Urban Design When Discussing Urban

Urban Design

When discussing urban design one could determine the strength or lack of strength in a city's character based on a number of different scenarios, including, but not limited to such design strategies as the sustainable urban design philosophy. One city that has used that philosophy in a manner that would make even the most mundane designer proud is Salt Lake

City, Utah. From the time the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

were led to the Utah valley by their leader Brigham Young, the focus of the pioneers was to plan a city that would be sustainable for hundreds of years to come.

One recent study determined that sustainable design "is a philosophy adopted by people concerned with the health of society and the natural environment" (Zande, 2010, p. 321). The

Utah pioneers were definitely concerned with the health of society, especially based on the fact that there was little to sustain the population no matter what type of health they were in.

The nearest large water access was the Great Salt Lake and much to the chagrin of the pioneers, they discovered it was a lake filled with salt water, not fresh water as they had hoped. The method that the pioneers used to accommodate their immediate needs, but also the needs of the future worked extremely well in that the end result was an ordered, clean and organized city that is easy on the eyes. Additionally, the accessibility of the city is one that allows even the most misdirected tourist to find his or her way around the city with minimal trouble.

The exact opposite of Salt Lake City could be a city such as Hong Kong. It is in Hong

Kong that the city of Kowloon can be described as the worst city in the world, especially when compared to the wide open spaces of Salt Lake. Kowloon could be the epitome of a city that was developed under the theory of magical correspondences. Residences in Kowloon were not built in an orderly or organized manner, but rather were constructed according to the vast forces at work in the universe.

Oftentimes, the Chinese would employ a person knowledgeable in the ways of the gods to ensure that the houses were built to maintain a sense of harmony and to promote a connection between the residen and the gods.

Travelers to Kowloon might often confess of feeling boxed in, or being unable to discern the 'box within a box' layout of the city. This design is not by accident however, cities in Asia

were often laid out in order to maintain a sense of hierarchy, and contained proper colors, 'proper locations' and were often surrounded by gateways, doors and sacred entrances that afforded the residents protection from the dark forces of the universe. Other considerations included topography and cosmic forces and their magical currents that had to be guided away from primary residences; this was accomplished by earthworks, plantings and the use of symbols.