City block

Acity block,residential block,urban block,or simplyblockis a central element ofurban planningandurban design.

A city block is the smallest group of buildings that is surrounded bystreets,not counting any type ofthoroughfarewithin the area of a building or comparable structure. City blocks are the space for buildings within the street pattern of a city, and form the basic unit of a city's urban fabric. City blocks may be subdivided into any number of smallerland lotsusually in private ownership, though in some cases, it may be other forms of tenure. City blocks are usually built-up to varying degrees and thus form the physical containers or "streetwalls" of public space. Most cities are composed of a greater or lesser variety of sizes and shapes of urban block. For example, many pre-industrial cores of cities in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East tend to have irregularly shaped street patterns and urban blocks, while cities based on grids have much more regular arrangements.

By extension, the word "block" is an important informal unit of length equal to the distance between two streets of a street grid.

Grid plan[edit]

In most cities of thenew worldthat were planned, rather than developing gradually over a long period of time, streets are typically laid out on agrid plan,so that city blocks are square or rectangular. Using theperimeter blockdevelopment principle, city blocks are developed so thatbuildingsare located along the perimeter of the block, with entrances facing thestreet,and semi-privatecourtyardsin the rear of the buildings.^[1]This arrangement is intended to provide goodsocial interactionamong people.^[1]

Since the spacing of streets in grid plans varies so widely among cities, or even within cities, it is difficult to generalize about the size of a city block. Oblong blocks range considerably in width and length. The standard block in Manhattan is about 264 by 900 feet (80 m × 274 m). InChicago,a typical city block is 330 by 660 feet (100 m × 200 m),^[2]meaning that 16 east-west blocks or 8 north-south blocks measure one mile, which has been adopted by other US cities. In much of the United States and Canada, theaddressesfollow ablock and lot number system,in which each block of a street is allotted 100 building numbers. The blocks in centralMelbourne, Australia,are also 330 by 660 feet (100 m × 200 m), formed by splitting the square blocks in anoriginal gridwith a narrow street down the middle.

Manyold worldcities have grown by accretion over time rather than being planned from the outset. For this reason, a regular pattern of even, square or rectangular city blocks is not so common amongEuropean cities,for example. An exception is represented by those cities that were founded as Roman military settlements, and that often preserve the original grid layout around two main orthogonal axes. One notable example isTurin, Italy.Following the example ofPhiladelphia,New York City adopted theCommissioners' Plan of 1811for a more extensivegrid plan.

Structure variations[edit]

The concept ofcity blockcan be generalized as asuperblockorsub-block.

Superblock[edit]

Asuperblock,orsuper-block,is an area of urban land that is bounded byarterial roadsand the size of multiple typically sized city blocks. Within the superblock, the local road network, if any, is designed to serve only local needs.

Definitions and typologies[edit]

Within the broad concept of a superblock, various typologies emerge based primarily on the internal road networks within the superblock, their historical context, and whether they areauto-centricorpedestrian-centric.The context in which superblocks are being studied or conceived gives rise to varying definitions.

An internal road network characterised byculs-de-sacis typical of auto-centric suburban development primarily in Western countries throughout the 20th century. The Oxford Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture's definition is rooted within this typically suburban conception:

“Area containing residential accommodation, shops, schools, offices, etc., with public open space (e.g. a green), surrounded by roads and penetrated by cul-de-sac service-roads. It is linked to other super-blocks and a town centre by means of paths over or under the roads (e.g. inRadburn planning).”^[3]

Though the aim of such superblocks is generally to minimise traffic within the superblock by directing it to arterial roads, the effect in many cases has been to entrenchautomobile dependenceby limiting pedestrian and cyclistpermeability. Superblocks can also contain an orthogonal internal road network, including those based on agrid planor quasi-grid plan. That typology is prevalent in Japan and China, for example. Chen defines the supergrid and superblock urban morphology in that context as follows:

“The Supergrid is a large-scale net of wide roads that defines a series of cells or Superblocks, each containing a network of narrower streets.”^[4]

Superblocks can also be retroactively superimposed on pre-existing grid plan by changing the traffic rules and streetscape of internal streets within the superblock, as in the case ofBarcelona'ssuperilles(Catalanfor superblocks). Eachsuperillahas nine city blocks, with speed limits on the internal roads slowed to 10–20 km/h, through traffic disallowed, and through travel possible only on the perimeter roads.^[5]

