**2. Urban design**

Urban design as a profession might be considered relatively new, but historically it has played a major role in forming cities (Arida, 2002). The concept of urban design has emerged as a bridge between planning and design in response to need for management of modernizing cities in the late 1950's (Krieger, 2009). However, there does not exist a commonly agreed definition of urban design yet, mainly due to its interdisciplinary character. While some try to create a precise and universal definition, some argue that it is unnecessary. Appleyard (1982) states that there shouldn't or can't be a single definition of urban design and points out if the existence of different kinds of urban design is recognized, then it is possible to get a better understanding of the nature of it (Rowley, 1994). There are many viewpoints on what urban design actually is. Traditionally, urban design has been regarded either as a subset of planning or as extension of architecture. On the other hand, one cannot abstract open and green spaces out of an urban environment. Hence, the role of landscape architecture in urban design needs to be understood and accepted as a key part in creating sustainable urban environments. This section does not aim to define urban design, but I believe a better understanding of scope and content of urban design will provide a conceptual basis for urban landscape design.

Urban design can roughly be defined as the art of creating and giving form to urban environments. Urban design involves many stakeholders whose interests and priorities may conflict and the physical product of urban design should serve the community's needs and expectations with its social, cultural and economic outcomes. This makes urban design a highly complex phenomenon; as a result the definition can or should not be limited to physical design.

Although examples of urban design could be traced back to Ottoman period, it, as a concept, was first introduced in Turkey in 1970s, starting from the adoption of the concept by university degree programs. However, the concept has not gone further than being an academic subject and a legal background does not exist, yet. According to Baş (2003) existing urban planning approach in Turkey is basically static and urban design is reduced

Urbanization in Turkey gained momentum starting from 1950's as a result of intense immigration from rural to urban areas. This has caused vertical growth in cityscapes and increase of squatter settlements around planned areas which has lead to loss of character and identity. Currently there are 81 provinces in Turkey and the urban population is the 76.3% of the total population as of 2010 (TurkStat, 2011). Industrialization has always been the key driving force o the urban development in Turkey. While industrialization and urbanization have pushed the limits of environmental capacity, open and green spaces, or in other words the urban landscape has diminished within the city. Unfortunately, open and green spaces are hardly among the priorities of urban development in the planning system of Turkey. On the contrary, like Jacques-Menegaz (2006) points out; "*open and green spaces are* 

This chapter aims to present the role and importance of urban landscape as a crucial part of urban environments, providing design basics and examples. Urban landscape elements, whether public or private property, are parts of the city's form and texture. Therefore design of urban landscape is inevitably a part of urban design. Hence, firstly, urban design concept and its bond with landscape architecture will be discussed. Then, benefits of urban landscape elements will be examined and basic urban landscape design principles will be presented.

Urban design as a profession might be considered relatively new, but historically it has played a major role in forming cities (Arida, 2002). The concept of urban design has emerged as a bridge between planning and design in response to need for management of modernizing cities in the late 1950's (Krieger, 2009). However, there does not exist a commonly agreed definition of urban design yet, mainly due to its interdisciplinary character. While some try to create a precise and universal definition, some argue that it is unnecessary. Appleyard (1982) states that there shouldn't or can't be a single definition of urban design and points out if the existence of different kinds of urban design is recognized, then it is possible to get a better understanding of the nature of it (Rowley, 1994). There are many viewpoints on what urban design actually is. Traditionally, urban design has been regarded either as a subset of planning or as extension of architecture. On the other hand, one cannot abstract open and green spaces out of an urban environment. Hence, the role of landscape architecture in urban design needs to be understood and accepted as a key part in creating sustainable urban environments. This section does not aim to define urban design, but I believe a better understanding of scope and content of urban design will provide a

Urban design can roughly be defined as the art of creating and giving form to urban environments. Urban design involves many stakeholders whose interests and priorities may conflict and the physical product of urban design should serve the community's needs and expectations with its social, cultural and economic outcomes. This makes urban design a highly complex phenomenon; as a result the definition can or should not be limited to physical design. Although examples of urban design could be traced back to Ottoman period, it, as a concept, was first introduced in Turkey in 1970s, starting from the adoption of the concept by university degree programs. However, the concept has not gone further than being an academic subject and a legal background does not exist, yet. According to Baş (2003) existing urban planning approach in Turkey is basically static and urban design is reduced

*not amenities but necessities in urban life"*.

conceptual basis for urban landscape design.

**2. Urban design** 

to land readjustment. Furthermore, never ending controversies, mainly between urban planners and architects, over "who are the real urban designers" makes the cooperation difficult. On the contrary, compromise between related fields (i.e. landscape architecture, urban planning and architecture) is necessary in order to develop conceptual background for urban design in Turkey. This might also be the basic problem in defining urban design; arguing possession of the discipline rather than focusing on the extent. It is impossible to involve urban design in national development policies without lack of consensus.

