Basic Concept Guiding the Design of Components of the Cities

RESEARCH PROPOSAL

BASIC CONCEPT GUIDING THE DESIGN OF

COMPONENTS OF THE CITIES:

SHOPPING CENTRES

ANIMASHAUN ADEDAMOLA ISOLA

ARC/07/2370

SUBMITTED TO

DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE

FACULTY OF ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGY

FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY,

AKURE, ONDO STATE, NIGERIA.

COURSE CODE/TITLE

ARC 805-RESEARCH METHODS IN ARCHITECTURE

COURSE LECTURER

PROF. O. O. OGUNSOTE

MARCH, 2008.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Pages

Title page i

Table content ii

Abstract iii

1.0 Introduction 1

1.1 Aims and Objectives of the Study 2

1.2 Methodology 2

1.3 Scope of the Study 2

1.4 Limitation 3

2.0 Definition of a City 3

2.0.1 Composition/Formation Of A City 3

2.0.2 Legal And Administrative 4

2.0.3 Definition By Population 4

2.0.4 Functional Definition 4

2.1 Basic Composition Of A City 5

3.0 Shopping Centres 6

3.1 Function 6

3.2 Merchandise 6

3.2.1 Good and Services 6

3.4 Shop Types 7

3.5 Shop Building 8

3.6 Sitting 9 4.1 Conclusion 11 4.2 Recommendations 11

Reference:

ABSTRACT

Park (1985) defined a city as a state of mind, a body of custom, tradition and the organized attitude and settlement of these traditions.

According to Aristotle (1965), a city is a collective body of persons sufficient in themselves for all-purpose of life.

Some researches carried-out during this project are from browsing on internet, visitation to some similar existing cases, considering reconnaissance survey of the project and places to be used for project execution and also, questioning the authorities concerned with the project and sharing the experiences, comments and suggestion for better execution of the project. This project is expected to finish within two month.

This project has enabled the forthcoming researcher realize better way of handling design of shopping centre in the cities and also influence people by using this knowledge to help others make better decisions and teach how to make successful design.

In city design, we need to understand the past and the present. We need to know about the physical characteristic of the places we are planning, including their landscape, waterways and ecologies. We need to understand local economic and market conditions. And we need to know about the people who live there-low they live, how they work, how they move about the area and what they hope for the place’s future.

Appropriate management measures have been put into consideration for effective running of the building and environment. Adequate parking systems, there is use of soft and hard landscape materials for comfortability.

1.0 INTRODUCTION.

The human existence has been on this globe for perhaps a couple of million years, according to archeologist but for the overwhelming number of these millennia humans have lived in a world without cities. Cities and urban places, in spite of our acceptance of them as an inevitable consequence of human life, are in the eyes of history a comparatively recent social invention, having existing a scant 7,000 to 9,000 years. Their period of social, economic and cultural dominance is even shorter. Nonetheless, the era of cities encompasses the totality of the period we label “Civilization”. The saga of wars, architecture, and art almost the whole of what we know of human triumphs and tragedies is encompassed within that period.

Less than 20 years ago the population of people living in the urban area is less than 5%. Today we are in the threshold of living in a world that for the first time will be numerically more urban than rural, currently; some 45% of the world’s population is urban. All these can be attributed to the growth in population which is due to improvement in health standard which reduces that mortality rate, technological inventions and the industrial revolution. All the factors responsible for urbanization brought about the separation of different functions of different parts of a town (residential, industrial, administration, recreational to mention but a new). Paler (1987).

In every town or city, there is always a place that is more important than others and where more activities are growing on than in the rest of the town (shopping centres). The necessity of existence for such a place comes from emotional reasons – like a common need for hierarchy of importance in every other aspect of life and from functional needs – since some of our actions are also more rare and special than everyday life. As a consequence different functions of economic, social and cultural life are located in a place of interest for people from a town or its vicinity or even a religion.

