Recovering the Urban Land

download Recovering the Urban Land

of 7

description

planning

Transcript of Recovering the Urban Land

RECOVERING THE URBAN LAND: Brownfield Regeneration of Pandacan Oil DepotLIVABLE CITIES start slowly, says Gil Penalosa, founder and chair of 8-80 Cities. They start with traffic slowed down to 20 mph in neighborhoods, to make pedestrians safe whether they are eight or 80 years old. Bike lanes are physically separated from roadways so people who would have never considered biking feel safe pedaling their toddlers to school. They have public spaces that celebrate public life, including parks where people can gather, play and rest. And they have clean, fast, public transportation that gives people choices about how to get around. When Gehl Architects Founding Partner Helle Sholt hears people say change is impossible culturally or financially for their city, she points out that even Copenhagen had to change culturally to be as livable as it is now, with downtown squares that once served as parking lots for commuters are now ringed with restaurants and retail, linked by commercially vibrant walking streets.WALKABILITYTo design streets for everybody, design for pedestrians first slow speeds, raised crosswalks. Next, make streets interesting for walkers.BIKEABILITYSuccess isnt more Spandex; its a woman biking to a business meeting dressed exactly as if she were driving. First step: Make bikers feel safe.PUBLIC SPACESParks, walkable streets and other public places are great equalizers; they bring people together, and they can energize people through recreation.PUBLIC TRANSPORTATIONHigh-speed buses with dedicated lanes are the most cost-effective way to move people, though offering choices to commuters is best of all.Walkability is the cornerstone and key to an urban area's efficient ground transportation. Every trip begins and ends with walking. Walking remains the cheapest form of transport for all people. Construction of a walkable community provides the most affordable and equitable transportation system any community can plan, design, build and maintain. Walkable communities return urban environments to scale, pattern and mix for sustainability of resources (both natural and economic). They lead to more social interaction, physical fitness, diminished crime, and increased wellness, addressing many social and economic problems. Walkable communities are more liveable built environments and lead to whole, happy, healthy lives for the people who live in them. Walkabile communities attract and keep jobs, young adults, families, children and grandchildren.Design ElementsAccording to Julie Campoli, Author of Made for Walking, design details for walkability follow "five D's and one P."" In order to achieve high levels of walkability and livability, a town must focus on: Destination Accessibility (walking scale), Diversity (mix of uses), Density (sufficient people so that costs are contained), Design, Distance to Transit, and Parking (better managed). Although walking calls for many details (street connectivity and low vehicle speeds are great places to start), we emphasize that walking will not come by building more sidewalks and crossings. Walkability calls for holistic and complete town making. No single act, approach, focus or effort will make a town walkable. Each act adds to the whole. Our web site, has a 12-step program for defining and achieving or strengthening community walkability.

Multi-family housing constructionMore people (especially those from the millennial generation) are moving into the city because of their proximity to their places of work all around the world. And these have propelled architects and planners to design developments that would answer the projected saturation of the housing market. A direct result of the changing family size and dynamics have spurred developments in multifamily housing in the Philippines. Multifamily housing ranges from low-rise apartments to high-rise condominiums, and they will continue to be a popular choice for consumers in the next decade.Mixed uses and vertical, compact developments will continue to increase economic valueCompact, mixed-use developments provide economic benefits to developers through higher property values, marketability, and quicker sales and leasing, especially among baby boomers and millennials. The resurgence of urban development through vertical urbanism is helping provide more compact, high-rise residential housing for key workersMore focus on health and wellnessWalkable cities are livable, healthier cities. This has become a global advocacy by architects, designers, and planners. The US, for example, have taken the issues on health and wellness to a macro scale through infrastructure developments, improvements and government policies that promote people to walk, bike, or take the public transit. However, there is a knowledge gap between research on human health and wellness with implementation in the built environment. Well-designed and well-planned buildings and spaces lead to better health outcomes elsewhere in the world and the principles that the Philippines can adapt to.In all of its complexity, sustainable cities basically are cities that promote human development. The environment is there to provide each person all the materials we need and the protection necessary for health and a mitigating factor to the negative effects of climate change. Economics on the other hand is important because it gives an empowerment of choice and value to workFor Singapore and New York, they developed more bike lanes and well-maintained walkways. Singapore limits car use, and people are encouraged and motivated to walk because of the pleasing environment with wide sidewalks, safety, and maintained pocket parks. In New York, Times Square was regained to be a pedestrian area. Generally, roads are transforming into pedestrian plaza in the Manhattan area, and it increased social activity in the area.The intention here is not to increase the speed of vehicles, but to decrease the travel time of people, promote health and to encourage more social activities. This results in cleaner and more environmentally sustainable cities with increased economic development. It creates a psychological and cultural effect on how people should live.

Plan the city for the primary usage of cars, it will become a city for cars. Plan the city for the sole purpose of economic growth and monetary gains, it will become a city for money. Plan the city for the integral development of people, then the city will become humanely sustainable.The most progressive cities in the world are walkable and bike-able. Tourists spend more time in walkways than in museums and shopping malls. Cities should not be for cars, they are for people.

Brownfield - According to the Small Business LiabilityRelief and Brownfields Revitalization Act of 2001, abrownfield is defined as a real property, the expansion,redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated bythe presence or potential presence of a hazardoussubstance, pollutant, or contaminant. Brownfield redevelopment - cleaning up of sites thathelp improve the quality of the environment in thecommunity and removes real and perceived threats tohealth and safety.