Search Results (6)

In the face of accelerating urbanization and the growing demand for environmentally responsible materials and designs, this study presents the development and implementation of a modular parklet demonstrator fabricated using dual-material 3D printing. The structure integrates polylactic acid (PLA) and wood-filled PLA (wood/PLA), combining the mechanical robustness of pure PLA in the core with the tactile and aesthetic appeal of wood-based biocomposite on the surface. The newly developed dual-nozzle 3D printing approach enabled precise spatial control over material distribution, optimizing both structural integrity and sustainability. A comprehensive evaluation was conducted for developed filaments and printed materials, including optical microscopy, coupled thermogravimetry analysis and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (TG/FTIR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and chemical and mechanical resistance testing. Results revealed distinct thermal behaviors and degradation pathways between filaments and printed parts composed of PLA and PLA/wood. The biocomposite exhibited slightly increased sensitivity to aggressive chemical environments and mechanical wear, dual-material prints maintained high thermal stability and interlayer adhesion. The 3D-printed demonstrator bench and stools were successfully deployed in public spaces as a functional urban intervention. This work demonstrates the feasibility and advantages of using biocomposite materials and dual-head 3D printing for the rapid, local, and sustainable fabrication of small-scale urban infrastructure. Full article

Tactical urbanism (TU) and Virtual Reality (VR) both aim to reimagine physical spaces, with TU utilizing rapid, temporary, scalable, and cost-effective physical interventions to test and refine urban design, while VR offers immersive virtual environments for exploration and analysis. This article investigates the integration of VR with TU to address challenges in effectively communicating and evaluating temporary urban interventions. This study is grounded in a literature review on spatial perception, TU, and VR, followed by an empirical experiment involving Brazilian college students. Participants interacted with a parklet installation in both physical and virtual environments, with their spatial perception and emotional responses evaluated using the AR4CUP (Augmented Reality for Collaborative Urban Planning) protocol. The results demonstrated that VR positively impacts the perception, usability, and social dynamics of urban spaces. Participants emphasized the importance of social interaction and recreational activities, reinforcing VR’s potential to simulate and refine urban interventions. A crucial avenue for future research is identifying best practices for using VR as a platform for collaborative design and decision-making. This step could enhance VR’s effectiveness in creating public spaces that align with community needs, fostering participatory planning and promoting inclusive, functional, and enriching environments. Full article

Urban furniture is a wide collection of objects of different sizes and geometries, performing different functions in the city. The paper describes the history and contemporary development trends of urban furniture. It analyses the construction materials most often used in their production, as well as functional and aesthetic solutions. A questionnaire survey, exploring the issue of urban furniture from the view point of the student population, was statistically analysed. It showed the preferences and expectations of current and future users of urban furniture, which can be helpful in achieving harmony between the creation of a positive image of the city and the comfort of public spaces for its residents. In the study of the preferences of urban furniture users, contingency tables were used for questions with a possible single answer. The results of questions with possible multiple answers were illustrated using Venn diagrams or equivalent UpSetR charts. Full article

This work approaches the phenomenon of the outdoor terraces of bars and restaurants, analysing the role of these privately owned collective elements whose layout has shaped the urban landscape at the pavement level for more than a century, and whose presence has become essential in the streets of many cities after a pandemic. The research highlights the interest of terraces as dynamic elements of urbanity: private domains in the public space where people eat collectively; they are apparently simple units that synthesise complex conflicts between individual behaviours and property boundary conditions. The investigation shows the increasing expansion that outdoor terraces have experienced since 2020, using the cities of Barcelona and Milan as case studies. A series of GIS maps show the image of both cities before and after the pandemic, allowing us to evaluate the amount of public space allocated to terraces, measure their increase in number and surface, establish the proportions of occupation of the street and find the patterns of concentration in the public space. Finally, the article offers some policy and planning recommendations based on the research findings. Full article

The COVID-19 pandemic has proven to be a social and economic disruptor on a global scale, severely curtailing people’s ability to travel and engage in many recreation activities. Periodic lockdown and stay-at-home orders have exacerbated the situation. In this social climate, urban green spaces have attained a high significance for the maintenance of the physical and mental health of the population. Given the presence of similar coronaviruses in animal populations, it can be predicted that future epidemics and even pandemics will occur. Urban planning needs to incorporate the lessons learnt during COVID-19 in order to future-proof our communities. This paper reviews the role that urban green spaces played during the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on these observations, the paper discusses a range of options for the provision of pandemic-sensitive spaces for physical exercise and mental recreation. Design concepts for long-term planning adjustments as well as for future ad-hoc solutions are provided. These include the provision of social distancing ‘pods’ embedded in design and landscaping of permanent parks, the design of ad-hoc, socially distanced ‘parklets’ on a quietened street and a rethink of the design of curb-to-boundary setbacks (nature strip) in residential streets. Full article

A singular and modest activist action, a temporary park created in San Francisco, grew into the global urban Park(ing) Day (PD) phenomenon. This tactical urbanism event not only expanded to be annually celebrated in thousands of parking lots all over the world but became an inspiration for urban planning and policy changes. The permanent rendition of Park(ing) Day, parklets, resulted from the movement but did not stop the spread of PD itself. This article presents case studies from New Zealand and Poland, two geographically and culturally distant locations where PD has further developed and evolved gaining local qualities. Through research methods such as research in design, secondary data analysis and expert interviews we study the trajectory of PD evolution and the role and interpretation of it in different parts of the globe. The results show a narrative of successive popularisation and institutionalisation as well as diversification. Departing from its grassroots, guerilla and assertive traits, PD has grown to become an artistic, creative and urban planning tool. As an established, recognised action and an ‘attractive’ idea, PD has great potential for designer education, allowing a venue for implementing methods such as design-build and live project. Full article