Architectural and planning solutions for microdistricts

Architectural and planning solutions for microdistricts
In this article, we will move from an initial look to the prospects for the development of residential areas. Ideas for the formation of microdistricts, modern proposals for the distribution of pedestrian and car traffic, the implementation of various measures to modernize streets are given.

Key words: microdistrict, planning organization, enlarged microdistricts, between main areas, pedestrian transport system.

The main requirement of the architectural and planning organizations of microdistricts is the creation of a living environment that provides the best conditions for the life of the population, including for the effective recovery of workers' forces, education, recreation of the elderly, etc. It should be borne in mind that the role and the importance of the microdistrict to the life of the population of different ages is not the same.

For example, the microdistrict is the main urban planning element where children of preschool and primary school age spend almost all their time. Young people are the least connected with the microdistrict, and only when children are born, the importance of the microdistrict in their life increases sharply. The role of the microdistrict is great for the elderly.

The architectural planning organization of microdistricts depends on various conditions. However, despite this, microdistricts of all types, due to their main purpose, have common planning principles and planning elements. These elements include zones - residential buildings, institutions of cultural, household and public services (child care centers and schools, shopping establishments, parking lots and garages for individual cars, sports grounds, etc.)

On the basis of planning decisions, two fundamentally different types of functional zoning of the territory of microdistricts can be distinguished:

• 
  the residential area is evenly distributed within the boundaries of the microdistrict, interspersed with schools, childcare facilities, etc .;
  
• 
  the residential area is close to the stops of public transport and has boundaries in accordance with the zones of pedestrian accessibility of stops.
  

The first type of zoning is typical for microdistricts built in the 60s, with an average area of ​​30-40 hectares. These include two microdistricts. The system of institutions of cultural and consumer services provided by the projects is characterized by a variety of solutions. For example, trade establishments are located both near the main streets, in particular transport stops, and in the depths of the microdistrict. The trading institutions themselves differ in capacity. Childcare facilities are located in residential groups or removed from them. Schools are located both in the middle of the microdistrict and in areas adjacent to residential or main streets.

A clear fixation of the residential area and its approximation to the main streets and stopping points of city transport determines the concentration of schools and sometimes children's institutions in the middle of the microdistrict. In this case, the blocks of cultural and consumer services are close to the stops of city transport.

Taking into account the fact that the architectural and planning organization of enlarged microdistricts is complex for small and medium-sized ones, it is worthwhile to look in more detail at the basic principles of their planning organization.

Abroad, there has recently been a tendency towards the enlargement of microdistricts. For example, in England, some city planners consider it expedient to design micro-districts for 15-25 thousand inhabitants, since in this case, in their opinion, public services become more profitable.

If in the micro-districts of the new English cities of the first stage of construction there were no places for the application of labor (with the exception of service institutions), then in a number of the last micro-districts, enterprises that were not harmful in sanitary and hygienic terms were designed, for example, light industry enterprises. Although the placement of industrial enterprises in a microdistrict is motivated by the need to create convenient connections - housing - work, it cannot be considered successful, since the population of not only the microdistrict itself, but also the district or city will work at these enterprises. In this case, as a rule, there is a need for their functional isolation. It seems that the adjacent location of housing and an industrial enterprise within the same inter-trunk territory is possible if their territories are clearly divided. To do this, it is desirable to provide for a residential street or driveway on the border between them. Such a solution is possible for small and medium-sized cities, but for the largest cities, it is usually not acceptable.

Often, various proposals for the zoning of large microdistricts located within the inter-main areas are encountered when designing new cities. For example, the urban planning unit for a new city for 330 thousand inhabitants in Venezuela is a residential formation, limited by main streets, forming a network of 10 km. Residential buildings and service complexes are located within each inter-main territory. The building density in areas adjacent to transport routes has been increased. Service establishments are located in the peripheral zone of this urban planning unit - this, according to the authors of the project, will contribute to the fact that they will also be used by residents of adjacent residential formations. Industrial enterprises designed within the inter-main areas are close to the main streets. Schools, both primary and secondary, are not located inside residential education, but are close to transport stops, by analogy with a service institution. Green areas are found in various locations, including in the middle of residential formations.

In similar planning solutions, such transport can be high-speed, underground (metro, high-speed tram), which will be justified if other powerful focuses of city-wide significance are located in this direction. Functional zoning, similar to that adopted in this project, can be logically justified, for example, when installing a monorail transport. If, for example, a bus is launched under similar conditions, it will be quite natural to divide the entire residential formation into two microdistricts.

