CRP 5820 Principles of Site Planning and Urban Design Prof. Thomas J. Campanella, TAs Kristen Ryan and Kaustubh Laddha
Fall 2015
This is a course on the theory, art and science of physical planning, urban design and sustainable placemaking. In the first half we examine the site and its natural systems—soils, landform, topography, hydrology, vegetation—exploring the full spectrum of environmental factors that must be accounted for to minimize the ecological impacts and cost of any proposed development program. In the second half of the course we will study theories and tactics of urban spatial design, considering basic elements of urbanism—mass, space, scale, proportion, order—and exploring important precedents and typologies from around the world. Key theories of urban spatial design and pedestrian-oriented placemaking will be introduced, as will approaches to the mapping and analysis of urban space and how regulatory mechanisms—such as form-based codes—can be used to create good city form. We will take several field trips during the course of the semester, hear from local planning practitioners and develop basic computer modeling skills through a series of workshops in the Barclay Jones Urban Design Lab. Logistics The course meets on Monday and Wednesday from 8:40am to 9:55am in 101 West Sibley and will involve a mix of lectures, fieldtrips and skill-building exercises. SketchUp training modules (all in November) will be held in the Barclay Jones Lab (305 W. Sibley), where SketchUp Pro is available on each workstation. Readings + Texts All readings will be available on the CRP5820 Blackboard site. Readings for each class should be done in advance of the class meeting (first class excepted), as they will augment understanding of the material and contribute to class discussion. There is no required text for the course, but you may wish to acquire the following books for your personal library: Speck, Walkable City (2012); Farr, Sustainable Urbanism (2008); Marsh, Landscape Planning (1983); Hack and Lynch, Site Planning (1984); Trancik, Finding Lost Space (1986); Spirn, The Granite Garden (1984); Lydon and Garcia, Tactical Urbanism (2015).
Computer Software While no prior experience with SketchUp is required for the course, we recommend that you familiarize yourself with this intuitive and easy-to-use software prior to our first lab session in November. A plethora of self-paced SketchUp video tutorials can be found on the Web. As noted, the latest version of SketchUp Pro is available on all terminals in the Barclay Jones Lab. You may also download a free version of the application on your laptop for use at home or in lab sessions. The free version lacks some functionality, e.g. the ability to import GIS or AutoCAD file data; but it is adequate for most of what we will do in class (you can, of course, purchase SketchUp Pro yourself, but it will set you back about $600). If you use a personal laptop in lab, you'll need access to the network to download instructional files for each session. Assignments A series of projects will be assigned throughout the semester to develop critical site planning and spatial analysis and design skills. Some will use pen and paper, others SketchUp. More information on these will be forthcoming as the semester gets underway. There is no mid-term or final examination in this course. Academic Integrity Violations of academic integrity such as plagiarism can result in failure of this course and even expulsion from the University. If you have any questions about attribution, citation or paraphrasing, see me or one of the TAs. Please review the University's Code of Academic Integrity (URL below), which requires that any work submitted by a student be his or her own: http://cuinfo.cornell.edu/Academic/AIC.html. Contact Information My office is 105 West Sibley Hall and my regular office hours this semester are Tuesdays from 9:00am to 12:00pm, unless otherwise noted. I can always be reached via e-mail at
[email protected]. My office phone is 607-254-8934. In the event of an emergency, you can reach me on my cellphone at 718-3755624. Kristen Ryan may be reached at
[email protected] and Kaustubh Laddha at
[email protected].
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SCHEDULE AND READINGS _________________________________________________________________________________________ PART I: THE SITE AND ITS NATURAL SYSTEMS _________________________________________________________________________________________ 26 AUG
Course Overview Anne Spirn, The Language of Landscape (Yale, 1998): "Prologue: The Yellowwood and the Forgotten Creek," 10-11
_________________________________________________________________________________________ 31 AUG
The Site Analysis Process Kevin Lynch, Site Planning (MIT Press, 1962): "The Art of Site Planning," 3-8; "The Analysis of Site and Purpose," 9-25 Thomas H. Russ, Site Planning and Design Handbook (McGraw-Hill, 2002): "Sustainability and Site Design," 1-25; "Site Analysis: Collecting Site Info," 28-34
02 SEP
FILM – Landscape Site Analysis (1988) Kevin Lynch and Gary Hack, Site Planning (1984): "Site and Impact Checklist," 420-425.
