Project 1 :DUD 4011 - URBAN DESIGN > LIFE ON THE STREET - urban design seminars

"BRIEF INTRODUCTION
"The format for lectures for the first part of the semester will be a series of seminars prepared and presented by the students in groups of 2.

THE TOPICS
It is important to understand the role that the following individuals have played in urban design in the late 20th century. Some of their work  continues to influence and is still very topical. The following personalities and their influence need to be discussed:

JANE JACOBS
KEVIN LYNCH
GORDON CULLEN
DONALD APPLEYARD
JAN GEHL
CHRISTOPHER ALEXANDER"

My presentation was on Christian Alexander. He is a very interesting man and he has some captivating views on urban planning and the built environment.

Alexander is often overlooked or even despised by the mainstream architectural community because his work intentionally disregards contemporary urbanist dialogue and he showed that urbanists became anti-urbanists especially after the Second World War.

Alexander’s work is said to be a beacon illuminating a way to make the world more robust, beautiful, and kind. His approach to urban planning is a holistic one which implies a “from the grass-roots” method and which suggests that beautiful urban forms can come about only through a process that is meaningful to people.