Spacematrix explores urban density as a potentially positive and certainly decisive tool for urban planning and design. Examining the logic between urban density, urban form or layout and the performance of the urban, this long-awaited manual is an indispensable resource for architects and urban planners, as well as developers, economists, engineers, policymakers and students.
"How humans have come to use space over time – in some cases judged as too intensely, in others as not intensely enough – and the problems connected to this, have resulted in discussions concerning the application of the concept of density in urbanism. The use of the concept has varied greatly through modern planning and design. At the beginning of the twentieth century, Raymond Unwin claimed that nothing was to be gained from overcrowding in cities; he proposed a standard density of 12 houses per net acre maximum, or 30 houses per hectare. Fifty years later, Jane Jacobs warned that American slums were not only an issue faced in the inner cities, but also in the low-density, dull areas on the fringes. She suggested that a minimum of 100 dwellings per net acre (250 dwellings per hectare) was a necessary condition for a vital and participatory city life. Today high densities and the compact city are often seen as prerequisites for sustainable urbanization and economic growth.
The concept of density in urbanism is frequently used to describe the relationship between a given area and the number of certain entities in that area. These entities might be people, dwellings, services, or floor space. However, the simple fact that density is used in, for instance, design requirements, plan descriptions and communication between parties, does not mean that it is used correctly or to its full potential."
Meta Berghauser Pont and Per Haupt, excerpted from Spacematrix.
FORMAT: Hbk, 7 x 9.75 in. / 280 pgs / 105 color / 70 b&w. LIST PRICE: U.S. $60.00 LIST PRICE: CANADA $79 ISBN: 9789056627423 PUBLISHER: nai010 publishers AVAILABLE: 10/31/2010 DISTRIBUTION: D.A.P. RETAILER DISC: FLAT40 PUBLISHING STATUS: Out of print AVAILABILITY: Not available TERRITORY: NA LA ME
Published by nai010 publishers. Text by Meta Berghauser Pont, Per Haupt.
Spacematrix explores urban density as a potentially positive and certainly decisive tool for urban planning and design. Examining the logic between urban density, urban form or layout and the performance of the urban, this long-awaited manual is an indispensable resource for architects and urban planners, as well as developers, economists, engineers, policymakers and students.
