tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36096640989935073452024-03-05T05:53:57.382-08:00The future of City exploration, research and reflection on liveability and prosperity in Future Cities Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger57125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3609664098993507345.post-35880840647715048002022-05-23T12:33:00.002-07:002022-05-23T12:33:56.136-07:00Place_Led_Cities 4.0 Launched <div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/place-led-cities-4-0-6934179383108587520" target="_blank">Subscribe to my Newsletter to know more about Place_led cities 4.0 </a><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3609664098993507345.post-54318628026495839452017-05-03T01:40:00.000-07:002017-05-03T01:40:22.991-07:00Future Cities, happiness and place <div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="color: #674ea7; font-size: large;"><b>Future Cities, happiness and place </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #674ea7; font-size: large;"><b>In this Blog, we explore the power of place in informing a new paradigm on happiness in Future Cities - How we can plan future cities to be foster well being?</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">Cities are human creations that are the culmination of
millennia of collective efforts in trade, shelter and Leisure. So, why now, we
are so concerned about their future? Is not it that in our concern that an
underlying unanswered question begs to be revealed. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;"><b><u>Are cities under threat of extensions? </u></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">And therefore, we are so concerned about their future.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">Certainly, cities in the future have been fascinating to
philosophers, thinkers, painters and even Hollywood movie makers. The end
segment of the Planet of the Apes is a demonstration of the apocalyptic
perspective where skyscrapers of New York were submerged with ocean waves.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">What justify this fear? What legitimize it? What is it this
aching question that triggers it or is triggered by it? A closer look to the
recently numerous exhibitions on the future of cities show the face of an unprecedented
technological innovations that transforming our concepts of urban space.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">We are in the nascent emergence of a fourth industrial
revolution and unlike its precedents, it is challenging what is human as its
core as artificial intelligence opens the doors to a different race. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">Planet of the Apes - Final Scene </span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">Who gets to be transformed into that race which is heralded
by neuro-scientists as better and faster problem solvers? Unfortunate, none that
the middle class and lower middle class which performs low to medium skilled
jobs that are under threat. In that sense, the question is valid for ‘’the City
‘’ now celebrated as the concentration of global flows of trade and people is
in fact the seat of the bourgeoisie of economic development, the seat of the
Middle class born of diverse rural migrants, foreign migrants and aspiring
professionals through the anonymity disguising their roots would be able to
forge an alternative destiny.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">Will artificial intelligence submerge the urban space?</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">According to Richard Florida, Clarck, Sassen and dozens of
urban thinkers and leaders rethinking prosperity and live-ability on a local
scale , Place is the one component that the current industrial revolution
flirts with rather than erase it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">The ‘’locale’’, the ‘’address’’, the ‘’destination’’, the
‘’place’’ still prevail in social media, smart cities and websites. Designers
have tried for decades to comprehend, understand ‘’Place’’. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">As an elusive ghost, the design process, this mental tool
for expressing the ultimate in forms , approached it wither with awe or with
the awareness that there I a dimension that we feel, we think about, we sense
but does not respond to the Cartesian concrete framework that we think through
our spaces.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;"> A ‘’Place ‘’ has an essence,
a sense which attracts its dwellers, visitors and imbibe with meanings their
thinking process; meanings that are only live-able in it and through it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1Ll_XaBPzaG334h8-RzH2HJjo786QE7oF1Z5Vb-_4CaEsoJgqQRUfGEw0K1ZY_alAO78t3yKoCZYAYWrcFiqr89fTZLKzr_H3Dchhk7F9wy1U3hZB2xPUKJo6iTC7k7XiNQe76XEo4io/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1Ll_XaBPzaG334h8-RzH2HJjo786QE7oF1Z5Vb-_4CaEsoJgqQRUfGEw0K1ZY_alAO78t3yKoCZYAYWrcFiqr89fTZLKzr_H3Dchhk7F9wy1U3hZB2xPUKJo6iTC7k7XiNQe76XEo4io/s400/2.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;"><b><u>Sense of Place</u></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><u><span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;"><br /></span></u></b></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">What is that which forms the ‘’spirit ‘’of ‘’Place’’? How it
is read and realized through human consciousness? And how a point in space
would become a source of inspiration over millennia becoming mentally
constructed over decades, ages and civilizations? Does in this that each city
is really trying to become in its quest of self-actualization? Is this which
each city is striving to embody as a definition of ‘’happiness’’? Is this what
the quest for Place is a quest for this presence experienced in the present but
transcendental beyond space and time? Is it the ultimate expression of what the
collective energy of city dwellers is? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTHaKYKyrFneYzehQdVPVsLRsmChHDeGGdxHm1ukF99QAVsa6LADQ0GDwdunkRnoUbLSHgTePot2WEAWj14UdC1hmmgi4PVBMcTGRkU2ir9nFSYOYHjN04P49uQ9GUCr5TAj_9c5asYSE/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTHaKYKyrFneYzehQdVPVsLRsmChHDeGGdxHm1ukF99QAVsa6LADQ0GDwdunkRnoUbLSHgTePot2WEAWj14UdC1hmmgi4PVBMcTGRkU2ir9nFSYOYHjN04P49uQ9GUCr5TAj_9c5asYSE/s320/3.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">The question then poses itself to our minds. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">“”How the ‘’space ‘’within the ‘’city’’ could be designed to
embody ‘’sense of place’’ as an ultimate expression of city happiness?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">Is it the biophilic experiences that a city offers when it embraces
nature rather than perceived itself separated from it?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">Is it the human scale that a city revers so much that its
skyscrapers bow in humility to the Mind of their Makers?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">Is it the ability of a space to allow flows of people to contemplate,
reflect and be mindful so that their collective energy adds to the city sense
of place?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">Is it Art, as the ultimate expression of emotional
creativity that inhabits the space and changes its procession into an experience?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">Is it the Free Will guiding diverse activities, communities,
groups, ethnicities into a group understanding towards the universality that we
share?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">How the Happiness caused by sense of place becomes live-able everyday?
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">How the human mind will inhabit the future city?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="432" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE5xZ_qU0XZRK8ZM9qChk_pA7i9ZKksk5s-YcEqS6EZv2Vh1RpG5ZsqrDs6grjYA4t0mU3Qe3Kk-mrSHjbmEjk4268hN7vnHZ2PLl0zE_4zIMn_fUqHdlsu7MoD2uq7hYnKP-hf68Ejkk/s640/5.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Proposed Model for Smart Sustainable Districts 4.0 for planning and designing urban districts<br />that are dense , socially inclusive , biophilic and capable<br />of embedding smart technologies and Artificial intelligence - Copyright Reserved - Nadine Bitar (2015)</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE5xZ_qU0XZRK8ZM9qChk_pA7i9ZKksk5s-YcEqS6EZv2Vh1RpG5ZsqrDs6grjYA4t0mU3Qe3Kk-mrSHjbmEjk4268hN7vnHZ2PLl0zE_4zIMn_fUqHdlsu7MoD2uq7hYnKP-hf68Ejkk/s1600/5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;"></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;"><br /></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">The future is a human construct <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">The space is a human construct <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">Reality is a function of the human mind <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">As such, is this pursuit of the Happiness in the future of
the ‘’city is in essence a pursuit of the human minds to join in answering what
can connect them beyond the ordinary that technology is claiming everyday ?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">Is it a leap of faith on the concept of ‘’the City’’ as the
physical manifestation of the joint awareness of the collective?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">It is this deeper question that has at last revealed itself.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3609664098993507345.post-73077234643955683382017-04-24T00:19:00.001-07:002017-04-24T00:19:44.781-07:00Blue Approach for Biophilic Cities <a href="http://en.envirocitiesmag.com/articles/coastal-zones-management/green-for-blue.php" target="_blank">Blue approach for Biophilic Cities </a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3609664098993507345.post-48470852265550444452017-04-24T00:17:00.002-07:002017-04-24T00:17:56.402-07:00Urban Design Forum - Innovative approaches to sustainable cities - by Nadine Bitar <a href="http://www.udf.org.au/urbandesign/innovative-solutions-for-cities-sustainable-development/" target="_blank">Innovation and sustainable cities </a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3609664098993507345.post-56734807821524398702017-04-24T00:15:00.002-07:002017-04-24T00:15:46.780-07:00Nadine Bitar Chahine spotlight on Ellevate Network International <a href="https://www.ellevatenetwork.com/member-spotlights/226" target="_blank">Interview with Ellevate Network International </a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3609664098993507345.post-37639454226106854402015-10-12T22:25:00.001-07:002015-10-12T22:36:33.036-07:00Smart urban design and smart citiesCities as complex systems evolve over time ; some take millenea and others few decades..Time on a city scale is essentially spatial for each action in a city causes it to further expand geographically , to contract or to slowly wither..<div>As such, time is a dimension that has been researched by Jane Jacobs and other urban theorists as an essential factor in understanding cities </div><div><br></div><div>In our age, time-space are compressing. We can have an in-depth two hour one to one comversation with a friend in asia while we are sitting with a group of our colleagues in our office in the states..</div><div><br></div><div>This dillution is impacting the urban space in cities for as these becone compress, a virtual city is created in addition to its spatial countrepart .That virtual city which Bill Mitchels has prophetized in his book "city of bits" is exponantially augmenting the actions occuring in real time and thus embedding a multiplicity of meanings of the urban space.</div><div>Lately , a mall in dubai -Wafi Mall - hosted a fashion event as part of Dubai Fashion Week. The invites were sent virtually to attendees via social media creating a virtual community of the event that might outlast the event itself and thus augment the city social network beyound its urban fabric. Post event, tens of videos via social media captures the fashion show linking it to the mall. These videos were sent to hundreds of social media friends, felliw twitters or insta followers .The mental image of that space - an empty court or corridor in wafi mall- is augmented to include these videos - that compresses space and time into three minutes , enough to alter our image of that space and feeds into our overall image of the city.</div><div>That is the challenge we face as urban designers - the challenge of grasping this multitude of representations into our proposals and our visions for our cities so they can actually benefit organically of that augmented reality .</div><div><br></div><br><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><br><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><br><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd1iLSO6E5YFqf17fOzqw3BtARah2JAD3VbtvlWDzQgPcyNbUrXEB6KYIxFodFxeE8Lw3qJmsoV11buidyIIrFgFWRWTU4wS8ZKtnz-c8JfFAU6n17AhDr5BHipMrk4LAS5bESG-hSKZA/s640/blogger-image-757631195.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd1iLSO6E5YFqf17fOzqw3BtARah2JAD3VbtvlWDzQgPcyNbUrXEB6KYIxFodFxeE8Lw3qJmsoV11buidyIIrFgFWRWTU4wS8ZKtnz-c8JfFAU6n17AhDr5BHipMrk4LAS5bESG-hSKZA/s640/blogger-image-757631195.jpg"></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3609664098993507345.post-2681485456487454512014-06-09T07:13:00.002-07:002014-06-09T07:13:22.795-07:00Nadine Bitar - Placemaking managing director - Writes to LandscapeME about using walkability as a way to turn neighborhoods into thriving places <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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In order to read the full article ,<br />