_________________________________________________________________________________________ 07 SEP NO CLASS – LABOR DAY _________________________________________________________________________________________ 09 SEP
Topography and Earthwork rd
William M. Marsh, Landscape Planning (Wiley, 1998 [3 edition]): "Topography, Slopes, and Land Use Planning," 76-87 Steven Strom and Kurt Nathan, Site Engineering, (Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1985): "Contours and Form," 1-15 Thomas H. Russ, Site Planning and Design Handbook (McGraw-Hill, 2002): "Site Grading," 55-82 _________________________________________________________________________________________ 14 SEP
Surveying and Site Grading Workshop Guest demonstrator: Robert H. Chiang, Facilities Engineering Office Richard K. Untermann, Grade Easy (ASLA, 1973): "Grading" and "Grading for Circulation," 13-28 Pacific Energy Center, "Using a Surveyor's Level to Generate a Topographical Map"
16 SEP
Soils and Subsurface Hydrology rd
William M. Marsh, Landscape Planning (Wiley, 1998 [3 edition]): "Soil, Land Use, and Waste Disposal," 93-110; "Groundwater, Land Use, and Aquifer Protection," 128-141 _________________________________________________________________________________________ 21 SEP
Surface Hydrology and Stormwater Management rd
William M. Marsh, Landscape Planning (Wiley, 1998 [3 edition]): "Stormwater Discharge, Water Management, and Landscape Change," 148-165; "Watersheds, Drainage Nets and Land Use," 168-181 3
23 SEP
FIELDTRIP - Campus hydrology and stormwater management BMP Thomas H. Russ, Site Planning and Design, "Infrastructure: Storm Water Management," 211-240
_________________________________________________________________________________________ 28 SEP
Trees and Vegetation Thomas H. Russ, Site Planning and Design Handbook (McGraw-Hill, 2002): "Vegetation in the Site Plan," 331-367 rd
William M. Marsh, Landscape Planning (Wiley, 1998 [3 edition]): "Vegetation, Land Use, Environmental Assessment," 338-343 30 SEP
FIELDTRIP – Campus tree tour with David M. Cutter, University Landscape Architect Jeff Speck, Walkable City: How Downtown Can Save America, One Step at a Time (North Point, 2012): "Plant Trees," 223-233 Thomas J. Campanella, "The Roman Roots of Gotham's London Plane," The Wall Street Journal (20 July, 2011)
_________________________________________________________________________________________ PART II: PLACEMAKING AND URBAN SPATIAL DESIGN _________________________________________________________________________________________ 05 OCT
The Practice of Placemaking I Guest speaker: Scott Whitham, Principal, Whitham Planning and Design Michael Nocella, "City Planning Approves Chain Works District in Concept," Ithaca Times (22 August, 2014). Unchained Properties, "Site Plan Drawings for Chain Works District " (2014).
07 OCT
FIELDTRIP – Chain Works District site tour with David Lubin, L Development, LLC Michael Nocella, "How Dirty is the Emerson Property?" Ithaca Times (19 November, 2014)
_________________________________________________________________________________________ 12 OCT NO CLASS – COLUMBUS DAY _________________________________________________________________________________________ 14 OCT
Looking at Cities Kevin Lynch, Image of the City (MIT, 1960): "The City Image and Its Elements," 46-90 Allan Jacobs, Looking at Cities (MIT Press, 1985): "Starting to Look," 1-13; "Clues," 30-83 Anne Mikoleit and Moritz Pürckhauer, Urban Code (MIT Press, 2011): browse entire book
_________________________________________________________________________________________ 19 OCT
Elements of Urban Design Cliff Moughtin, Urban Design: Street and Square (Architectural Press, 1999): 25-59 Rob Krier, Urban Space (Rizzoli, 1979): 15-48 Edmund N. Bacon, Design of Cities (Penguin, 1976): 13-19; 23-27 Lance Hosey, "Why We Love Beautiful Things," New York Times (15 February, 2013) Grady Clay, "Run It Down the Field Again, Fellows," Places 6:4 (Summer 1990): 4-8
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21 OCT
