Comparison of two different urban cities’ dimensions
Introduction
A good urban design offers significant positive influences to the surrounding and the immediate neighborhood (Farr, 2011). A good urban design bears secondary impacts on the local retails and the economics. According to Farr (2011), the urban population accounted for 54% of the total global population. He maintains that the number is expected to rise even higher in 2017 (Farr, 2011). Many cities worldwide are grappling with the problem of maintaining these populations that are described as rapid growth due to this report and other similar reports. Many authorities are opting for various calculated urban planning activities involving large scale application of different multi-disciplinary processes in areas concerning infrastructure, land use patterns, and re-use of the existing lands. In other words, they are engaging in what is known as urban design. Apparently, urban design is the multidisciplinary and the collaborative process that is used in shaping the physical life for the purpose of sustaining life in towns, villages, and cities. Urban design is also an art. It involves various entities such as the design of spaces and landscape, buildings, groups of buildings and the institution of frameworks and the process that aid successful development (Farr, 2011).
Different scholars also have different account of the meaning of urban design. According to Peter Webber, Urban design is the process of molding the look of the city with time (Balducci, Fedeli, Pasqui, and Webber, 2011). Peter Bartchelor and David Lewis view urban design as the Economic projection, negotiation of private/public financial partnerships, packaging new developments setting up standards and guidelines for historic revitalization and the formation of both the profit and the non-profit corporations that combine citizens with both the private and the public sector financing resources. This essay compares two urban cities dimensions in relation to urban design. The essay concisely dwells on the social, morphological and the visual elements of the main and the fourth street the Santa Ana as the first dimension and the South Coast Highway and the Forest Avenue in Laguna Beach. The essay also includes a brief and general description of the location of the two dimensions (background information). A comparison and evaluation of both the strengths and weakness of the two sites in terms of their social, visual and morphological dimension as well as the recommendations for improvement purposes are included in the conclusion.
Comparison of two different urban cities’ dimensions
As noted before, this essay attempts to compare two city sites which concisely includes the space between the main and the fourth street in Santa Ana and the areas between the South Coast Highway and the Forest Avenue in Laguna Beach. Apparently, this section will begin by briefly introducing the general characteristics of the two cities in which the respective sites are located and. The first city in which our comparison site is located is the Santa Ana City. The City of Santa Ana is an administrative center. This is sometimes referred to as the county seat. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city is the 57th most populous city in the United States (Balducci, Fedeli, Pasqui, and Webber, 2011). Santa Ana is located in Southern California adjacent to Santa Ana River. Apparently, the city was founded around 1869 (Balducci, Fedeli, Pasqui, and Webber, 2011). It is a metropolitan city of the Greater Los Angeles. Santa Ana derives its name to the Santa Ana Expressway, which cuts through the city. The city also shares its name with the Santa Ana Mountains and the Santa Ana Winds, which
A Cross section of the city through the main street)
have been linked to the historic Southern California Wildfire.
The second city is the Laguna city. This is a seaside resort city in the Southern Orange County in California. It is California’s premier coastal destination, and it is located approximately midway between San.
Diego and Los Angeles. The city was apparently acquired from the Mexicans during the Mexican-American war. Some of the conspicuous features of the city include its fewer highways and greenways policy. The concept refers to the government’s land use policy where certain lands (underdeveloped lands, wild or agricultural land) are retained. Tourism is the main industry in the city. The city also boasts of different events that are significant to the development of the city. Some of the events that identify this city include the different festivals such as the Festival of the Arts, Blue Water Music Festivals, Kelpfest, Sawdust Art Festival, Art-A-Fair and so on.
Comparison: Visual characteristics of the sites
The visual characteristics refer to the physical aspects that people can interact with through different senses such as physical touch, hearing, smelling and so on. Some of the visual aspects of urban design may include elements such as the Buildings, public space, Streets, Transport or even landscape. In this case, we begin by looking at some of the visual characteristics presented in the main and the fourth street in Santa Ana. In this part of the city, one notable feature is that the buildings have largely utilized the Italian designs including different Italian building styles on different commercial buildings. Masonry construction has presented this with different touch on the upper and lower stories. Several historic homes dating from as early as the 1800s can be seen. Different entertainment destination such as the Bower’s Museum, Discovery Science Center and even the MainPlace Mall also are notable places. This site is also home to various business premises. It is also a shopping destination that includes different bakery shops, Clothing Stores, different eateries and also nightlife events.