please click on <a href="http://issuu.com/allanronald45/docs/landscape_magazine_june_2014/1?e=7613768/8177587" target="_blank">this link and go to Page 18</a> </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3609664098993507345.post-77279733660508211692014-03-16T23:15:00.001-07:002014-03-16T23:15:49.424-07:00Placemaking and social entrepreneurship in Dubai<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Creative Place making is an aspect of making places that uses art and culture in order to promote community engagement in urban space programs - connecting its different social groups and revitalize it . So, in this post, I want to take you into my journey to discover how creative Place making is unraveling through grass roots community initiatives and most importantly how it gives a quick sketch of social entrepreneurship in Dubai .</div>
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The journey will take three stops; the archives, the screening of a movie and the presentation of an artist.</div>
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First, The <a href="http://thearchivedubai.tumblr.com/about" style="border: 0px; color: #006699; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Archives</a> has been an endeavour carried out by two entrepreneurship enthusiasts who wanted to provide for young artists ,entrepreneurs and the wider community a space to network, work and present and specially read about art . They chose a rundown facility in SAFA Park and transform it into this thriving hub. The space became a gate to a wider array of spaces -be it reading a book about Moroccan architecture, working on your computer on a new poster for an event somewhere or attending the events that this blog is describing.The capability of the space to open up mentally, emotionally and spatially is echoed by its transparent architecture where culture (symbolised by books) is the tangible aspect within light . Safa Park fifth and fourth gate became redefined from gates to the park to gates to this space of art,culture or even just reflection.</div>
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Second, I was invited by Rana Askoul – founder of changing Pink to attend the screening of Girls rising movie at the Archives Dubai. The invitation touched different spots in my consciousness; it was about education for girls, run by a local based women empowerment platform in a space designed and managed by entrepreneurs. This event epitomizes for me creative Place making through grass roots activities in many aspects through using ''The archives'' open architectural space in order to insert a community awareness event.</div>
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<a href="http://www.changingpink.com/" style="border: 0px; color: #006699; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Changing pink</a> launched by Rana Askoul is an ambitious initiative on empowering women in the corporate environment .It has dedicated an online interface on connecting established female role models in UAE community with the budding young female entering the market ;even the space of the internet becomes a medium to further expand our reach.As an entrepreneur, it aroused my curiosity the linkages this platform has established with internationally recognized charity institutions through the holistic view it has presented on our engagement on women’s day – Read , watch, empower, write. This multi-dimensional view on how a social event shared globally can be tackled locally is of interest to many entrepreneurs who works on an idea inspired by a local problem and reaches a point where the solution touches the Globe. This takes me to the third aspect- art,movies and social causes.</div>
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The screening of <a href="http://www.changingpink.com/" style="border: 0px; color: #006699; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">girls rising</a> in a women day in a park was run within The silence and the peace one finds in a natural setting ;This brought more emphasis to the individual struggles of each of the girls who appeared in the movies; a struggle for a basic need – Education within environment hot by hunger, war,racism,poverty,ignorance. The movies as an art form dedicated to a human cause was interesting for it has dedicated for each of the girls, a female writer who can present her story and an actor who would give her a voice; the human tones of the voices and the mis -en-relief of the writers enveloped the still space of the archives and impressed points of awareness .Again, write, read and talk becomes an artistic experience blending within the settings of the archives. That experience at that moment, for me , was the optimal hands on personal understanding of what creative Placemaking is – Art ,Community, well being and humanity connected with a point in space and time and transcending the local space (archives)and the local time (Dubai ) to embrace all of us as humans living on earth .</div>
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I also attended Sustainability and capacity building presentation by internationally acclaimed artist <a href="http://www.samarsinghjodha.com/" style="border: 0px; color: #006699; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Samar jodha</a> brought by<a href="http://www.poag.info/" style="border: 0px; color: #006699; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank"> Promise Of A Generation</a> -a platform for discussion and action which facilitates a candid exchange of ideas, experiences and concerns in order to fulfill the promise of a generation to improve our world.I was expecting the presentation of multiple black and white photographs depicting the lives of the threatened local communities in India. As I walked towards the archives, I saw a glimpse of a container photo on the screen. Samar has chosen to show us in a space-time experience his installations. So, he took us through three short movies- Bhopal installation, Outpost and express and aspire. Samar is an entrepreneur like us and his expression is based on the mediums of photography and films to raise awareness on the issues of intrusive development and conservation. The movies carried in them a silence broken by acute sounds as if the sounds are ways to wake us up; he always chose the sounds of the environment he wanted to take us through. In Bhopal, it was the sounds of the chemical alarms, in Outpost, it was the sounds of drops of rain on the metallic structures of the community he was portraying and in Express and aspires, and it was the sounds of the children. Sounds here became a medium to connecting us to the places he is actively involved in sustaining them through his installations. His other medium was metal ;whether printing on them or sculpting them, the forms in which metals was used to portray the human condition made us as human to be aware of the immensity of pain one feels when his own community is threatened. That is what an entrepreneur would want at the end; using a medium of presentation-visuals, movies, 3D models, prototype, reports even blogs- to take people through his thinking process into the human dimension that unites all of us and then working actively to sculpt and transform this medium as if it becomes the concept similarly to what Steve Jobs did with his IPAD - it is the thin and simple design that embodies the simple and user friendly interface of its systems.</div>
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In these three expressions of entrepreneurship, I found out that what we define as social entrepreneurs are colleagues, friends and fellow artists who are trying to raise us above our local differences into the realm of the human that we all share .In that scope, Social entrepreneurship uses creative Placemaking strategies to transport us from the local point of space to the global space of flows .Its ability to transport us depends also on the attributes of the space that we are in. Without the existence of ''the archives'' , I would not be writing this blog and without social entrepreneurs , you would not be interested in reading how as humans ,we entrepreneurs from all walks of life and industries , are all connected ……</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3609664098993507345.post-47102214422311864722014-03-01T01:48:00.001-08:002014-03-01T01:48:36.112-08:00Housing developments in the U.A.E ; a place maker perspective <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Sustainability is based on a triangulated relationship
between three dimensions- economic, social and environmental. </div>
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The development community is moving slowly towards
integrating the principles of environmental sustainability; Dubai has witnessed
the increase of platinum LEED rated buildings and an increasing awareness of
the importance of sustainability on a community level. Social sustainability is
still lagging behind ; affordability of housing choices within Dubai is a main
concern with the current rental hikes expected at 30% in 2014 .</div>
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Dubai Development industry is complex because the migration
flows feeding its population growth is born out of the job market numbers. Currently
, 277,000 jobs are expected to be created from 2013 -2021 with the spike
expected during the preparation and operation of Dubai expo 2020. In a recent
statement to Zawya.com, Deepak Jain, head of Strategic Consulting, MENA at
Jones Lang LaSalle, states that whilst the current and the mid-term focus is
more on mid- to high-end residential projects, the market fundamentals will
result in developers launching affordable housing projects in the long term. Abu
Dhabi Urban Planning Council had taken a bold step in July 2010 when it
announced that at least 20% of new residential property in the UAE capital
needs to be set aside for affordable housing, with rents for a studio to start
from AED 25,200 per annum. The new rule was applicable to all developments
larger than 75,000 square meters, but the regulations have not been implemented
yet. The Jobs, created mostly by the
construction sector, means that the demand will be around for 200,000 units. </div>
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Affordability in Dubai is always a compromise between the
amount of savings that could be sent to the home country and the intended
lifestyle that the migrant would like to invest in. Therefore, I would tackle
housing from the second aspect. How we encourage middle income employers to
invest in buying affordable housing units in Dubai instead of renting? I believe
the answers lie in the lifestyle of the environment he will be living in which
is usually an output of the interaction between the urban design firm, the
architecture team and the developer team.</div>
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The first master planned development in Dubai intended for
affordable housing was The Gardens next to Ibn Battuta mall . The Gardens is a
community built in 2000 to provide affordable housing for the employees of
Dubai expanding TECOM free zone. The Community was based on typical horizontal low
rise buildings in an expansive open space network providing parks, children
parks, sports facilities, malls to the residents. Subsequently, schools,
hospitals were added. The affordability of the Gardens was due to the low cost
of land, low cost of infrastructure developments(in 2000 of course).From a
design perspective, the layout of the buildings , the organisation of the
flats, the elevation materials produced a sustainable typology. From a
sustainability perspective, its typology enabled companies to rent out complete
buildings in order to provide housing for their employers. The clustering of
building into a complex of three/buildings gave it a sense of community as
children from the same complex tend to play in the spaces nearby. The layout of
streets between main arterial , maundering collector and cul de sac local roads
made it legible as roads hierarchy corresponded to the spatial configuration of
urban spaces. The most positive aspect of the gardens is its extensive cycling
