Principles of Intelligent Urbanism

Principles of Intelligent Urbanism is related to theory of urban planning composed of a set of ten axioms intended to guide the formulation of city plans and urban designs. They are intended to reconcile and integrate diverse urban planning and management concerns. These axioms include environmental sustainability, heritage conservation, appropriate technology, infrastructure efficiency, placemaking, “Social Access,” transit oriented development, regional integration, human scale, and institutional integrity. Since you just graduated today after giving your final presentation, I would like to introduce you to this new area of study known as Principles of Intelligent Urbanism. Since you have always been interested in urban design.

The Ten Axioms of Principles of Intelligent Urbanism are:

1. Principle one: a balance with nature

According to proponents of Intelligent Urbanism, balance with nature emphasizes the distinction between utilizing resources and exploiting them. It focuses on the thresholds beyond whichdeforestation, soil erosion, aquifer depletion, siltation and flooding reinforce one another in urban development, saving or destroying life support systems.

2. Principle two: a balance with tradition

Balance with Tradition is intended to integrate plan interventions with existing cultural assets, respecting traditional practices and precedents of style (Spreiregen: 1965).

3. Principle three: appropriate technology

Appropriate technology emphasizes the employment of building materials, construction techniques, infrastructural systems and project management which are consistent with local contexts[1].

4. Principle four: conviviality

The fourth principle sponsors social interaction through public domains, in a hierarchy of places, devised for personal solace, companionship, romance, domesticity, “neighborliness,” community and civic life (Jacobs:1993).

A place for the individual

A place for friendship

A place for householders

A place for the neighborhood

A place for communities

A place for the city domain

5. Principle five: efficiency

The principle of efficiency promotes a balance between the consumption of resources such as energy, time and fiscal resources, with planned achievements in comfort, safety, security, access, tenure, productivity and hygiene.

6. Principle six: human scale

Intelligent Urbanism encourages ground level, pedestrian oriented urban patterns, based on anthropometric dimensions. Walkable, mixed use urban villages are encouraged over single-function blocks, linked by motor ways, and surrounded by parking lots.

7. Principle seven: opportunity matrix

The PIU envisions the city as a vehicle for personal, social, and [economic development], through access to a range of organizations, services, facilities and information providing a variety of opportunities for enhanced employment, economic engagement, education, and recreation.

8. Principle eight: regional integration

Intelligent Urbanism envisions the city as an organic part of a larger environmental, socio-economic and cultural-geographic system, essential for its sustainability. This zone of influence is the region.

9. Principle nine: balanced movement

Intelligent Urbanism advocates integrated transport systems comprising walkways, cycle paths, bus lanes, light rail corridors, under-ground metros and automobile channels.

10. Principle ten: institutional integrity

Intelligent Urbanism holds that good practices inherent in considered principles can only be realized through accountable, transparent, competent and participatory local governance, founded on appropriate data bases, due entitlements, civic responsibilities and duties.

 

For more information read:

Benninger C. (2001): “Principles of Intelligent Urbanism,” in Ekistics, Volume 69, Number 412, pp. 39 –65, Athens.
Caves Roger, Ed. (2004):”Principles of Intelligent Urbanism,” “Encyclopedia of the City”, London: Routledge.
Thimphu Structure Plan Interest in the concept of Intelligent Urbanism has spread to other contexts (Williams, 2003) and its application is being widely discussed (Graz Biennial, 2001).
Benninger C. (2001): “Principles of Intelligent Urbanism,” in Ekistics, Volume 69, Number 412, pp. 39 –65, Athens.
Benninger C. (2002): “Principles of Intelligent Urbanism,” Thimphu Structure Plan, Royal Government of Bhutan, Thimphu.

09 May This entry was published on May 9, 2013 at 1:38 pm. It’s filed under Opportunities and tagged " transit oriented development, "Social Access, appropriate technology, environmental sustainability, heritage conservation, human scale, infrastructure efficiency, institutional integrity, Intelligent Urbanism, placemaking, Principles of Intelligent Urbanism, regional integration. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post.