The second site of the city refers the areas around the South Coast Highway and the Forest Avenue in Laguna Beach. The site is located in in the Laguna City. The area has limited infrastructure. Other notable features refer to the site’s rich artistic, music and cultural events such as the Pageant of the Masters, Festival Arts, Sawdust Art Festival and so on. The site marked also has rich sporting culture mostly characterized by surfing activities. When it comes to educational matters the site has fewer schools, mostly run as a result of a joint effort among the relevant stakeholders. Some of the schools in the primary and secondary levels include one middle school, few elementary schools, and one private elementary school. Some of the schools in the higher education category include the Laguna College of Art and design (LCAD) which offers a number of courses from drawing to fine arts.
The Morphological characteristics
Morphological characteristics of the two sites outline the settlement pattern which is analyzed at the landscape level. The essay also analyzes the
A section of Laguna City-Forest Avenue
Morphological characteristics of the two sites using objects as inputs. At the object level, this section analyzes the shape size and patterns of the building. Different aspects of the road network such as connectivity and are also analyzed. Apparently, the morphological characteristics of the site at Laguna beach city in relation its settlement and demographic in general is that that it has significant population density and a total of 23, 341 people in the rest of the city. In terms of the ethnic/racial distribution, the whites comprise of about 85% of the total population (Downey, and Smith, 2011). The Hispanic community is represented by about 6 % and the Asian community enjoys a 4 % representation of the total population (Downey, and Smith, 2011). The rest of the percentage is fragmented among other ethnic communities. According to different statistical sources, the median household income for the residents is estimated to be around $97, 881(Iceland, 2013). Despite this, around 6.6% of the population lives in poverty. Otherwise, the median age for the residents is averagely around 50.1 years. The figure below is a graphical representation of the figures
Apparently, the area is served by very few highways. The road network is also minimal. Ostensibly, the citywide transportation network is not very much effective. Vehicles and bicycles do not have a reliable and adequate transit service between workplaces, schools, shopping and so on. In terms of the buildings, early structures were constructed as simple wood frames, with western false front style. Contemporarily, such buildings do not exist (Downey, and Smith, 2011). You are likely to find many low density brick buildings. These buildings fall into different categories. These include Buildings that are relatively intact, buildings which are much altered but whose appeal dates much earlier, buildings which still serve their purpose, buildings for long term family business and lastly, houses used as residential properties or commercial purposes or even both (Downey, and Smith, 2011).
From the second site (Santa Ana), the morphological characteristics in terms of the population settlement and demography is that the city has a significant population density much compared to that of the Laguna Beach city. According to the California State Finance, the city has a population of 335, 264. The median age rests at 29.1 years (statistics as per the Census Bureau, 2010). The ethnic distribution of the population follows that the Hispanic contributes to the 78.2% of the population while the Asians and the whites contribute 10.4% and 9.2% respectively. The blacks comprise of the 1 percent of the population. The remaining portion is shared among other ethnic groups such as the American Indians, Aleut, Eskimo, Pacific Islander and others. The median Household income is about $54,521 (Downey, and Smith, 2011). The unemployment rate stands around 4%. As for the buildings in Santa Ana, there are different buildings for commercial, residential purposes. There are also administrative buildings. The buildings follow different architectural designs. Most of the architectural designs have been incorporated in the residential buildings. Some of these styles include the Italianate (a building style in the late Victorian era), Queen Anne, Colonial Revival, which include both the Classic Box Variant and the Georgian Variant. Other styles include Craftsman Bungalow, Prairie and so on. As for the non-residential buildings such as the administrative and the commercial buildings, they follow certain architectural design such as the Richardsonian, Romanesque, Italian Renaissance, Art Deco, and International style among many others (Downey, and Smith, 2011). The city also enjoys a sufficient road network. Many highways connect this part to the rest of the America. The Citywide transport is very effective. Bicycles and vehicles enjoy adequate transit to different places.
Social characteristics comparisons
The socials characteristic of the selected population location focuses on a number of aspects. Some of the social aspects in Santa Ana include issues such as the households, poverty rates, and the housing characteristics. The following tables represent this information. (Households summary)
Household income
Poverty rate
As for the second City-Laguna Beach City, there are significantly fewer documented information regarding the social aspects of the population as from 2010. Most of the available statistics date as early as 2010. However, it is important to note that the preceding statistical data for the social population may only bear a slight variation. The social and demographic characteristics are summarized in the table below as follows:
Household
Expenditure
Laguna Beach rate of marital status
Conclusion
The two sites in the two cities offer a very interesting insight of the different aspects of the morphological, visual and social characteristics. For the visual characteristics, each city has its own unique appeal. The Site at Santa Ana city boasts of a rich historical heritage based on her historical buildings with added touches of different architectural styles. The Site at Laguna is likely to enjoy the benefits that develop due to tourism industry due to the beach at Laguna. Otherwise as a recommendation as a recommendation I recommend that the orange county government improve the road network in the site Located in the Laguna City. The County government should also work hard to reduce the poverty level.
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