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This presentation summarizes research done at McGill University, Fall Term 2014, called:
One Sq.Km.: A BEIJING – MONTREAL COMPARISON
ARCH521: Structure of Cities, Fall Term 2014One Sq.Km.: A BEIJING – MONTREAL COMPARISONhttp://www.slideshare.net/qiaokate/one-sqkm-a-beijing-montreal-comparisonORhttp://issuu.com/mcgillarchitecture/docs/one_sq.km._beijing___montreal_compa ARCH 540: Selected Topics, Winter Term, 2015ONE SQ. KM. / SUSTAINABILITY AND SOCIAL INFRASTRUCTURE http://www.slideshare.net/qiaokate/onesqkm-civic-centres-20150427ORhttp://issuu.com/mcgillarchitecture/docs/onesqkm_civic_centres_20150427
The average Plot Ratio (FAR) of the whole large urban block shown above is 2.1, about double the equivalent area in the Plateau Areas of Montreal (1.1) and about 6 times the
density of a Montreal suburb.
The Plot Ratio (FAR) of the area inside the red boundary (about 1.0 sq.km.) is about 1.1
Montreal Study Area, The Plateau: Downtown Residential
The Plot Ratio (FAR) of the area inside the yellow boundary (about 1.0 sq.km.) is about 0.35
Montreal Study Area: Brossard Suburbs
City Structure and the Shape of Community
1. Density2. Land Use3. Street Network and Spatial Order4. Block Size
City Structure and the Shape of Community
1. Density2. Land Use3. Street Network and Spatial Order4. Block Size
Sample Population Densities: Red is Asia, Blue is Europe, Green is North AmericaGross FAR of one sq. km. around 1.0 is the threshold of walkability. Below that the city is increasingly car-dependent.
City Structure and the Shape of Community
1. Density2. Land Use3. Street Network and Spatial Order4. Block Size
No Gated Communities in this study area.In the west, “Gated Community” suggests privilege and elitism.In China all social classes live In the same residential compound type.
Mixed Use, Walkable
Ironically, the retail on this site is actually
car sales showrooms.
Very Low Mix of Land Use Not Walkable
City Structure and the Shape of Community
1. Density2. Land Use3. Street Network and Spatial Order4. Block Size
Chinese City PatternThe semi-private or semi-public space courtyard space,
belonging to an extended family or a group of residential buildings,allows family activities and social interaction to occur in that space.
Residential
The courtyard is a deep-seated Eastern pattern, that is persisting and re-appearing - at a larger scale and higher density - in the residential compounds that are the basic building blocks of China’s recent urban explosion. The social scale has also expanded. The courtyard house was originally designed for the extended family; the new residential compound courtyards are for a neighbourhood, an emerging and increasingly self-managed urban territory and social unit.
Anyang Example 1 sq.km. Area, Street Network Hierarchy, Small Dead/Loop Roads, bicycle/pedestrian paths (green) traverse and link each block
Communal Neighbourhood Activity
Location of residents
shown in the previous four
images
Location of residents
shown in the next four
images. (Five storey walk-up
apartments)
Location of a Residential Courtyard Compound in Beijing (East of East Second Ring Road)
with four towers, 24 floors each. My home since 2003.
Beijing, Yang Guang Du Shi (Sun City) Residential District (2.4 h.)Big enough for Communal Neighbourhood Activity
Streets: Hierarchy, Arterial Road
The location of the Sun City Residential Compound activity
is on the other side, at the base of, this building.
Beijing, Sun City (Yang Guang Du Shi) Residential District Preparation for the formation of a Residents Committee, the beginning of self-management
Beijing, Sun City (Yang Guang Du Shi) Residential District, first, newly-formed Residents Committee
The beginnings of neighbourhood self-management
Western City PatternThe semi-private or semi-public space courtyard space,
belonging to an extended family or a group of residential buildings,usually does not exist. The transition from the dwelling to the
public street is more direct.