and pedestrian network connecting the expansive development; the main cycling
path spans kilometres without interruption of vehicular circulation. The sense
of community is further strengthened through the existence of two major parks
that connects the different residential neighborhood. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdfew2nKmVuVpsf4Dl88O-3RWfu6wo-TsFo-yLM1IV1K8ZFL_AcqHBK59EonaviNTuoNQ51ygtAG2ouD7oV7HhrrTbclIXWU2YQVaAM8ZKzQnoSu7yMy9aNnD0ULL84OjwG5gbRuob1RE/s1600/aYgmC.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdfew2nKmVuVpsf4Dl88O-3RWfu6wo-TsFo-yLM1IV1K8ZFL_AcqHBK59EonaviNTuoNQ51ygtAG2ouD7oV7HhrrTbclIXWU2YQVaAM8ZKzQnoSu7yMy9aNnD0ULL84OjwG5gbRuob1RE/s1600/aYgmC.jpg" height="222" width="320" /></a></div>
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From an urban scale, Affordability is linked to Density
.However, density here means the intensity of occupants per square foot and
therefore it is about the urban block rather than plot level. Barcelona has achieved
higher densities through the densification of the urban block rather than the
densification of the plot itself. The urban block is completely built around a
courtyard giving the possibility of double decking the circulation corridors .The
densification of the urban block did not prevent Barcelona from heavily
investing in public and open spaces that contributes to the social life of its
residents. Densification of the urban block needs to be coupled with the
provision of recreational facilities, parks, gardens and activation of the
street level spaces through retails, libraries and medical uses in order to maintain
the safety of the development. Motor City Fox hills apartments are a clear example
on how street level activity can be coupled with high densities. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAYThJBxioND1YnyzDVnLUmRJ3WPDVtZT-q1fMmTecSD1CWSsFJACaC3uy7tBT5q50IpcSVk5EszT8njR2ia7eiBkqpDcCo7ZEBcALRXgfC5cT67M4YekEyROwPzjORj-5ahJMEicZ8KM/s1600/biblio31-a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAYThJBxioND1YnyzDVnLUmRJ3WPDVtZT-q1fMmTecSD1CWSsFJACaC3uy7tBT5q50IpcSVk5EszT8njR2ia7eiBkqpDcCo7ZEBcALRXgfC5cT67M4YekEyROwPzjORj-5ahJMEicZ8KM/s1600/biblio31-a.jpg" height="158" width="320" /></a></div>
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Coming from that dimension, Urban policies need to focus on the
elements that would promote intensification of density through monitoring the number of
units per hectare as an additional measure of the development in the urban
block and link communal facilities such as sports, retail and open spaces with
the population densities .This measure gives a space for the developers and the
designers to experiment with new typologies that would give them the densities required.
We have experimented with this urban measure while I was part of the master
development team in Dubailand, the regional framework plan in Dubai . Linking land pricing, community facilities provision, population densities and units densities has provided a win win situation for both public and private sector.From the current real estate market trends, we have succeeded in bringing dense developments with new typologies that are closing the gaps in affordable housing while maintain the wellbeing of their residents in perspective.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuJM9A646nXgFT9FvBk5fkZXB_1zAk6JZqKmiv47tvndU7xBlkVfkHLeqiTYwRd3EeXZzGmJwHSnWvTCtRfg4N0L0POgLMdsHWfEpvyUGRRIBGc-GqdBqGT8KXLKSHriSr4x4jlbJuvLA/s1600/image-1_missing-middlediag1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuJM9A646nXgFT9FvBk5fkZXB_1zAk6JZqKmiv47tvndU7xBlkVfkHLeqiTYwRd3EeXZzGmJwHSnWvTCtRfg4N0L0POgLMdsHWfEpvyUGRRIBGc-GqdBqGT8KXLKSHriSr4x4jlbJuvLA/s1600/image-1_missing-middlediag1.jpg" height="112" width="320" /></a></div>
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Other measures tested in other markets include up-zoning on commercial development corridors on the basis of provision of affordable housing that could be potentially served in the future by public transportation lines and reliable bus routing system; the up-zoning can be coupled with public private partnerships for roads and infrastructure construction.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3609664098993507345.post-9755603642066629062014-01-28T00:40:00.001-08:002014-01-28T00:40:11.285-08:00 'Ecological Urban Design' article published in Environmental Center for Arab Towns (ECAT) Magazine<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
My latest Article on Ecological Urban Design - its elements, strategies and main tools - check it out on <a href="http://en.envirocitiesmag.com/articles/pdf/bio19.pdf">http://en.envirocitiesmag.com/articles/pdf/bio19.pdf</a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3609664098993507345.post-91344933680179599812013-11-24T04:58:00.001-08:002013-11-24T04:58:17.629-08:00Leading Inside out- interviews Nadine Bitar , founder of PLACEmaking <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="color: #868686; font-family: Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;">Changing Pink are launching "Leading Inside Out" showcasing inspiring women leaders within our local community, with themes centered around self-leadership and leading others. </span></span></h2>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #868686; font-family: Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;">Nadine Bitar</span></h2>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Founder, PLACE <em style="position: relative;">making</em></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">Nadine Bitar is the founder of PLACE <em style="position: relative;">making</em>, an urban and landscape design consultancy with a focus on designing outdoor spaces, neighborhoods and districts that are healthy, prosperous, thriving, vibrant and animated and have their own unique sense of place. Prior to her founding role at PLACEmaking, Nadine was an Urban Planning Advisor at Abu Dhabi Municipality, Director of Planning for the Middle East at Mouchel plc., and Head of Planning & Zoning at Tatweer Real Estate. Nadine is also a writer and a blogger. Her writing pursuits include poetic expressions of her experiences and passions.<br /><br />Nadine is married and has two children, Taline and Fadi. She currently lives and works in Dubai, United Arab Emirates</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Nadine has an air of positivity, determination and knowingness about her. When I tell her this, she laughs and speaks of a life with highs and lows, moments of hope and achievement and others of doubt and vulnerability, but mostly a journey of constant search and transformation. Over the next hour and a half, we speak of all this and more: what sparked her love for nature, failures that proved to be blessings in disguise and how today she is turning urban spaces into places. </span><br /><br /><br /><strong>Looking back at your childhood, what were some defining moments that shaped who you are today? </strong><br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">I was born and raised in Beirut in the midst of the Lebanese civil war. I remember being around five years old and asking my mother whether all countries in the world had to endure war the way we did. <br /><br />What I mostly remember is what went through my mind when my mum explained that not all countries are battling with war. I remember thinking that other options exist and that things can change. This mindset of looking for alternatives and knowing that things can change would carry me through difficult moments in my life, and help me not only endure, but thrive as well. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">read the rest of the interview on </span><a href="http://www.changingpink.com/inspiring-women.html" style="background-color: transparent; text-align: left;">http://www.changingpink.com/inspiring-women.html</a></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3609664098993507345.post-13499117895694843142013-11-17T09:32:00.001-08:002013-11-17T09:32:41.332-08:00Wellbeing and Placemaking<p style="margin: 1.5em 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: rgb(0, 0, 0); vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-touch-callout: none;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><i style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: rgb(0, 0, 0); vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-touch-callout: none;">Ten Principles for Building Healthy Places </i>provides practical steps that communities can adopt to have a positive impact on the health of their people. It is based on recommendations from a workshop of multidisciplinary experts convened last summer, which distilled findings from three ULI Advisory Services panels conducted last spring in Colorado to recommend strategies for fostering active living. The Colorado Health Foundation funded those panels and is a partner of the Building Healthy Places Initiative. The ten principles are:</span></p><p style="margin: 1.5em 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: rgb(0, 0, 0); vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-touch-callout: none;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: rgb(0, 0, 0); vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-touch-callout: none;">1. Put people first.</span> </span></p><p style="margin: 1.5em 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: rgb(0, 0, 0); vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-touch-callout: none;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">One of the strongest health/land use correlations is between obesity and the use of automobiles. For decades planners and developers have designed places for cars rather than people. The report recommends designing in a way that minimizes automobile dependence by mixing land uses and offering safe, convenient options for getting from one place to another. The report recommends making healthy living a priority and integrating it into the planning process.</span></p><p style="margin: 1.5em 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: rgb(0, 0, 0); vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-touch-callout: none;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: rgb(0, 0, 0); vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-touch-callout: none;">2. Recognize the economic value.</span> </span></p><p style="margin: 1.5em 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: rgb(0, 0, 0); vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-touch-callout: none;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Compact, walkable, mixed-use communities provide economic benefit to developers through higher property values, enhanced marketability, and quicker sales and leasing. The report points to the likelihood that these communities will hold their value during economic downturns, noting that the economic viability of these communities is underpinned by their popularity with two of the largest demographic groups—baby boomers and millennials.</span></p><p style="margin: 1.5em 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: rgb(0, 0, 0); vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-touch-callout: none;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: rgb(0, 0, 0); vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-touch-callout: none;">3. Empower champions for health.</span> </span></p><p style="margin: 1.5em 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: rgb(0, 0, 0); vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-touch-callout: none;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Community engagement is a powerful vehicle in highlighting the link between health and local land use, and in bringing about change. The report encourages local champions to communicate the benefits of healthy places, promote grassroots action, broaden the base of support, and forge collaborations and partnerships with stakeholders who share an interest in healthy communities, such as medical professionals.</span></p><p style="margin: 1.5em 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: rgb(0, 0, 0); vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-touch-callout: none;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: rgb(0, 0, 0); vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-touch-callout: none;">4. Energize shared spaces.</span> </span></p><p style="margin: 1.5em 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: rgb(0, 0, 0); vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-touch-callout: none;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Places with high levels of social isolation often suffer from declines in well-being and increases in health costs. The report advocates incorporating public gathering places into the built environment and, where appropriate, using the “living street” concept, which gives priority to pedestrians and cyclists over cars and provides recreational space.