There are also problems associated with the conveyance of people and functions in these areas like, transportation, communication, security and congestion for these areas to be functional, proper and adequate solutions must be provided to bring about a healthy environment.

1.1 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY.

The dissertation appraises the need to retain and sustain the different functions of the shopping centers by looking into its composition, the problems associated with it and on proffering solutions to problems identified.

The objectives of this study are therefore:

I. To identify the basic components of a city.

II. To evaluate the basic components identified in the (shopping centres).

III. To identify the basic concepts behind their composition and formation.

IV. To identify basic problems related to these areas.

V. To proffer solutions to the problems identified in these areas.

1.2 METHODOLOGY.

In the course of this work, the method adopted in gathering relevant information for the study and data collection is basically the secondary sources of information which include the consultations of text books and journal paper data analysis and literature review.

1.3 SCOPE OF THE STUDY.

The work on the concepts guiding the design of components of cities taking the shopping centre as case study. It cover the basic elements to be taking in to consideration when designing a shopping centre for an urban centre as the problems associated with these centres and solution to be proffered in solving these problems.

1.4 LIMITATION.

The major problem encountered in gathering relevant information is the unavailability to get relevant texts to the topic of study.

2.0 DEFINITION OF A CITY.

City formation is referred to as the process of urbanization is the process by which an increased population of a country concentrates in an urban settlement i.e. the revolutional hange in the whole process of urbanization life. Park (1985) defined a city as a state of mind, a body of custom, tradition and the organized attitude and settlement of these traditions.

According to Aristotle (1965), a city is a collective body of persons sufficient in themselves for all-purpose of life.

In a city the relationship is “gesellschaft” (“society” or formal roles relationship) rather than “gemeinschaft” (“community” or primary relationship). The city is large, culturally heterogeneous and socially diverse. A town is considered as a “community somewhat smaller than a city” and with a good reason seen as something from what a city is been developed.

To define a place as urban (city) has passed a lot of problems because for example, different countries defined then cities differently and of course this varies from time to time.

2.0.1 COMPOSITION/FORMATION OF A CITY.

Some of the factors that hinder a place as been called urban (city) are as follows:

(a) Different disciplines tend to emphasize different aspect of organization.

(b) The problem of differentiating between rural and urban in the definition of a boundary.

(c) The problem of population data in the area of making comparisons among nations. Only 250 persons are necessary to qualify an area as urban in Denmark, while 10,000 are needed in Greece.

(d) The United Nations has attempted to bring some order out of the various national definition are agreed upon.

1) Legal and Administrative definition.

2) Definition by population.

3) Functional definition.

2.0.2 LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE.

This is the simplest and at the same time most meaningless definition, describes a town as only a place which is considered as such by law and listed in the register of town e.g. the capital of a state is usually referred to as a city.

2.0.3 DEFINITION BY POPULATION.

By United Nations (U.N.) standard,

A “big city” is a locality with 500,000 or more inhabitants,

A “city” is locality with 100,000 or more inhabitants,

An “urban locality” is a locality with 20,000 or more inhabitants,

A “rural locality” is a locality with less than 20,000 inhabitants,

This is a reasonable classification for less development countries since it is rare that places under 20,000 will have urban characteristics.

2.0.4 FUNCTIONAL DEFINITION.

This is the division of work as one of the most significant features of every town. Specialization and diversification of jobs. It requires that certain percentages of the population should live from the resources outside agriculture. It should also take into consideration the political form of the place, the social, economic, administrative, religion and educational factors.

The “organizational” factor such as the possession of some common services likes water supply, sewage disposal as transportation and communication facilities e.t.c. or of some common organization like firemen, police, health services, town council should be present.

So also the “spatial” division of functions manufacturing, trade, handicraft, education and other functions have their own distinctive places not only in the form of buildings but also in larger surroundings.

