UEP 294 Green Urban Design and Place Making Spring 2010 Department of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning Christine Cousineau Wednesdays, 6:30 PM 9:00 PM Brown House, 97 Talbot Avenue COURSE DESCRIPTION Green Urban Design and Place Making combines a lecture course with a design studio. Projects, readings, lectures and discussions are focused on sustainable urbanism: why and how to design living environments that are attractive and enjoyable, scaled to their context, and well programmed in their uses and activities, while reducing the energy it takes to build and operate them. The challenge to good urban design that is also green is to increase sustainability through density, integrate transportation and land use, optimize infrastructure, and create walkable, mixed use and economically diverse neighborhoods. The course applies design principles to selected sites, with the objective of creating a sense of place, not just checking off a list of sustainable best practices. Students are given a group project at the scale of an urban neighborhood. Design topics to be explored through the projects include housing, office, retail, civic uses, streetscape elements, open spaces, circulation and parking; and how to assemble these elements into low impact mixed use developments. Students will apply to their projects the LEED for Neighborhood Development criteria as one measure of sustainability. Readings Readings will be posted on the courses Blackboard and are selected from the following books: Urban Design with Nature. Douglas Farr. John Wiley & Sons, 2008 The Urban Design Reader. Michael Larice and Elizabeth MacDonald (eds). Routledge, Urban Reader Series, 2006 Planning for a New Century. The Regional Agenda. Jonathan Barnett (ed) Island Press, 2001. Form Based Codes. A Guide for Planners, Urban Designers, Municipalities, and Developers. Daniel Parolek, Karen Parolek and Paul Crawford. John Wiley & Sons, 2008. New Urbanism and Beyond. Designing Cities for the Future. Tigran Haas (ed) Rizzoli, 2008. Ecocities. Rebuilding Cities in Balance with Nature. Richard Register. New Society Publishers, 2006. Reference resources Planning and Urban Design Standards. Frederick Steiner and Kent Butler (eds), John Wiley & Sons, 2007. Green Building A to Z: Understanding the Language of Green Building. Jerry Yudelson. New Society Publishers, 2007. Additional readings may be distributed in class throughout the semester. Requirements Students are required to keep abreast of the readings, complete a design project in teams of 3 to 4 students, write two individual papers, and attend two field trips on Saturday mornings. Office hours Office hours can be scheduled for group meetings, one on one discussions, and general consultation at Brown House, at 72 Professors Row, in Davis Square or in Harvard Square. 1
Lecturer: Christine Cousineau Email: christine.cousineau@tufts.edu and christine_cousineau@harvard.edu Cell: (781) 576 9099 Campus: Department of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning, Tufts University 97 Talbot Ave, Medford, MA 02155 617) 627 3394 Work: University Planning Office, Harvard University Holyoke Center, Suite 573 1350 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA 02138 (617) 384 7745 2
UEP 294 GREEN URBAN DESIGN AND PLACE MAKING SCHEDULE 1 Jan 27 Introduction: Brief History of American Urban Planning and Design 2 Feb 3 LEED for Neighborhood Development Principles of Sustainable Design 3 Feb 10 Group Project Sites Brad Rawson Group projects presented/ Principles of Sustainable Design (cont d) assigned 4 Feb 17 Euclidean Zoning, Form Based Codes, Somerville Zoning Issues Map assigned 5 Feb 24 Student presentations of Issues Maps Paper #1 assigned 6 March 3 Transportation Planning and Land Use Patterns 7 March 10 Public Realm: Streets, Parks, Streetscape, Landscape Paper #1 due 8 March 