</span></p><p style="margin: 1.5em 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: rgb(0, 0, 0); vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-touch-callout: none;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: rgb(0, 0, 0); vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-touch-callout: none;">5. Make healthy choices easy.</span> </span></p><p style="margin: 1.5em 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: rgb(0, 0, 0); vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-touch-callout: none;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Make the healthy choice the one that is SAFE—safe, accessible, fun, and easy. Communities need to plan their environment to remove barriers that lead people to default to an unhealthy practice.</span></p><p style="margin: 1.5em 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: rgb(0, 0, 0); vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-touch-callout: none;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: rgb(0, 0, 0); vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-touch-callout: none;">6. Ensure equitable access</span></span></p><p style="margin: 1.5em 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: rgb(0, 0, 0); vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-touch-callout: none;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: rgb(0, 0, 0); vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-touch-callout: none;">.</span> Make healthy choices accessible to all income and demographic groups. Neighborhoods should have housing options for all ages, enabling people to age in place, and communities should make facilities accessible through a holistic transit plan that reduces reliance on the automobile.</span></p><p style="margin: 1.5em 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: rgb(0, 0, 0); vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-touch-callout: none;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: rgb(0, 0, 0); vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-touch-callout: none;">7. Mix it up.</span> Integrate a range of residential, commercial, cultural, and institutional uses. </span></p><p style="margin: 1.5em 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: rgb(0, 0, 0); vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-touch-callout: none;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Mixed-use development is more likely to create walkable or transit-oriented communities and mixed-income, cross-generational communities.</span></p><p style="margin: 1.5em 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: rgb(0, 0, 0); vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-touch-callout: none;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: rgb(0, 0, 0); vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-touch-callout: none;">8. Embrace unique character.</span> </span></p><p style="margin: 1.5em 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: rgb(0, 0, 0); vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-touch-callout: none;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Places that are different, unusual, or unique can be helpful in promoting physical activity and emotional well-being. The report cites a Knight Foundation study concludes that the most important factor creating bonds between people and their communities is not jobs, but the community’s “physical beauty, opportunities for socializing, and a city’s openness to all people.” Communities should rediscover existing assets such as waterfronts or historic neighborhoods and embrace the unique character of their area to boost physical and mental health among the population.</span></p><p style="margin: 1.5em 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: rgb(0, 0, 0); vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-touch-callout: none;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: rgb(0, 0, 0); vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-touch-callout: none;">9. Promote access to healthy food.</span></span></p><p style="margin: 1.5em 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: rgb(0, 0, 0); vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-touch-callout: none;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> Because diet is a major contributor to human health, access to healthy food should be considered as part of any development proposal. The report notes that when considering what constitutes a healthy community, planners and developers seldom assign food the same prominence as transit, open space, and housing mix. The report advocates rethinking the modern grocery store to make it more accessible for cyclists and pedestrians, considering use of mobile food markets, and employing historic markets to create a destination to encourage economic development and health eating.</span></p><p style="margin: 1.5em 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: rgb(0, 0, 0); vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-touch-callout: none;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: rgb(0, 0, 0); vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-touch-callout: none;">10. Make it active.</span> </span></p><p style="margin: 1.5em 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: rgb(0, 0, 0); vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-touch-callout: none;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Urban design should be used to create an active community, boosting physical activity and reducing reliance on the car. Amenities for adults and children should be located together to serve both groups; for instance, adult exercise equipment should be provided near children’s playgrounds, enabling parents to exercise while supervising their children. Walking should be encouraged by looking at the provision of sidewalks and crosswalks, while cycling can be encouraged through bike-share schemes.</span></p><p style="margin: 1.5em 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: rgb(0, 0, 0); vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-touch-callout: none;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></p><p style="margin: 1.5em 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: rgb(0, 0, 0); vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-touch-callout: none;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Adapted from uli guide on healthy communities </span></p><br><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNtV-WC-MXbNhkNuUxw-y90aqU7Q5PnkccJoHwxYqDa1rnEjtD3acCSHSfQ0-IpLGWGC4Spfp7XuKwAYUWTkDGej8S1rH4FQUjW7VPlsiROQv4aYRKVwcSDuKlHrMtGDbw5zzXiiDM5uk/s640/blogger-image-1739969032.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNtV-WC-MXbNhkNuUxw-y90aqU7Q5PnkccJoHwxYqDa1rnEjtD3acCSHSfQ0-IpLGWGC4Spfp7XuKwAYUWTkDGej8S1rH4FQUjW7VPlsiROQv4aYRKVwcSDuKlHrMtGDbw5zzXiiDM5uk/s640/blogger-image-1739969032.jpg"></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3609664098993507345.post-7978378147234773552013-11-12T13:16:00.001-08:002013-11-12T13:19:12.576-08:00ecological urban design <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Ecological Urban Design <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Nadine chahine <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ecological urban
design is becoming a reality - a reality endorsed by one truth -our cities are
an ecosystem operating in a larger eco-system. Once we understand and are aware
of the intricate details of how these two ecosystems can complement each other,
our cities - being the largest man made creations - will definitely heal from
the alarming ecological footprint they are producing.</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF8JS4vdWBjWKK8k9aBQhttYmYZTuQzkLbyY2hT3kTrsY9RD21vc3S-l7nhIxo2-1oOPbbODVKVpEUBmWtJp1HtxWS7hVKqkhpcX8Synx92LCe4seYZL3S-XgWU0L29YpEq7laH_EQOvc/s1600/eco_footrpint.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF8JS4vdWBjWKK8k9aBQhttYmYZTuQzkLbyY2hT3kTrsY9RD21vc3S-l7nhIxo2-1oOPbbODVKVpEUBmWtJp1HtxWS7hVKqkhpcX8Synx92LCe4seYZL3S-XgWU0L29YpEq7laH_EQOvc/s1600/eco_footrpint.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><br /></span></div>
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</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]--><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Figure </span><!--[if supportFields]><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Cambria","serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:
major-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:major-latin'><span style='mso-element:field-begin'></span><span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span>SEQ Figure \* ARABIC <span style='mso-element:
field-separator'></span></span><![endif]--><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">1</span><!--[if supportFields]><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Cambria","serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:
major-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:major-latin'><span style='mso-element:field-end'></span></span><![endif]--><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">-cities as urban ecosystems<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Roads act as main
way of transporting people and goods from the point of entry of a neighbourhood
to an array of potential stop stations. The choice we human make when designing
such a road needs to be influenced by the way our brain interpret and perceive
these different possibilities. As designers, we are responsible for ensuring legibility-
the capability of a city arteries(roads) to be understood intuitively . Although
it is a design factor, it goes a long way in addressing efficiencies; the more
direct and clear it is for our brains ( or GPS ) to guide us through the maze
of points we need to go to ,the more possibilities for alternative transport
mode can be thought of such as tram, monorail, biking tracks ,pedestrian zones.
We tend to always analyse the pedestrian network as running parallel to roads
through the inclusion of sidewalks sandwiched between the roads and the
buildings .However, cities that have been resilient through thousands of years
prove to us that our rationalisation of how we walk in cities is reductionist
to our urban spaces. Walkable cities are legible .</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHL_EPsBzjOyIfhnG9QeJsWA6OeQ5iHCImd6eRUtdvTQ1akmDOIyRyl4HsAITjBHSUg2MvLOxjQoKVmNScv2w3Dqqn25vCB42UR2PWM9NvqcFXzck7nrQlWKFn9Jw470EMeiCM8shlzEI/s1600/walkride1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHL_EPsBzjOyIfhnG9QeJsWA6OeQ5iHCImd6eRUtdvTQ1akmDOIyRyl4HsAITjBHSUg2MvLOxjQoKVmNScv2w3Dqqn25vCB42UR2PWM9NvqcFXzck7nrQlWKFn9Jw470EMeiCM8shlzEI/s320/walkride1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-no-proof: yes;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape
id="Picture_x0020_4" o:spid="_x0000_i1028" type="#_x0000_t75" alt="http://www.septemberindustry.co.uk/images/walkride1.jpg"
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</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]--></span><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Figure </span><!--[if supportFields]><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Cambria","serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:
major-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:major-latin'><span style='mso-element:field-begin'></span><span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span>SEQ Figure \* ARABIC <span style='mso-element:
field-separator'></span></span><![endif]--><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">2</span><!--[if supportFields]><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Cambria","serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:
major-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:major-latin'><span style='mso-element:field-end'></span></span><![endif]--><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> walking is a choice that legible
cities force us to take<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Whether it is surface,
multi story or basement parking, it plays a role in increasing accessibility to
public transport points , pedestrian retail zones within the city ,civic spaces
.accessibility as a design facto is highly linked to proximity of public
transport to public spaces and
recreational spaces .it results in vibrancy and animation of these spaces during
all days and across different population segments ,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">An example of ecological urban design is
Downtown Silver Spring .The Development near transit stations is often compact
and intense which gave the developer an opportunity to do Placemaking. The
design of Civic open spaces make the development unique and fulfil an important
need in compact, urban neighbourhoods.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> After
residents in Silver Spring, Maryland, called for more open space, Montgomery
County, Maryland, planners wrote guidelines for a Transit Oriented Development.
