc.
Describe the plug-in urban design and all-of-a-piece development of the La Défense precinct
near Paris - ANS The 1960 plan envisioned an edge city of Paris that integrated the hideous
tower landmark of Tour Montparnasse. Pedestrian esplanade and multi-layered transportation
plugged into the plan.
Describe how the total urban design of the new town of Brasília illustrates modernist design and
planning principles - ANS Considered residential and monumental axis. Only took 3 and a half
years to completely build. Exemplifies modernism: monumental buildings, open space,
large-scale super-blocks (groups/building blocks of city), and traffic flow and separation
(car-centric).
Discuss the four eras of US transportation, and resulting impacts on urban form, commuting
patterns and mode share - ANS -1800-1890: Walking/horse-car era. Omnibus (horse-drawn
cart) on rail
-1890-1920: Electric streetcar era. No horses., power lines instead; privately funded
-1920-1956: Recreational automobile era. Assembly line/Model-T Ford
-1956-present: Freeway era. Limited access and increased suburban growth
Results: automobile dependence
Discuss the poor accessibility and high cost of mobility in contemporary US cities, as well as
resulting external costs - ANS Much less options for walking. External costs of transportation
system that society pays for: air pollution, noise pollution, resource consumption, &
