Master of Architecture (Architecture and Urban Design)

Sustainable Urban Design and Development

INTRODUCTION
The adoption of different research methods in an urban design process are of great importance as they
enable the understanding of various aspects that make up the urban environment. It sets the stage for the
design, planning and construction of “socially just and sustainable cities” (Boano, Lamarca, & Wade, 2014, p.
26). The application of good urban design principles enables the regeneration of the social dynamics of
different communities, which in turn influence and increase the quality of life of the inhabitants and generate
social and economic growth. This paper will be discussed with reference to the Mriehel design project
undertaken in Year 1 Semester 2.

PHILOSOPHICAL APPROACHES

In recent years, socially deprived areas labelled as ‘slums’ were being given more attention. Such informal
settlements display a lot about the social dynamics of the area and the economy of resources. They reflect
the social, economic and political situations of the country. It is important to distinguish between different
types of environments, for which urban design interventions need to be adapted to each own’s context.

Space, as defined by Lefebvre in The Production of Space, is a product of not just a single action but a complex
overlapping of various social indicators. Architects play a very important role in the production of spaces,
how they are used and who engages them. Space is a representation of the ideologies by planners, architects
and other professionals who divide the space into different categories “living beings, things, objects, works,
signs and symbols” (Lefebvre, 1974 cited by Boano, Lamarca, Wade, 2014, p. 30). The ideologies of the
professionals focus on the quantification, administration and value of the space, thereby supporting and
justifying processes adopted by the governing bodies (state and capital).

Foucault has been largely significant in explaining the influence of power, in the sense that it is everywhere.
It is not just a tool of intimidation by those whose position enables them to. Power is frequently perceived
as a body of negative energy, but this is not always the case. It is a major source of social discipline, to which
the society conforms to.

It is important to understand how a space is produced, the uses it acquires, how it changes over time and
adapts to the needs of the time. Urban design is not just a bi-product of development, but a fusion of the
community, the users of the space, the government amongst others, who are all involved in shaping different
spaces.

On being given the site, located at a prominent central location between the towns of Santa Venera, Qormi
and Mriehel, it was important to understand through appropriate research methods, the context of the site
and its immediate surroundings. Industrial and commercial uses encircled the area along with an arterial road
passing adjacent to the site. Understanding the space and how it changed over time is very important in
urban design, as it gives context to a space. This was performed through archival research of newspapers,
photographs and survey sheets, and although this was not an easy task to perform given that the area was
fairly ‘new’ when compared to previous sites, the analysis was successful.

Figure 2: Brief historical analysis of the site and the immediate surroundings through archival research (Source: Author)

Figure 1: Opening of Santa Venera tunnels in 1992 (Source: timesofmalta.com)

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Through this analysis, it was possible to map out the original uses of the site, how they transformed over
time given factors such as economy and power, and future plans for the area.

PROCESS INVESTIGATIONS

Urban design is a process that needs to be understood comprehensively in terms of both the historical and
contemporary aspects of public space by adopting a mixed method approach (Carmona, 2014). Urban design
is not just about the final product, but a continuous process. It is important to discuss and review the
development process at various intervals in order to understand decisions taken behind certain actions.
Communicating the development process with the eventual users of the space is of great importance so as
to understand and meet the needs and make necessary amendments to the design before finalising.

The incorporation of different methods in urban design enables many possibilities and different outcomes to
what may have been initially perceived. This makes it possible to adapt the design to the resulting outcomes,
providing better and increased varieties to the users and attracting users of different interests to the space.
In order to understand a space, one needs to analyse different aspects, therefore adopted a mixed method
approach is most suitable. Such approach is useful when one needs to address questions which cannot be
easily defined as either quantitative or qualitative.

Given that the site is located in an industrial zone with little residential uses, recreational activity was
minimal. This therefore made it difficult to perform certain analyses concerning the users of the area. Most
of the pedestrians and/or users encountered had no particular interest or link to the area, it was often
regarded as an in-between space that is used as a link between Santa Venera and Qormi. Other data
collection methods could have been adopted, for example discussions with stakeholders such as business
owners who do not necessarily have a present link to the space but have a potential interest in the future.

In the research study mentioned by Carmona (2014) on the substantive phase of the urban design process,
he mentions the need to assess and critique different typologies of urban spaces available. This enables the
researcher to understand why a space is successful, why a space failed and so on. Such approach was
performed in the site analysis of the project, where all types of urban spaces within a 1.5km radius were
mapped out and assessed according to each own’s open space value i.e. the green value, visual value,
potential value and type of use.

As mentioned earlier, a character assessment was performed through the detailed analysis of the Temporary
Provision Schemes issued in 1988 (Figure 3). A greater in-depth character assessment could also have been
performed for the nearby open spaces, but this would have been more time-consuming given that archival
documents are not that easy to find.

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Figure 3: Temporary Provision Scheme 1988 with the site marked in blue (bottom left) (Source: Planning Authority)

Political debates and reviews from the press were also consulted but precaution was taken due to political
partiality. Past, present and proposed policy documents were reviewed and discussed in the light of the
Mriehel Masterplan.