In 2010, a national action plan titled "Integrated Urban Development Strategy and Action Plan 2010-2023, Turkey"(KENTGES in Turkish abbreviation) was created by the Ministry of Public Works and Settlement2. The action plan is a result of participation process in order to respond to the need for increased life quality and stronger socio-economical structure in urban environments. It is a national document which includes the strategies, policies and actions for sustainable urban development. In this document, the concept of urban design has been primarily linked to the second central axis of the action plan "increasing spatial and life quality of settlements". The actions related to urban design are summarized as follows:


The integration of urban design in such an action plan seems like promising. However, there is still much work to be done and it is too soon to tell whether the action plan will achieve its goals.

## **2.1 Urban design and urban life quality**

Under the course description of "Urban Design: City-Building and Place-Making"at University California, Berkeley, urban design is explained as follows:

"*The discipline of urban design is concerned with notions of the "good city." It is concerned with how urban environments work for people and support human needs, how physical designs may facilitate or hinder human behavior, how cities look, and what cities mean. It is concerned foremost with environmental quality, measured in many ways but particularly in terms of access, connectivity, comfort, legibility, and sense of place."* 

This statement supports the idea that urban design is strongly linked to life quality. Like urban design, there is no universally accepted definition of quality of life (QoL). The term was first used in USA in the post-war period and later was adopted by many fields such as education, health and, economic and industrial growth (Carr et al., 1996). Despite the technological development and increased income levels, it has been recognized that quality

<sup>2</sup> In 2011, The Ministry of Public Works and Settlement was closed down by a decree-law and KENTGES studies are now being carried on by General Directorate of Spatial Planning, The Ministry of Environment and Urbanization.

Urban Landscape Design 281

 **Value communities and neighborhoods:** Enhance the unique characteristics of all communities by investing in healthy, safe, and walkable neighborhoods—rural, urban,

Livability principles are strongly related to the concept of sustainability. The environmental damage caused by urbanization is in the heart of sustainability debates. It has become a key issue in development after The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in 1992, which expressed the concerns for the future of the environment in global scale. Agenda 21 is one of the resulting documents of this conference. It is an action plan and comprises four main sections; (i) social and economic dimensions, (ii) conservation and management of resources for development, (iii) strengthening the role of major groups, and (iv) means of implementation which include detailed policies for sustainable development. Agenda 21, as a tool, emphasizes the importance of local participation in decision making and implementation processes. Besides, local participation is also necessary to find out psychological/subjective

It is generally implied that the dynamics and rhythm of urban life decreases the life quality of citizens in many aspects. Contemporary urban lifestyles are fast paced and exhausting for many. Despite the fact that cities are the hearts of economic growth and cultural diversity, citizens might experience difficulties in enjoying the amenities of a city in context of time and space. During our busy daily schedule, mainly between work and home, we hardly find time to ourselves. When we have some spare time, we seek to enjoy what the city offers to us. On the other hand cities are densely built and populated environments which causes the feeling of "lost in space". People want to access and circulate through their living environments easily. Furthermore they need places where they can escape the stressful rhythm of urban life. This is where landscape architecture takes the leading role; design of open and green spaces to provide livable and accessible outdoor environments, as well as to support urban ecology. Further benefits of urban landscape, that affects the urban life

Landscape architecture is the art and science of creating and conserving outdoor environments with respect to cultural values and ecological sustainability. It uses both nonliving and living materials for design and planning, therefore the outcome is always dynamic and changing. Until recently, urban design was associated mainly with architecture and urban planning, and the role of landscape architecture was neglected. Landscape architects have been criticized for their urban design practices with low density, little formal sensibility, and too much open space which at the end look like suburban environments (Krieger, 2009). Today, on the contrary, urban landscape is considered crucial to creating sustainable urban environments. Although the word "landscape" is often used to describe natural and/or rural environments, there is certainly more to it. A landscape is shaped by both natural and cultural dynamics which also influence human life styles. Therefore an urban landscape is not only about green spaces within an urban environment. It is comprised of various land uses such as streets and squares, playgrounds, railway and canal corridors, cemeteries, bicycle and pedestrian paths, and waterfronts. Even structures

or suburban.

indicators for urban quality.

quality, will be explained in the next section.

in a city influence the urban landscape character.

**2.2 The role of landscape architecture in urban design** 

of life cannot be measured through material wealth (Pacione, 2003). According to United Nation's Environment Glossary (1997) the term is defined as the "*notion of human welfare (well-being) measured by social indicators rather than by "quantitative" measures of income and production*". Meanwhile World Health Organization's (1996) definition of quality of life is more comprehensive and as follows:

"*an individual's perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards and concerns*".

