Urban Architecture's Role in the Growth and Culture of a City
This is the prompt I presented myself for writing this article, and so for me to answer it I need to ask myself a few new questions.
What is Urban Architecture?
Most importantly, Urban Architecture and Design is not solely relative to aesthetics. That is the number one misconception people seem to have- ?architecture makes stuff look good?. It needs to work well, too! The design of any new urban development must meet three requirements.
Number One-it evolves from the current design precedent. The design must either be categorized as landmark or background, or somewhere in between. If a proposed structure breaks all the rules-on height, style, materials, use-it can be classified a landmark (see: Apple Store, Boylston St.). If it follows most rules, but breaks on one or two topics, it can be considered background variety. Either way, it is healthy to the neighborhood to have contrasts of styles against a certain background. Of course, there cannot be so many buildings that break away from the precedent that they all become landmarks, rather, the design precedent changes
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Number Two-again to variety, but of use. This applies more to the neighborhood than the development itself. If a neighborhood decides to build offices 99% of the time, it will become barren between the hours of 9 and 5, and at night as well. The same goes for residential and commercial, too much of one thing is never good. Variety infuses life of every sort into a neighborhood, compare it to diversifying an investments portfolio. Is the housing market rough? No worries, there are retail institutions and corporate institutions, maybe a hospital, maybe a university-it helps the neighborhood and the city toward the overall goal of economic growth.
Number Three-perhaps the most important, how conducive a development is to the sacred urban art of walking. In a city, pedestrianism must be the number one priority (this also plays into sustainability). Driving is great, but in a city, it should be nearly unnecessary due to mass transit and development. By having a variety of uses, and a friendly sidewalk atmosphere, no building is too imposing.
These three aspects define a development as urban design, and must be taken into consideration whenever critiquing a proposed project.
What is Culture?
Culture, though a very in depth and complex matter, can be looked at very simply and easily. It is the summation of a city's institutions, people, and economy. The institutions are all the businesses, organizations, and government. The people in the city drive the institutions (who provide jobs), which drives the economy of the city even further. These interrelated cultural components are the identity of a city, and what will cause growth and prosperity.
How does Urban Architecture relate to Culture?
The three points about Urban Architecture relate directly to each of the three parts of a city?s culture. When developers propose structures that follow the guidelines of good urban design, they facilitate the growth of people, institutions, and economy in the region. With more developments, more people move in. More institutions are started, or grow, due to this influx of people, and this causes the economy to boom. All of this is sparked with proper urban developments. Some of the new or growing institutions will need to expand, and create new developments. It is vital that these organizations are able to do so (see: Harvard?s Allston Campus)-so long as they follow the urban design guidelines. By allowing new developments in each neighborhood, the residents will see growth in wealth, in culture, and in the quality of living. Development is vital to a city; it is the skeleton on which an urban area will grow.
