Hunter - gatherers

10 hours ago4 hours ago

9 minutes ago

Agriculture

Civilization

Industry

1 hour = 1000 years

Cities

40 hours ago

South Bronx, New York City, 1975

Fundamentals of Urban Infrastructure

“Hard” Infrastructure(systems)

“Soft” Infrastructure

Physicalcontext

Perception and values

Moving from a Mechanistic to a Biological view of the city.

Forces that shape change

MACRO

MICRO

Business activity,Employment

Public policy,Local Laws

Demographics,Civic groups

Land use,Architecture,Sustainability

Creating a more enticing and walkable public realm.

NYC World Class Streets

Remaking NYC’s public realm:• Street Design Manual• Plaza Program• World Class Boulevards• Complete Streets Projects and 

Design Standards

• Public Art Program• New Streetscape Materials• Coordinated Street Furniture 

Program

• Weekend Pedestrian and 

Cycling Streets

City Policy + Implementation

Supermarkets and farmers markets encourage healthy nutrition

Adjacency of offices and 

residences to services & 

amenities

promotes local walking

Take advantage of  New York’s Rich Mix of Uses

Urban Design

“The point of cities is multiplicity of choice.” – Jane Jacobs

Convenient parks and 

plazas encourageactive utilization

Design parks for 

local cultures and for 

range of age groups

Urban Design

Parks/ Play Areas/ Plazas

Attractive plazas have 

mix of trees, lighting, 

water fountains & 

movable/ fixed seating

Urban Design

Transit Access

Provide attractive  and 

sheltered seating areas 

to encourage use 

of transit routes

Separate

bus lanes 

from traffic to make 

transit more convenient

Calm traffic with 

landscaped medians and 

curved roadway segments

Urban Design

Pedestrian Environment / Traffic CalmingReduce crossing 

distances with 

median refuge islands 

Provide places of restto complementactive walking 

and jogging

Attractive plazas have 

mix of trees, lighting, & 

movable/ fixed seating

Integrate public art

into the streetscape

Enliven the sidewalk 

with street cafes

Urban Design

Pedestrian Environment / Streetscape

Encourage use throughdevelopment ofInterconnected Bikeways

Urban Design

Bicycle Network and InfrastructureProvide attractive signage,wayfinding, and secure bike parking

Urban Design

Site + Building Design

Bicycle parking + storage

Secure Bike Storage with Easy Access