QoL analyses can be a useful tool for identifying design goals and developing strategies in urban design. On the other hand, measuring QoL and development of quality indexes are challenging processes since they encompass many dimensions (e.g. economic, social, health, subjective, environmental etc.). Livability and sustainability are two basic concepts related to urban life quality. Livability of an urban environment is determined by physical environment as well as social environment conditions, hence urban life quality is a result of two kinds of input; physical/objective and psychological/subjective (Yldz Turgut, 2007). For this reason, livability and consequently urban quality indicators might vary from one city to another. Parfect & Power (1997) suggest a situation assessment where weaknesses, deficiencies, inherent strengths and advantages are identified before identifying urban quality in urban design. Such an assessment could help to determine the priorities and deficiencies in urban development strategies and policies in both national and local context. Determination of priorities is also important in terms of finance, since cost of urban development is generally very high. As an example; United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U. S. Department of Transportation (DOT) have formed a partnership to coordinate decision and policy making efforts in housing, transportation and energy efficiency. In 2009 the partnership identified six livability principles to guide the federal investments. Developing such principles regarding both natural and cultural values could be useful and guiding in urban design. The principles are as follows:


of life cannot be measured through material wealth (Pacione, 2003). According to United Nation's Environment Glossary (1997) the term is defined as the "*notion of human welfare (well-being) measured by social indicators rather than by "quantitative" measures of income and production*". Meanwhile World Health Organization's (1996) definition of quality of life is

"*an individual's perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in* 

QoL analyses can be a useful tool for identifying design goals and developing strategies in urban design. On the other hand, measuring QoL and development of quality indexes are challenging processes since they encompass many dimensions (e.g. economic, social, health, subjective, environmental etc.). Livability and sustainability are two basic concepts related to urban life quality. Livability of an urban environment is determined by physical environment as well as social environment conditions, hence urban life quality is a result of two kinds of input; physical/objective and psychological/subjective (Yldz Turgut, 2007). For this reason, livability and consequently urban quality indicators might vary from one city to another. Parfect & Power (1997) suggest a situation assessment where weaknesses, deficiencies, inherent strengths and advantages are identified before identifying urban quality in urban design. Such an assessment could help to determine the priorities and deficiencies in urban development strategies and policies in both national and local context. Determination of priorities is also important in terms of finance, since cost of urban development is generally very high. As an example; United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U. S. Department of Transportation (DOT) have formed a partnership to coordinate decision and policy making efforts in housing, transportation and energy efficiency. In 2009 the partnership identified six livability principles to guide the federal investments. Developing such principles regarding both natural and cultural values could be useful and guiding in

 **Provide more transportation choices:** Develop safe, reliable, and economical transportation choices to decrease household transportation costs, reduce our nation's dependence on foreign oil, improve air quality, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and

 **Promote equitable, affordable housing:** Expand location- and energy-efficient housing choices for people of all ages, incomes, races, and ethnicities to increase mobility and

 **Enhance economic competitiveness:** Improve economic competitiveness through reliable and timely access to employment centers, educational opportunities, services and other basic needs by workers, as well as expanded business access to markets. **Support existing communities:** Target federal funding toward existing communities through strategies like transit oriented, mixed-use development, and land recycling—to increase community revitalization and the efficiency of public works investments and

 **Coordinate and leverage federal policies and investment:** Align federal policies and funding to remove barriers to collaboration, leverage funding, and increase the accountability and effectiveness of all levels of government to plan for future growth, including making smart energy choices such as locally generated renewable energy

*which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards and concerns*".

more comprehensive and as follows:

urban design. The principles are as follows:

lower the combined cost of housing and transportation.

promote public health.

safeguard rural landscapes.

 **Value communities and neighborhoods:** Enhance the unique characteristics of all communities by investing in healthy, safe, and walkable neighborhoods—rural, urban, or suburban.

Livability principles are strongly related to the concept of sustainability. The environmental damage caused by urbanization is in the heart of sustainability debates. It has become a key issue in development after The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in 1992, which expressed the concerns for the future of the environment in global scale. Agenda 21 is one of the resulting documents of this conference. It is an action plan and comprises four main sections; (i) social and economic dimensions, (ii) conservation and management of resources for development, (iii) strengthening the role of major groups, and (iv) means of implementation which include detailed policies for sustainable development. Agenda 21, as a tool, emphasizes the importance of local participation in decision making and implementation processes. Besides, local participation is also necessary to find out psychological/subjective indicators for urban quality.

