Introduction  One of the best ways to depict social, cultural, and political life in cities worldwide is through the urban square. Often found at the crossroads of busy urban landscapes, these open spaces are recognized as much more than their physical location; they are seen as dynamic platforms for community building and human connection. In the European Journal of Social Sciences Studies, (Zaim Başaslan (2022) discusses “The Square as a Tool of Social Communication and Socialization.”) Fig 1: Street Interaction Historical Significance Case study –Ancient Greek Agora Historically ..read more

The problems with parking in the city Parking lots in urban areas have long been a burning problem in the city, especially in densely populated areas where the demand for parking spaces exceeds the available supply. Space becomes limited, while the number of cars increases over time. Cities often have limited parking space due to high population density and competing land uses. This scarcity leads to increased competition for parking spaces. When legal parking spots are scarce, drivers may use illegal parking methods, such as parking in no-parking zones, on sidewalks, or blocking fire hydrants ..read more

The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) recognises at Chapter 15 the importance of protecting and enhancing the natural environment and, where possible, the need for developments to secure net a net gain in biodiversity (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, 2023). Additionally, the NPPF recognises the significant role of green infrastructure in urban planning and design, and particularly its implementation to address the increasing climate emergency. One approach to enhancing the UKs Green Infrastructure Network is through Building with Nature (BwN). But what does it mea ..read more

With predicted figures in the event of migration to the urban space in future, an alternative way of addressing housing needs may not be satisfied only with limited land left for development (HSB, 2023). Therefore, the solution lies within the river basins linearly sprawling across the edge of many riverside city developments. Although, floating architecture is not a new way of living in many parts of the world. Nevertheless, it is something which needs integration with traditional approaches in modern urban development (Ross & Paddison, 2016). Indeed, in context of the UK this could be a ..read more

Figure 1. 6 Reasons to Write Your Own Blog (John Heoschele, 2016)   The  Journey of Learning Urban Design As I said in the last Reflective Summary, urban design was completely new field for me. My previous major was in industrial design. This led to the fact that every moment of learning urban design was new to me. They both belong to the field of design. But, they differ in their way of thinking, design method, and goal. For example, industrial design focuses on the function, looks, and user experience of a product. It usually focuses on smaller design units. These include fur ..read more

What is Vertical Forest? Nowadays, when climate change issues are becoming increasingly complex, architects and urban designers are paying more attention to the sustainability of their projects. Boeri Studio’s Vertical Forest is a notable effort in this field in Milan, Italy. This is a complex of two residential skyscrapers and an 11-storey office building. The project was completed at the end of 2014 and has won many prestigious awards, including the International Highrise Award in 2014 and Best Tall Building Worldwide in 2015. Making a splash throughout the design community, this project att ..read more

Through Part One of this blog, we considered the current position of the UK housing market and the ongoing housing crisis, considered to have been worsened by the lasting impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic. Through Part 2, we explore one of the Royal Town Planning Institutes (RTPI’s) proposed solutions to addressing housing need – Urban Densification (RTPI, 2023).   What is Urban Densification? When considering the term ‘Urban Densification’ in the context of addressing the housing crisis through urban design and planning, I refer to the drive to rethink the way we plan and design cities an ..read more

How do passive houses work? The Princedale Road project designed by Paul Davis and Partners, which is the first project in the UK to be certified as a fully passive house conversion (Bere, 2019). The design methodology of which the design methodology involves various aspects, including: 1 Insulation systems: in passive houses, the design focusing on thermal insulation, airtightness and passive design measures is one of the most fundamental design principles (Welch, Obonyo and Memari, 2023). Therefore, high-performance insulation materials are applied to walls, roofs and floors to minimise heat ..read more

Reflecting on My Second Semester Blogging Experience As I sit down to reflect on my journey through the second semester, I am amazed at how much I have grown through blogging. At the start of the semester, I felt both excited and anxious. However, this experience turned out to be much more impactful than I had expected, greatly enhancing my learning and personal development. Initial Concerns and Challenges At the beginning, my main worry was my English proficiency. As a non-native speaker, I feared my language skills might not be enough to clearly express my ideas. But as the semester went on ..read more

After centuries of development, numerous areas surrounding the railway lines have abandoned which cannot satisfy people’s requirements for a higher quality of life. Therefore, I chose three typical railway surrounding renovation cases to analyze how to activate communities around old railways. 1. The Driebergen-Zeist railway station renewal project The project was located in the Netherlands. Arcadis design group chose to introduce a three-dimensional transportation system to alleviate traffic pressure on the ground. And at the same time, they also use the artistic techniques to integrate the l ..read more