Mike Jenks

The compact city : a sustainable urban form?

Part One: Compact city theory. The compact city debate. Claims and counter-claims addressing implications for environmental, economic and social sustainability. Part Two: Environment and resources. Research associated with environment, sustainability and urban form, including transport, energy, pollution and urban ecology. Part Three: Economic and social issues. Economic and market feasibility of the compact city. Social acceptability. Part Four: Measuring and monitoring. Research on quantification. Predictions of future development. Impact assessment and quantification. Urban capacity studies and urban modelling. Part Five: Implementation. Examples of achieving sustainable urban form and good practice - including policy and implementation, design and urban management. Index.

Achieving sustainable urban form

Achieving Sustainable Urban Form: An Introduction Part 1 Defining Sustainable Urban Form Part 2 Urban Form and Transport: New Dimensions Part 3 Approaches and Strategies for Achieving Sustainable Urban Form Part 4 Built Form and Design Solutions Achieving Sustainable Urban Form:Conclusions.

Dimensions of the Sustainable City

1. Issues and concepts M. Jenks, C. Jones.- 2. Elements of urban form M. Jenks et al.- 3. Travel and mobility N. Ferguson, L. Woods.- 4. Environment and biodiversity R.A. Fuller et al.- 5. Social acceptability G. Bramley et al.- 6. Energy use K. Baker et al.- 7. Economic viability C. Jones et al.- 8. Adapting the city H. Frey, S. Bagaeen.- 9. Neighbourhood design and sustainable lifestyles K. Williams et al.- 10. Ecological and psychological values of urban green space K.N. Irvine et al.- 11. Complementarities and contradictions C. Jones et al.-

The Accessibility of Public Spaces for People with Dementia: A new priority for the 'open city'

The social model of disability de-medicalises disability and politicises it as an issue of universal rights. However, the rights of people with dementia have been less strongly advocated than those of people with physical disabilities. This is particularly the case with environmental planning and design. The needs of people with dementia are now informing the design of residential homes and day centres, but the issue of accessibility to public spaces and amenities has been almost completely neglected. Many outdoor environments such as shopping centres or parks may be inhospitable for people with dementia because they are disorientating, difficult to interpret and navigate, threatening or distressing. The article reviews the literature on indoor design for dementia, reports on research investigating the accessibility of outdoor environments, and describes a new approach using virtual reality technology to enable people with dementia to identify and test outdoor design and planning improvements themselves.

Making the outside world dementia-friendly: design issues and considerations

Design guidelines for dementia care homes have, in recent years, acknowledged the important role the internal environment plays in influencing the functional capabilities and emotional well-being of people with dementia. However, although the majority of people with dementia live in the community, similar guidance does not exist in relation to the outdoor environment. To identify aspects of design that should be considered in making the outside world dementia-friendly an analysis of the literature on the needs of older people with dementia and on current knowledge of best practice for internal environments was carried out. By drawing parallels with the outside environment this paper demonstrates that design solutions do potentially exist which would enable older people with dementia to continue to negotiate and use their local neighbourhoods. Familiarity, legibility, distinctiveness, accessibility, comfort, and safety all appear to have a major influence. Small street blocks with direct, connected routes and good visual access, varied urban form, and architectural features, and distinctive, unambiguous environmental cues could enhance successful orientation and wayfinding. Services and facilities within walking distance with adequate seating, lighting, shelter, and well-maintained, smooth, level, plain paving would ameliorate attending problems of physical frailty. The authors are now empirically testing these initial findings.

Elements of Urban Form

This chapter provides a common platform for the research presented in this book and is divided into two parts. The first section examines the elements of urban form identified for the purposes of the research and explains how they were measured. The second section profiles the five case study cities and fifteen case neighbourhoods which were the focus for the empirical research discussed in later chapters. These profiles provide an outline of both the urban form and socio-economic characteristics of the areas studied. The chapter concludes with a review of the urban form features of the case study cities and neighbourhoods, and shows how the different physical elements integrate together with socio-economic characteristics.

Issues and Concepts

There has been a considerable amount of research that defines and characterises the form of the sustainable city, and which urban forms may most affect sustainability. It is a complex issue. The physical dimensions of urban form may include its size, shape, land uses, configuration and distribution of open space – a composite of a multitude of characteristics, including a city’s transportation system and urban design features (e.g. Handy, 1996; Llewelyn-Davies, 2000). However, its sustainability depends on more abstract issues – environmental (including transport), social and economic. Research suggests that, not one, but a number of urban forms may be sustainable (Williams et al., 2000). Yet much of the debate about the sustainability of cities and urban forms has focused on increasing the density of development, ensuring a mix of uses, containing urban ‘sprawl’ and achieving social and economic diversity and vitality – often characterised as the concept of a ‘compact city’ (see Jenks et al., 1996; Jenks and Dempsey, 2005).

Above and below the line: Globalization and urban form in Bangkok

This paper uses the introduction of a mass rapid transit system into the existing urban form of the city of Bangkok as a metaphor to explore issues of globalization and urban form. The aspirations of Bangkok to become one of the world cities in the global economy were clear prior to the economic crisis of the 1990s. The Bangkok mass transit system – the Skytrain – was initiated in 1992 and opened in 1999 in response to major problems of traffic congestion and pollution, and the expansion of central business districts. The Skytrain is promoted as a symbol of modernity, comparable to the best in the world. It was built over existing streets some 3–4 stories above ground level. At this level there are direct pedestrian links from the stations into some of Bangkoks prestigious shopping malls and hotels, and links to commercial areas. On the streets beneath this massive structure, the vibrant chaos of Thailand exists, seemingly untouched by the world above. The streets are jammed with traffic, the footways with street traders and food stalls, and the night markets teem with people. Those, the majority, who find the Skytrain too expensive, ride in cheap buses, and on motorcycles, polluting the streets with fumes and noise. Two separate patterns of use, almost different “worlds” exist, one above and the other below the transit lines. The paper argues that both the local and global co-exist, and that globalization may not always be the winner.

Complementarities and Contradictions

The final chapter addresses the key question which brings together the research presented in the book: to what extent and in what ways does urban form affect sustainability? It begins by recounting the elements of urban form and the oft repeated mantras so prevalent in policy. It summarises the relationships between urban form elements and the dimensions – social acceptability, energy use, travel and mobility, ecology and biodiversity and economic viability – set out in earlier chapters. The lessons drawn from some key overarching sustainability issues – the potential impact of building sustainable developments on lifestyles, the use of open space and adapting the city are then examined. The next sections identify the essential links between sustainability and elements of urban form and the important messages for sustainability policies identified in the earlier chapters. The chapter concludes with some ideas about rethinking sustainability.