Urban Section: City Transect and Street Section

The Urban Section will set out a methodology for the analysis of urban situations, by using two distinct spatial scales – that of the individual street – the street section, and the complex of city streets – the city transect, in cities around the world. The Urban Section will identify a series of generic street types and through the use of comparative analysis of successful urban street design that is responsive to climate, culture, tradition, and morphology, as well as social and economic or commercial success, identify best practice for designers and planners. • Urban Form - Labyrinth City, Organic City, Planned City, Grid City, culturally and historically identifying the growth and change of urban form and culture in North Africa, Asia, Europe and North America. • The Connection of Streets – The connection between streets of different character and its centrality to the solution of urban design problems. • Analysis from Macro to Micro – Data from case studies through a range of scales from city to district, to neighbourhood, to street. • Methodology – Demonstrate how the section at various scales can reveal how urban spaces work. • The street as civic room – the importance of connecting the activity of the street with the ground floor of buildings. The Urban Section will provide a structured discourse and a common language for architects and planners, allowing the mutual goals of a vibrant urban life and organic relationships between architecture and urban context to be pursued. The Urban Section will bring forward successful street design in a design compendium of comparative case studies and best practice through both an historic and contemporary perspective reflecting cultures and traditions, climatic conditions and social and economic scenarios.