Vicente del Rio

Lisbon: Between History and Modernity

Vicente del Rio et al. — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 15:17:26 PDT

This book showcases a selection of work from the 2011 Urban Design Summer Program in Lisbon offered by Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and the Universidade Lusófona.

Este livro apresenta uma seleção dos trabalhos do Programa de Verão em Desenho Urbano de 2011 em Lisboa, oferecido pela Cal Poly San Luis Obispo e a Universidade Lusófona.

Sustainability and Contemporary Urbanism in Brazil.

Vicente del Rio — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 14:32:54 PDT

Desenho Urbano e Revitalização na Área Portuária do Rio de Janeiro: A Contribuição do Estudo da Percepção Ambiental

Vicente del Rio — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 12:51:40 PDT

Contribution on the importance and applicability of the studies of environmental perception for urban design in the revitalization of a city center suffering a process of decline and underutilization of its development potentials.

Theoretical support is developed in Part One through conceptualizations on revitalization of city centers, urban design and its role in this process, and the applicability of environmental perception studies. The Port Area of Rio de Janeiro is taken as the case-study and its evolution, developmental aspects and tendencies are considered in the Part Two. The Third and last Part presents an analysis of environmental perception at the Port Area through an investigation of direct and indirect sources, culminating in considerations on the validity and design applicability of the findings for interventions of urban design and revitalization.

Implications of Adolescents' Perceptions and Values for Planning and Design

Camille Passon et al. — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 14:05:30 PDT

Adults are responsible for selecting and creating the environments where their children and youth live, but it is not clear if these places contain the qualities that young people value. In this study, high school students from three communities were surveyed regarding their perceptions of where they live to determine whether indicators identified by previous research as qualities that youth value are present in those communities and perceived to be important. Although the results suggest the indicators are important to the adolescents, their communities lack a majority of them and this has contributed to low satisfaction ratings. Recommendations for better integrating adolescents into public participation processes are discussed along with implications for planning and design.

Internet-Based Surveys and Urban Design Education: A Community Outreach Graduate Project in Redding, CA

Vincente del Rio et al. — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 11:01:35 PST

This paper is a contribution to the discussion on how to incorporate community participation into the urban design process within a pedagogical context. It is based on an outreach project by a class in the city planning graduate program at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. The project included an Internet survey to gather community input for a contentious riverfront site in Redding, CA. The responses permitted a study of perceptions, attitudes and expectations about the city and the project area, and an examination of design alternatives. The Internet survey provided 864 responses and generated a rich amount of information that was utilized in the programming and selection of design concepts for the project. The site's proprietors, the community and the media were in full support of the final project, which prompted the city council to appoint a special committee to oversee the advancement of specific policies and recommendations for the area's future development. The effectiveness of the method of public input and the successful project process suggest important pedagogical and professional implications.

Sustainability and Contemporary Urbanism in Brazil

Vicente del Rio — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 16:47:02 PDT

The Legacy of Modern Urbanism in Brazil: Paradigm turned reality or unfinished project?

Vicente del Rio et al. — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 14:49:39 PST

The Modern Movement ideals of transformation and progress coincided with the national spirit and zeitgeist of the 1930s Estado Novo in Brazil. Despite a persistent conflict between distinct urbanist views a progressive approach of urbanism became eventually predominant. Its strong impact on urbanist manifestations reached its climax with the construction of Brasilia.

This paper explores some negative aspects of the modern legacy in Brazilian urbanism, but by acknowledging that Modern Movement ideals helped to establish a great sense of social consciousness and promoted a common aim, also the creation of a particular identity is recognized. By strengthening local elements of identity the perverse aspects of contemporary globalized culture may effectively be attenuated; an excellent reason why we must not neglect our modern legacy.

New Urbanism, Automobile Dependency and Sense of Community: A Comparative Study of Two Residential Developments in California

Trevor Keith et al. — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 11:54:46 PDT

This paper resumes a research that concentrated in the effectiveness of residential urban design in response to some of the key tenets of new urbanism. Our original questions were: a) how this design truly reflects on the daily lives of the communities’ residents; and b) how residents perceive it? To answer these questions, the research focused on (1) automobile dependency and (2) sense of community, as the two major variables of new urbanism.

Paso Robles South Downtown Urban Design Concept

Vicente del Rio — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 11:54:40 PDT

In the Spring 2004, this second-year BCRP studio class embraced a community outreach project as a response to a request from the Community Development Department of Paso Robles, California. Damaged by the San Simeon 2003 earthquake, the city wanted the class to develop an urban design scenario for the revitalization of an important area of its historic downtown.

Infill Residential Development: A Spectrum of Approaches

Adrian Putra et al. — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 11:54:34 PDT

In 2004, Dean Tom Jones initiated an important symposium series to discuss current issues related to environmental design. The first of the series was on infill residential development, an increasingly important approach towards making cities more sustainable and energy efficient integrated, more walkable and less automobile dependent.

