CP6832 - Introduction to Urban Design

Course Description

Designing cities is part of architecture and the everyday practice of architecture, like or not.  Similarly, it is part of the every day practice of planning and landscape architecture, like it or not.  It is what we do.  And it is also what is done by real estate developers and financiers.  It is what results from political decisions by mayors, city councils, county and state government, and federal policy.  And a lot of others: neighborhood organizations, public works directors, hydrologists and school boards and many, many more.  Urban design is what happens.  But ultimately, we - architects, planners, landscape architects - design it.

 

The purpose of this course is to introduce and to begin to understand some issues involved in designing cities.  Our focus will be on three things:

First is to begin to understand the form and structure of American cities and towns from the mid-19th Century to the mid-20th Century.  This urban experience is often called "the traditional city" and we will explore it through the writings of Jane Jacobs, J.B. Jackson and others.

 

Second is to begin to understand the form and structure of American cities and towns from the mid-20th Century to the present.  This urban experience is often called "the contemporary city" - Atlanta is a good example.  We will explore it with histories, interpretations and profiles of contemporary spaces with topics, such as: Streets and Highways, Downtowns and Office Parks, Suburbs and Gated Communities, Corner Stores and Strip Malls, Parks and Open Space, and several others.

Third is to begin to understand the current debates about design in contemporary cities like Atlanta.  One part of this will be to understand the design and planning ideologies that influenced much of the 20th Century - The Garden City and Garden Suburb, The City Beautiful, and Modern Urbanism - both European and American.  The other part will be to examine current thought: The New Urbanism, Everyday Urbanism, Landscape Urbanism, Mobilty Urbanism, and Hyper-Urbanism, which might be the best label for the work of Rem Koolhaas and OMA, Adrian Gauze and West 8, and MVRDV, among others.

The class will be in a lecture format most of the time, with periodic panel discussions, debates and presentations by students and by occasional guests.

 

Requirements

• Attend class, complete all required readings, brief assignments, and participate in discussions and presentations as requested. (25%)
• Complete documentation project involving a specific type of existing urban project in contemporary Atlanta - strip mall, office park, gated community, etc. - including documentation of the project, the project’s context, and it relationship to the historical development of the type.  (50%)
• Complete a brief  a take-home final examination. (25%)

Required Texts

 

The Death and Life of Great American Cities, Jane Jacobs.

Landscape in Sight, J.B. Jackson