Expert: John Henry Architect - 1/24/2008

Question
QUESTION: hi. I am student styding in an architecture college. In the present semester we have been given a topic in our seminar on "liability of innovative concepts in urban planning". Firstly i didn't understand properly on what things i would have to focus on this topic...what sources or things i should look for it and how can prepare a seminar on this topic.   

Does it include all the concepts of settlement which had been practiced in past and would happen in future? i mean i just dont know how to proceed with it!...can you plese help in guiding about this topic?...it would be really a great help!

ANSWER: It looks like you are being asked to research urban planning projects that have covenants counter to or less prohibitive or more relaxing to current codes.  This may involve issues of housing density, street width and layout, and zoning in general.
Mixed use for example can include businesses that may be harmful in some manner to nearby residential areas.  Specifying narrower streets with on street parking may make it difficult for fire trucks  and ambulances to negotiate in an emergency.  Streets not wide enough may also cause traffic delays and dangerous bottlenecks for high density housing.   
You are being asked about liability issues encountered in innovative urban design and planning.
New Urbanism is the current buzz word.  Is there something about this approach that would make the built environment hazardous?  What other new theoretical or in place new towns or infill projects, etc. are being discussed in your curriculum?
Think about how proximity of services, types and locations of use, road network, emergency situations, etc. would affect the inhabitants.  
Most New Towns have no on site churches, gas stations, car washes, large shopping venues, warehousing, hotels, or medical facilities.  They rely on the adjacent infrastructure.  
Ownership and governance may also involve some type of liability as the developers often let the home owners take over much of the city operations.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: hi again...thanks for answering..as i had asked you abt my topic on "liabiltiy of innovative concepts in urban planning"...actually there was mistake in noting down the topic..it was "viability not liability"..our faculty has asked to search for some innovative though theoritical concepts and there examples and would be kinda debating on how practical they can be in current scenerio as say in context on our urban city. Im staying in India..so would might be comparing those theories in our context. would be disccusing on both positve nd negative aspects of this.

We had been searching for such concepts and examples throught books. internet..etc...and had come up with few..such as Underground cities, vertical cities, zero emmission city of future and car free city. we still need to search for more ...minimum 7. And we have no been able to  find examples for these except for few...nd without examples its nothing we can debate or expalin for our seminar..

can u suggest any new concepts which has been proposed and  for which we can find examples for them?

recently i had been reading in magazine abt "lunatic architecure" ...moon base buildings and nd how their architecture...their habitat models can be related to buildings on earth...say for examples we are standing in a dessert region where we have no food..no water..i mean same as the case would be that on moon...then those structures which we been designing for moon can be used in designing buildings on earth...may be forming it a new habitat or living....all i mean to say is i might use this as a innovative concept too which may be practical in those regions which are not habitable. so in a way such concepts can be practical but then become restricted to particular conditions.

so can u suggest ideas for how we can proceed and prepare our  seminar for this topic...and besides our faculty has also asked that if we are not able to find enough matter by next week then we should be prepare for another option for topic which can be taken in seminar...and presently we have no new topic in our mind...if u can also suggest for tht too...then we would be really glad..

Answer
The most successful (marketable and therefore most accepted) new concepts for viable or innovative concepts in urban planning revolve around infill and new towns that are based on the vernacular.  By this I mean using the historic forms and materials that have been employed in the region due to social, economic, micro and macro climate, and technical innovation.  

I would look at new community and urban design in places such as Celebration, Florida to Palm Island in UAE.  

The real issue is viability, meaning that the scheme is workable and feasible.
There is no way to judge futuristic underground, underwater, or lunar city design without running complete pro forma calculations including hard and soft costs, initial cost vs. ROI.

You should look at the most successful current ventures, which are more realistic, to see which are successful in creating community, who can afford to live there, what are the costs involved, how long does infrastructure take to implement and at what premium, what is the measure of self sustainability (energy, waste).

My guess is that academia is interested how the status quo is faring but wants students to explore other possibilities and push the envelope.

You might wish to critique Western Architecture and the Modernist model for exporting that urban planning type versus regional Islamic or Hindu city building.  For example was Louis Kahn's work in Chadigarh accepted by the local culture and if not how has built form affected social and religious customs?

Is a city like Cairo working properly; should there be a limit to urban expansion and where does that line get crossed?  

Is U.S. styled New Urbanism solving problems of infrastructure waste, commuting time, affordability, energy use, etc. or are these communities enclaves for the rich with little or no cultural value?

Low, medium or high density: what are the positive and negative outcomes in each case based on initial cost, long term, energy use, and sustainability?

Where does industrial housing work best, what are social and cultural implications from resultant ultimate form and layout?

Communes: Will global warming and depleting energy resources force millions into communal housing that may include semiprivate living quarters, dining, sleeping and recreation?

If cheap energy through either breakthroughs in atomic, solar, wind or geothermal power once again change the form and layout of cities.  If energy was not the prime issue, how can we design for our future generations in a way that promotes harmony, well being, sociability, and the ability to have private family dwellings in a community free of crime and economic need?