URBAN DESIGN:

Urban design is the process of designing and

shaping cities, towns and villages. Whereas
architecture focuses on individual buildings, urban
design address the larger scale of groups of
buildings, of streets and public spaces, whole
neighborhoods and districts, and entire cities, to
make urban areas functional, attractive, and
sustainable

URBAN SPACE:
The urban space refers to several urban
areas and their related multicentric
municipalities forming a whole in a single
stretch. In the multicentric urban space, the
urban areas are either adjoining or linked
together by multicentric municipalities. This
space forms a connected whole. An urban
space comprising just a single urban area is
said to be monocentric.

Urban space quality depends on the

proportion of built environment and
open space. In particular land use and

the accessibility to open and green

areas, are important components in
urban life quality, as is the balance and
maintenance of the towns natural
environment. The rapid development of
cities, increasing back and forth
commuting from the adjacent urbanised
areas added to unbalanced situations.

URBAN OPEN SPACE:

urban open space is open space areas for
"parks", "green spaces", and other open areas.
The landscape of urban open spaces can range
from playing fields to highly maintained
environments to relatively natural landscapes.
They are commonly open to public access,
however, urban open spaces may be privately
owned. Areas outside of city boundaries, such
as state and national parks as well as open space
in the countryside, are not considered urban open
space. Streets, piazzas, plazas and urban squares
are not always defined as urban open space in
land use planning.

Savannah Park with Fountain

Forsyth Park is a large urban open space area in the downtown
district of Savannah, Georgia.

Public transport
Transport systems and city character are interlinked. Land use
characteristics
of a city can determine the type of transport system it needs, and
once a transport
system is put in place, it influences land use characteristics of the city
over time.

Therefore, the type of public transport system you want in a city will
depend on the
vision you have for the future of your city. If an economically vital
large central
business district (CBD) exists, it can become the main centre for both
employment
and retail, and thus contribute to the success of an urban rail system
(if the system
serves the CBD) because it can generate and attract trips onto the
system. However,
low-income neighbourhoods would still be unsuitable for urban rail
operation.6

High-rise dense city

If you want your city to develop as a dense congested city with a
large
proportion of high-rise buildings and one very large central business
district, then you
should think of introducing very high capacity transport systems that
can carry more
than 40,000 people per hour per direction. This can usually be done
by elevated or
underground rail systems.
On the other hand, if you put in place a high capacity rail system in a
city that

is not yet high-rise, then the rail system will ensure that over time a
very dense and
congested high-rise city develops where the rail lines converge. This
happens
because space becomes very expensive and the economics dictate
that buildings go
high-rise. In India, Mumbai is a good example of how the existence of
the rail system
has resulted in south Mumbai going high-rise and developing into a
very dense and
congested business district.

Low rise, multiple business centre cities

Cities which have multiple business districts and in which buildings
are 2-5
stories high cannot feed very high capacity mass transit systems.
Such cities do not
need and cannot sustain very high capacity systems. Transit systems
capable of
transporting 15,000 to 25,000 passengers per direction per hour
operating on all
major corridors would be adequate. Such systems would not alter
the character of
the city. Such a demand can be met by modern bus rapid transit
systems.

Difference between Urban and Rural

Key Difference: Urban areas are defined by faster lifestyle,
increased technology and high population density. Rural areas
are defined by small-tight knit community, with lack of
technology and resources.
Urban areas are characterized by having higher
population density and vast human features compared to
the surrounding areas. Cities, towns are commonly
referred to as urban areas. It must also have ongoing
urbanization for further development. Metropolitan cities,
which include satellite cities, are also considered as
urban places. Urban areas have also been characterized
by high amounts of pollution (noise and air), large-scale
industrialization and faster lifestyles. Pollution in urban
areas are high due to the large amount of people, cars,
buses, train, factories etc.

Rural areas are characterized with having small,

tight-knit communities. Ever seen those shows,
where everyone knows everyone else, well thats a
rural community. Villages or small towns are
considered to be rural areas. People know each
other and are neighbors, friends, etc. Rural areas
are classified according their small population and
having farming abilities. Many people in rural areas
are considered to be farmers. Rural areas are more
dependent on natural resources and organic
materials. They have small stores and family run
business, compared to the big supermarkets in
urban areas. Many governments have also taken an
active part in trying to further urbanize more rural
areas and provide extra help in forms of
technology, medical and other resources. Rural
areas are more community based people and
depend on social gatherings and other similar
events. Rural places also have pollution due to lack
of large factories.

DEMOGRAPHIA WORLD URBAN AREAS

Unplanned Settlement Patterns

Unplanned settlements represent a viable and effective housing
option for low-income populations in most developing
countries. Initially, they were highly criticized for their
apparent inefficiency and chaos. With time, they proved to be
better adapted to the cultural and economic characteristics of
their users and to provide better housing environments than
those of formally planned low-income housing developments.
Usually, the housing quality in unplanned settlements is poor in
their initial stages; however, as the sense of permanence
increases and settlements consolidate, the first small shack is

eventually replaced and improved with more adequate and

durable materials. In some settlements, dwellings can reach
comparable or better quality than formally produced housing.