In Soviet Union and post-Soviet states, a technical term out of construction industry is "residential massíve" (Russian:Жилой массив,Zhyloi massiv). According to the definition, a residential massíve consists of several of residential quarters (city blocks) that are associated by one architectural design (concept).^[6]In a number of cities in post-Soviet countries, several city neighborhoods have names likemassivormasyvand appeared in the second half of the 20th century with the rapid expansion of cities. In Central Eastern Europe, which was once in theWarsaw Pact,several cities have residential areas filled with inexpensive housing of multi-story buildings known aspanelák(panel buildings). Panel buildings of similar architectural type may be erected as one residential city quarter or bigger residential area as massíve.

History and usage[edit]

Superblocks in North America, Brazil, the United Kingdom, and Australia[edit]

Superblocks were popular during the early and mid-20th century auto-centric suburban development. They arose frommodernistideas in architecture and urban planning. Planning was then based upon the distance and speed scales for the automobile and discounted the pedestrian and cyclist modes, as obsolete transportation vehicles.^[7]A superblock is much larger than a traditional city block, with a greater setback for buildings, and is typically bounded by widely spaced, high-speed, arterial or circulating routes, rather than by local streets. Superblocks are often found insuburbsorplanned citiesor are the result ofurban renewalof the mid-20th century in which astreet hierarchyhas replaced the traditional grid. In a residential area of a suburb, the interior of the superblock is typically served bydead-endor looped streets. The discontinuous streets served the automobile, as longer distances and the extra fuel required to go between destinations were not concerns, but at the pedestrian scale, the discontinuity of the roads added to the distance that must be traveled. The discontinuity inside the superblock forcedautomobile dependency,discouraged errand walking, and forced more traffic onto the fewer continuous streets. That increased demand for through streets, which led ultimately to the streets having more travel lanes added for cars and made it more difficult for any pedestrian to cross such streets. In that way, superblocks cut up the city into isolated units, expanded automobile dominance, and made it impossible for pedestrians and cyclists to get anywhere outside of the superblock. Superblocks can also be found in central city areas, where they are more often associated with institutional, educational, recreational and corporate rather than residential uses.

The urban plannerClarence Perryargued for use of superblocks and related ideas in his "neighborhood unit"plan, which aimed to organize space in a way that was more"pedestrian-friendly "and provided openplazasand other space for residents to socialize. Planners, today, now know that the street discontinuity and the multi-lane roads associated with superblocks have caused the decline of pedestrian and bicycle use everywhere with the "sprawl" pattern. The traditional urban block diffused automobile traffic onto several narrower roads at slower speeds. That more finely connected network of narrower roads better allowed the pedestrian and cyclist realms to flourish. The superblock, at the scale suitable only for automobiles, and not pedestrians, was the means for ultimate automobile dominance by the end of the 20th century.^[8]The same intention to facilitate pedestrian movement and socializing is captured by an influential 1989 conceptual design of aPedestrian Pocket^[9](see diagram). It is, similarly, a superblock composed of nine normal city blocks clustered around a light rail station and a central open space. Its circulation pattern consists primarily of a dense pedestrian network which is complementary to but independent from the car network. Access by car is provided by means of three loops. This superblock differs from Perry's concept in that it makes it impossible for cars to traverse it rather than very difficult; it is car-impermeable.

In the 1930s, superblocks were often used in urban renewalpublic housingprojects in American cities.^[10]In using superblocks, housing projects aimed to eliminate backalleys,which were often associated withslumconditions.^[10]

During its construction in 1960, Brazil's administrative capital,Brasilia,employed a similar concept on the Asa Norte and Asa Sul of the Plano Piloto that is still in use. Each block is part of a group of four blocks called "Superquadras", sharing common recreation spaces such as parks, soccer fields and pools. Pairs of Superquadras have a commercial street between them that provide goods and amenities for both.^[11]