A developer of a 27-acre project a short distance from the Metro stop responded
by redeveloping the suburban superblock
around a series of public spaces by Bing Thom Architects and Sasaki Associates.
The public spaces add to the urban centre distinctness and a sense of place </span><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">.</span><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-no-proof: yes;"> <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDbcpqcVnBzNyzpmOe9G9xcxYcaljQaaXvh-YUONUIVmVxG0SyRzlN4WKiAgTQdoBik95akQb-ByITgvU7q92EZFo8LpbS_UgF1dfTMjgV9zFquce7_6ig8HSAT5A6uUafgCp8GBS9vh8/s1600/blair2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDbcpqcVnBzNyzpmOe9G9xcxYcaljQaaXvh-YUONUIVmVxG0SyRzlN4WKiAgTQdoBik95akQb-ByITgvU7q92EZFo8LpbS_UgF1dfTMjgV9zFquce7_6ig8HSAT5A6uUafgCp8GBS9vh8/s320/blair2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Figure </span><!--[if supportFields]><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Cambria","serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:
major-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:major-latin'><span style='mso-element:field-begin'></span><span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span>SEQ Figure \* ARABIC <span style='mso-element:
field-separator'></span></span><![endif]--><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">3</span><!--[if supportFields]><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Cambria","serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:
major-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:major-latin'><span style='mso-element:field-end'></span></span><![endif]--><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">-Source:bettercities.net</span><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cities in the Gulf
are part of a larger ecosystem – a coastal desert .The heat in urban spaces is
caused through the reflection of the sunlight rays on the horizontal and
vertical surfaces. This warming leads to an over use of air conditioning - air cooling that consumes
fossil fuels . In these days, our technologies are focused in either inventing
materials that do not get affected by sun rays or cooling technologies to save
on energy. What about wind? What about we work with the wind? Understanding the
relationship between sun, wind and the orientation of our city fabric, streets
and public space is important to manage efficiently the city as an ecosystem
leading to efficiencies in energy consumption especially if it is applied on a
district level and city level. Xeritown is a development in Dubai that have
used wind in shaping its urban fabric-see figure 2</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIxjPTlcvDW1cjh6eQVBjwudZcYITDAkBZy8eX6P5Z_BS5YQGeUmraqZDG3zfeW5oas_rSGGV90IoJwhRW1VoyPbeboUQXF9Kj-xPacn4lhpkzpbrZXbVf1BJFaYB5R2qLZx2ErVX4VlI/s1600/Xeritown-Wind-and-Natural-ventilation1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="146" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIxjPTlcvDW1cjh6eQVBjwudZcYITDAkBZy8eX6P5Z_BS5YQGeUmraqZDG3zfeW5oas_rSGGV90IoJwhRW1VoyPbeboUQXF9Kj-xPacn4lhpkzpbrZXbVf1BJFaYB5R2qLZx2ErVX4VlI/s320/Xeritown-Wind-and-Natural-ventilation1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-no-proof: yes;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape
id="Picture_x0020_10" o:spid="_x0000_i1026" type="#_x0000_t75" alt="http://www.carboun.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/Xeritown-Wind-and-Natural-ventilation1.jpg"
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o:title="Xeritown-Wind-and-Natural-ventilation1"/>
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<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Figure </span><!--[if supportFields]><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Cambria","serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:
major-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:major-latin'><span style='mso-element:field-begin'></span><span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span>SEQ Figure \* ARABIC <span style='mso-element:
field-separator'></span></span><![endif]--><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">4</span><!--[if supportFields]><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Cambria","serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:
major-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:major-latin'><span style='mso-element:field-end'></span></span><![endif]--><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">-Xeritown used wind to reduce heat by reorienting the
fabric to benefit from cool breeze coming from the sea to the desert -source-Carboun.com</span><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Greening the city is gaining momentum as a
substantial resource efficiency initiative. There is always a pitfall in our
cities to consider greening the city as just dedicating a big plot of land for
a park .Actually, greening the cities now is expanding into urban ecosystem management
through Urban agriculture and Biodiversity protection activities. We share with
these city elements the oxygen and carbon - carbon being the enemy number one
across the world when it comes to national sustainability campaigns. We look
for ways to buy, share , transfer , calculate and resolve carbon footprint
issues . What about plants? Cities are looking for various ways now to
incorporate urban agriculture projects. In Dubai, Zaabeel park acts as an urban
haven reducing heat and the impact of sheikh zayed highway high traffic
activities carbon emissions. Zaabeel park also hosts a numerous of local
adapted flora species that with time might become also a haven for local birds,
insects and other fauna species. One of the interesting use of zaabeel park is storm
water management due to its proximity to Dubai International Financial center
.In case of wind storms, its palm trees might reduce the impacts of san erosion
on the neighbourhoods in karama and bur dubai.</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
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agriculture </span><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3609664098993507345" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3609664098993507345" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3609664098993507345" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3609664098993507345" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3609664098993507345" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3609664098993507345" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3609664098993507345" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3609664098993507345" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3609664098993507345" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3609664098993507345" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3609664098993507345" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3609664098993507345" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3609664098993507345" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3609664098993507345" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">In ecology, urban
ecosystems are not mere assemblages of their parts but are continually growing
and changing along with their elements. The generative field of a living system
extends into the environment and connects the two, for what is needed for the
health of the entire system.</span><b><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> <span style="background: white;">It is about the
connected fabric of constantly evolving relationships between all living
things.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3609664098993507345" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3609664098993507345" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3609664098993507345" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3609664098993507345" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3609664098993507345" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3609664098993507345" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3609664098993507345" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3609664098993507345" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3609664098993507345" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3609664098993507345" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3609664098993507345" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3609664098993507345" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3609664098993507345" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3609664098993507345" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> Ecological urban design, in face of the
current pressures, adopts a holistic design approach that combines
accessibility, walkability, local climate constraints, greening cities in order
to produce places that are meaningful . Our spaces will turn into places that breath,
inspire, uplift and even heal...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3609664098993507345.post-40078230257860605212013-11-03T00:35:00.001-07:002013-11-03T00:35:28.215-07:00Regenerative Urban Design <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b><span lang="EN-US">Invitation: Construction Week's 6th Annual Building Sustainability conference on <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_2041072156" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">Nov 13</span></span> in Abu Dhabi<u></u><u></u></span></b></div>
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Placemaking is excited to be part of the <b>6<sup>th</sup> Annual</b> <b>Building Sustainability Abu Dhabi Conference </b>being<b> </b>hosted by the magazine Construction Week<b>.</b></div>
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The conference , in its 6th edition, promises an in-depth talks about sustainability efforts in the development and construction industry featuring talks on buildings, legislation and certifications.<br /><br />the speakers background are diverse and come from different disciplines making the discussions rich in content and information.</div>
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I listed the details below- register and join us ....</div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Details:<br />Date:</span></b><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> Wednesday, <span style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">November 13th</span>, 2013<br /><b>Venue:</b> Westin Golf Resort and Spa, Abu Dhabi<br /><b>Timings: </b><span class="aBn" data-term="goog_2041072158" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">09:00 – 15:00</span></span><br /><b>Registration:</b> <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_2041072159" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">08:15 – 08:55</span></span><br />See </span><a href="http://www.constructionweekonline.com/conferences/sustainability/agenda/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Programme</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br />See </span><a href="http://www.constructionweekonline.com/conferences/sustainability/featured-speakers/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Speaker Bios</span></a></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3609664098993507345.post-58251291105706523512013-05-21T08:09:00.001-07:002013-05-21T08:09:52.957-07:00Planning system basics<a href="http://www.slideshare.net/NadineChahine/planning-system-basics">my latest presentaion on how urban planning system functions on a city level </a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3609664098993507345.post-4220926899746593262013-05-12T06:54:00.001-07:002013-05-12T07:12:48.199-07:00One society .. One spaceIt was a sunny day .. As I stepped into my appointment , i could not but notice that I was in the middle of an urban acupuncture phenomenon ..<br />
During the planning of Um Suqueim - the urban area where burj al Arab proudly stands - Dubai Municipality used the different urban scales of neighborhood , community and district to over lay its social infrastructure onto the subdivision plans grouping together the education , medical and convenience needs into one cluster .. The guidelines were published in the 1990's when dubai structural plan was formally approved and then reevaluated in the 2000's after the large scale urban developments springing in the city .. <br />
