Urban Design

According to the World Health Organization, cities can provide several benefits to the people with infrastructure that can provide access to basic needs and at the same time prevent the effects of climate change which goes hand in hand with improving health issues. In recent years, the quality of the environment has been declining due to new practices in relation with the built environment, with massive new developments with of lack of access to services and cities built around the use of car. Several strategies have been planned to turn the selected site into a healthy place which will be mentioned below.

The area itself has potential with its under used buildings that can work to carry on different uses and activities, also the river location plays an important role to attract more people. To develop the project the first strategy is to reuse the existing buildings’ infrastructure, by adapting the existing buildings to provide the services that are missing in the surroundings and within the area, as well as creating new spaces for housing, offices, education, and cultural activities. This follows the idea of ‘Urban Retrofitting’, by taking advantage of the existing embodied resources which helps with lowering carbon emissions by reusing materials and the structures of the built environment, in addition to creating a sense of place by keeping the character of the area.

Air quality is one of the main aspects to enhance the population’s quality of life and reducing the car dependence can be a key point to achieve this. The strategies to improve the environment and well-being are: promoting active travel by enhancing direct routes to different points of the city, with the waterfront as a way of connection that will complement the new walking and cycling routes, along with encouraging contact with nature with a green loop that creates interaction with it, but at the same time will contribute to perform physical activities by using it, in addition of incorporating more greenery in the streets. Another important objective is to promote equity and safety among the population with easy access to amenities by activating the existing warehouses’ ground floors with a variety of uses, that will also support social life and turn the site into a livelier place.

The warehouses and the streets among them will play an important role on fostering local networks of support, by turning them into new public places for meetings connected to existing schools, offices and residential buildings. This project seeks to address recent problems that are affecting people’s quality of life and turn it into a safe place that provides equal social and economic opportunities for everyone, as well as contributing to the enhancement of the environment, health and well-being of the population.