Superblocks are also used when functional units such asrail yardsor shipyards, inherited from the 19th and early 20th centuries, are too big to fit in an average city block. A contemporary function which reflects ancient practices that also requires larger than typical blocks is the sportsstadiumor arena. Just as theColosseumin ancient Rome, sports complexes require superblocks. TheProvidence Parkstadium in Portland, for example, takes up four normal city blocks as does the equally largeGreensboro Coliseumin North Carolina. Other contemporary institutions, establishments or functions that use superblocks are:city hallslikeGovernment Center, BostonandToronto City Hall;regional generalhospitalsor specialized medical centres; convention andexhibition centers,such asExhibition Placein Toronto and theBoston Convention and Exhibition Center;and downtown enclosedShopping Mallssuch asEaton Centrein Toronto, echoing the largegalleriasof the 19th century. Cultural complexes, such as theLincoln Centerin New York City, often occupy a superblock achieved through the consolidation of regular city blocks. A recent^[when?]superblock user is the merchandisedistribution centre,which can range in area from one to ten city blocks.

Most notably, however, the largest superblocks in contemporary cities are used by university and college campuses^{[citation needed]}such asMassachusetts Institute of Technology,Columbia University,theUniversity of Illinois at Chicago,theCity College of New York,and theUniversity of Albertain Edmonton. The "campus" impact on the city block structure is quite prominent particularly in small university towns such asWaterloo, OntarioorIthaca, New Yorkwhere the university superblock counts for a sizeable portion of the total city area. Campuses, in general, are fully walkable and sociable environments within the superblock structure. On some university campuses the extensive and exclusive pedestrian path network at grade is supplemented with below grade paths. New Urbanists would argue that separating circulation modes effectively kills the social interaction that bolsters urban areas.^{[citation needed]}

Additional users of the superblock concept are large national or multinational corporations who constructed campuses in the late 1900s and 2000s. Examples of superblock campuses includeGooglein Mountain View, California; andAppleandHewlett-Packardin San Jose, California. Another well-known commercial superblock is theWorld Trade Center siteinNew York City,where several streets of Manhattan's downtown grid were removed and de-mapped to make room for the center.

Complicated superblock designs implemented inTroieschynaneighborhood (Kyiv,Ukraine)

Social and housing agencies in the U.S., Canada and the UK used the superblock model for largehousing projectssuch as Regent Park in Toronto and Benny Farm in Montreal, Canada. In New York City, theStuyvesant Townprivate market, residential development superblock takes up about 18 normal city blocks and provides a large green amenity for its residents and neighbours. It uses crescent (loop) rather thandead-endedstreets inside the superblock and an extensive network of paths that provide excellent connectivity within the block and to the neighbouring areas (see drawing).

Where the superblock is used for housing projects like Stuyvesant Town, the advantages sought are an improved separation of vehicular and pedestrian circulation, enhanced tranquility and reduced accident risk within the neighbourhood. In 2003,Vauban(a rail suburb of Freiburg, Germany) was constructed with similar goals.^[12]Its layout consists mainly of a superblock with a central pedestrian spine and a few narrow looped anddead-endedstreets. The Britishnew townofMilton Keynesis built around a grid of one-kilometre square superblocks (see drawing).

Superblocks have been proposed as a potential solution to road space prioritisation and increased pedestrian flows in the CBD ofMelbourne,Australia. The City of Melbourne's 2018Transport Discussion Paper: City Spacesuggests, based on the example of Barcelona'ssuperilles,that “‘Superblocks’ could be applied in Melbourne to make streets in the central city safer, greener, more inclusive and more vibrant.”

Barcelona'ssuperilles[edit]

The superblock concept has been applied retroactively in Barcelona'sLa RiberaandGràciadistricts, which both have a medieval street network with narrow and irregular streets, since 1993. In these two cases it resulted in an increase of journeys on foot (over 10%) and by bicycle (>15%) and in a higher level of commercial and service activity.^[13]

Superblocks, orsuperillesin the nativeCatalan,are being superimposed in theEixampleDistrict's famousIldefons Cerdà-designed late 19th century grid plan.^[5]Eachsuperillacomprises nine city blocks, orilles,in which the internal traffic flows have been altered to disallow through traffic, and speed limits on internal roads reduced. After entering asuperillafrom a perimeter road, vehicles are only able to circumnavigate one city block and return out to the same perimeter road again, meaning that local access to garages and businesses is maintained, but making it impossible to cut through to the other side. Speed limits have also been reduced to 20 km/h initially. It was estimated that this could be implemented city-wide for less than €20 million, simply by changing traffic signals.^[14]