Ciudad Guayana city:

The case study is located in Ciudad Guayana, a planned industrial city in the state of Bolvar, in
the south-eastern part of Venezuela. Ciudad Guayana is situated at the junction of the Orinoco
and Caron Rivers. The first one provides access to the ocean, and the second one an abundance
of hydroelectric power. This region has extraordinary resources: rich deposits of high-grade iron
ore, gold, industrial diamonds, bauxite and aluminium laterite. Ciudad Guayana was founded in
1961 as part of the National Plan of Regional Development. It was intended to be the fusion of the
old city of San Flix and the existing mining company camps. That year a development agency,
the CVG (Corporacin Venezolana de Guayana -- Guayana's Venezuelan Corporation), was
created. The main task of the CVG was to accomplish the objectives for the development of the
region and to design and coordinate the Master Plan of the new city. This plan was designed by
CVG's planners, with the assistance of the Joint Center for Urban Studies of the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology and Harvard University.
The Housing Program of the Master Plan was defined in terms of the desirable level of
development that should be achieved by the city, according to the projections of economic and
population growth. However, migration to the city did not match the group's classification
expected by planners. This expectation included professionals, private investors, small industries
and diverse commercial entrepreneurs. Instead, a large rural migration came to the city, attracted
by new job opportunities in the expanding industrial sector.
Since the industrialization program proposed for the region wascapital-intensive instead of
labour-intensive, the heavy industry was unable to offer enough jobs to absorb all this unskilled
migration. The city developed according to the pattern of a "dual economy," which is
characterized by the differentiation of two economic sectors: one, a highly waged and skilled
group, working in the capital-intensive industry, and the other, with low levels of skill and
incomes, employed in "marginal" occupations.
Unplanned Settlements in Ciudad Guayana
Most of the population in Ciudad Guayana was not being served by the housing programs for two
reasons. First, the programs were unable to supply housing at the rate that people were arriving
to the city, and second, the programs did not meet the real needs of the people nor their real
financial capacity. Therefore, low-income groups had to provide their own housing through
unplanned settlements. Today, more than 60% of the urban areas are the result of land invasions.

Many housing programs have been implemented to satisfy the high demand of the massive
migration. Initially, in the early 1960s, a program of unserviced plots, or "reception areas" was
proposed to accommodate low-income families arriving to the city. The intention of this program
was to anticipate the barrio development and to organize the settlement process in a more
conventional pattern. Back-to-back plots organized into rectangular blocks were rented to
applicant families. Unpaved streets, except for the main access roads, electricity, and communal
water taps were initially provided. The Ministry of Sanitation implemented a program to build
latrines in these settlements. Two models, with different sizes and prices, were offered. Not only
were these "reception areas" insufficient to satisfy the demand, but they were also neither
affordable nor easily accessible, in terms of the required application procedures. Thus, they were
not occupied by new migrants nor by low-income families.
Instead, as they came to the city, new migrants located themselves in provisional housing, such
as hotels, relatives' and friends' houses and rented rooms. Once they decided to stay in the city,
they settled in unoccupied areas around the old eastern part of the city, San Flix. Migrants
selected the east part of the city because it was close to the commercial and recreational facilities
they required. Moreover, it was impossible to invade lands in the western part of the city because
the CVG had bought most of the land -- almost 74% -- to guarantee the outcome of the Master
Plan's projects. Control over squatting in this area was very strong. As a result, all the low-income
unplanned areas were located in the eastern part. This pattern of settling was followed by most of
the rural migrants, as reported by Macdonald in 1979.
In view of this reality, CVG's attitude towards barrios in Ciudad Guayana has been more
supportive. Since none of the official housing programs has been able to provide adequate and
affordable housing for low-income populations, barrioshave been seen as a housing option for
the new migrants and unemployed population. The CVG's approach has been to improve and
accelerate the development process of barrios through the implementation of Upgrading
Community Programs.
As long as the barrio is located neither on land reserved for another development project nor on
unstable terrains, it is included in the program of "re-ordenamiento de barrios" (re-organization
of barrios or re-blocking). This program is managed by the CVG's Urban Studies Office. The
main objective of the program is to facilitate the eventual provision of services and the
integration of the settlement to the city. Through this program, the original settlement layouts
existing inbarrios are changed because they are considered "chaotic and disorganized." Instead, a
more conventional settlement layout is imposed. Existing streets are aligned, new streets are
defined in agrid-iron scheme, block corners are standardized to allow vehicular traffic, plot size is
regularized, and zoning is established in order to integrate the settlement to the city network. The
"re-ordenamiento" program also provides financial assistance for the acquisition of construction
materials through many housing agencies and companies' social plans for workers.

Recently, the concept of "reception areas" has been re-implemented. This basic Sites & Services
can be compared to the concept of Planned Upgradable Sites. In these developments, land, public
water taps and electricity are provided on a graded site. Streets are laid out in a grid-iron pattern,
but only the access street is paved. Plots of approximately 9 m x 21 m (up to 200 m2) are
organized back-to-back in rectangular blocks. Strategically located areas in the settlement are
reserved for future community facilities, such as schools, recreational and sport areas and
medical services. Housing is the user's responsibility, and provisional "sub-standard" dwellings
are allowed, though some technical recommendations are given to new settlers. For instance,
settlers are advised to build the provisional dwelling at the back part of the plot so the permanent
dwelling can be built in front of it.
Conventional low-cost housing programs are also being implemented by official agencies,
including the CVG. These programs usually provide a basic dwelling unit, in areas of 250 m2 for
housing-only plots, and 500 m2 for housing-commercial plots. The dwelling types varied from
detached to row houses.
Despite the efforts of both the CVG and official housing agencies to provide housing and to
support upgrading processes, large groups of the population are not being assisted. There are
many invasion areas where growth and upgrading processes occurred progressively at their own
pace, without the influence of external elements and depending on their own capacity for
communal and individual improvement.