Urban Design and The Future of Public Space in the Brazilian City

Vicente del Rio — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 11:54:25 PDT

Invited to participate in a research workshop organized by the Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies at the University of Texas - Austin, the author responded to its provocative title “The End of Public Space in the Latin American City?” with this discussion paper. The workshop was an interdisciplinary exploration of the controversies around the erosion of public space in Latin American Cities, and of the paradox between democratization processes and the expansion of physical divides and spatial segregation.

Traver Concept Plan: A Participatory Process

Vicente del Rio et al. — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 11:54:21 PDT

In the summer of 2006, faculty Vicente del Rio and Umut Toker developed a series of community workshops in Traver, Calif., towards a participatory concept plan envisioning local development and future growth. In this article they discuss the active involvement of the community and the successful results of this planning process.

Note from the Editor

Vicente del Rio — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 11:54:08 PDT

Designing a Residential Resort in Mexico: Third-Year Community Design Lab, Summer 2007

Vicente del Rio — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 11:54:03 PDT

In the summer of 2007, a third-year design class was challenged by a real project and real clients: to plan and design a residential resort in the coastal Mexican pueblo of Lo de Marco, in the beautiful Bahia de Banderas, on the coast of Nayarit just north of Puerto Vallarta. Acting as if they were consultants, the students responded extremely well to the challenge and did a great job of creating unique and feasible ideas.

Global Thinking, Local Planning

Vicente del Rio — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 11:53:59 PDT

The beginning of the 2003 academic year was marked by CAED’s symposium Global Thinking, Local Planning: International Views on Environmental Planning and Design. This first event of its kind at CAED was organized by the City and Regional Planning Department, and co-sponsored by the Architecture and Landscape Architecture departments, in collaboration with the Central Coast Section of the California Chapter of the American Planning Association and CCAPA’s 2003 Conference.

Sense of Community and Travel Behavior: Investigating New Urbanism and Smart Growth Principles in Two Residential Neighborhoods in San Luis Obispo County

David Javid et al. — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 11:53:55 PDT

This paper was first presented in poster format at the 2004 annual conference of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning in Portland. It comments on the results of research conducted by the authors with the support of a Community Development Grant from Cal Poly´s CAED and the Orfalea College of Business.

Sustainable Redevelopment and Innovation In a Global City: Interdisciplinary Design for São Paulo, Brazil

Carlos Leite et al. — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 11:53:51 PDT

In the Fall of 2004, CRP had visiting scholar Carlos Leite for post-doctoral studies, research and teaching. He offered a course where students from city and regional planning, landscape architecture, and architecture, were able to study São Paulo, a global city with a population of 18 million people. Students were challenged into innovative projects for the sustainable redevelopment of a railroad brownfield in the high-density central city as an opportunity for positive territorial and social transformations.

Park Marina Area Concept Plan: Riverfront Revitalization in Redding, CA

Sean Nicholas et al. — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 11:53:46 PDT

Through a community outreach effort and in a true learn-by-doing fashion, in winter 2005 CRP´s Graduate Planning Project Lab developed a concept plan for the revitalization of an important riverfront area in Redding, CA. Their vision and proposals were successful in responding to all stakeholders´ expectations, and received full support from the local community. The design process included an innovative on-line survey which guaranteed significant inputs from the community.

Cultural Corridor: A Preservation District in Downtown Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Augusto Ivan Pinheiro et al. — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 08:27:00 PDT

This paper concerns the first large-scale urban-design project in Brazil to deal with preservation and revitalization in the inner city. In protecting the cultural heritage while still encouraging new construction, the project has been successful in setting a new methodology for development control and in reinforcing the traditional character of a large area of downtown Rio de Janeiro. Within the framework of an overall design-review process, the project has made use of special land-use regulations, design guidelines, participatory and educational programs, and substantial tax deductions. Traditional architectural patterns and uses have been reinforced, and development pressure from large corporations has been alleviated. The project's positive results and wide community support have encouraged the city to expand the original project area to include most of the historic downtown fabric and to carry out complementary programs for beautification, restructuring of vehicular circulation, and street animation. Semi-public and private investors have begun to recycle old buildings for cultural and commercial uses, and the downtown area is experiencing a comeback.

The Image of the Waterfront in Rio de Janeiro: Urbanism and Social Representation of Reality

Nara Iwata et al. — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 15:39:42 PDT

Postmodernity and economic globalization incite countries, regions, and cities to compete for investments, consumers, and resources. In aspiring for a new position in this global market, cities utilize new urban practices that lead them to rediscover and reinvent identities and traditions. In Rio de Janeiro, the mythical dimension of the South Zone is inseparably incorporated to its identity. In evaluating the history of the imagery linked to the beaches and the projects for the waterfront, one may observe a social construction of a reality that is marked by a continuous redesigning of symbols but also by a discontinuity in the history of urban interventions. Although tourism and marketing continually praise the waterfront as a fundamental factor in the image of the city, a continuous public management process never really existed. The city managers must understand the beaches, the waterfront, and development along the shoreline as important resources in a continuous process of social construction of a reality that should not only address their images as commodities but should treat them as inseparable from the city's daily public and social lives.