The document discusses several current issues in urban design. It notes that cities have become too large to understand and manage effectively. It also says that local communities are often sidelined in the design process, and that economic priorities sometimes lead to large developments that are unsustainable. The document argues that urban design is more than just beautification and should promote better integration across administrative and disciplinary boundaries.

1. Urban Current Issues and Approaches
By Dr Mohammad Hussaini bin Wahab

2. Outline
• Introduction
• Tokyo – world’s largest megacity
• Issues we are facing
• Urbanization
• Urban Problems (Challenges??)
• Current Urban Design Issues
• Eco City
• Principles of New Urbanism
• Conclusion

3. Scope of Urban Design / Planning
• Deals with the future of a city
• Manages urban growth
• Considerations: the physical, social and economic
aspects of communities and examine the connections
among them.
• Highly collaborative process: Working with local
residents, politicians, and special groups.

4. ‘Sustainable Cities’
Cities that, as they develop,
- meet the social and economic needs of the
present population while balancing broader
environmental and energy concerns now and in the
future
- balancing the 3 Es –
Prosperous Economics, Social Equity, Quality
Environment

5. Current Issues of Sustainability in Planning??

6. Tokyo, Ueno

7. Tokyo Rush Hour

8. Tokyo Rush Hour

9. Tokyo Rush Hour

10. The Greater Tokyo Area has an estimated population of
roughly 37 million people, making it the largest metropolitan
area in the world.

11. World’s Largest Metropolitan Areas, 2010 (in millions)
36.67
22.16
20.26
20.04
19.46
19.43
16.58
15.55
14.65
13.12
13.07
12.76
12.39
11.95
11.63
11.34
11.00
10.58
10.55
10.52
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Tokyo
Delhi
São Paulo
Mumbai (Bombay)
Mexico City
New York-Newark
Shanghai
Kolkata (Calcutta)
Dhaka
Karachi
Buenos Aires
Los Angeles
Beijing
Rio de Janeiro
Manila
Osaka-Kobe
Al-Qahirah (Cairo)
Lagos
Moskva (Moscow)
IstanbulCopyright © 1998-2013, Dr. Jean-Paul Rodrigue, Dept. of Global Studies & Geography, Hofstra University. For personal or classroom use ONLY. This
material (including graphics) is not public domain and cannot be published, in whole or in part, in ANY form (printed or electronic) and on any media
without consent. This includes conference presentations. Permission MUST be requested prior to use.

12. Tokyo – world’s largest megacity
§ Japan: one of the most highly urbanized countries
in the world
§ Nearly 80% of Japan's 125 million people: live in
cities throughout the country
§ The three largest urban centres in Japan: Tokyo,
Osaka and Nagoya metropolitan areas
§ Tokyo: by far the largest metropolitan area with
>25% of the total population living in its centre
and surrounding areas

13. The residents of Tokyo rely overwhelmingly on public transportation:
almost 57 percent of all travel in Tokyo is done on trains and buses.

14. As a result, most metro lines are dangerously overcrowded,
with some lines running at 199% capacity.

15. "chikan": train groper. Over 4000 men are arrested each year
for groping women in crowded train cars, and 17 percent of
Japanese women have admitted to being groped in public at
some point in their lives.

16. To combat this growing problem, despite the risk of greater
overcrowding, Tokyo introduced women-only cars in 2005. This
has been seen as a success by women, as well as men who no
longer fear false accusations.

20. UN estimates suggest that two-thirds of the
world's population will live in cities within 50 years.

25. Urbanization?

26. What is urbanization?
The world is becoming mostly urban.
% 1950 1990 2001 2025
World 30 45 48 58
MEDC 53 74 76 83
LEDC 17 34 41 56

28. Definition:
ž Urbanization is:
ž "the process by which there is an
increase in the proportion (not
number) of people living in urban
areas”
ž Urbanization = the movement of people
from rural to urban (cities and suburbs) areas

29. Urbanization
§ An urban (or metropolitan) area = a town
or a city plus its adjacent suburbs with a
population of >2,500 people
§ A rural area = an area with < 2,500 people
§ A country’s degree of urbanization =
percentage of its population living in an
urban area
§ Virtually all the population growth expected
during the next 30 years will be
concentrated in urban areas

