Designing the City:

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Designing the City Tools for the
Non-Designer Design as a Social Tool May 15,
2008
Carol Johnson, city of Phoenix
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The principal aim of urban design is to improve
the quality of the human spatial environment,
and, by so doing, to improve the quality of human
life. Kevin Lynch
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In the beginning, discord.
vs.
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Then, an uneasy coexistence.
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Followed by study and observation at the city
scale.
Kevin Lynchs theory of urban form
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Problems.
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Possible solutions.
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Phoenix case study. South Phoenix Design Study
October 1974

• Comfort
• Identity
• Meaning

• Diversity
• Legibility
• Knowledge Participation

Design Criteria (from Kevin Lynch)
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Proposed Projects Recommended by Study

• Rio Salado Project to combine flood control and
  recreational facilities in the riverbed
• New recreational facilities at the regional
  Alvord Park, 35th Ave Baseline
• Proposed professional football stadium between
  7th and 16th Streets adjacent to the Rio Salado
• New bridges across the Salt River at 7th Ave,
  19th Ave, 24th Street
• New 230KV line along Western Canal and Baseline
  Road

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Potential Form Recommended by Study

• Establish Rio Salado as an activity center for
  the region with facilities ranging from parks,
  picnic areas, sports centers, and lagoons
• Create a trail system linking parks, schools and
  major activity nodes
• Encourage retention of some agricultural uses,
  especially flower gardens and orchards

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Potential Form Recommended by Study

• Establish specific limits of industrial and
  commercial expansion and update zoning
• Improve gateways, especially Central Avenue,
  through landscaping, provision areas,
  undergrounding of electric lines and improvement
  of store fronts and signs
• Relocate and/or control existing offensive noise
  and odor sources.
• Preserve and enhance existing views along major
  streets, such as east Baseline Road

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Followed by study and observation at the human
scale.
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Design considerations for urban spaces.
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Local example of an active urban place.