BETTER LIVABLE TOWN

MIDORI緑CALEB SOH ER WEN0320292FNBE AUG 2014

Content

1. Introduction 2. Town: A Definition3. Ancient town: Machu

Picchu4. Modern town: Bogota5. The Future of Towns6. The Midori Town 7. Conclusion 8. Reference List

Introduction A town. What is it? When thrown this question by our lecturers, we were surprisingly lost for words. A majority of us knew that a town would be bigger than a village but smaller than a city, but beyond that, we knew nil.

So over the course of this project, aptly named Built Environment: Better Town of the Future, we were tasked to explore and determine the variables behind a good town from three angles. The first being an ancient town, followed by a modern town and then a future town.

By doing so, we could also take note of the many shortcomings of these towns and come up with adequate solutions which would be in turn implemented in the proposal for our own town plan that of which is the final phase of this report.

TownThe definition of a town varies from country to country. By law, a town is defined as “a civil and political subdivision of a state, which varies in size and significance according to location but is ordinarily a division of a county”.

But for the purpose of this project, we have decided on the following criteria..

I. A large scale development with a targeted population of 7000- 30,000

II. At least 75% of the working male population are engaged in non-agricultural pursuits

III. A population density of at least 400 people / km2

The creation of towns is synonymous with the rise of the early civilizations, one of the earliest being the Sumerians who built the town Mesopotamia in about 5000BC. While most of the features of civilizations began to develop thousands of years ago during the Stone Age. But it took a long time for people to bring all these ideas together to build towns on a large scale.

The concept of communal residency probably started in the Stone Age when band of hunters would set up temporary common camps which to return to after a hunting trip. This common camps gradually gave way to permanent villages when the people learnt to domesticate wild animals and started to farm their own crops. The best example is probably Jericho which was built in about 9000BC in the Middle East.

What Makes a Good Town?After going through the multitude of information available to us, it is safe to say that a good town is one which is developed with an eye on the wellbeing natural environment and another on the welfare of the residents without compromising one for the other.

In terms of the Natural Environment, here are some aspects..

I. Sustainable construction using environmental friendly materials and methods

II. High walkability to reduce carbon emissions through daily commute

III. Implementation of laws that encourages the preservation of environment

In terms of Resident Welfare, here are some aspects..

I. Safe, low crime rateII. Free from natural disastersIII. Convenient with all the basic needs met, i.e.

clean water source, electricity, shelter, foodIV. Availability of basic governmental services, i.e.

education, medication, legislationV. Availability of recreational facilities, be it natural

or man-made

VI. Preservation of heritage and culture VII. Fair and just judiciary system VIII. Sufficient job opportunities and strong socio-

economy

ANCIENT TOWN - MACHU PICCHU

a) Location- Cusco Region, Peru- 2430 Metres above sea level

b) History- Built around 1450, at the height of the

Inca Empire - Built over two periods..

I. Pachacutec Inca Yupanqui (1438-1471)

II. Tupac Inca Yupanqui (1472-93)- Abandoned just over 100 years later in

1572- This was mostly due to the outbreak of

smallpox, which was brought over by the Spanish Army when they invaded Peru

c) Details - Machu Picchu can be divided two ways..

I. An urban sector and agricultural sector

II. The upper town and the lower town

- Upper Town consists of..I. The Religious District - Three

archaeological treasures dedicated to Inti, their sun god and greatest deity, e.g. the Inti Watana, the

Temple of the Sun and the Room of the Three Windows

II. The Royal District - A group of houses located in rows over a slope, used by the nobility, characterized by the reddish walls and trapezoid-shaped rooms

- Lower Town consists of..I. The Popular District - Also known

as the Residential District, is the place where the lower-class people lived. It also includes storage buildings and simple houses

- The town layout is adapted to the natural form of the mountains

- About 200 buildings arranged on wide parallel terraces around a vast central square that is oriented east-west

- Compounds are long and narrow to exploit the terrain

- Extensive terraces were used for agriculture while sophisticated channelling systems provided irrigation for the fields

- Stone stairways set in the wall provides access to the different levels across the site

- Geography..I. 2430 metres above sea levelII. On a mountain ridge, with cliffs

around it dropping a staggering 450 metres

III. On the bow of the Urubamba River, which means it is surrounded by the river from three sides

IV. In between two mountains, Machu Picchu and Huayna Picchu

V. In between two fault lines

MODERN CITY – BOGOTA

c) Location- Distrito Capital, Colombia- 2640 Metres above sea level

d) History- First started off in 1533 as a permanent

settlement for the invading Spaniards - Over the period of the next 500 years,

Bogota undergoes many political reforms as well as the 1000 day war from 1899-1902.

- After the war, political reforms lead to the rethink of urban planning and residents’ welfare.

a) Details a. Urban Layout and Nomenclature

Bogotá has 20 localities, or districts, forming an extensive network of neighbourhoods. Areas of higher economic status tend to be located to the north and northeast, close to the foothills of the Eastern Cordillera. Poorer neighbourhoods are located to the south and southeast, many of them squatter areas. The middle classes usually inhabit

the central, western and north-western sections of the city.

b. Transport Buses remain the main means of mass transit. There are two bus systems: the traditional system and the TransMilenio. The traditional system runs a variety of bus types, operated by several companies on normal streets and avenues: Bus (large buses),Buseta (medium size buses) and Colectivo (vans or minivans). The bigger buses were divided into two categories: Ejecutivo, which was originally to be a deluxe service and was not to carry standing passengers, and corriente or normal service. Since May 2008, all buses run as corriente services. Bogotá is a hub for domestic and international bus routes. The Bogotá terminal serves routes to most cities and towns in Colombia and is the largest in the country. There is international service to Ecuador,

Perú and Venezuela.

