Six Assessments of the Same Places: Comparing Views of Urban Design

Abstract

How might an urban environment be evaluated visually? What different stories might be told when using different assessment techniques? Since the 1960s, researchers and others have developed a rich array of design evaluation approaches. This paper uses six different tools to measure three transit station area environments. Some focus mainly on visual issues such as colour, complexity and dominance. Others are more concerned with urban design features and qualities related to how people use environments. Together they provide a rich vocabulary for describing and assessing various design types and strategies such as transit-oriented development.

Acknowledgements

Thanks for research assistance, editing, and mapping to Laura Baum, Bonnie Hayskar, and Lukas Van Sistine; technical assistance from Kristen Day, Wendy Sarkissian, Rebecca Bateman, and Jeff Deby; and additional assistance from Amanda Johnson, Nishi Mishra, Whitney Parks, and Joanne Richardson. The research on which this paper was based was funded by the U.S. Department of Transportation in a grant to the American Institute of Architects and the University of Minnesota Center for Transportation Studies and published as Report no. CTS 07-09.