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Athens, Greece. Drone photo by @spathumpa
Compiled: Dedicated to NJY
We can define a city block as an urban space divided by streets of various shapes, which are then subdivided into blocks of construction land. City blocks are graphic elements that are often planned by city managers based on their vision of current urban design and their expectations for the future of the city. A city block can consist of a single building or a combination of several separate buildings of different sizes, often in a natural or complex urban labyrinth. Although urban blocks are composed in a variety of ways, it is undeniable that each block is a basic building block of the entire urban fabric and plays an important role in our study of the relationship between urban public and private space.
Here are some typical types of city blocks, accompanied by aerial photos.
Traditional neighborhood
The formation of traditional urban blocks is mainly after a long period of evolution and development, and finally forms a complex urban system. Such urban blocks are mainly composed of large, high-density and highly uniform building masses, and the proportion of architectural space to outdoor open space is often very large. The shapes and sizes of these neighborhoods vary widely, mainly because they are urban spaces formed by the division of complex urban roads. This approach to urban planning resulted in each urban building facing the city with only one façade, a departure from the regular, iconic urban renewal scheme Haussmann did in Paris.
Toledo, Spain. Drone photo by @zekedrone
Paris, France. Created by @dailyoverview, source imagery @maxartechnologies
Athens, Greece. Drone photo by @spathumpa
Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Created by @overview Source imagery: @maxartechnologies
Zelda's Barcelona planning scheme
The city of Barcelona deserves our special attention, and Zelda introduced a great urban typology into the city's design, creating a completely new relationship between buildings and streets. Zelda's plan incorporated the advantages of the grid urban layout, including urban transportation, topography, and construction, and he designed a 113-meter by 113-meter rectangular grid and a 20-meter radius chamfer at each vertex of the square. The city of Barcelona has set a new milestone in the history of urban planning, from which the city block is no longer just an accessory to the entire urban layout, but truly becomes the protagonist of the entire urban layout structure.
Nevertheless, Zelda's planning plan was not fully implemented into the specific implementation plan, and the specific implementation plan mainly adopted the urban road network design in its plan. According to Zelda's plan, each block would contain an inward-facing open space, while the implementation plan retained only one-third of the original area, and over time, these spaces were gradually occupied by a large number of buildings.
Barcelona, Spain. Created by @benjaminrgrant, source imagery: @digitalglobe
Valencia, Spain. Created by @benjaminrgrant, source imagery: @maxartechnologies
Neighborhood neighborhoods
Although Zelda's plan was not fully implemented, it inspired the creation of neighborhood blocks that followed. For example, the city of Amsterdam is representative of this type of neighborhood. Although the city's master plan is still a product of the division of the road system, its designer, Figueroa, said they created a new order between the street and the urban space by creating unique corner spaces and courtyards within the city. These spaces started as private gardens, but over time they became public spaces that gradually affected the entire city block.
Amsterdam, Netherlands. Created by @overview Source imagery: @maxartechnologies
Vienna, Austria. Created by @benjaminrgrant, source imagery: @digitalglobe
Stockholm, Sweden. Created by @dailyoverview, source imagery: @maxartechnologies
Open block
Open blocks absorb the essence of traditional urban streets and corner design, while maintaining the independence of different types of buildings. This urban layout brings more natural light and ventilation to the building, creating a more walkable urban environment by creating a more walkable urban environment by creating links between blocks, blurring the line between public and private spaces.
Berlin, Germany. Created by @dailyoverview, source imagery: @maxartechnologies
Giant cities
The concept of urban megastructures, the cult of megastructures and modern technology is still heard today, even if it dates back to the 80s of the 20th century. The luxury resort complex shown below is a typical example of such a city, creating an artificial urban landscape that offers a variety of different urban design concepts.
Awaza, Turkmenistan. Created by @overview Source imagery: @maxartechnologies
Googleplex, California. Created by @benjaminrgrant, source imagery: @nearmap
New Urbanism
This urban design movement emerged in the 60s of the 20th century in an attempt to address the too flat and straightforward design approach of modernist urban design. New Urbanism promotes walkable neighborhood block forms that contain a large number of residential and employment types. At the same time, New Urbanism focuses on the integration of nature and the artificial environment, advocating the development of green spaces and urban parks. This characteristic is mainly reflected in the organic urban layout structure.
Copenhagen, Denmark. Created by @dailyoverview, source imagery @maxartechnologies
Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Created by @dailyoverview, source imagery: @maxartechnologies
Reference List:
FIGUEROA, Mário. Habitação coletiva e a evolução da quadra urbana [Communal housing and the evolution of the urban block]. Arquitextos, São Paulo, 2006.
Copyright statement: The picture and text come from the "Urban Design Alliance", the copyright belongs to the original author, and the source must be indicated for reprinting.
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