17 Neighborhood Planning and Commercial Development March 24 (Spring Recess no classes) Comments on Paper #1 given Paper #2 assigned 9 March 31 Dimensions of Density and Scale 10 April 3 (Sat) Field Trip to Artists for Humanity, South Boston 11 April 7 Building Types, Program of Uses, Pro Formas Papers #2 due 12 April 14 Eco Cities and Radical Transformations 13 April 21 Guest lecture: Sustainable Neighborhoods Comments on papers #2 given and Environmental Justice 14 April 28 Project presentations Group draft reports due 15 May 1 st (Sat) Field Trip to Forbes Park, Chelsea 16 May 5 Wrap Up Session: Comments on draft reports given Planner/designer roles and sustainable design May 12 Final reports due 3
UEP 294 04 GREEN URBAN DESIGN AND PLACE MAKING READINGS 1 Jan 27 Introduction A Brief History of American Urban Planning 2 Feb 3 LEED for Neighborhood Development and Principles of Sustainable Design www.usgbc.org/leed/nd/ Chapter 1 The Built Environment: Where We Are Today? starting with The American Lifestyle on the Wrong Course, pp.19 37 Oliver Gillham What Is Sprawl? pp. 287 307 The Congress for New Urbanism (CNU) Charter of the New Urbanism pp. 308 311 3 Feb 10 Group Project Sites Group projects presented Brad Rawson, Planner, City of Somerville assigned by Fri 2/12 Mayor s Office of Strategic Planning and Economic Development Principles of Sustainable Design (cont d) Chapter 2: Where We Need to Go. starting with The Grand Unification, pp. 41 65 4 Feb 17 Euclidean Zoning, Form Based Codes, Somerville Zoning Issues Maps assigned Lewis Mumford The Garden City Idea and Modern Town Planning pp. 43 53 Form Based Codes: Elizabeth Plater Zyberk An Optimistic Moment pp. ix xii Stefanos Polyzoides The Time is Now pp. xiii xviii Ch 1 Introduction: Why Form Based Codes? Pp.3 5 5 Feb 24 Student Presentations of Issues Maps Paper #1 assigned, due March 10 4
6 March 3 Transportation Planning and Land Use Patterns Planning for a New Century: Stephen Putnam Highway Planning and Land Use: Theory and Practice pp.89 101 Robert Cervero Drawing Lessons and Debunking Myths, pp. 425 434 New Urbanism and Beyond: Peter Calthorpe The Urban Network, pp. 67 69 Robert Cervero Transit Oriented Development in America, pp.124 129 7 March 10 Public Realm: Streets, Parks, Streetscape, Landscape Paper #1 due Form Based Codes: Public Space Standards, pp. 28 38 William Whyte Introduction, The Life of Plazas, Sitting Space, and Sun, Wind, Trees, and Water pp. 348 363 Allan Jacobs Conclusion: Great Streets and City Planning pp. 387 390 8 March 17 Neighborhood Planning and Commercial Development Chapter 7 Sustainable Neighborhoods, pp. 125 167 and pp. 179 181 New Urbanism and Beyond: Robert Gibbs Urban Retail Planning Principles for Traditional Neighborhoods, pp. 158 162 March 24 (Spring Recess no classes) Comments on Paper #1 given Paper #2 assigned, due April 7 9 March 31 Dimensions of Density and Scale Chapter 5: Sustainable Urbanism starting with Explaining Density, pp. 103 111 5
Eduardo Lozano Density in Communities, or the Most Important Factor in Building Urbanity pp. 312 327 Hildebrand Frey Compact, Decentralized, or What? The Sustainable City Debate pp. 328 343 10 April 3 Field Trip to Artists for Humanity, South Boston (Sat) 11 April 7 Building Types, Program of Uses, Pro Formas Paper #2 due 12 April 14 EcoCities and Radical Transformations EcoCities: Preface to the Second Edition, xix xxv, and Introduction, pp. 1 4 Chapter 1 As We Build, So Shall We Live, pp. 5 23 Chapter 2 The City in Evolution, pp. 25 45 13 April 21 Guest lecture: Comments on Paper #2 given Sustainable Neighborhoods and Environmental Justice 14 April 28 Project Presentations Draft group reports due 15 May 1 st Field Trip to Forbes Park, Chelsea (Sat) 16 May 5 Wrap Up Session: Comments on draft reports given Planner/designer roles in sustainable design May 12 Final reports due 6