14.2. Utilities First

Aus Pattern Language Wiki

for a new development, a Slum Upgrade or Sprawl Retrofit, it is necessary to provide adequate utility services to guide growth.


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Problem-statement: It is very difficult to bring utilities to an informal settlement after it has already been developed. But it is very helpful to place utilities first into an area that is growing, in such a way that they will provide for more orderly development, sanitation and amenities.


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Discussion: Basic utilities like water, electricity and sewer are among the most urgent needs for informal settlements, but often among the least available. The stopgap methods that residents employ are often dangerous, unsanitary, or both. Fires created by ad hoc wiring are common, and sanitation is often poor, while the purity of water delivered by pipe is low, if it is available at all.


So many of the elements of informal settlements can be built by the people themselves: the homes, businesses, streetscape furnishings, and other elements.¹ Indeed, these constructions often express an inventiveness and even a beauty that is hard to match. Yet the one area where the people are least able to provide for themselves is the delivery of utilities.²


Therefore, it is imperative that local institutions be created to provide utilities to informal settlements.³ Wherever possible, they need to be provided first, so that it is not necessary to tear out existing homes or streets, which can be disruptive and expensive. In addition, the utilities can be brought to points along the streets where homes may be built, so that individual owners can connect to them safely. One way of doing this is by providing a prefabricated hookup unit, containing the basic provisions for kitchen and bath plumbing as well as electric and other services. A version of this, known as a “wet appliance,” is shown on the next page. It allows homeowners to build onto this module with their own construction over time.


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A proposal to bring in a utility core containing kitchen and bath components, allowing residents to self-build around it. Developed by The Prince’s Foundation and Steve Mouzon for an informal settlement in Jamaica.


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Therefore:

Provide the basic utilities that are needed for an informal settlement: water, sewer, electricity. Provide them as a framework on which to grow the community in later stages.


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Provide information about utilities at the Neighborhood Planning Center. Provide Entitlement Streamlining to residents…




¹ The ability to safely create and repair elements of neighborhoods by people themselves, including utilities, is an important component of urban resilience, as noted in this report by the World Bank: https://www.worldbank.org/content/dam/photos/780x439/2016/oct-1/Urban-Resilience-Risks-738x440.png.


² For further discussion of the issues surrounding upgrading of informal settlements with utilities, see Del Mistro, R., & A. Hensher, D. (2009). Upgrading informal settlements in South Africa: Policy, rhetoric and what residents really value. Housing Studies, 24(3), 333-354.


³ These institutions need to assure that utilities are coordinated with an overall “green and grey infrastructure” system (see also Blue-Green Network). See for example the World Bank report, “Integrating Green and Gray Infrastructure for Water Security and Climate Resilience”, at https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2019/03/21/green-and-gray.



Mehaffy, M. et al. (2020). UTILITIES FIRST (pattern). In A New Pattern Language for Growing Regions. The Dalles: Sustasis Press. Available at https://pattern-language.wiki/.../Utilities_First



SECTION I:

PATTERNS OF SCALE


1. REGIONAL PATTERNS

Define the large-scale spatial organization…

1.1. POLYCENTRIC REGION

1.2. BLUE-GREEN NETWORK

1.3. MOBILITY CORRIDOR

1.4. 400M THROUGH STREET NETWORK

2. URBAN PATTERNS

Establish essential urban characteristics…

2.1. WALKABLE MULTI-MOBILITY

2.2. LEVEL CITY

2.3. PUBLIC SPACE SYSTEM

2.4. BIOPHILIC URBANISM

3. STREET PATTERNS

Identify and allocate street types…

3.1. URBAN GREENWAY

3.2. MULTI-WAY BOULEVARD

3.3. AVENUE

3.4. SHARED SPACE LANE

4. NEIGHBORHOOD PATTERNS

Define neighborhood-scale elements…

4.1. STREET AS CENTER

4.2. PEDESTRIAN SANCTUARY

4.3. NEIGHBORHOOD SQUARE

4.4. NEIGHBORHOOD PARK

5. SPECIAL USE PATTERNS

Integrate unique urban elements with care…

5.1. SCHOOL CAMPUS

5.2. MARKET CENTER

5.3. INDUSTRIAL AREA

5.4. HOSPITAL

6. PUBLIC SPACE PATTERNS

Establish the character of the crucial public realm…

6.1. PLACE NETWORK

6.2. WALKABLE STREETSCAPE

6.3. MOVABLE SEATING

6.4. CAPILLARY PATHWAY

7. BLOCK AND PLOT PATTERNS

Lay out the detailed structure of property lines…

7.1. SMALL BLOCKS

7.2. PERIMETER BLOCK

7.3. SMALL PLOTS

7.4. MID-BLOCK ALLEY

8. STREETSCAPE PATTERNS

Configure the street as a welcoming place…

8.1. STREET AS ROOM

8.2. TERMINATED VISTA

8.3. STREET TREES

8.4. STREET FURNISHINGS

9. BUILDING PATTERNS

Lay out appropriate urban buildings…

9.1. PERIMETER BUILDING

9.2. ARCADE BUILDING

9.3. COURTYARD BUILDING

9.4. ROW BUILDING

10. BUILDING EDGE PATTERNS

Create interior and exterior connectivity…

10.1. INDOOR-OUTDOOR AMBIGUITY

10.2. CIRCULATION NETWORK

10.3. LAYERED ZONES

10.4. PASSAGEWAY VIEW



SECTION II:

PATTERNS OF MULTIPLE SCALE


11. GEOMETRIC PATTERNS

Build in coherent geometries at all scales…

11.1. LOCAL SYMMETRY

11.2. SMALL GROUPS OF ELEMENTS

11.3. FRACTAL PATTERN

11.4. FRAMING

12. AFFORDANCE PATTERNS

Build in user capacity to shape the environment…

12.1. HANDLES

12.2. CO-PRODUCTION

12.3. FRIENDLY SURFACES

12.4. MALLEABILITY

13. RETROFIT PATTERNS

Revitalize and improve existing urban assets …

13.1. SLUM UPGRADE

13.2. SPRAWL RETROFIT

13.3. URBAN REGENERATION

13.4. URBAN CONSOLIDATION

14. INFORMAL GROWTH PATTERNS

Accommodate “bottom-up” urban growth…

14.1. LAND TENURE

14.2. UTILITIES FIRST

14.3. DATA WITH THE PEOPLE

14.4. INCREMENTAL SELF-BUILD

15. CONSTRUCTION PATTERNS

Use the building process to enrich the result…

15.1. DESIGN-BUILD ADAPTATION

15.2. HUMAN-SCALE DETAIL

15.3. CONSTRUCTION ORNAMENT

15.4. COMPLEX MATERIALS



SECTION III:

PATTERNS OF PROCESS


16. IMPLEMENTATION TOOL PATTERNS

Use tools to achieve successful results…

16.1. FORM-BASED CODE

16.2. ENTITLEMENT STREAMLINING

16.3. NEIGHBORHOOD PLANNING CENTER

16.4. COMMUNITY MOCKUP

17. PROJECT ECONOMICS PATTERNS

Create flows of money that support urban quality…

17.1. TAX-INCREMENT FINANCING

17.2. LAND VALUE CAPTURE

17.3. EXTERNALITY VALUATION

17.4. ECONOMIES OF PLACE AND DIFFERENTIATION

18. PLACE GOVERNANCE PATTERNS

Processes for making and managing places…

18.1. SUBSIDIARITY

18.2. POLYCENTRIC GOVERNANCE

18.3. PUBLIC-PRIVATE PLACE MANAGEMENT

18.4. INFORMAL STEWARDSHIP

19. AFFORDABILITY PATTERNS

Build in affordability for all incomes…

19.1. INTEGRATED AFFORDABILITY

19.2. COMMUNITY LAND TRUST

19.3. MULTI-FAMILY INFILL

19.4. SPECULATION TAX

20. NEW TECHNOLOGY PATTERNS

Integrate new systems without damaging old ones…

20.1. SMART AV SYSTEM

20.2. RESPONSIVE TRANSPORTATION NETWORK COMPANY

20.3. AUGMENTED REALITY DESIGN

20.4. CITIZEN DATA