Beijing Residential Semi-Private Social Space is usually not found in the open-street land-use system of the West.
Beijing Residential Semi-Private Social Space is usually not found in the open-street land-use system of the West.
Location of residents
shown in the previous four
images
Large-Scale Courtyard for the Urban Neighbourhood
City Structure and the Shape of Community
1. Density2. Land Use3. Street Network and Spatial Order4. Block Size
Large Super-Blocks for through traffic
with narrow hutongs. Traditonally
the hutongs were gated, now they are open.
Construction Area: 222,000 sq.m. Plot Ratio: 2.16 Population Density: 777 people/hectare
Beijing, Nan Xin Yuan Residential District 1993Pin-wheel Street pattern
designed to slow down through traffic.
However, property management
closed all perimeter
street intersectionsexcept at the north
where gates and guards were installed.
Beijing’s First Social Housing Project
Nan Xin Yuan is in the southeast (bottom right) corner. The pin-wheel interior street pattern divides the 15 hectare block into a central 1 hectare park, and four smaller
blocks of 3, 5, 3, and 2 hectares.
Beijing, Yang Guang Du Shi (Sun City) Residential District (2.4 h.)Big enough for Communal Neighbourhood Activity
I lived here from 2003
Cliff Moughtin, Emeritus Professor of Planning at the University of Nottingham, believes too large a block destroys city life.
"The larger and more homogenous the street block the greater will be its power to destroy the social, economic, and physical networks of the city. The large-scale single-use, single-ownership street block is the instrument
most influential in the decline of the city: its effect, together with that of its partner the motorcar, are among the real causes of
the death of the great city."
[1] Cliff Moughtin, Urban Design: Green Dimensions, 1996, Architectural Press, P.138
The Chinese large block residential compounds are criticized by western plannersfor creating traffic problems, and for reducing life in the streets.
The Chinese large block residential compounds are criticized by western plannersfor creating traffic problems, and for reducing life in the streets.
The Chinese large block residential compounds are criticized by western plannersfor creating traffic problems, and for reducing life in the streets.
Not all foreign planners are against the Chinese residential compound pattern. Below is a statement by Jeff Johnson at the China Lab at Columbia that focuses on the Chinese super block as a potentially positive force in urban planning and social order.
The Barcelona Friendly Superblock ExperimentCombine 9 original blocks to make one superblock.The size of the Barcelona superblock (about 16 hectares) is similar in size the Chinese residential neighbourhood superblock. The main difference is the degree of porosity. The Barcelona superblock is open to through-traffic for pedestrians and cyclists. The Chinese urban superblock is closed to through-traffic pedestrians and cyclists.
The main difference is the degree of porosity. The Barcelona superblock is open to through-traffic for pedestrians and cyclists. The Chinese urban superblock is closed to through-traffic pedestrians and cyclists.
The Barcelona Friendly Superblock Experiment
The Barcelona Friendly Super-Block, a 400m x 400m block divided into 9 smaller blocks (Total: 16 hectares)Before, all traffic went everywhere.
The Barcelona Friendly Super-Block, a 400m x 400m block divided into 9 smaller blocks (Total: 16 hectares)Now, through car traffic is diverted to the perimeter and only local traffic goes inside the 400x400m block.
The Barcelona Friendly Super-Block, a 400m x 400m block divided into 9 smaller blocks (Total: 16 hectares)If we add a shared garden/yard in the middle it starts to look like a Chinese urban super-block.
The Barcelona Friendly Super-Block, a 400m x 400m block divided into 9 smaller blocks (Total: 16 hectares)A 16 hectare block is similar to a Chinese urban super-block. Each of the smaller 1.8 hectare blocks is large enough for an internal semi-private shared social space.
The Barcelona Friendly Super-Block, a 400m x 400m block divided into 9 smaller blocksIf we add common facilities such as kindergarten, infirmary, senior’s center, residents committee office, (Chinese “pei tao”) at the center we get an even stronger resemblance to a Chinese Residential Compound.