30. 0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
4.5
1950 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020
World
Developed countries
Developing countries
Copyright © 1998-2013, Dr. Jean-Paul Rodrigue, Dept. of Global Studies & Geography, Hofstra University. For personal or classroom use ONLY. This
material (including graphics) is not public domain and cannot be published, in whole or in part, in ANY form (printed or electronic) and on any media
without consent. This includes conference presentations. Permission MUST be requested prior to use.
World Urban Population, 1950-2005 with
Projections to 2020 (in billions)

31. Urban Growth
Urban areas grow in 2 ways:
1. Natural increase of its population (births)
2. Immigration (mostly from rural areas – the biggest cause of
urban growth)
§ Proportion of the global population living in urban areas: 2%
(pre-industrial period) à 46% (2001) (~160,000 people
added to world’s urban areas each day)
§ UN projections: by 2050, ~63% of world’s people will be
living in urban areas, with 90% of this urban growth in
developing countries
§ Number of large cities (>1 million people): increasing rapidly
throughout the 20th century
§ Urban growth is much slower in developed countries than in
developing countries (still, projection: 79% (current) à
84% (2025) in developed countries)

32. Urbanisation is taking place at
a rapid pace in LEDC cities.
This is as a result of a process
called rural-urban migration.

33. What is rural-urban migration?
ž Rural-urban migration is the movement of people from
the countryside to the city.
ž This causes three things to happen:
Urban growth - towns and cities are expanding,
covering a greater area of land.
Urbanisation - an increasing proportion of people
living in towns and cities.
Mega cities - those with over 10 million people.
ž People are attracted to urban areas because they think
that, they will have greater opportunities there. For
many, life, is better but some end up in poverty.

34. Rural-urban migration happens as a result of push and
pull factors.

36. World Urban Population
• In 1800 only 3% of the world's population lived in
cities.
• By the end of the 20th century 47% lived in cities.
• In 1950, there were 83 cities with populations
exceeding one million;
• If the trend continues, the world's urban population
will double every 38 years, say researchers.
• The UN forecasts that today's urban population of
3.2 billion will rise to nearly 5 billion by 2030, when
three out of five people will live in cities

37. Cities with over 1 Million

38. Megacities
§ 1900: 19 cities had >1 million people (95% of the population
then were rural)
§ 2001: more than 400 cities have >1 million people
§ Increasingly, there are more megacities (cities with
populations >10 million people)
§ 1985: 8 megacities
§ 2001: 16 (13 of them in developing countries)
§ As they grow and sprawl outward, separate urban areas
may merge to form a megalopolis (= a very large city, or
a region made up of several large cities and their
surrounding areas in sufficient closeness to be
considered a single urban complex)

39. Where are the world’s largest cities?
There are 17 megacities in the world – these are cities with a population
of over 10 million. These are shown on the map below.
The United Nations estimate that by 2015 the number of megacities will
have increased to 21!
new megacities are shown in orange

40. Problems faced?? as a result of rapid
urbanization
1. Poor electricity and power supplies
2. Pollution
3. Lack of clean water
4. Few employment opportunities
5. Traffic problems
6. Poverty
7. Drugs, gangs and violence
8. Poor education and health provision
9. Poor sewerage systems
10. Poor rubbish collection
11. Lack of shelter
In developing countries people flock to urban areas before any economic
growth or infrastructure has been put in place, this leads to unpleasant
conditions.

41. Problems caused by rapid urbanization
Traffic Congestion as
cars/buses all share
same roads
Health Problems EG
Asthma & Bronchitis
caused by pollution
Break up of
families
Air pollution/Smog
from car fumes and
factories
Unemployment as
there are few
jobs in formal
sector.
Underground water
supplies being lost.
Poverty
Rural migrants
can’t find jobs
because they are
often illiterate
or non-skilled so
the informal
sector grows.
Wages are low paid and
workers are exploited.
Overcrowding
Poor quality building
materials and a lack of
basic amenities eg
running water/toilets in
shanty towns
Sewage on streets
leads to water borne
disease such as
cholera/diarrhoea
Disease spreads quickly
because of high density
housing.
High Infant mortality rates
Malnutrition
Increase in crime
More street
children
High birth rates
Water pollution –
rivers/seas used as
dustbins