These plots were silent for a long time .. Although school plots were the first to be built , the objective of providing a social infrastructure to the community could not be yet achieved ..<br />
As I was stepping into my appointment at Aswaq, I realized that the vision that the planners back then were thinking of has materialized .. Next to Aswaq was a mosque and on its left was king's school .. You can see in the southern centers coffee shops and local small restaurans spilling .. <br />
As I stepped into Aswaq gate , I saw an old prayer , one that was said in old Islamist era when one enters the souks .. In between Aswaqq ( souks in English ) and the actual souk in Arabic is one denominator , local community .. Aswaq brands were 100% Local brands from French bakery to the bookshop to the spa to the supermarket .. There is an air of informality , of spontaneity , of familiarity .. There was an air of being A Dubawian * and Dubawis .. <br />
In old Islamic souks , the mosque was always next to them making it easy on people to leave their businesses and pray but also for Friday prayers crowd to spill over and regenerate the souk .. It was interesting to see that connection made thousand of years later ..<br />
The one thing that I felt may need more attention on this coming- back- to - life- old- planning idea is the urban design aspect .. Between the contemporary design of king's school , the heritage inspired wind towers of Aswaq and the ornamental architecture of the mosque, the street perspective was kind of lost.. Urban design has been always a in- between no man Land between architecture and land use planning .. Design guidelines are always seen as discounting value by developers , restricting their creativity .. Many research done on urban neighborhood proved that adhering to flexible yet consistent guidelines actually increase real estate value because it is perceived as maintaining a long term sense of aesthetics and safeguarding the neighborhood spatial character and therefore identity . As we all strive to be distinct and unique , the urban space in between us suffers because its character leaks out trying to be everything for everyone .<br />
As a social infrastructure project, guidelines might have been in fact a much needed dialogue between how as dubawians *and local dubawis we aspire our community values to be manifested architecturally.. Small focus groups might have been ideal to pinpoint objectives and then the technical consulting team might have deduced guidelines based on multiple residents sessions and their aspirations on how the area will develop.. <br />
Guided participatory sessions might have lead to a journey of discovery .. An interesting ride into um suqueim past , present and future aspirations as a community of transient , permanent and resident dubawians and Dubawis also .. It may also be an opportunity for Aswaq to relate more strongly to the community it serves by emotionally investing in building trust and communication .. <br />
What is a relationship but trust and communication ? <br />
So as I was leaving the parking , my head was boiling with sketches and bursting with this urban dilemma that while doing our best to anchor ourselves in values such as heritage , authenticity , creativity, we need to foresee The denominator in all - the space itself in the perceived and the perceiver .. In the experienced and the experiencer .. <br />
We are the space and in return , the space becomes us as we build around it meanings and therefore character.. Urban character ..<br />
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PS I invented Dubawian to name residents of dubai emirate and Dubawis the citizens of dubai emirate <br/><br/><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtX-AdCnZf9bw_UIhwgGJHRkBX_0NHo1qgP_3NpqN69lTz9e7WovgZg1e1WUBDbCPuD4xEQ01b5G4MG17HvlFSBUkQerJxU35lhEtGz702zlqSZDaYrPs309h-Gltf8aoM9sTw585DXok/s640/blogger-image-1044711360.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtX-AdCnZf9bw_UIhwgGJHRkBX_0NHo1qgP_3NpqN69lTz9e7WovgZg1e1WUBDbCPuD4xEQ01b5G4MG17HvlFSBUkQerJxU35lhEtGz702zlqSZDaYrPs309h-Gltf8aoM9sTw585DXok/s640/blogger-image-1044711360.jpg" /></a></div> <br/><br/><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3Ej_8ge2INToHEd8zviI_uK15w4DIQbnb5dALDZSXa38Lpy24lh4lKW_m-N8z5CxgyUuzebh0f2m2UfhiSOtyvzchB5e-xLexA1evCch3obQ8A-w5h5uBQwtkz6Nk3I4TARYHtTFriko/s640/blogger-image--471131293.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3Ej_8ge2INToHEd8zviI_uK15w4DIQbnb5dALDZSXa38Lpy24lh4lKW_m-N8z5CxgyUuzebh0f2m2UfhiSOtyvzchB5e-xLexA1evCch3obQ8A-w5h5uBQwtkz6Nk3I4TARYHtTFriko/s640/blogger-image--471131293.jpg" /></a></div> <br/><br/><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8W3v8_X1B6K39eCOadzlimoag5GOrV3V45WubUCvJveSMBts-p_3NhLjtjyyOIAoCFQcgjuKzoLV3KbzUiL6UTKtaQB6PRTF4znEh3mC6x0vpMKxUWsVLqzGfCdnBJRLZFIFlT2tEvCA/s640/blogger-image-828192568.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8W3v8_X1B6K39eCOadzlimoag5GOrV3V45WubUCvJveSMBts-p_3NhLjtjyyOIAoCFQcgjuKzoLV3KbzUiL6UTKtaQB6PRTF4znEh3mC6x0vpMKxUWsVLqzGfCdnBJRLZFIFlT2tEvCA/s640/blogger-image-828192568.jpg" /></a></div> <br/><br/><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN5arNN24QnhlkWzCRiB3y0qbX_GjtumTgFXu7_-d_-RvhJh7NLIDx2KG2P_VucBQ0cnJ4NJG4wKvYdeQbChYW4e-Bh_V6rDyPr51F2pj2s7Csuf6ReIai9GEyb4QOcNJ1to895Wx-Rl8/s640/blogger-image--1641426602.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN5arNN24QnhlkWzCRiB3y0qbX_GjtumTgFXu7_-d_-RvhJh7NLIDx2KG2P_VucBQ0cnJ4NJG4wKvYdeQbChYW4e-Bh_V6rDyPr51F2pj2s7Csuf6ReIai9GEyb4QOcNJ1to895Wx-Rl8/s640/blogger-image--1641426602.jpg" /></a></div> <br/><br/><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTqNJglf7q3fgXftUUMc2DvgAcIIpJzMsqBDJiaGytnAwzq3X7QR-zWOU4O425Hyx6fnghEu_PSMhyphenhyphenSyHhE4vvvqUoCwDu6x06_wKGzI2ehnp4BHtU4m6Wy1zDOe75QPSjBceTA3E1nWM/s640/blogger-image-1014108432.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTqNJglf7q3fgXftUUMc2DvgAcIIpJzMsqBDJiaGytnAwzq3X7QR-zWOU4O425Hyx6fnghEu_PSMhyphenhyphenSyHhE4vvvqUoCwDu6x06_wKGzI2ehnp4BHtU4m6Wy1zDOe75QPSjBceTA3E1nWM/s640/blogger-image-1014108432.jpg" /></a></div> <br/><br/><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT0dlgdNegm5dRq_370uswK2GfKJrcjeKdwvB2Dk0Ba_FwjvJrg6wAVZbcaC4uguArMFzXjSVqc5IyDZZpDQg3rO-uKjeSzK9Llx8IJQixb9saIrjahae_K0Mgb8hybKwUr_RZbps-kUo/s640/blogger-image--370144247.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT0dlgdNegm5dRq_370uswK2GfKJrcjeKdwvB2Dk0Ba_FwjvJrg6wAVZbcaC4uguArMFzXjSVqc5IyDZZpDQg3rO-uKjeSzK9Llx8IJQixb9saIrjahae_K0Mgb8hybKwUr_RZbps-kUo/s640/blogger-image--370144247.jpg" /></a></div> <br/><br/><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdE95P9yHeNFJMBvjQG7BPu_ijqaSdslSInD-tUs8cksn7pRZFEBF2vw9g8HxGBtKeNIaVs8HI8yQgjZxjwXBk2isnqFKq4IbrVwvuqa6ZpdMuyKK43XUdQkmaHQSMnhlBXuwQTs0nWTM/s640/blogger-image-1640914253.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdE95P9yHeNFJMBvjQG7BPu_ijqaSdslSInD-tUs8cksn7pRZFEBF2vw9g8HxGBtKeNIaVs8HI8yQgjZxjwXBk2isnqFKq4IbrVwvuqa6ZpdMuyKK43XUdQkmaHQSMnhlBXuwQTs0nWTM/s640/blogger-image-1640914253.jpg" /></a></div> <br/><br/><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKnnhPCB-i3w5ujftN3AHcPAbiUYm5L_bLH7ru2UFhLFb1XiWNZTryUuW_JHmQdsU7yRBgwU-8cYwE06Um08ECwfZ96kXqM7523uOKGospuAAbEkpFITDO0dKbds9Jkyd2iW_MNM17zsY/s640/blogger-image--481523040.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKnnhPCB-i3w5ujftN3AHcPAbiUYm5L_bLH7ru2UFhLFb1XiWNZTryUuW_JHmQdsU7yRBgwU-8cYwE06Um08ECwfZ96kXqM7523uOKGospuAAbEkpFITDO0dKbds9Jkyd2iW_MNM17zsY/s640/blogger-image--481523040.jpg" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3609664098993507345.post-74409490743827166692013-05-09T08:48:00.001-07:002013-05-09T08:48:12.690-07:00young minds and Creativity--AUD final year showcase -Interior Design <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">It was raining... <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">As I parked my car and walked on
the wet sidewalks, I remembered the tension I had when 10 years ago I was
hanging my final year project.. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">By sheer faith in the conceptual foundation
of my design thinking, my professors encouraged me .I reached the Jury
incomplete still struggling with solving the openness of the project to the waterfront
and the privacy needed for the guests..<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What experience we would have today sitting on
the other side of the educational act?<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">As I stepped into the cosy office
of Dr. Albert Fakhoury, greeted by familiar faces from last year jury, the
talented and handpicked professionals, I could smell the tension as we went
through the standardized students presentation.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Sophisticated and carefully designed
banners, laid out reports, Sketch books and report thesis.. All put up showing
clearly the information that as juror you need to grasp in five minutes the
work of two semesters of hard work.. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The first thing that stroke me is
the genuine interest of these students in their city Dubai.. Each one of them
is relating his project to the community and the life of Dubai adding to the <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>cultural, social, educational, artistic even spiritual
aspects of the city dwellers experience... From cultural centres to spas to
libraries to meditation centres to centres of cultural understanding to
fashion, we had an overview of genuine reflection of these young minds insights
on putting their imprints on the city fabric.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">As a juror , I learned a lot from
this outburst of creativity..<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">First, my
belief that Design is a thinking process has renewed .Although the designer
needs to immerse himself in it, there is a need for observation moments..Moments
that you step out and observe the stage where you are in close out and becoming
aware of how you need to start the next stage. Design Development if not controlled
mentally by the designer might take you to final outcome that instead of
reinforcing the creative spark originating from , might bring out its dysfunctional
aspects..<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I also
discovered that Design is a volumetric poetry .It is a poetry of spaces, an
interplay of rhythm, language and proportion and clarity.it is a tool to assert
how we relate to our cultural identity and our environment…Fashion,
spirituality might be a starting point to engage us in a dialogue as a designers.As
we research the interrelationships between the theme <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>we have embraced and its physical
manifestation, we understand more ourselves and engage architecture as a tool
to share this understanding with others..<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I realised
that Design is also Silence ,,just like a piece of jazz music, the melody needs
to move out of silence and back to it just like breath, just like thoughts,
just like human beings birthed out of the silence of the womb and back to it,,<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">A designer needs
a high level of architectural presentation. The projects we have seen explained
their intention and aspiration in detailed plans , sections , elevations and
mood boards : the distinguished students were able to relate them in depth to
their design development and original conceptual foundation building
consistency throughout<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the project <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I was delighted to sense the high
self esteem and confidence emerged from these young minds ; they presented
business cards , projects and topics in a lucid style and passion ..Their projects
exhibited a great understanding of the relationship between architecture and interior
design.. Some projects even spilled over urban design and even landscape.. It was
the first milestone in honing Their ability of working in multidisciplinary environments..<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I realized that young minds like
seeds have in them the power and the will to flourish and to bring an added
flair of skills and undiscovered tools.. All what we need is to be present for
