Morphological Patterns of Urban Sprawl Territories • A
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View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Directory of Open Access Journals Morphological Patterns of Urban Sprawl Urbanism Territories • A. Stan MORPHOLOGICAL PATTERNS OF URBAN SPRAWL TERRITORIES Angelica I. STAN PhD arhitect, University of Architecture and Urbanism “Ion Mincu” Bucharest, Faculty of Urbanism, Urban and Landscape Planning Department, e-mail: [email protected] Abstract . In the context of global criticism on urban sprawl, the questions which arises are: what can we do with the expansion forms already occurred in most part of our cities ; can they be fully or partially integrated into the city? But first, which exactly are the common morphological features of urban expansion areas in large European cities, and (by comparison) in Romania? The urban form correlated to these „sparwl patterns” and „sprawl mechanisms” shows more then the lack of planning, but a social input in occuping the territory, related with a specific meaning of the landscape. The paper explores the relationship between the five distinct morphological patterns ways of forming in relation to spatial and landscape shapes which they generate, in the territories of sprawl, all illustrated through case studies of Bucharest. Key words : expansion, growth, pattern, periphery, landscape 1. Context and connections decrease in density of urban areas by Between urban expansion and urban territorial spread faster than urban sprawl we often put an equal sign. First population growth. In other words, because it’s difficult to make an exact sprawl describes the fact that cities term translation from English into other excesively grow on surface and that the languages, and second, because the more territory is artificialized at a rate much current and terrible phenomenon of higher than would impose the urban sprawl has become a star, demographic factor only. undermining the “authority” of the older concept of urban expansion. On the other hand, the term urban expansion has a slightly less negative Following the Europeean Commision, connotation. Some critics of urban sprawl Environment European Agency, Report considered urban expansion as acceptable 10/2006, urban sprawl is defined as “a as necessary to cope with increasing phenomenon of geographical expansion urban population. „Urban spatial of urban areas due to peripheral expansion results mainly from three implantation of sparse types of functions powerful forces: a growing population, (most of them residential), at the expense rising incomes, and falling commuting of large areas mainly agricultural” . Also, costs. Urban growth occurring purely in urban sprawl is correlated with a response to these fundamental forces 11 Urbanism. Arhitectură. Construcţii • Vol. 4 • Nr. 4 • 2013 • cannot be faulted as socially undesirable” argumentation is investigated the (Brueckner, 2000). Besides this, for us it’s ecotonal function of the periphery-that important to notice that urban expansion which facilitates the selection of entities produce a larger morphological types of in the territorial growth and aging urban fabric than sprawl, which rests a process. It throws a new light on the monotone dynamics - “a movement of peripheries landscape understood in an populations and activities from the center innovative and prolific way, revailing its to the periphery of the city, as hybrid traits. summarized by the metaphor of volcano” (Lacour, 1996). 3. Urban dynamics and metabolism In the well-kown study of Burgess, in the Both urban expansion and urban sprawl far 1925, the growth of the city is are forms of cities’ growth, but they concerned with the definition and should not be confused with it: urban description of processes, as those of (a) growth can be achieved without expansion, (b) metabolism, and (c) necessarily increasing the urban territory, mobility (Burgess, 2008). The typical by re-densification ( infill development ) of tendency of urban growth is the existing urban fabric, peripheries expansion radially from its central renewal, or reconstruction of the city onto business district by a series of concentric itself. Furthermore, urban growth is a circles (Burgess, 2008). Far from this result of the natural urban dynamic - a theory (but without totally disprove it), phenomenon that strongly binds on the we assert that urban growth may be even demographic mobility and economic more fundamentally stated as a result of a developments in the regional context. organization and disorganization processes, as it is the anabolic and 2. Methodology katabolic process of metabolism in the First, the study revealed a needed human body. The state of metabolism of distinction between the urban growth the city may be measured by mobility, and urban expansion, since the current but the accelerated urban sprawl is now literature tends to overlap them and associated with the profound change of urban planning is overwhelmed by the mentality in the way of housing, "compact city" syndrome. How compact? consumer, transportation and recreation. compact and in what way? - here are the Areas in the city of the greatest mobility questions for which this work can foster a are found to be the last expansion future response. But for this, it is territories of the city. New urban mobility necessary to understand all forms and including huge infrastructure and multi- relationships that occur in the context of modality brings a break in the logical urban expansion and after its occurrence. chain mobility-expansion-metabolism. In The morphological and spatial patterns morphological terms at least, the are explained in connection to metabolism of such elements was never morphological mechanisms occurring in achieved and never will be able to be sprawl areas, due to different driving done with the "elegance" as it was in the forces. Also, these mechanisms are case of gare Saint Lazare in the urban discussed in correlation to the possibility fabric of Paris. The new territorial of urban metabolism to assimilate the dynamics are rather characterized by new spatial forms apeared in cities’ hybridization and „parasitism”, by peripheries. In the same context of "grafting" the new structures sometimes 12 Morphological Patterns of Urban Sprawl Urbanism Territories • A. Stan foreign into pre-existing sites. With the expansion, with the worst case in urban 90s, there is a break in peripheral sprawl phenomenon- the most criticized metabolism of all the implants (either of all, pointed for all its disastrous effects new industries, retail, residential, on the environment. highway junctions, etc.), which must deal with ever more sophisticated dynamics But, whether we admit it easly or not, and connections in the adjacent territory. much of what counts as "urbanization" Mobility does not occur after metabolism, today is in fact suburbanization, and in but long before it, put it even under the first stage, it is sprawl, the dominant question. But for to assimilate which is mode in which cities have built. foreign element, any organism needs some time, patience, and therapy at a Seen through the growth of cities in the "molecular", small scale. Foreign forms of last period, urban morphology reflects urban tissue are not only foreign, these differences of urban form coming unassimilated forms, but carries with it a from the different degree of new range of meanings that come to reflect a „implants” metabolism. Urban growth particular social consciousness. It can not naturally favors the appearance of metabolize what was given without various forms (sometimes foreign ones) preparation and detailed knowledge of as every age of a living organism brings this mechanisms. physical or mental updates. Moreover, not all territorial dynamics are leading to urban growth, and not all urban growth is leading to sprawl. Sprawl phenomenon seen not only in its negative sides, but as part of urban growth, including the urban development (possibly harmonious at a time) is a vision that can bring benefits in future urban planning. 4. Driving forces and morpho- mechanisms of sprawl As we mentioned, we have identified several specific mechanisms that formed emergence basis of five morphological patterns which we will later explain in this paper. They are related to the driving forces that globally lead to the outbreak phenomenon of sprawl - as economic growth, behavior changing towards living comfort (increased demand for Fig. 1 . Intensive / extensive urban growth at the individual homes with garden), real morphological level estate speculation (and all associated financial systems), increased 3.1. Urban growth vs. expansion motorization, weakness of control in There is a partial overlap between urban urban and regional planning. Changing dynamics, urban growth and urban preferences for the consumption of 13 Urbanism. Arhitectură. Construcţii • Vol. 4 • Nr. 4 • 2013 • space will affect growth and and this is housing, storage - housing), lack of possible to investigate and communication between different mathematicalally modeled (Batty et al., entities, passive co-existence between 1999). By the same authors we can talk segregated communities, completely about developing as a general epidemic disjoint between very different model (Batty et al., 1999, p.4). based on architecture and lifestyles (McKee et al., a morphological matrix of spatial 2004) . aggregation, in which development is divided into three constituent parts: Both juxtaposition, and intercalation established development (in the context bring with them another