It is planned to further reduce speeds to 10 km/h and remove on-street parking by building more off-street car parks. This is intended to make the internal streets safer for pedestrians and create more space for playing games, sports, and cultural activities such as outdoor cinemas.^[14]

The concept was initially spurred by a redesign of the city's bus network that consolidated bus routes into a simpler orthogonal network, with more frequent services.^[14]With many streets freed from buses as a result, and the idea was formulated to create thesuperillesin order to reduce traffic, cut the high levels of air and noise pollution in the city, and reallocate space to pedestrians and cyclists. Thesuperilleshave been met with criticism and resistance from some residents, who have complained about the dramatically increased distance for some previously short car trips, and the increased traffic on the arterial perimeter roads.^[15]From the economical point of view, the Catalan business-mapping observatoryEIXOSshowed trends that the non-rutinary businesses would feel forced to theperimeterof thesuperillesto keep specialized commercials active enough (higher value of the premises). Inversely, the inner blocks inside them would unavoidably converge to a lessened quality network ofhorecaand supermarkets (lower commercial value of the properties).^[16]^[17]The adaptation of the Barcelona superblock concept has been explored for other cities.^[18]

Superblocks in Japan[edit]

Superblocks have been the prevalent mode of urban land use planning in Japan, even being described as the "sine qua nonof Japanese urban design ",^[19]present in all medium to large Japanese cities to a greater or lesser degree. Cities are typically arranged around a system of wide arterial roads, often approximating a grid and flanked by generous sidewalks, and an orthogonal network of narrow internal streets, normally operating as shared zones with no sidewalks. The grid plan layout of Japanese cities such asKyotoandNaradates back to the eighth century, which were in turn derived from Chinese grid models.^[20]The system of superblocks were created mostly in the early to mid 20th century by physically widening arterial roads, superimposing the supergrid and superblock structure in a physical sense. This contrasts with the Barcelona model wherein the superblock model was imposed through changed traffic signalling rather than physical street widening. They further contrast to Western auto-centric models described above as they are typically characterised by highlywalkableand cycle-able street networks, featuring high-density mixed use development and supported by highly effective and efficientpublic transportsystems.

Resulting largely from planning controls which link building height with street width, Japanese superblocks are typically characterised by a ‘hard shell’ of tall buildings with commercial uses along the perimeter arterial roads, with a ‘soft yolk’ of low-rise residential use in the centre.^[21]

The spatial structure of superblocks can also be analysed, per a taxonomy detailed by Barrie Shelton,^[20]through the classification of roads as ‘global’, being the arterial roads which provide for cross-city travel, ‘local’ roads, which provide local access to buildings within the superblock, and ‘glocal’ roads, which may cross the entire superblock, allowing through travel, and in many instances into neighbouring superblocks. Glocal roads differ from global roads however, in that they are narrow, have lower speed limits, and do not form part of the ‘supergrid’ structure. Shelton also describes the sidewalks of the global arterial roads as functioning as streets in themselves, or ‘sidewalk streets’, operating in a similar manner to the local streets.

Sub-structure[edit]

Same diagram of first illustration (see introduction), enhancing the "blocks without sidewalks", enfolded by the tiny green line. They are, with the inner alley and the sidewalks, sub-structures of thecity block.

In ageoprocessingperspective there are two complementary ways of modeling city blocks:

withsidewalks:using a direct geometric representation of the usual concept of city blocks. Not only sidewalks, but also inner alleys, common gardens, etc. Some street parts, such as a street greenway, isolated and with no related lot, can be also represented as ablock without sidewalks.
without sidewalks:represented by polygon obtained by the external border of the union of a set oftouching land lots(illustration opposite).

Always ablock without sidewalksis withinablock with sidewalks.The geometric subtraction of ablock without sidewalksfromblock with sidewalks,contains the sidewalk, the alley, and any other non-lot sub-structure.

Perimeter block[edit]

A perimeter block is a type of city block which is built up on all sides surrounding a central space that is semi-private. They may contain a mixture of uses, with commercial or retail functions on the ground floor. Perimeter blocks are a key component of many European cities and are an urban form that allows very highurban densitiesto be achieved without high-rise buildings.^[22]

Uses[edit]

As an informal unit of distance[edit]

InNorth American EnglishandAustralian English,the word "block" is used as an informal unit of distance.^[23]For example, someone giving directions might say, "It's three blocks from here".