The principles of functional zoning of microdistricts largely depend on the adopted scheme of pedestrian and transport traffic within it. At present, with a relatively small number of individual passenger transport in cities, the intensity of local car traffic on large inter-trunk territories with an area of ​​100 hectares or more does not hinder the movement of pedestrians through residential streets and driveways. When the number of passenger cars reaches 150-180 cars per 1,000 population (the norm for the future), the intensity of automobile traffic will increase sharply, which will require a different solution to transport and pedestrian routes.

The examples of the layout of large microdistricts, discussed above, indicate that even in the enlarged inter-main areas, it is possible to achieve a complete separation of transport and pedestrian flows.

In the projected microdistricts, the pedestrian-transport system should be solved clearly, residential streets and transport entrances to microdistricts should not be crossed not only by the main, but also by minor pedestrian paths.

The operation of the pedestrian transport system in the microdistrict is complicated when pedestrians do not walk in the directions proposed by the architect in the project, but in other, shortest ones, although they are crossed by traffic flows. That is why the outline of the pedestrian network should take into account the psychological characteristics of a person: aimed at reducing the path and time of walking in the main directions. This is evidenced by the schemes of pedestrian traffic of some architects of urban planners, they suggested the need to design diagonal pedestrian paths in microdistricts, etc.

The problem of storing individual cars is becoming more and more acute. Despite the fact that large paid parking lots are currently being built in cities, the issue of building garages and parking lots directly in new neighborhoods remains extremely relevant. The regulations did not contain instructions on the location of garages and parking lots in a residential area.

The practice of designing residential areas and microdistricts shows the need for greater differentiation of standards, as is done, for example, in the "Instructions for the design of new residential areas and microdistricts", where standards for the number of cars located within a residential area are given. district and specifically in the microdistrict. The same norms are necessary for all types of cities, taking into account their characteristics, the location of residential areas, etc.

Given the current lack of standards in the development of projects for the planning and development of microdistricts, one should pay attention to the fulfillment of the following requirements:

the functional planning solution of the microdistrict should provide for the possibility for the prospect of placing the estimated number of private cars, taking into account their real number for the next 10-15 years and its constant increase; parking lots and garages should, if possible, be located in the peripheral zone of the microdistrict in order to minimize travel across its territory; garages and parking lots should be connected with the main thoroughfares of the microdistrict, which do not cross the main pedestrian paths; the radius of accessibility of garages from residential buildings should not exceed 500 m.

The principles of the functional planning organization of microdistricts described above apply to all their types. But depending on the specific urban planning conditions, there are features in their planning decisions. These features are primarily determined by the "indicator" of the urban importance of residential education, ie, its role in the architectural and planning organization of the city. The need to organize a different nature of the environment of the main and residential streets surrounding the microdistrict, within the microdistrict pedestrian paths, various neighborhoods (forests, water areas, industrial areas, etc.) should be directly reflected in the functional zoning of the microdistrict, in providing connections with neighboring zones or, conversely, complete isolation from them.

Based on the urban planning conditions, it is necessary to locate cultural and domestic service facilities of city-wide or district significance (polyclinics, specialized schools, technical schools, commercial administrative institutions, etc.), industrial or warehouse buildings on the inter-trunk territory. In all these cases, a clear delineation of the functions of housing and these institutions is necessary in order to ensure comfortable living conditions and normal conditions for the functioning of these institutions and enterprises located within the planning units.

Currently, there is an increase in the density of the housing stock, which is a natural phenomenon. Designers accept the density for the microdistrict 4200-5000 m2 per hectare of living space (gross), depending on the number of storeys of buildings and the ratio of buildings of different heights. For the largest cities of the country, it is envisaged to increase the density for the future to 5400-5600 m2 per hectare (gross) and to increase the number of storeys in buildings. Indicators of the density of the housing stock are currently one of the criteria for evaluating a particular project. If they do not meet the required (average) standards, then this refers, as a rule, to the shortcomings of the project. However, this assessment of projects is not always correct.

In the literature on urban planning, opinions are expressed about the need to differentiate the density of the housing stock. In some works, it is proposed to increase this density in focus centers, in particular, in the work of Uzbek specialists, it is proposed to differentiate the density of the housing stock by zones of the residential territory, highlighting the communicative zone with the highest density, intermediate and recreational with the lowest density. These proposals, in principle, correctly take into account the needs of a modern city. However, such zoning should have features depending on the type of city, its urban planning and climatic conditions.

Considering that at one time the issues of differentiating the density of the housing stock were not solved in the projects of master plans of cities, it is necessary to check the feasibility of applying this principle, for example, in housing construction projects for a five-year period, which should determine the nature of the planning and development of new residential areas. This approach is in addition to improving the formed urban environment.