The Future of Towns

Having gone through the past and present examples of towns, what then can we say about the future of towns and the foreseeable changes that they would undergo?

To answer that, let us first take a look at the problems that many towns face nowadays..

I. Over-reliant on external sources for basic resources, i.e. food, energy and water

II. Not self-sufficient III. Resources dependant on a complex transport

infrastructure, fuel & modern fertilizer

The issue is so serious to the extent that for every calorie we eat, the consumption of ten calories of oil is required. In a few decades, when the global oil reserves run low, this reliance on petroleum will not be sustainable.

This issue will inevitably shape the future of town planning and thus these are a few things that we believe we would increasingly see in future towns..

I. Vertical Farms – basically multi-tiered glass skyscrapers which frees the farming industry from the restriction of land size. This enables farms to migrate from the countryside into the downtown areas.

+ Allows city-dwellers to harvest crops all year round in areas without available land+ Reduce energy consumed in transporting the food from the source to the user+ Lower crop lost associated with shipping and storing+ It minimizes the wastage as water as it recycles its own water + Due to the crops being in sealed environments, the amount of pesticides use can be reduced+ One tower can potentially feed 50,000 people

II. Laws – which requires all large buildings to have some space dedicated to food production could be a common place in future town legislations

III. Self-sufficient energy production – solar cells and roof top wind turbine would increasingly find its place in building design as urban planners move towards having buildings that can survive off-the-grid. Piezo-electric paving slabs and hydraulic plates at road surfaces would be the other technologies used.

IV. Increased efficiency in water management – towns would be designed with a system to recapture and recycle water in a bid to reduce water wastage

V. Increasing walkability – towns would be safer, more convenient, attractive and connected to promote walking as the mode of transport as opposed to driving. Key sites would be situated within a 400 metre radius of any residential area as that is the average distance a person can walk in five minutes.

Midori Town

In response to the research done, the Midori town plan incorporates all the strengths and elements of a future development.

Type: Floating Town ( air )Area: 17.82 km2

Population: Approx. 150,000 peopleMain Economy: Eco-tourism, education hub, science & technology hub

The name Midori derives from the Japanese word for green which signifies the designer’s intent in having this town showcase the possibilities of having a town which is completely clean and environmental friendly.

Hence, the Midori Town is basically a proof-of-concept to show that it is feasible for a town to be completely off-the-grid and self-sustaining in terms of energy production, as well as food and water supply. Being an independent floating city in the air, it helps to proof this concept in a very striking manner.

Being a model town, the design of Midori Town has incorporated many new technologies and concepts which can in turn be replicated in other future towns or cities.

I. Smart zonal arrangement The key zones which have a heavier traffic flow in between one another are place close to one another to reduce the amount energy required to move to and fro these places.

II. Light rail transit lines Are placed in the centre of the town to cater to the needs of the residence traveling to and fro from home and work. This central and convenient placement encourages residences to use it as their main mode of transport. The LRT line also serves as a means of transporting the produce from the two vertical farms to the commercial and residential areas.

III. The 400 in 5 concept The placement of key buildings in the individual zones were made after taking into account the fact that the average person can cover the distance of 400 metres in 5 minutes. This encourages residence to use walking as the main mode of transport when running errands.

IV. ObservatoryBeing high up the sky, far away from the bright lights of other major cities enables the Midori Town to be the perfect spot for astronomers to build a telescope and observe and study the inter-stellar bodies. This also opens up the town to be a R&D hub for space exploration as well as a place for eco-tourism.

V. Vertical farming Enables the Midori Town to be self-sufficient on the food front. Using hydroponics instead of traditional soil, the crops can be better taken care of and thus productivity is increased. One tower has the capability to cater for 50,000 people, so the four towers that the town has should supply enough food comfortably for the population of 150,000 with surplus.

VI. Wind farmMakes good use of the windy conditions always experienced by the town high up in the sky. The constant wind flow across the floating town enables the wind farm to be a consistent and reliable source of energy. Subsequently, the whole towns’ energy needs are met by the wind farm.

Conclusion

Over the course of this assignment, it is a good thing to see that mankind has made a progressive improvements in terms of our towns and communities. From the ancient Machu Picchu to the current towns like Bogota, mankind has always learnt from their past experiences.

Now, at the turn of the 21st Century, mankind will strive to move to the next step of urban development and that is green environments. As in the past, on top of developing new ground-breaking technologies, we should strive to look back into our past to seek for inspiration and lessons to carry forward.

Reference

http://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/sconcerns/densurb/densurbmethods.htm

http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Town

http://www.altitude.org/high_altitude.php http://science.howstuffworks.com/

environmental/green-science/five-amazing-green-cities.htm#page=4

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2622516/Forget-high-speed-rail-future-train-travel-SUPER-MAGLEV-says-China-one-day-1-800MPH.html

http://www.idealcity.org.au/town_planning-5-modern_metropolis.html

http://censusindia.gov.in/2011-prov-results/paper2/data_files/India2/1.%20Data%20Highlight.pdf