Exploring the Vertical Hybrid of Urban Grid, Infrastructure and Pedestrian Network
Highways and large scale infrastructure have been accused of being the factor that separates existing urban fabric, leaving disconnected and leftover spaces. However, nowadays, the urban grid as the basic urban network is no longer a simple single-layered system. Elevated structures, as well as underground development, have generated a more complicated multi-layered urban system. We are interested in this new kind of gridded landscape (in particular the pedestrian-scaled network) and how it works with the existing urban fabric. In order to draw our final conclusion of how to make the multi-layered gridded system work with the existing urban grid, we consider four case studies that are used to define solutions and clarify problems.
The advantage of a layered gridded city network is that it separates different urban systems for different scales of activities. Multiplying the layers of spaces not only increases complexity but also enhances the prosperity of a specific urban space. However, the city does not benefit from operating with totally separated systems, so for a successful hybrid and multi-layered urban project it is necessary that all layers are well connected and inter-related, especially interacting with the existing urban grid, so as to facilitate an easy transition between different spaces. As a result, this hybrid space network is an ultimate integration of the vertical layered urban structure into the gridded urban space.