Urban Design When Discussing Urban Essay

Kowloon could be the epitome of a city that was developed under the theory of magical correspondences. Residences in Kowloon were not built in an orderly or organized manner, but rather were constructed according to the vast forces at work in the universe.

Oftentimes, the Chinese would employ a person knowledgeable in the ways of the gods to ensure that the houses were built to maintain a sense of harmony and to promote a connection between the residen and the gods.

Travelers to Kowloon might often confess of feeling boxed in, or being unable to discern the 'box within a box' layout of the city. This design is not by accident however, cities in Asia

were often laid out in order to maintain a sense of hierarchy, and contained proper colors, 'proper locations' and were often surrounded by gateways, doors and sacred entrances that afforded the residents protection from the dark forces of the universe.Other considerations included topography and cosmic forces and their magical currents that had to be guided away from primary residences; this was accomplished by earthworks, plantings and the use of symbols.

Comparing Salt Lake City's use of organization to the Kowloon's seeming lack of organization is not really fair, because each city used what was the prevailing culture of the people who settled the respective cities. The end result was that each culture understood and adhered to different designs according to what they wished to create. The Mormon

pioneers wanted order and wide beautiful spaces, while the Chinese wished to appease their

Gods and other forces at work in the universe.

References

Zande, R.V.; (2010) Creating the Urban village: Teaching pre-service teachers about sustainable design in architecture and community planning, International Journal of Art and Design Education, Vol. 29,….....