Archeological Resources and the Urban Site Guests speakers: Alyssa Loorya and Chris Ricciardi, Chrysalis Archeological Consultants Arthur H. Bankoff, Christopher Ricciardi and Alyssa Loorya, "Remembering Africa Under the Eaves," Archaeology Magazine 54:3 (May-June, 2001), 36-40. NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission, Archaeological Guidelines (LPC, 2002) Jason Urbanus, "New York’s Original Seaport," Archaeology Magazine 68:5 (SeptemberOctober 2015), 32-26. Phase IA Historical Documentary Report and Archaeological Assessment of 50 Bowery (Block 202, Lot 23). Report on file with NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission (2013)
_________________________________________________________________________________________ 26 OCT
Urban Spatial Dynamics Gordon Cullen, Townscape, (Rheinhold, 1961): "Introduction"; "Serial Vision," 9-56 Edmund N. Bacon, Design of Cities (Penguin, 1976 [1967]): 34-45; 53-61 Roger Trancik, Finding Lost Space: Theories of Urban Design (Wiley, 1986): "Urban Spatial Precedents," 60-96
28 OCT
Figure-Ground Theory and the Urban Fabric Roger Trancik, Finding Lost Space: Theories of Urban Design (Wiley, 1986): "Three Theories of Urban Spatial Design," 97-106 Colin Rowe and Fred Koetter, Collage City (MIT Press, 1998 [1978]): "The Crisis of the Object: The Predicament of Texture," 50-85 Edmund N. Bacon, Design of Cities (Penguin, 1976 [1967]): 161
_________________________________________________________________________________________ 02 NOV
SKETCHUP TRAINING MODULE I (Barclay Jones Lab) Introduction; creating and extruding geometric forms; repetitive elements
04 NOV
SKETCHUP TRAINING MODULE II (Barclay Jones Lab) Creating a basic urban design study model; shadows and atmosphere; textures and skins
_________________________________________________________________________________________ 09 NOV
SKETCHUP TRAINING MODULE III (Barclay Jones Lab) Modeling terrain with sandbox tools; importing terrain data from Google Earth
11 NOV
The Practice of Placemaking II Discussant: Susan Ritter, Director of Planning, Town of Ithaca L. Pollock, "The Red Penciler’s Guide to Site Plan Review," Planning 57:4 (1991): 22-27
_________________________________________________________________________________________ 16 NOV
Streets and Circulation Janette Sadik-Khan/NACTO, Urban Street Design Guide (Island Press, 2013), 3-64 Kevin Lynch, Site Planning (MIT Press, 1962): "The Design of Streets and Ways," 3-8; "The Analysis of Site and Purpose," 9-25 Allan Jacobs, Great Streets (MIT Press, 1995): "Requirements for Great Streets," 270-317
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18 NOV
The Walkable City Jeff Speck, Walkable City: How Downtown Can Save America, One Step at a Time (North Point, 2012): "A General Theory of Walkability," 7-11; "Ten Steps of Walkability," 71-159 Douglas Farr, Sustainable Urbanism: Urban Design with Nature (Wiley, 2008): "Sustainable Neighborhoods," 125-156 Jane Jacobs, The Death and Life of Great American Cities (Vintage, 1961): "The Uses of Sidewalks," 29-73
_________________________________________________________________________________________ 23 NOV
FILM – The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces (1980) William H. Whyte, The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces (1980), 16-59 Jan Gehl and Birgitte Svarre, How to Study Public Life (Island press, 2013): 1-19 Ronald Lee Fleming, "Questions to Ask a Space," Places 6:4: 12-13
_________________________________________________________________________________________ 25 NOV NO CLASS – THANKSGIVING _________________________________________________________________________________________ 30 NOV
Transect Planning and Form-Based Codes Charles C. Bohl with Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, "Building Community Across the Rural-toUrban Transect," Places 18:1 (2006) Peter Katz, "Form First: The New Urbanist Alternative to Conventional Zoning" (2004) Daniel G. and Karen Parolek, Form-Based Codes (Wiley, 2007): "Introduction," 3-14
02 DEC
Tactical Urbanism and Insurgent Space Mike Lydon and Anthony Garcia, Tactical Urbanism: (Island Press, 2015): "Disturbing the Order of Things," 1-25; "A Tactical Urbanism How-To," 171-207 https://popupplanning.wordpress.com (browse)
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