42. Urban Problems (Challenges??)
Transport problems…
Housing Problems…
Environmental Problems…

43. Urban challenges in the developing world
90% of the human population growth in the next century is
expected to occur in the developing world.
Almost all the growth will occur in cities, which already have
trouble supplying food, water, housing, jobs, and basic services for
their residents.
The unplanned and uncontrollable growth of those cities causes
tragic urban environmental problems.
ž Traffic congestion
Due to the rapid population increase, the traffic problem also
increased.
The road are too narrow for increasing traffic which result in
traffic congestion in these countries. e.g. in Bangkok an average
resident spends the equivalent of 44 days a year sitting in traffic
jams.
About 20% of all fuel is consumed by vehicles standing still.
Hours of work lost each year are worth of least $3 billion.

44. There are different kinds of environmental problems :
- Air pollution
- Many cars on roads
- Many factories
- High population density
- High rise buildings are built alongside the road, pollutants cannot be blown away
by wind.
- Air conditioner are widely used
- Water pollution
- Many factories
- Noise pollution
- Too many cars / Parking problem
- Many constructions are in progress
- Solid waste problem
- Industrial solid wastes are wasted improperly
- People purchase a lot (growth of economy, people produce more waste as they
purchase more)
Environmental challenges in the
developing world

45. Environmental challenges in developing
countries conti……..
ž Air pollution
The traffic much of it involving old poorly
maintained vehicles, combine with Smokey factories and
the use of wood or coal fires for cooking and heating
contribute to air pollution.
ž Water pollution
The disposal of solid waste into water bodies and
insufficient sewage treatment causes water pollution in
developing countries. e.g. in Latin America where only 2%
of urban sewage receives any treatment.
Some 400 million people in developing world cities do
not have safe drinking water.

48. Water
625,000
tonnes
Fuel
9,500
tonnes
Food
2,000
tonnes
Daily Inputs
U.S.
city of
1 million
people
Daily Outputs
Air
pollutants
950 tonnes
Rubbish
9,500
tonnes
Sewage
500,000
tonnes

49. Environmental Problems Of Cities
§ Most cities: have few trees and other plants
§ Most cities: produce little of their own food
§ Many cities: have water supply and flooding
problems
§ Many coastal areas: popular for urban
development
à Many natural coastal habitats have
been cleared, drained, and filled in for
urban development

50. Urban Microclimate
§ Materials used in urban construction: conduct more
heat than vegetated areas
§ Buildings and vehicles: release significant amounts
of heat energy from burning of fossil fuels
à Urbanization can therefore its own microclimate
à Temperature of a city: several degrees warmer
than surrounding rural areas
à Cities are urban heat islands

51. This means cities tend to be warmer, rainier, foggier, and
cloudier.
Urban Heat Island Profile

52. There are different types of housing problems :
- Poor living conditions
- Lack of open spaces
- Poor hygiene
- High population density
Housing challenges in developing countries

53. Housing challenges in developing countries
conti……..
ž Insufficient
housing
Many cities in
developing countries
lacks sufficient
housing. it is estimated
that 1 billion
people-20% of the
world population live in
crowded unsanitary
slums or vast
shantytowns. Around
100 million people have
no home at all.

54. Case Study: Mexico City
§ Population: ~18 million people
( ~1/5 Mexicans live in Mexico City)
§ >2000 people move into the city
from poor rural areas every day
Mexico City suffers from severe air pollution:
§ Some 4 million motor vehicles and 30,000 factories pour
pollutants into the atmosphere
§ The city lies in a natural basin surrounded by mountains,
frequent thermal inversions trap polluted air at ground
level

55. § Living in Mexico City and breathing the air
= smoking 3 packs of cigarettes a day!
§ Government has tried to improve this (e.g.
having buses and trucks running on LPG,
enforcing stricter industrial emission
standards, planting trees), still, fail to meet
minimum air quality standards on average 300
days a year
Mexico City, with the
volcano Popocatépetl in
the background

56. Mexico City – Urban Problems
Mexico City also suffers from:
§ Very high unemployment (~50%)
§ A soaring crime rate (robbery, assault,
murder)
§ Severe noise pollution
§ Bad traffic congestion
§ Inadequate housing (>1/3 of the people living in
slums with no running water or electricity)
§ Inadequate sanitation (à widespread
infectious diseases such as hepatitis)