It should be noted however that all these descriptions when looked upon singularly may apply to some areas (suburbs) that are not up to a city but for come reasons they do not create city like atmosphere. Their main function residential is homogeneous and they do not posses spatial functions of a city. In a suburb, their style depends on the season of nature-during the year as well as a day.

In cities, the timing is influenced by a lost of things, each profession has its own overlapping cycles of energy, in close, mutually dependent places create “a city atmosphere” which is probably the most important of all features that makes a city.

From this general description, we can see two basic functions:

1) It must provide good level efficient connections among all its functions.

2) It must provide proper conditions for each of the functions.

2.1 BASIC COMPONENTS OF A CITY.

By component we mean any part which something is made. Therefore, the basic components of a city are those parts, which make up a city and those including:

(a) Residential areas.

(b) Industrial areas.

(d) Recreational areas.

(e) Shopping centre.

(f) Open spaces/Civic spaces.

(g) Green areas.

In the course of this work, we shall be focusing on and the shopping centres

3.0 SHOPPING CENTRES.

(DEPARTMENT STORES, SUPERMARKET AND SHOPS).

A shopping centre is a group of commercial establishment planned, developed, owed and managed as a unit with off street parking provided on the property and related in size and type of shops to the trade area that unit serves generally in a territory or city.

3.1 FUNCTION.

The primary function of a shop is to sell goods and services to the public at an acceptable profit to the retailer. Retailing methods and shopping pattern have to change rapidly to meet new social conditions recent causes of change have been.

(a) Increase in population.

(b) Increase car ownership and car traffic.

3.2 MERCHANDISE.

Merchandise sold in shops can be classified as:

(a) Convenience goods, i.e. daily shopping needs.

(b) Comparison goods, or consumer durable, where customers compare quality, variety and price service offered.

3.2.1 GOOD AND SERVICES.

The main types of goods and services are:

(a) Food (perishable and non perishable).

(b) Clothing.

(d) Hardware.

(e) Services.

(f) Miscellaneous.

(g) Institutional.

(h) Refreshment facilities.

Any of these may be sold individually in specialist shops or as part of a large composite enterprise.

3.3 SHOP TYPES.

Main composite shop types are;

(a) Department store.

(b) Hypermarket or discount store.

(d) Supermarket.

They are classified as large space users in shopping centre terms.

3.4 SHOP BUILDING

These may be erected in two ways:

(a) PURPOSE DESIGNED INDIVIDUAL UNIT: This will be either;

I. Piecemeal redevelopment or underdevelopment or modernization and extension of one unit (of whatever size) on an urban site for tenant or some;

II. Department store or large variety store supermarket forming part new complex, on lease agreement and subject to landlord control;

III. One-step-out-of-town hypermarket or discount store.

(b) SPECULATIVE DEVELOPMENT SHOPPING COMPLEX FOR LETTING: This may either;

(i) Row of shops forming file in existing street.

(ii) New or redevelopment shopping complex or shopping centre.

This may comprise, depending on size and location, some or all of the following: Department store: variety store; supermarket; standard unit.

The developer will provide shells of the standard units for letting, the tenant being responsible for shop granting and shop layouts. If known in the time layer units may be tailored may be tailored to the needs of the large space user.

The shops can be either a bungalow design or multi-storey structures more in the case of multi-storey structures more than two stories, there is the need for escalators or lifts or combination of both depending on the requirements. So also in multi-storey structures, the parking facilities may be separated or attached to the building. If it is attached, it can be placed on the basement or in any other floor of the building.

3.5 SITTING.

Main considerations in siting of an individual shop are:

(a) To attract trade.

(b) To provide convenient customer access.

(a) TO ATTRACTING TRADE.

The sitting of any shop will directly affect its trading potential. The greater the foot traffic past a shop, the greater the potential trade. Department, variety stories, and supermarkets are “magnets” and will affect the trade of their neighbours. For success of the whole centre they should be sited to draw shoppers-past as many units as possible. Pedestrian routs from car park must be carefully planned to avoid by passing key shops.