Urban Patterns

Central Business Districts (CBD) Highly accessible

Central Business District (CBD) Highly accessible CBD Retail services Retailers with a high threshold/range Infrequent patrons (designers, boutiques, Apple, theatre) Department stores 1960s/1970s stores shift to malls Now attract tourist shoppers (Michigan Ave.) Retailers serving downtown workers Why are business services clustered in the CBD want proximity to other professionals, government offices accessible to all types of workers (secretary and the CEO) Consequently, business support services as well. Retail caters to the tastes of downtown workers Shoe repair, lunch places, business attire, etc. expanding

Competition for land in the CBD High land costs leads to what? Intensive land use Underground areas Subways, loading docks, utility lines, pedways Skyscrapers Chicago (Home Insurance Building) 1880s Iron frame and elevators Give cities distinctive character “Vertical geography” nature of use changes as you go up Retailers → professionals → residential

Culture and Urban Form Chicago School(s) of Architecture 1st : walls hang on iron frame = skyscrapers 2nd : glass and iron skyscraper, form follows function aka “the International School”

Competition for land in the CBD Activities excluded from the CBD Lack of industry in the CBD Once located near water access and piers Waterfronts now used for recreation, tourism, retail

Competition for land in the CBD Lack of residents in the CBD 1800s = population centers (mansions, tenements) 20th century = retail wins bid-rent, suburbanization, invasion/succession result in less people living in urban centers Now: population returning (lofts, empty-nesters, yuppies, hipsters, proximity to nightlife culture, don’t care about schools, etc.)

Empty Nesters and Young Professionals

CBDs outside North America Less dominated by commercial considerations. More public use and higher population restrictions to maintain character and attract tourists Older buildings renovated not demolished

Culture and Urban Form Chicago School(s) of Architecture City Beautiful movement Parks, monuments, orderly street plan (Daniel Burnham) The National Mall in Washington, DC

Culture and Urban Form Chicago School(s) of Architecture City Beautiful movement Parks, monuments, orderly street plan (Daniel Burnham) Beaux Arts style (you don’t need to know all the details but should recognize it) "noble spaces"—grand entrances/staircases—not utilitarian ones Arched windows and pedimented doors Statuary, sculpture, murals, mosaics, and other artwork, all coordinated in theme to assert the identity of the building Classical details: balustrades, pilasters, garlands Subtle polychromy Nice to look at AND creates civic pride and moral virtues

Culture and Urban Form Chicago School(s) of Architecture City Beautiful movement Postmodern architecture Wide range of styles, challenges what’s “accepted” Diverse aesthetics, anything goes, unique forms More people-friendly = “cloud gate” aka “the bean”