Urban design is a process which reflects on-going events and changes happening in terms of the economy
and the political and social spheres. Agriculture was the one of the main sources of the Maltese economy
during the 19th and early 20th centuries. With time the economy shifted to a more industrial oriented
economy, giving rise to various industrial zones in Malta. The area of Mriehel can be considered to be one of
the largest industrial zones in Malta, and in the more recent years has been becoming more business-
oriented, with the investment of both local and foreign businesses in the area. The rebranding of Mriehel as
Central Business District was vital in the design process of the project. The incorporation of different uses
into the project such as residential, commercial and recreational uses was done to ensure constant activity
during all times of the day. Such uses create both economic value and community development both at the
micro and macro scales.

In Chapter 8, Jones speaks about the importance of having link and place co-exist within urban spaces. The
street environment is influential to the users as it determines the route he or she will take. A street with no
place value is often used as a link to other areas with place values, as observed during site analysis. It was

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important to add a place value to the site. The organisation of a discussion group with stakeholders such as
residents, workers in the area and the local council would have been ideal, but the lack of interest from a
good majority of the general public makes such analysis difficult to perform. Through this analysis, different
perceptions would have been obtained along with the discussion of viable solutions and considerations with
the different stakeholders.

Jones emphasizes that streets should not be vehicle-oriented and other functions that a street entails must
be considered. Through site observation it was evident that there existed an imbalance between vehicular
and non-vehicular users within the area. The zone was largely vehicular-dominated, with little sustainable
modes of transport consideration. This observation was emphasized during the design process where
sustainable modes of transport such as cycle lanes, public transport and wide pavements for pedestrians
were given dominance over private vehicle use (Figure 4).

Some factors that were brought about through other methods adopted during site analysis were:

1. the need to reconnect the surrounding localities through an improved sustainable movement
infrastructure, especially the link between Hal-Qormi and Santa Venera/Hamrun;
2. Softening the hard edges created by the Santa Venera Tunnels, to create a more visually pleasing
environment and to reduce health hazards;
3. The need for open spaces with different levels of intimacy, given that currently there are barely any open
spaces for the use of the communities.

Figure 4: Masterplan showing the sustainable modes of transport adopted within the previously private vehicle dominated zone 5
(Source: Author)
The main arterial road passing adjacent to the site imposed various constraints on the site, it acted as a
barrier between Santa Venera and Qormi especially to pedestrians who either risked crossing the arterial
road or resorted to the subway. Through this observation, improving and strengthening the existing Santa
Venera to Qormi link was made a priority. A road (right) which was used prior to the opening of the Santa
Venera tunnels was re-opened solely for pedestrian and cyclists as a direct route to Marsa and Qormi.

Figure 5: Section through the site showing a number of pedestrian and cycling links between Santa Venera, Qormi, Mriehel and Marsa
(Source: Author)

Space syntax is a topic which enables one to understand the urban street structure from a social perspective
and the level of connectivity between different spaces. As an analysis, space syntax helps the researcher to
discover certain parameters which were not evident or straight-forward in other analyses performed. It also
enables the understanding of the morphology of the space, and how its enclosure changed over time
(Griffiths, 2014). Through the connectivity analysis performed during the workshop, I found the space syntax
network analysis to be very interesting and a method which I will adopt in future design research.

Figure 6 displays is a three-level space syntax network analysis performed within a radius of 500 metres of
the site (marked in X). Canon Road was taken as the first level, given that it is adjacent to the site and provides
the main accessibility to it. It is evident that the area lacks connectivity at many levels, with a significant
number of cul-de-sacs. A number of blank areas can also be noted next to the schools and also within the
industrial areas of Mriehel and Qormi. Connectivity within the residential area (top) adjacent to the site is
also poor, although an increase in connectivity can be noted towards Hamrun (left).

Such analysis would have provided additional perspectives which may have not been noted through the other
research methods used. The connectivity analysis would have also aided other results obtained from other
methods and helped in grounding certain decisions such as opening of new streets, new connections and the
assigning of uses within the area.

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Figure 6: Space syntax network analysis of the site in Santa Venera (Not to scale) (Source: Author)

CONCLUSION

This study-unit has offered additional ways of combining other research methods to aid in decision making
when it comes to urban design. In future research studies and design strategies, the methods explored will
definitely expand the results. The incorporation of both qualitative and quantitative methods when used in
tandem aid in providing new insights and more refined understanding.

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REFERENCES

Boano, C., Lamarca, M. G., & Wade, A. (2014). Deconstructing and recalibrating urban design in the global
south. In M. Carmona, Explorations in Urban Design: An urban design research primer (pp. 25 - 35).
Ashgate Publishing.

Carmona, M. (2014). Mixing methods/theorising urban design process. In M. Carmona, Explorations in

Urban Design: An urban design research (pp. 77 - 88). Ashgate Publishing.

Farrell, T. (2014). Urbiculturalism, understanding the patterns of place. In M. Carmona, Explorations in

Urban Design: An urban design research (pp. 147 - 156). Ashgate Publishing.

Griffiths, S. (2014). Space syntax as interdisciplinary urban design pedagogy. In M. Carmona, Explorations in
Urban Design: An urban design research (pp. 157 - 167). Ashgate Publishing.

Jones, P. (2014). Link and Place - bridging stakeholder divides. In M. Carmona, Explorations in Urban Design:
An urban design research (pp. 89 - 100). Ashgate Publishing.