them and attend to them motivating them... This is surely what we aspired to do
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>as jurors and this is exactly what AUD
has been successfully providing it<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>as a
learning institution . <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAPDfXbZv1pv6YY52VNktBfEMqAhmW2FG-3pDspu5GpNdzRdUFxm97mImXvZu2ttWu8obKe6EqRow7-n-2OpTxYCiJm-Em6jys2ZYc7GLEhYZhyvO9-iOhrtIaSdVxMkQV4xykEUOypX4/s1600/jury1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAPDfXbZv1pv6YY52VNktBfEMqAhmW2FG-3pDspu5GpNdzRdUFxm97mImXvZu2ttWu8obKe6EqRow7-n-2OpTxYCiJm-Em6jys2ZYc7GLEhYZhyvO9-iOhrtIaSdVxMkQV4xykEUOypX4/s320/jury1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8ETcToVQuCc9yS0Yrno0PQUaJ-fbt0ML5FlxHs3BLICGIx1CyYHKFnrfVSjujixDVRgzzALsDMV0n0yFXOFa_EnJluiB3tYbtmNpcNgFw9HUoDTebxqXhtPI8HvDgi2mW54PhMSGbvg0/s1600/jury2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8ETcToVQuCc9yS0Yrno0PQUaJ-fbt0ML5FlxHs3BLICGIx1CyYHKFnrfVSjujixDVRgzzALsDMV0n0yFXOFa_EnJluiB3tYbtmNpcNgFw9HUoDTebxqXhtPI8HvDgi2mW54PhMSGbvg0/s320/jury2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3609664098993507345.post-55973469261425841082013-02-25T00:47:00.001-08:002013-02-25T00:47:44.902-08:00Sustainability generate revenuesDuring a master planning meeting , we spent one day discussing biking routes alternative and standards for bikers to safely circulate across the community . a hard edge conservative complained about the useless waste of time specially that we have not yet fixed road corridor widths.. I have to admit that as an urban designer i had a moment of self doubt .. Are we making a big deal out of it .. Today I learned that in fact it is worth it .. Dubai just announced its plan to rent visitors f it's downtown bikes to discover it .. This is not due to an instant decision .. Bike lanes and cycling master plans are part and parcel of the human dimension of Evan design .. Biking master plan are now though of in regional and metropolitan level .. I can imagine the planning team of dubai downtown master plan sitting in a meeting and arguing if it was taking too much of their time thinking about it .. Little did they know that it would make their development the first in the Middle east to offer online bike rentals . <br />
Dubai rent a bike has its seed back Into those meetings .. Let us give some credit to the urban planners of the planning team who made this come true <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3609664098993507345.post-30501409191007760572013-02-13T23:13:00.001-08:002013-02-13T23:13:22.135-08:00Valentine and citiesValentine day .. Red hearts .. Red roses .. Red gadgets .. Teddy bears .. Candle lights .. The day where couples celebrate love , romance and intimacy ..<br />
Love has been always associated with intimacy with the capacity of opening up a deep part of ourselves to another .. It begins With trusting oneself .. Trust is built through communication and space .. <br />
How cities can support communication ? How cities can support trust ? How cities can support intimacy ? <br />
Florence comes here as a good example .. It's network of piazzas , human scale streets, and unpredictable fabric is a physical manifestation of intimacy ,,, it is as if the buildings are supporting each other .. There is no boundaries between urban - public an facade - private .. Although both are well defined well enclosed .. <br />
Cities are our most complex human creations and as such it needs to be essentially human allowing intimacy to be embodied within its streets within its architecture <br />
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3609664098993507345.post-29343375643662159892013-02-12T22:28:00.001-08:002013-02-12T22:28:50.107-08:00It is not just another software.. It is GISGIS stands for geographical information system . It's technicalities are known to most urbanises and teams engaged in urban planning because of the versatility and the diversity in which it's base map and database is built ..<br />
During the years , working with private and public sectors institutions , I realised that the focus on the output and the form in which the analysis need to shown especially the interactivity of the web-view made GIS a one time exercise ..<br />
As a professional , I perceive GIS as a decision making tool on the planning decisions ranging from land use allocation to height .. It is this focus and function that optimises and justifies the investment in the application and the training it needs ..<br />
For GIS to be that, it has essentially to be adopted as an essential part of the organisation policies and development procedures .. The management as well as the employees need a change management strategy that focus on true challenges in the organisational culture as well as the technical skills upgrade program that need to roll out ..<br />
So may argue that GIS is a tactical decision .. It is just a software .. Well, it is not .. It is a strategic decision that implies that we need a more sophisticated platforms that enable multiple decision points to weigh in before we approve a a direction or approach..<br />
So, before you sign the procurement form or the invoice for acquiring a GIS in your company , ask one question : what is your strategy to make it a part of the daily tasks of the employees ? <br />
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3609664098993507345.post-52402771404443788992013-02-06T20:18:00.001-08:002013-05-12T06:54:27.425-07:00What about urban design ?As the property development became more obsessed with the investment analysis ratios and crunching. The bottom line numbers , we lost the spontaneity of urban design being essentially a creative process <br />
Urban designers in mature property markets became the tool to prepare ready made streets sections , ready made urban form , ready made urban typologies that enables the developer to get the yield - of course financial yield <br />
This short term thinking defies the current research whereby more and more people chooses communities that make them enjoy a sense of place - place being the holistic experience which the space attributes and values convey...<br />
One time , I was asked to produce in one day a sketch for an urban square in order for the development team to plug the numbers in their sheet and calculate the value driven from these design changes .. Everything else became secondary although the main and essential meaning of the square is about the sense of place and the meaning it conveys ...<br />
Urban design is a creative activity ... Creativity means leaving the known to venture into the unique and original .. <br />
This essentially means an industry who has the guts to embrace the original .. Do we have what it takes for that ? Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3609664098993507345.post-57925296628328482842013-02-02T08:10:00.001-08:002013-02-02T08:10:44.884-08:00More life energy in urban spaceCities are one of the most intricate human inventions ..multiple generation think , imagine , plan and incrementally build neighborhood , communities which grew into districts connected by an increasingly interconnected flows of goods and people .. It is the largest laboratory to see in real time how human shape their physical environment by the way they think about their relationship with space <br />
We are the space .. Because urban space essentially is born in our minds<br />
So to answer the question , if we need to have more life energy In our cities , we need to study the beliefs system of its communities regarding how they energize themselves <br />
Is it through socializing in open public spaces ? <br />
Is it through small gathering in their houses ? <br />
Is it through exchanging knowledge ?<br />
Is it through getting in touch with nature ? <br />
What are their habits in shaping their urban space? <br />
It is in these simple questions that the civil contract by which they decided to live together is revealed ... That civil contract that list of values , habits and beliefs will point out to the sources of life energy that are needed to be injected in failing cities , sad cities , unhappy cities , soulless cities . <br/><br/><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpgGRfiYrF6efboXhvyVCBLazF7UT20u5kqfhJiNaXMGZuX1iYq9DAlldW8VmFIqAStIk-0CYXTYhb1IoQXXdhDQg3iEaxIXqtWTsTc0dJV7uqWEGwZ29q9O0yQYfypRGk8__r8eNL6nI/s640/blogger-image--1987705253.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpgGRfiYrF6efboXhvyVCBLazF7UT20u5kqfhJiNaXMGZuX1iYq9DAlldW8VmFIqAStIk-0CYXTYhb1IoQXXdhDQg3iEaxIXqtWTsTc0dJV7uqWEGwZ29q9O0yQYfypRGk8__r8eNL6nI/s640/blogger-image--1987705253.jpg" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3609664098993507345.post-18811424571396649722012-06-25T10:50:00.003-07:002012-06-25T10:50:59.054-07:00Urban Design Controls<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />Urban design controls are The tools by which urban design strategy is reinforced and implemented<br />It is essentially the design elements of both private and public spaces coordinated in a way to reinforce the place identity and bring about a sense of community<br />We need to caution sometimes not to restrict the potential of space by putting comprehensive design guidelines that inhibit creativity and may prevent organic growth of the urban fabric through different phases<br />This said, it is important that before we put the guidelines , we are extremely clear about what is the main driving principles in design that we want the guidelines to address<br />
The plot guidelines document rarely these days are modeled. It is. A written text with various two dimensional sketches . Recent technology tools enable us to test the consistency of the guidelines . By modeling the materials finishes, we can understand more easily the overall pattern and texture of the space. It will also place in context color , a factor usually put on the side in design guidelines although cognitive research has proved that it is one of the important experiential factors of perceiving space and classifying it.<br />Testing guidelines in terms of urban form , the impact it has on the fabric and the typologies it can engender is bother tool of verifying integration.<br />Building a virtual mock up of a street interpreting the guidelines is another important tool to observe if the emphasis on massing has lead to a monotonous space and that buildings response became too constrained to form an interesting fabric.<br />
As reviewed, urban design guidelines are the tools to implement an urban design strategy but unless this tool is tested in our drafting virtual studios, we my be at risk of the tool becoming the end not the mean</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3609664098993507345.post-71971531292579300042012-04-04T13:54:00.003-07:002012-04-04T13:54:28.437-07:00master planning and urban planning ,obviously different?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
It does seem obvious for the professionals of the built environment that urban planning is one set of skills needed to get a master plan out , but do we really understand what it takes to transform a shape representing a tract of land into a living organism called communities. <br />
<br />
Master planning has always been associated historically with either town planning or urban planning. Town planners work on the urban fabric qualities in order to enable legible and permeable urban structure to emerge- street layout, urban form , vistas , perspectives and other spatial elements become essential in bringing an overall vision into fruition. Urban planners are interested in the demographic analysis and the land use budget that will enable the developers to understand their implementation plans when it comes to infrastructure demand and public facilities.<br />
<br />
But definitely, there is more to a master plan than the land use numbers it add to, the development controls of its urban form and the shape of its networks. There is an intangible that we all strive to bring about in a master plan - breath into its structure , a unique persona based on mixture that build on the existing resources and extend its cultural identity- Master planning is a transformation exercise not only of the natural, built and social dimension- it is a transformation program that adds, enrich and extend the existing cultural, human dimensions. <br />
