City in layers-part 5-An urban design concept

City in layers-part 5 – An urban design concept is concerned about the inner city regeneration and the chaos in urban planning.

City between (1945-1970), the inner regeneration and the CIAM code.

city of London after the World War 2 faced a challenge of reconstruction of the destruction made in the center and the docks by the German bombing. The city councils took this opportunity to layout a development plan to reconstruct it and resolving the major previous defect issues. The concentration of most city population in the inner urban fabric was one major issue needed resolution. Concentration of major heavy industry and chemical manufacturing in inner city. Pollution caused by industries relaying on coal for generating power. The absence of proper green space for outdoor activity. Bad and chaos in city building and code regulations. The inefficient transport system and road network.

The urban planning professionals in the city councils and related nonprofit organization suggested several concepts to resolve these problems. The translation of an official urban plan was in late 1950 in an official London development plan. The urban regeneration plan laid out by a professor in architecture and urban planner comprised three major mini plans to achieve. First, Shifting population in satellite towns in the city boundaries to start regeneration of the inner city (Figure 1). Second, developing the road network and a city ring road and arteries to the center as well as building extra underground and train lines within the city. Third, shifting the industries causing pollution in the inner city to the boundaries and adjacent cities and building green space network within the city.  

The post-war plan was to rebuild , reshape , renewal of the urban fabric and the informing context for that was the modernization and the ideas of the CIAM ,it was codified in the 1947 advisory handbook for developing the central areas of the city . Major concepts of city central regeneration was the emphasize on the extensive planning concentrating on daylight and floor space indicators , vehicle circulation concentrating on free flow road systems and linked parking provisions and segregation of functions through zoning by particular concentration on zoning out residential uses , separating of retail and office uses and confining institutions to campus .

The inner urban renewal comprise also major decentralization of trades, commercial zones linked to railway stations and shift of highways location to urban peripheries which illustrates that the metropolis contains different approaches , concepts , methodologies of urban development in the timeline explored in this study. Not only the underground system was under development but majority of spatial structure were under regeneration part of that is the London docks which were mainly damaged by German bombing.

Chaos in Urban planning.

The city grew from a couple of villages around water stream. Major work locations build near rivers to use it for transferring goods to other cities to reduce cost of production. Other industries used water in the production and operation such as electricity and chemical plants. After the industrial revolution, and the machine invention arbitrary and unplanned development was carried out. Road networks were built following the existing routes regardless of whether they were in correct position or sufficient to carry the flow of goods and people.

This gives the interested party in rebuilding cities to consider various issues related to the major urban planning plan. The plan should be built on collaborative efforts from several disciplines as architecture, planning, environment, engineering, infrastructure, economics, and political governance. Looking into the city as a combination of layers based on their activities, roads, train lines, green system, people’s movement routes, cultural buildings and historical buildings, sports arenas, water beds and surfaces, living areas and buildings , and commercial zones. See my previous article –City in layers part 4– for detail info.

Final note, in building the plan it is essential to focus on which of these layers should be considered first in the development and a hierarchy of other layers and their interaction on each other.  You can read my book review the urban design process to grab the full idea of the city in layers. 

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