IMPLEMENTING URBAN DESIGN

IMPLEMENTING URBAN DESIGN

Development of a urban design project is handled in this article with three stages as development pressure and prospects, development feasibility and implementation. On the other hand the key actors in terms of demand and supply side are mentioned because of having big role in project viability and urban design quality. Although many people struggle to explain development process it can be summarized by Michael Ball’ definition, he defines this process as a function of social relations specific to time and place, involving a variety of key actors. To understand many models are improved but in this article this process explained by pipeline model that is based on event-sequence model. This model consists of stages that is mentioned above.

Development pressure and prospects: Some externalities such as economic growth, fiscal policies, the impact of long term social and demographic trends, technological developments create development pressure and prospects which trigger activity within pipeline. In this stage defining a site is important for actors landowners, developers and urban designer.

Development Feasibility: In this stage five ways are defined;

- ownership constraints: Land aavaibility is often restricted by planning, physical, valuation or ownership constraints. Ownership is important for starting the project because if the site is multiple ownership and then it can be required to land assemling.

- physical conditions: physical capasity, location, density are important to determine the site can accomadate proposed development.

- public procedures: All pocedures should include planning and development consent. The regulations are important in terms of cost or delaying of process.

- Market condition: It includes trade of between risk and reward under the occasion of todays demand and predicted demand for future.

- project viability: Project viability depends on cost of aproject and gaining profit in ashort term in terms of developer. Design of a project can be changed according to cost so an urban design project can not include additional costs in terms of viability.

Implementation: Construction and sale or letting activities can be accepted to be in this stage. If the developer retains the project for letting, then his/her role changes to that of an investor. Once implementation starts, developers lose their flexibility of action.

At the last the development roles and actors are defined as mentioned above in terms of supply and demand sides with their approach to price, design quality factors, objectives,goals. Different actors perform different roles in the development process. Actors can be differ according to being demand or supply side. Urban designer plays in the middle of this relationship. Because the design elements and design quality can be changed at the final viability stage because of additional cost. Supplier side plays for short terms and profit while expectations of urban designer and community is long term. As a conclusion besides high architectural quality, good urban design also minimizes additional costs.

Murat Çevikayak

152002001