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Such a holistic program will need skills beyond the technical expertise of designing large scale environment- it needs skills and abilities that touches on cultural understanding, open-mindedness, negotiation and mos importantly perception .<br />
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Perceptive thinking instead of critical thinking is a major skill that will be more and more in demand in planning new communities .<br />
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Perceptive thinking sees connections, coherence and way forward in what seems separate, dismantled part and bring it into fruition - be it between different stakeholders, different consultants or working across different disciplines .<br />
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It goes beyond logic to the deep value and belief systems that drives our value and expectations of what vibrant livable and sustainable communities are and build it on it a PLAN that takes us there..</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3609664098993507345.post-31082812411167013332011-11-09T02:40:00.000-08:002011-11-09T02:40:52.201-08:00what urban designers and planners can learn from landscape ecology?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I have read the ecology of landscapes and regions written by
Dr Forman a decade ago when I was an assistant teacher to one of the world
experts in ecological landscape design, Dr. Jala Makhzoumi. The book opened for
me my horizons on what landscape ecology has to do with urban design .Although
it has never coined the terms of <span style="font-size: large;">“<strong><span style="color: #45818e;">Landscape Urbanism”,</span></strong></span> it definitely touches on
the founding principles of what will grow to be a mainstream urban design
paradigm.I have just gathered below the<span style="color: #7f6000;"><u><em> reflections</em></u></span> gathered from the book
comparing its holistic view to the tools I have been applying in urban design
and seeing the big synergies with regional and local planning also in terms of
scale analysis and sustainability tools.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong><span style="color: #134f5c; font-size: large;">Land Mosaic</span></strong> change in their gradient and may be spatially
heterogeneous due to the mosaic they form. This heterogeneity is due to natural
disturbance, human activities and in some cases to substrate (below ground)
natural conditions. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong><span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">FORM is The Diagram Of Force and STRUCTURE is the Function
of change</span></strong> _ one of the main principles on which the changes in
landscapes and regional landscapes might be explained.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">An interesting analysis explains further the intersections
between Urban Design and Landscape Ecology although both uses the same spatial
language, the different terminology affect the gap in communication .<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Landscape Ecology – for the definition and to introduce the
subject, I will bring forward the definition that I have read in Carl Troll
book -1968)- “it is the study of the entire cause effect network between the
living communities and their environmental conditions which prevails in a
specific section of the landscape and become apparent in a specific landscape
pattern or in a natural space classification of different orders”’ .</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Another
interesting definition for landscape ecology stems from the research conducted
in 1984 by Paul Risser .He speaks of Landscape Ecology in terms of its <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em><strong>focus</strong></em></span>
rather its activities . Landscape Ecology considers the development and
dynamics of spatial heterogeneity wether it is the spatial and temporal
interactions and exchanges across heterogeneous landscapes, the impact of the
spatial heterogeneity on biotic and abiotic processes as well as the management
of spatial heterogeneity.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Landscape Ecology uses the Patch ,Corridor, Matrix to
differentiate between the different landscape types and regional territories.
<strong><span style="background-color: #990000;">Urban Design</span></strong> uses District, Edge, Path to study the different urban and rural
fabrics. The variations of the different territories (whether it is a natural
landscape or urban fabric) are attributed to the same factors – Movements
(transport or fauna), Patterns(Organic versus Manmade),Scale( regional versus
local). The granularity is affected by Time <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>- the responses of the landscape or the fabric
through TIME might lead to Fine or Coarse fabric or landscape pattern.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Miller(1978) has set the different domains in scale when it
comes to define the landscapes in which intervention is needed:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Continents /</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">They are characterized by distinct boundaries usually surrounded
by water surfaces .Culture, Economics and Transportation connectivity make up
for their uniqueness.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Regions/</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Broad geographical area with a common microclimate and
unified sphere of human activity and interest – physical factors such as the
macroclimate, soil groups and bioms and human factors such as politics, social
groupings, structure, culture contribute to their emergence.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Landscape /</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Mosaic formed by the mix of local ecosystems – it is an
ecological unit that may be formed by a repeated cluster of spatial elements –
the essential elements of landscapes can be analysed through :</span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1-</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Geological land forms</span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2-</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Soil types</span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">3-</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Vegetation types</span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">4-</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Local fauna</span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">5-</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Natural disturbance regimes
such as fire</span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">6-</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Land uses</span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">7-</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Human aggregation patterns
which is the domain in which regional urban planning engages at <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The ecology of regions – regions are usually the scale at
which one single macroclimate prevails providing a region wide control over
soils, ecosystems and natural processes. A region is the scale at which
sustainability can be better pursued for its larger area that may cover many
landscape types, its greater adequacy for ensuring resources complementarity
and slower rate of change.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Patches are synonyms to boundaries –Patches affect the rates
of flows and movements between ecosystems – flows and movements are defined
through the array of objects they transfer be it wind carrying air, rivers with
water streams ,animals , birds, airplanes carrying passengers or just a couple
of neighbors walking a marathon. These six vectors can be flowing in locomotion
– slow motion or in mass flow- rapid motion. Usually, mass flow crosses over
external boundaries such as TGV crossing over and locomotion are for internal
movements such as local breeze. Permeability – same term used in urban design-
is linked to how diverse the flows are and how the density of these flows is
building up.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The flows crossing over the boundaries of the different
patches relate to four main ecological processes Supply to Patch, Resistance of
Patch, Retention by Patch, Disposal from Patch. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Corridors have been analyzed extensively especially relating
to Rivers and Streams _ the analysis will be summarized later in another Blog
Post.What I would like to focus on is some of the tools that were presented and
which might be useful to reflect on in thinking about our cities as man-made
ecosystems. The first spatial tools which are used to approach the territory
under study is land use optimization focusing on agricultural
production,natural ressources areas<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>as
well as corridors and greenways.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">A generic plan might take into consideration some of the
priniciples highlighted below:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1-</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Context – placing the
landscape/corridor/fabric in its regional/continental scale<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2-</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Flows- evaluating the flows
and movements of ground /surface water ,species dispersal, transportation, recreation</span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">3-</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Change- looking for changes
in the natural environment such as spreading desertification, housing growth, new
infrastructure ,water barriers such as damns</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">4-</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Disturbance regimes-
Hurricanes, flood, cyclones are repetitive natural phenomena that might affect
the future projections and proposed interventions<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Another interesting concept that is linked to Landscape
Ecology work in the 1990’s is the concept of Whole /Holisitic landscapes. Dr
Makhzoumi has written a reference book on landscape ecological design and how
its approach can be applied on place making and other urban design spatial
interventions. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The concept of whole landscapes apply more to regional
scale.it sets again a number of principles if followed can contribute to a more
holistic approach to framework planning – the holistic approach comes from
integrating the human made environment’s and the natural environment’s in a way
that does take into consideration high sensitivity topics for human activity
but does not jeopardize the livability of other flora ,fauna species . it calls
on identifying and maintaining natural expansion corridors, assigning biodiversity
areas , <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>taking into consideration
natural disturbances phenomena and respecting connectivity, permeability and
the granular scale of the landscape mosaic focusing on landscape linkages <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I would like to end this post with an interesting statement
by Carra made in 1990 .His answer to the ways in which we can <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>integrate human and natural habitat was:<em>’Only
if we view the world differently , we would be able to act differently. So, we
need a change of perception, a shift of paradigm in our thinking and in our values.
We need a shift from fragmentation to wholeness, from a mechanistic view of the
world to an ecological view, from domination to partnership, from expansion to
conservation, from efficiency to sustainability”.</em> His answer encapsulated most
of the different dimensions that planners, designers, policy makers and
citizens deal with in their own way and the direction we all need to take in
order to make sure that the aspirations of our cities and towns do not lead to
their own destruction.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0