A preliminary study on micro-scale planning support system

Abstract

Along with the transformation of urban development and planning in China, the traditional macro-scale urban planning which takes function delimitation as the main working mode and land exploitation as the guiding principle has begun to stretch towards the micro-scale which focuses on the human. This new research tendency requires a new planning support system. Since there are existing decision support systems for both meso and macro scale urban planning, this research puts forward that a micro-scale support system for planning should be constructed. This system should considerate human’s subjective feelings and needs as the core, and should be organized in three categories: ecological elements in micro living environment, urban design elements in local space, and individual behavior elements. Based on this, three sub-systems are proposed. For the first, the natural environment and ecological factors involved in micro-scale urban planning are the research objects, and this sub-system is established according to the logic of “cause-effect-response” model. Secondly, by integrating quantitative research and evaluation methods for urban design, the sub-system of urban design and spatial layout provides support for micro urban design simulation and local area design optimization, from the dimensions of urban perception, spatial morphology and function optimization. Lastly, the sub-system of human behavior and community life is based on the urban space-time behavioral theory and is applied to urban space-time analysis residential area planning, functional area planning, traffic planning, etc. These sub-systems will play an essential role in the future vital work such as central-city-planning, urban-physical-examination and livable-city-construction.