57. Current Urban Design Issues

58. Towns / cities (product of design) have become too big to
be legible & easily understood, perceived and managed
CURRENT URBAN DESIGN ISSUES

59. Towns / cities are becoming more influenced / being
shaped (design process) by design concepts that are alien
to the local context and through development & design by
people foreign to the local lifestyles.
CURRENT URBAN DESIGN ISSUES

60. CURRENT URBAN DESIGN ISSUES
Local Communities have been sidelined in the development
of towns / cities (design process) ; the local communities
should actually be initialising development (designers,
developers, politicians are just tools / means to achieve
community goals)

61. CURRENT URBAN DESIGN ISSUES
Economic rationalisation / efficiency leads to
predominantly mega-scale developments (product of
design) that are unsustainable ecologically, socially, &
even economically in the long run

62. CURRENT URBAN DESIGN ISSUES
Misconception of Urban Design as merely the placing of
bollards; selecting materials for pedestrian ways;
initiating urban landscape; urban beautifications and
image enhancements (design process).

63. CURRENT URBAN DESIGN ISSUES
Lack of integration in city development (design process)
across all administrative boundaries, disciplinary boundaries,
& spatial boundaries
Breaking into components:
predominantly town planning & architecture, which compete
with engineering & pathetically balanced up by “modern
urban design”

64. Misconception of “BIG is Beautiful”&
“the Bigger the Better”; what we need is actually
“Better NOT Bigger” (product of design)
CURRENT URBAN DESIGN ISSUES

65. CURRENT URBAN DESIGN ISSUES
Failure (or disinterest?) among built environment
professionals to study, understand & appreciate the
“natural” process & good principles of City Building that
created many timelessly beautiful, liveable & more
sustainable traditional cities; failure to learn from the
past (design process)

66. CURRENT URBAN DESIGN ISSUES
Town planners / urban designers passively following
trends (design process) without seriously questioning
their causes & effects; design should be a pro-active tool
of change

67. CURRENT URBAN DESIGN ISSUES
Planning & Design for machinery-needs rather than for
human-needs (design process) loss of identity of place,
genius loci, human scale, freedom to move about
placelessness (product of design)

68. CURRENT URBAN DESIGN ISSUES
Failure of town planners / urban designers to understand /
visualise the implications of 2-dimensional plans & policy
statements onto the real 3-dimensional physical
environment; failure to translate planning ideals into physical
realities (design process)

69. Kuala Lumpur

70. Kuala Lumpur

71. Solution??

72. Good Urban Planning
Good urban planning can help a city to attain sustainable
development.
- Eco-city
- Building new towns

73. Urban growth boundaries (UGBs)
ž Limit sprawl: keeps growth in existing urbanized
areas
— Revitalize downtowns
— Protect farms, forests, and industries
— Ensure urban dwellers some access to open space
— May reduce infrastructure costs
ž Disadvantages:
— Increase housing prices within their boundaries
— Restrict development outside the UGB
— Increase the density of new housing inside the UGB
— Increasing pressure to expand boundaries

74. ž Other states, regions, and cities have adopted UGBs
— Boulder, Colorado; many California areas
— Trying to concentrate development,
prevent sprawl, and preserve
farmland and habitat
Many cities have urban growth boundaries
Oregon’s long-term goal
was to prevent growth of
a megalopolis stretching
from Eugene to Seattle

75. Smart growth tries to counter sprawl
ž Smart growth = urban growth boundaries and other
land use policies to control sprawl
ž Proponents of smart growth promote:
— Healthy neighborhoods and communities
— Jobs and economic development
— Transportation options
— Environmental quality
ž Building “up, not out”
— Focusing development in existing areas
— Favoring multistory shop-houses and high-rises
— Revitalize older communities as more desirable
places to live

76. ž Efficiently accommodate projected growth.
ž Provide sufficient affordable housing.
ž Revitalize central cities and older suburbs.
ž Reduce single occupant vehicle trips.
ž Preserve open space and agricultural land.
ž Foster equitable economic development while
minimizing displacement.
SMART GROWTH PRINCIPLES

77. ž Revitalization of existing communities.
ž Efficient design for edge development.
ž Development near transit service.
ž Mixed use.
ž Efficient density.
ž Mixed incomes.
SAMPLE DEVELOPMENT CONCEPTS

