The needs of society are constantly evolving, and cities must evolve with them. This is the essence of urbanism: to ensure sustainable, accessible, and safe arrangement and design of buildings, transportation systems, and public spaces.
On a more basic level, urbanism is the study of how populations of urban areas, such as towns and cities, interact with their environment. It consists of different branches ranging from engineering to social sciences. Urbanism was developed to address the problems caused by the spontaneous expansion of cities without adequate planning. At its core, the study seeks to create safe, organized, and pleasant lives for residents of both new and old cities.
The main benefits of urbanism include but not limited to:
- Improving the quality of life for city dwellers and making it more attractive for newcomers.
- Increasing benefits and profits for businesses by optimizing and rethinking the use of urban space.
- Reducing the expenses of local authorities by using space wisely.
The principles of urbanism are made into reality by various organizations in cooperation with local authorities, and one of the brightest examples of such projects is Urban Vision Lutsk. Its main goal is to rethink the urban livability in Lutsk and develop a Master Plan to transform the center of the city following modern planning standards and the needs of its residents.
With that in mind, let's look at how urbanism projects can benefit cities and their residents, using Urban Vision Lutsk as an example.
How Urbanism Benefits Business
Talking about urban innovation in Lutsk, we should first discuss its benefits for various businesses. Business owners are just regular citizens, with the only difference being that the city's well-being depends on them to a greater extent. Therefore, it is essential to take their interests into account in urban planning.
We want to emphasize the following advantages of proper arrangement of city space for business:
- Competitiveness. A well-planned city allows companies to avoid competing for space, as business owners can easily understand in which areas of the city their niche is relevant and potential clients are abundant. Furthermore, competent urban planning ensures that the city’s resources are spread relatively evenly among its districts, making more neighborhoods viable for business.
- Innovation. Urbanism reorganizes the usual approaches to space planning and creates points of interest, which encourages businesses to develop and adapt to new conditions to attract more customers. Also, in special hubs, entrepreneurs can get new ideas for business development and transformation.
- Sustainability. Entrepreneurs are interested in the development and prosperity of their neighborhoods, which has a positive impact on both their businesses and their customers.
During the Urban Vision Lutsk project, the team explored the potential business benefits of proper urban planning of Lutsk. Having conducted research and surveyed the city residents, it was discovered that the city center is not complete physically and functionally and lacks cultural and business activity as a result.
This situation can be changed by introducing new centers of various activities that will activate urbanism in Lutsk and create an additional competitive advantage. For example, through densification, the city may develop new points of interest:
- New creative cluster — modern facilities to enhance cultural diversity and services that the city creates for residents and tourists to attract funds;
- Business cluster — the emergence of new business activity centers and workshops in Lutsk, which will ensure a greater presence of businesses in the city center;
- Business hub — as a platform for interactions between private businesses, support for young entrepreneurs, as well as for dialogue between the city authorities, businesses, and public organizations.
- IT cluster — creation of spaces designed for IT companies and creative industries.
How Urbanism Benefits Citizens
Apart from businesses, one of the most important tasks of urbanism is to improve the comfort of city dwellers. If a city that adheres to the rules of urbanism, it ensures:
- Balance with nature — careful monitoring of the environment and timely addressing of any damage the city development causes to nature;
- Civic engagement — development and maintenance of the traditions and culture of the city’s inhabitants;
- Social cohesion — creation of areas for comfortable socializing and spending free time;
- Availability — space design that makes sure that people can meet as many needs as possible without resorting to private transport.
- Empowerment — striving to level out economic and gender inequalities and provide individuals from every social group with equal opportunities for development;
Over the course of the study, the Urban Vision Lutsk team found out that the most common complaint of citizens regarding the city’s center is the lack of leisure activities. Urban Vision Lutsk proposes to remedy this situation by:
- Creating a unified green network of public spaces, streets, parks, and squares that are interconnected and form a system.
- Using the water resources of the nearby rivers to transform the area and create new activities and points of interest.
- Creating a vibrant ecosystem of event locations, restaurants, and visually appealing building exteriors and facades through redevelopment and street densification.
Conclusion
The transformation of the Lutsk city under the principles of urbanism will benefit all the stakeholders. The Urban Vision Lutsk project aims to do just that. Realizing the potential of urban civic engagement in Lutsk and the opportunities that its transformation can open, we strive to create a new vision for infrastructure development. Right now, our specialists have already conducted a detailed study of the city's prospects from an urbanistic point of view and a sociological survey to take into account the needs and expectations of residents. The next important step is developing the Master Plan for the transformation of Lutsk city center.
FAQ
What is urbanism, and why is it important for cities?
Urbanism is the study of public spaces and how city dwellers interact with them. In a city built according to the principles of urbanism, the population has a more comfortable environment to live and work in, which is extremely beneficial for the quality of life.
How can urbanism help a city?
Urbanism can change a city by maximizing the benefits and comfort of all its inhabitants. The standard of living rises, businesses profit from well-designed spaces that fulfill multiple functions, and local governments can reduce spending on buildings and infrastructure.
How can urbanism help the citizens of Lutsk and beyond?
One urbanism project in Lutsk is changing the city for the better right now. To date, the Urban Vision Lutsk project has already studied urban social cohesion in Lutsk. Soon, Urban Vision Lutsk will present a plan for transforming the city center, considering its residents' needs and the rational use of space.