Online[edit]

There have been online innovations and websites such asMSNBC-ownedEveryBlock,which uses geo-specific feeds from neighborhood blogs, Flickr, Yelp, Craigslist, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and other aggregated data to give readers a picture of what is going on in their town or neighborhood down to the block.^[24]

References[edit]

^^a ^bFrey, Hildebrand (1999).Designing the City: Towards a More Sustainable Urban Form.E & FN Spon.ISBN 978-0-419-22110-4.
^cityofchicago.org
^Curl, James Stevens (2006).A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, 2ed.Oxford: Oxford University Press. super-block.ISBN 978-0-19-172648-4.
^Xiaofei, Chen (2017-08-29).A Comparative Study of Supergrid and Superblock Urban Structure in China and Japan Rethinking the Chinese Superblocks: Learning from Japanese Experience(Thesis).hdl:2123/17986.
^^a ^bBausells, Marta (2016-05-17)."Superblocks to the rescue: Barcelona's plan to give streets back to residents".The Guardian.Retrieved2018-04-14.
^Understanding about residential massíve. Round calendar planning of residential massíve development by urban-planned complexes (Понятие о жилых массивах. Календарные планы застройки жилых массивов градостроительными комплексами).
^Postaria, Ronika (31 May 2021)."Superblock (Superilla) Barcelona—a city redefined".Cities Forum.
^Keating, W. Dennis, Norman Krumholz (2000). "Neighborhood Planning".Journal of Planning Education and Research.20(1): 111–114.doi:10.1177/073945600128992546.S2CID 220915328.{{cite journal}}:CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^"The Pedestrian Pocket Book: A New Suburban Design Strategy - Calthorpe Associates".www.calthorpe.com.Retrieved12 September2017.
^^a ^bBen-Joseph, Eran, Terry S. Szold (2005).Regulating Place: Standards and the Shaping of Urban America.Routledge.ISBN 978-0-415-94874-6.{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^"Superquadras de Brasília foram pensadas para serem espaços públicos, diz antropóloga".Agencia Brasil.2 March 2020.Retrieved4 January2023.
^Commission for Architecture and the Built Environmenthttp://www.cabe.org.uk/case-studies/vauban
^"Barcelona Metropolis - Salvador Rueda - Sustainable Urban Expansions: the Legacy of the CerdÃ Plan".lameva.Barcelona.cat.Retrieved12 September2017.
^^a ^b ^c"Superblocks, Barcelona Answer to Car-Centric City – Cities of the Future".Cities of the Future.2016-07-21.Retrieved2018-04-14.^{[permanent dead link]}
^"Barcelona's Car-Taming Superblock Plan Faces a Backlash".CityLab.Retrieved2018-04-14.
^Nogué, David (23 April 2023)."Superilla: la pacificació del comerç?".L'Econòmic.Retrieved29 May2023.
^"David Nogué:" Els polígons industrials amb comerç són més competitius "".Ràdio Comerç(in Catalan). 29 January 2022.Retrieved29 May2023.
^Eggimann Sven (2022)."The potential of implementing superblocks for multifunctional street use in cities".Nature Sustainability.5(5): 406–414.doi:10.1007/978-1-84800-070-4.ISBN 978-1-84800-069-8.PMC7612763.PMID 35614932.
^Shelton, Barrie (2012).Learning from the Japanese city: looking East in urban design.Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. p. 141.ISBN 9780415554398.
^^a ^bShelton, Barrie (2012).Learning from the Japanese city: looking East in urban design.Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. p. 142.ISBN 9780415554398.
^Popham, Peter (1985) Tokyo: the City at the End of the World. Tokyo: Kodansha International, p. 48, cited in Shelton, Barrie (2012) Learning from the Japanese city: looking East in urban design. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge, p. 8.
^Edwards, Brian:"The European perimeter block"inCourtyard Housing: Past, Present and Future,Taylor & Francis, 2004
^Imagination: The Science of Your Mind's Greatest Power,byJim Davies
^"Web Publishing Roll-Up: Rise and Advise".CMSWire.com.Retrieved12 September2017.

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