Small Cities, Big Challenges

on a planet that is changing faster than ever before billions are leaving rural areas and chosen to live in cities since 1950 our world's urban population has increased almost six-fold this rapid rate of urbanization is placing pressure on cities with major economic environmental and societal consequences but beyond the big metropolis --is that often get news coverage many small cities are feeling a similar if not greater impact whether through the rise and fall of industry demand for housing or the implications of a changing climate from building in a crowded capital threatened by rising sea levels to creating modern housing alongside historic landmarks this is how small cities around the world are overcoming some remarkable challenges [Music] [Music] Mele is one of the world's most densely populated cities and capital of the Maldives the world's lowest lying country the growth of tourism coupled with local people migrating from surrounding islands and atolls in search of work healthcare and education has seen the city's populations saw a shortage of land has driven a boom in high-rise construction that has only partly solved the problem in response an artificial island built adjacent to the capital is now being redeveloped and a community of 240,000 people are set to live in a new master plant district that will take much of the capital strain with its two meter elevation Hulu male is designed to withstand rising sea levels a huge threat to the island chain the Maldives spends around ten million US dollars each year on coastal protection and a new 60 million u.s. dollar seawall paid for by Japan now surrounds the Kappa fault but the Maldivian building boom has attracted controversy with critics arguing that rampant construction is damaging fragile reefs around the atolls and with local workers often being overlooked for the many new jobs created [Music] when Estonia gained independence in 1991 kourin ship doubled and placed extreme strain on the road network an issue that was acutely felt in the country's capital Tallinn the solution was a radical one in January 2013 Tallinn became the first capital city in the world to offer free public transport to its residents easing traffic congestion by 10% the initiative has also led to cleaner air and improvements the mobility and job prospects of unemployed and low-income residents but reducing car travel has shifted pressure to public transport infrastructure much of the city's population now relies on the aging tram system which mostly predates the Soviet era and is in urgent need of upgrading some progress has already been made including a new route between the airport and main passenger terminal for the future rail Baltic err projects which will link Helsinki and the main Baltic states with Poland and the wider European rail network when it completes in 2026 like in Mal a a shortage of suitable land to build on is also an issue in many of the UK's smaller cities historic Oxford has struggled to make enough space available for housing largely due to long-standing Greenbelt restrictions but while the availability of residential land has been a challenge for many years some progress is now being made yoky Cross architects has been granted planning approval for two new housing projects replacing existing housing on gibs Crescent with a six story structure overlooking the Thames and a 30 home complex on Paradise Street in the city centre so the new scheme that gives then is a hundred and forty new homes and the intention was to create a sustainable mix of homes as we possibly could so out of that over half of them are social rent that is proper affordable homes positioned in a conservation area on the edge of the city and with elements of industrial heritage that had to be retained building a denser new development on this site is not easy the new gives Crescent will merge history with 21st century placemaking taking inspiration from an old marina development near by with a brick wharf style and adding a curved structure to encourage social interaction between residents we were trying to fit the building into the landscape really but also keep the architecture of the industrial if you like them but the Riverside Wharf in there as well it's a similar story on Paradise Street bordering the grounds of Oxford castle for this projects yoky crosses design strategy was informed by paradise streets former position as a key thoroughfare in the heart of the city the scheme proposed here reimagines the historic street frontage and housing patterns with numerous entrances to both individual homes and the two main circulation course for both of these projects yoky cross had to produce high-quality visual material to give future residents and the wider public a clear indication of the finished results to do this the team chose to use design and information modeling software developed by Vectorworks what we've found over the years is one of the advantages of using vague lyrics from concept to to construction is that you can start a model in Vectorworks right at concepts and then iterate and just add more detail to your model and keep that model all the way through right - handing over to the client in a city that has struggled to meet demand for new affordable housing these projects gaining approval is welcome news [Music] located 25 miles north of dallas frisco has been one of the fastest-growing cities in the u.s. over the past two decades with a four hundred and seventy percent increase in its population since the year 2000 here the rapid rise of industry has been the challenge the city has profited from copious businesses relocating to the dallas-fort Worth area in recent years and many of these firms have chosen to set up base in and around Frisco bringing sways of skilled workers and their families to the city faced with such an influx the Texas municipality has undertaken a vast construction program and at a far quicker pace than most small cities would be capable of but the city's leaders have so far risen to the challenge transport infrastructure is regularly upgraded new developments are largely mixed used to tempt professional buyers and its five billion dollar mile commercial districts is experiencing an explosion in corporate office space while other small fast-growing cities nearby have had similar success only to fall out of favor later on Frisco's continued popularity is partly down to an aesthetic integrity that has formed a critical part of its development planning [Music] over in the East Midlands now home to one of the UK's fastest growing economies outside London and the south east nottingham college has worked with the city's authorities to regenerate a disused area with a 58 million pound new campus with GDP in the East Midlands growing year-on-year and Nottingham becoming increasingly attractive for professional services firms that rely on young talent the city's further education sector has been crying out for a new flagship facility to nurture the next generation the college city hub will serve as a centre for students while adding a business centre for startups cafe and theatres to the local community though not in a conservation zone the structure has to integrate with surrounding heritage and its proximity to major transport infrastructure and other regeneration projects made pre-planning essential eras landscape architects also had to consider the public realm in and around the site setting out to create an easily accessible open space Vectorworks landmark helps to shorten the time involved in product drafting and data reporting Arras was able to significantly streamline its workflow with a singular all-in-one solution it had all the things that we needed in a piece of software as for landscape architects it could deal with complex site models complex levels and topographical features with useful bits of information in it and for the for the wider team to use do to accommodate around 2,000 students a year from September 2020 the Nottingham College City hub will be the first major project completed as part of the city's 250 million pound southern gateway regeneration whether small or large as cities evolve and become ever more populated the architecture and construction sectors are continuing to devise innovative solutions though many of the challenges created by urbanization cannot be easily overcome technology is proving to be an important enabler allowing architects and engineers to focus their time and energy on the part of the job that really matter if you enjoyed this video and would like to get more from the definitive video channel for construction subscribe to the b1m [Music]

Channel: The B1M

Views: 343,118

Keywords: B1M, TheB1M, Construction, architecture, engineering, The B1M, Fred Mills, building, cities, small cities, urbanisation, malé, maldives, tallinn, estonia, oxford, uk, nottingham, frisco, texas, usa, dallas, fort worth, yurky cross architects, ares landscape architects, vectorworks, landscape architecture, zaha hadid architects, rail baltica, malmo, porto, rising sea levels, hulhumalé, helsinki, poland, nottingham college, transport, infrastructure, oxford castle

Id: yh-mnZpqVEA

Length: 10min 59sec (659 seconds)

Published: Wed Apr 08 2020