A typology of block-faces

The question of the size and configuration of urban blocks and building footprints are vital to making a livable and sustainable city, with a sense of scale but also a sense of dialogue between elements. This dissertation documents the interface of public and private realms at the edge of the block and proposes a typology of block-faces. The block-faces respond to buildings (the internal load of blocks) and street structure (the external load of blocks). It is argued that the block-face and not the block should be the basis for thinking of city form. The City of Atlanta is used as a case study because of the spectrum of conditions and possibilities that it illustrates. The quantitative approach of this work builds upon a research tradition of analytical and quantitative urban and building morphology. A method is proposed for assessing the potential of the existing city prior to design intervention and for evaluating alternative scenarios for future developments. The ultimate goal is to provide tools to design more sustainable communities by bridging differences of scales and by better understanding how urban design parameters influence the development of built form and architecture.Ph.D