Author(s)

R Samuels

Abstract

This paper attempts to relate an eclectic mix of empirical and experiential ‘evidence’ to a common notion: that old-city urban form is both sustainable and habitable. Findings from research (conducted by the author) in non-old-city environments (public-housing, a high-rise city... and inside school buildings) will be hypothetically interpreted in relation to old-cities. Theoretical frameworks back up the interpretations: drawn from crime- prevention-through- environmental-design, urban climate, and light-performance disciplinary areas. Issues discussed include: perceptions of fear and victimisation afterdark (mapped in an urban residential environment), evaluated relative to a ‘populated-street’ urban model (where community-presence naturally supervises places). Thermal measurements (in a high-rise ‘canyon’, eg) show heat embodied in the urban form (and roads... and cars) - which heat, emitted to the night sky, alters the urban climate - This will be extrapolated to the old-city urban form which (it is argued) moderates climatic extremes, in hot and cold cities alike. From yet another perspective, daylight is considered a fundamental parameter for a city to be socially-sustainable. People spend a considerable proportion of their lives inside buildings, where the internal light is deficient in wavelengths essential for well-being and performance. Knowledge drawn from evidence of the affect of light on mood and performance - in research with school children - will be projected, again, to old cities i.e. walking and open-sky cities, where exposure to ‘full-spectrum’ daylight is more likely. Finally, the related notion of pedestrian prioritisation will be addressed i.e. where policy implements a hierarchy of movement modes the integration of the walking citizen with vehicles (two- wheelers, in particular) becomes feasible, as in Bologna, an arcaded city.

Keywords