Essentially this article advocates the adoption and use of dynamic generative processes for town and neighborhood development vs the use of static blueprints of 'master plans' that produce fabricated built environments. Instead, those that are the product of generative processes have attributes that can be described as dynamic complex adaptive environments that embody the virtues of complexity and sustainability. The article also discusses the components of a generative program and how they are utilized for revitalization projects that are located within historic towns or heritage areas. Two case studiesAlbuquerque, New Mexico and Muharraq and Manama, Bahrain -are discussed to show how the principles of a generative program are applied. Over time, the results of such a program for revitalization will maintain the integrity, characteristics, and sense of place of the area by avoiding the static results that freezes the built environment and produces museums that are of interest to tourists rather than the people living there. 1 URBAN DESIGN International (2007) 12, 87-99.
This study on codes is based on the context of the Byzantine and Islamic civilisations of the Near East and the territories that were under their direct or indirect rule and/or influence across all of the northern and southern parts of the Mediterranean basin. The study's sources and examples cover 14 centuries, from the 6th to the early 20th century. The article is divided into six sections: origins and diffusion, content of the codes, examples of specific codes, impact on the built environment, lessons for contemporary and future practice, and a conclusion. The section on lessons addresses in some detail the attributes of the traditional system as it relates to the phenomenon and science of Emergence. 1 This is of crucial importance because it is a primary consideration for achieving successful sustainability in our cities and built environment in general.
This is a study of a treatise by Julian of Ascalon, an architect and a native of the Byzantine Palestinian coastal city of Ascalon and a contemporary of the Byzantine emperor Justinian I (A.D. 483-565; reigned 527-565). There is some consensus that the treatise was written during the years 531-533, when the codification of Roman law that resulted in the influential Corpus Juris Civilis was undertaken upon Justinian's order. Julian's treatise is a compilation of construction and design rules that address the prevention of nuisances and potential damages to proximate neighbors resulting from building activities associated with change and growth in the built environment. A framework of five categories was developed to analyze the technical aspects of the treatise: land use, views, houses and condominiums, drainage, and planting. The influence of the treatise endured intermittently for almost 1400 years, first in Constantinople, then in the eastern territories of the Byzantine empire, and later in some Slavic countries; in Greece it survived well into the twentieth century. This research project relied on sources in a number of languages: Greek, Russian, French, Italian, German, English, and Hebrew. It is the first study to analyze the rationale and technical aspects of the prescriptions and design rules in Julian's important work, and the first comprehensive presentation of the treatise in the English language. The results of this research was
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