Spatial design implications in urban development planning

Abstract

An environmental unit - a Town or a City in this particular study, has basically dual roles to play: the Functional Role - which is primarily associated with socio-economic and physical needs of people, which is expressed through the optimization of activities within a spatial framework and, the Responsive Role - which is associated with the sociospatial needs of man, which is expressed through the optimization of the sensuous quality of a spatial framework. The Town or a City, or any environmental unit for that matter, is the Sensuous Framework - visual, aural, olfactory and tactile framework - within which man lives and presents the base for man's all social, cultural, economic, political and spatial behaviour, which is identified as the Responsive Role in this Study. is the Spatial Design Dimension of an environment - the three dimensional organization of spaces and its accompanying condition, together with the associated activities and meanings - through which this Sensuous Framework (Responsive Role) is promoted. It is an established fact that every environmental unit has its own unique Sensuous Framework which is identified as the 'Character' of it, which, in turn acts as the base of its Spatial Design Dimension. Thus, capturing, understanding, incorporating and or improving the Character of an environment - a Town/City in this particular Study - is seen essential in Planning and Design of any environment In this regard, the First Chapter identifies and elaborates the relationship between the Responsive Role of a Town/City and its spatial design dimension while highlighting the drawbacks in the Urban Planning Process in Sri Lanka in relation to the accommodation of the spatial design dimension of a Town/City. The Second Chapter promotes the Character as the Responsive Attribute of a Town/City and the base of its spatial design dimension. Furthermore, it sets out to identify the main constituents of Character of Town/City through a brief literature review. Understanding, in detail, the constituents and causative factors of Character of a Town/City as Indicators and Variables of Design Dimension of it is attempted in Chapter Three. Chapter Four sets out to test the practical applicability of the theoretically identified Indicators and variables of Design Dimension discussed and established in the Third Chapter with the use of several identified methods of Survey and analysis through a Case Study - Panadura Town Centre. The Study concludes emphasising the necessity and the importance of integrating the design dimension of a Town/City into the Town Planning Process, the 'observability', 'recordability' and the appropriateness of the Indicators and Variables of Design Dimension and the applicability of certain common methods of recording and analysing the same.