Abstract
Structured accidentalness is proposed here as an urban design approach intended to generate congested, livable urban developments. The proposed approach is based on a compact superposition of a number of information layers structured according to human and territorial design criteria. The assumption is that such a congested environment becomes urban if it generates physical and community living conditions which encourage accidental encounters. The paper describes and discusses the application of structured accidentalness to the design of a new mixed‐income residential scheme in Lincoln, Nebraska, USA.