It is generally implied that the dynamics and rhythm of urban life decreases the life quality of citizens in many aspects. Contemporary urban lifestyles are fast paced and exhausting for many. Despite the fact that cities are the hearts of economic growth and cultural diversity, citizens might experience difficulties in enjoying the amenities of a city in context of time and space. During our busy daily schedule, mainly between work and home, we hardly find time to ourselves. When we have some spare time, we seek to enjoy what the city offers to us. On the other hand cities are densely built and populated environments which causes the feeling of "lost in space". People want to access and circulate through their living environments easily. Furthermore they need places where they can escape the stressful rhythm of urban life. This is where landscape architecture takes the leading role; design of open and green spaces to provide livable and accessible outdoor environments, as well as to support urban ecology. Further benefits of urban landscape, that affects the urban life quality, will be explained in the next section.

#### **2.2 The role of landscape architecture in urban design**

Landscape architecture is the art and science of creating and conserving outdoor environments with respect to cultural values and ecological sustainability. It uses both nonliving and living materials for design and planning, therefore the outcome is always dynamic and changing. Until recently, urban design was associated mainly with architecture and urban planning, and the role of landscape architecture was neglected. Landscape architects have been criticized for their urban design practices with low density, little formal sensibility, and too much open space which at the end look like suburban environments (Krieger, 2009). Today, on the contrary, urban landscape is considered crucial to creating sustainable urban environments. Although the word "landscape" is often used to describe natural and/or rural environments, there is certainly more to it. A landscape is shaped by both natural and cultural dynamics which also influence human life styles. Therefore an urban landscape is not only about green spaces within an urban environment. It is comprised of various land uses such as streets and squares, playgrounds, railway and canal corridors, cemeteries, bicycle and pedestrian paths, and waterfronts. Even structures in a city influence the urban landscape character.

Urban Landscape Design 283

 Vegetation cover in urban landscape helps to improve micro-climate of urban areas where climate is warmer than their surroundings due to dense built environment and human activities. Vegetation cover raises humidity levels, reduces the stress of the heat island and mitigates the less desirable effects of urban climate (Landsberg, 1981). Daytime temperature in large parks was found to be 2-3°C lower than the surrounding

 Vegetation helps to decrease carbon emission levels in cities. Through photosynthesis process in plants CO2 in the air is converted to O2. Therefore, urban vegetation cover helps to reduce excess CO2 in the urban atmosphere. Although the degree of trees' drawing carbon emissions from the air is affected by their size, canopy cover, age and health, large trees can lower carbon emission in the atmosphere by 2-3% (GreenSpace,

Green spaces absorb and reduce the noise generated by human activities, especially

Vegetation cover and soil in urban landscape controls water regime and reduces run-

Humans are the dominating elements of an urban environment. Social interaction, as a basic need for humans, is essential in developing sense of community, belonging and security. Social interaction in cities is possibly the highest in public open and green spaces. Urban open and green spaces offer citizens various activity choices including recreational and sports activities which promote social cohesion. In 1992, researchers from Pennsylvania State University have conducted a nationwide study to investigate American public's perceptions of the benefits of local recreation and park services. They concluded that local

Furthermore people from different demographical backgrounds share public urban landscape in their everyday life. While today democracy is regarded as the only legitimate form of government throughout the world, urban open and green spaces possess the notion of democracy in their nature. These places are designed and serve to everyone in the community. On the other hand this raises the issues of accessibility, equity and participatory

All people need leisure time for relaxation and self fulfillment. Especially people living in urban environments seem to be more stressed and need more leisure time for their physical and mental health. There is a strong relationship between lifestyles, physical environment and leisure (Oğuz Çakc, 2010). Most people engage in leisure activities so that they can socialize. Urban open and green spaces can be designed to serve the community's leisure needs. It has also an economical aspect; for example playing ball games in a park or picnicking with friends is much cheaper than having a membership to a sports club or going to a restaurant. Unfortunately, nowadays people seem to spend more time indoors rather than outdoors which also leads to physical health problems due to inadequate physical activity. Designers should consider the ways to attract people to open and green spaces so that every group in the community can enjoy social benefits of urban landscape as well.

Vegetation cover also filters out other particles and dust in the air.

parks and recreation services are linked to sense of community.

planning which will be discussed in the next section.

off, hence helps to prevent water floods by absorbing excess water.

streets (GreenSpace, 2010).

trees act like noise barriers.

Trees can also act like wind breaker.

2010).

*Social benefits* 

Today urban environments have also a vast pressure on rural environments due to decentralization which causes loss of boundaries between urban and rural environments. Therefore it has a negative impact on natural resources which provide goods and energy for the urban dwellers. That is why sustainability has become the most important goal in urban design and planning more than ever. Urban design approaches should not neglect the natural processes which shape and influence the quality of life in urban environments. Since ecological principles are fundamental to landscape design and planning, urban landscape design plays an influential role in creating sustainable urban environments in context of resource management.
