Ice Breaking_ILYEOB(c2039741) Opportunities and challenges of urban design in reflecting regional identity.   If I am asked by someone what urban design, architecture are to me, I would say, “It is nostalgia”. Christian norberg-schulz said: “To dwell means to belong to a given place”. It is the architecture and urban design I am thinking of. As an architecture the place to which the users become interested and attached is as important as the good-content architecture. I would like to become an architect who creates something special for people in their everyday life in urban settings. &nb ..read more

What is the best way to begin? This was something that consumed my thoughts all day. Papers after papers, now sitting in front of my laptop searching for words to fill  the white space, I realized that this is what I had been doing always, since becoming an architecture student and an architect. Filling the void. So here we go with the flow. Coming from an architectural background in India, where the studies are carried out for five years, covering all sectors of architectural practice, you are set free to the occupational jungle where the fittest s ..read more

Coming from a STEM-focused engineering background, urban design initially felt completely different to what I was used to. Throughout my undergraduate degree, I mainly studied maths, sciences and programming within different engineering fields. I specialised in civil engineering, which featured investigating ground conditions, conducting site surveys, learning design codes and structural analysis. However, civil engineering and urban design have their similarities. Both aim to improve the built environment, whether it be through designing and building infrastructure, or planning and developing ..read more

Child Friendly Urban Design Definition: Nowadays, more and more cities are designed without considering the needs of different people, just like children who need more space for activities. Van Vliet and Karsten have said that ‘The Child-Friendly City (CFC) label means different things to different people, influenced by their professional interests’ (Van Vliet and Karsten, 2015) Benefits: (1) Health and wellbeing  Health is very important as children grow up. Health includes physical health and mental health. In urban design, children’s active participation in physical activities can ..read more

Background of Child Friendly Urban Design In recent decades, we have experienced the rapid growth of cities. But low-quality urban public spaces deprive children of the opportunity to enjoy themselves in the city. In 1996, the United Nations Children’s Fund officially launched “Children’s Friendly Cities Initiative” (CFCI). There are many countries participating globally. At the same time, it has sparked attention towards the well-being of children. Figure 1: Child Friendly Cities initiatives around the world How to Build a Child Friendly City? Safety Safety is the basic guarantee for ch ..read more

With the development of society, researchers found that more than half of the children in the world are growing up in cities. According to statistics, by 2030, up to 60 percent of the world’s urban population will be under 18 years old. That’s why urban designers began to explore child-friendly cities. But to become a child-friendly city, it needs some basic conditions: Liveable streets, Walking and cycling networks, Playful public space and Liveable housing. Liveable streets The Eixample of Barcelona is famous for its uniform, regular and extensive grid which shows a solid, mix ..read more

Reasons for choosing this course The first time I came into contact with urban design was when I was a sophomore in college. At that time, the college required us to choose our own studio. I just thought that urban design covers a wide range, including architecture, landscape and other small elements. At the same time, I learned that the school arranged for a teacher who graduated from the University of Manchester’s urban design master’s degree to work in the urban design studio. Thus, my journey of urban design began. My opinion on urban design After I truly came into contact with urban desi ..read more

My learning experience in urban design During my undergraduate study, I majored in urban planning. In China, urban design is a branch of urban planning discipline. After government departments and planning practitioners planning the national land space, urban designers continue to carry out further land management, spatial design and image beautification of urban space. Actually, I’m very interested in the field of urban design. On the one hand, I enjoy exploring every corner of the city. On the other hand, I believe that it is cool to bring positive changes to people’s public life through u ..read more

With the fast development of society, our lives are getting better and better, and so are cities. While all the urban designers are adults, only a few designers realized that children also have needs. So in these years, people have paid much attention to child-friendly cities. In 1996, UNICEF and UN-Habitat formally proposed the “Child-Friendly Cities Initiative” at the Second Conference on Human Settlements. This initiative aims to fully mobilize local governments and all sectors of society to jointly create safe, inclusive, and adequate cities. Cities and communities that are responsive to c ..read more

When I was applying for postgraduate, I considered many majors that interested me, Urban Design, Environmental Design, Interior Design and so on. In the end, I chose urban design because, in my first impression, urban design was a macro-level course that involved many areas that I did not have the chance to touch during my undergraduate career, such as culture, climate, living habits, etc. After searching for more information about Urban Design online, I learnt that Urban Design is not only a macro-level course but also a specific large subject supported by data. As time goes on, more and more ..read more