78. Reducing Automobile Use
(Is Not Easy, but It Can Be Done)
• Full-cost pricing: high gasoline taxes
• Raise parking fees
• Tolls on roads, tunnels, and bridges into cities
• Car-sharing
• Charge a fee to drive into a major city
Promoting Alternatives to Car Ownership
• Bicycles
• Heavy-rail systems
• Light-rail systems
• Buses
• Rapid-rail system between urban areas

79. Sustainable Cities:
• Many people are working towards trying
to make cities more sustainable. A
sustainable city is that city which
offers a good quality of life to current
residents but doesn’t reduce the
opportunities for future residents to
enjoy.
• A sustainable city will grow at a
sustainable rate and use resources in a
sustainable way.

80. Key Features of a sustainable city:
• Resources and services in the city are
accessible to all.
• Public transport is seen as a viable alternative
to cars.
• Public transport is safe and reliable.
• Walking and cycling is safe.
• Areas of open space are safe, accessible and
enjoyable.
• Wherever possible, renewable resources are
used instead of non-renewable resources.

81. • Waste is seen as a resource and is recycled
wherever possible.
• New homes are energy efficient.
• There is access to affordable housing.
• Community links are strong and communities
work together to deal with issues such as
crime and security.
• Cultural and social amenities are accessible to
all.
Key Features of a sustainable city:

82. ECO-CITY

83. Environmental impact and dedicated to
• minimize required inputs of energy, water and
food, and waste output of heat, air pollution -
CO2, methane, and water pollution.
The Eco-city Concept:

84. The Ecocity Concept:
§ Ecocities or green cities
• Build and design for people
• Use renewable energy resources
• Recycle and purify water
• Use energy and matter resources efficiently
• Prevent pollution and reduce waste
• Recycle, reuse and compost municipal waste
• Protect and support biodiversity
• Urban gardens; farmers markets
• Zoning and other tools for sustainability

85. NEW URBANISM

86. New urbanism
ž New urbanism = neighborhoods are designed on a
walkable scale
— Homes, businesses, and schools are close together
ž Functional neighborhoods in which most of a
family’s needs can be met without using a car
New urbanist
developments have
green spaces, mixed
architecture, creative
street layouts

87. PRINCIPLES OF NEW URBANISM

88. #1: Walkability
ž Most errands
should be
accomplished
within a 10-min.
walk from home or
work.
ž Pedestrian-friendly
street design.

89. #2: Connectivity
Interconnected street
grid network disperses
traffic and eases walking.

90. #3: Mixed-use and diversity
A mix of shops,
offices, apartments
and homes. Mixed-use
within neighborhood,
within block, within
buildings.

91. #4: Mixed-housing
A range of types, sizes and prices in close proximity.

92. #5: Quality of architecture
& urban design
Emphasis on beauty, aesthetics, human
comfort, and creating a sense of place.
Human-scale architecture.

93. #6: Traditional neighborhood
structure
Highest density at town center; progressively
less dense towards the edge. This urban-to-
rural transect hierarchy has appropriate
building and street types for each area along
the continuum.

94. #7: Increased density
ž More buildings, residences, shops and services closer
together for easy walking.
ž To enable a more efficient use of services and
resources.

95. #8: Transportation
ž A network of high-quality transit connecting cities
and towns together.
ž Pedestrian-friendly designs that encourage the use of
bicycles, scooters and walking as daily transportation.

96. #9: Sustainability
ž Minimal environmental
impact of development.
ž Less use of finite fuels.
ž More local production.

97. Benefits of New Urbanism
ž Less traffic congestion
and driving.
ž Healthier lifestyle:
pedestrian-friendly
communities.
ž More freedom and
independence for
children, the elderly and
the poor.
ž More open space.
ž Less tax money spent on
infrastructure.

98. CONCLUSION:
The rapid growth of the urban population will exert pressure on the provision of
adequate housing, sanitary facilities and amenities, proper drainage, garbage
disposal, health and educational facilities as well as other infrastructure.
We have to look at cities as a whole in order to understand the full meaning of
sustainable urban development.
Most cities are unsustainable because of high levels of resource use, waste,
pollution, and poverty.
In reality, no city is completely sustainable.
Urban Issues

99. Urban Issues
THANK YOU FOR YOUR KIND ATTENTION