Urban design

Developed country scenario:

The skywalk system
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

The skywalk system, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

(1960 to the present; planned completion 2017)

The Issue :
The Dayton brothers had unveiled their innovative, climate-controlled
Edina shopping center in what had been a suburban cornfield.
From the day this opened
its doors with free parking,
Leslie Park, real estate
developer, knew that
downtown was in deep
trouble
He was concerned about
the suburban boom and its
potential to drain the
economic vitality out of the
citys historic central
business district.
He knew that downtown
had to compete with the

The Solution :
Sensing pressure from indoor shopping malls, Park wanted to create a
similar environment in Downtown Minneapolis that would offer a
climate-controlled space and a way for pedestrians to move from
building to building.
He built two skyways connecting the Northstar Center building to the
Northwestern Bank Building and the Roanoke Building.
The skyway to the Northwestern Bank Building was built in 1962 and
the skyway to the Roanoke Building followed the next year.

The skyway to the Roanoke

Building opened in 1963

Present : The skyway still remains in

use today and is the system's oldest

 Pedestrians found the new structure irresistible as they swarmed over it,

comfortable and protected from the August heat and the bustling traffic
and it was finally tangible.
The system grew to 7 total segments by 1972, though many of the
skyways remained disconnected from one another.
The construction of theIDS Centerin 1974 helped to unify the system.
The building featured skyways in all four
directions as well as a spacious atrium area called
the Crystal Court, allowing it to act as a central
hub for the entire system.
Today, Minneapolis has the worlds largest
skyway system, connecting 80 blocks through a
climate-controlled maze of walkways extending
over eight miles.
Twenty three thousand people use it each day.
They are primarily middle class and almost 60% of
them are women.
The skyways have undoubtedly helped the
central core remain vibrant but also, it has taken
much business off the street level.
However it has enabled the city centre to
compete with suburban sites for development &

Urban design
Developing country scenario:
Aranya Township
Indore, India

Aranya Township, Indore, India

A sites-and-services scheme (198396)
Aranya Township is a 7000- plot project located on an 86-hectare (212acre) site on the fringe of Indore.
Objectives :
To improve and upgrade the existing slum area
To provide serviced sites for new housing developments instead of building
complete houses.
To provide for 6,500 residential plots ranging in size from 35m2 for EWS to
475m2 for high income groups
The developer was the Indore Development Authority (IDA) and the
architect was Balkrishna V. Doshi.
The target population was mixed 65% low-income people (the EWS,
Economically Weaker Section) whose income was less than Rs 350 per
month and 35% higher income.
The project thus had a social objective as well as providing shelter.
The mix of people is more than on economic grounds.
Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains and Christians live there.
The project was one in which plots were prepared and services provided
by the IDA but the construction of houses was left to the owners of the plots

EVOLUTION OF MASTER
PLAN

Plan proposed
by IDA

Later stage of development

to with rectified
orientation to minimize
heat gain and increase

Initial stage of proposed

plan with distributed
open spaces and street
hierarchy

Proposed
master plan

Five objectives dictated the design:

(1)To ensure a fine living environment
(2) To create a sense of community
(3) To deal with the hot arid climate
(4) To create an efficient, cost-effective living
(5) To provide way of life in low-income areas in India
The infrastructure was laid out in a
hierarchical manner with a central
collecting point from where services
branch to smaller collecting points to
points on each block that serve a
number of units.
The site plan is innovative.
Essentially a gridiron plan, it is
arranged in a modified concentric
pattern to create a mosaic of incomesegregated sub-areas that build up into
an integrated whole.
The periphery of each sector is
ringed with large plots entered directly
from a road with the lower-income

The sale at a profit of the plots for the higher-income group subsidized
services for the lower.
Community facilities are located at the centre of the plan and fingers of
open space thread from there to the edges of the site.
The core is arranged in a linear fashion and consists of four clusters of
mixed commercial and retail uses.
The large shops face the
street and the small the
courtyards. A school and
athletic field are located on
the edge of the core.
The site layout makes it
possible to reach the core
from the periphery of the site
in a 10-minute walk.
Work places are integrated
into the plan.
Much small-scale retail,
commercial and industrial
activity takes place in the
streets and in the houses.

THE NEIGHBOURHOOD
CONCEPT
Concept
Slum development project
Inspiration from existing
slum settlements in
Indore
Characteristics
Mixed and multiple land
use
Formation of small
neighborhoods and
houses extending to
the outdoors.
Small shops operating
within congested areas.
Trees planted in public
places
Streets accommodating
social, economic and