Table of Contents (NPL)

New kinds of patterns

The sections of this book offer patterns at a number of different scales — as did the 1977 book — but addressed to new challenges, including rapid urbanization, new urban technologies (like autonomous vehicles), and the particular challenge of developing urban public spaces. (This is a key focus of the New Urban Agenda, and a particular focus of our own research work as well.) Several sections also include new kinds of patterns as well — at least new by the standards of the 1977 book — including patterns devoted to retrofit processes (such as slum upgrading, and so-called “sprawl repair”), more detailed geometric patterns, and also implementation tool patterns (including community design and building processes, and financial tools). This focus on patterns of process represents an expansion of the earlier focus on patterns of configuration within human environments.

For this reason, the book is organized into three major sections: patterns of scale, patterns of multiple scale, and patterns of process. These correspond to the subtitle of the book: places, networks, processes. This structure reflects an awareness that we need new models of urbanism, and also new tool for successful implementation of urbanism, to confront new challenges.

In all these innovations, this volume represents one open-source project to expand the capacity of pattern languages — and it is far from the final word. Like the first set of patterns, it amounts to a set of hypotheses based on our best assessment of available evidence. Like the hypotheses of science, these patterns are able to be challenged and revised, if and when truly better evidence for broader human benefit — as opposed to ex cathedra doctrines, or ideologically motivated rationalizations for narrow self-interests — becomes available.

Accordingly, the text herein is licensed under Creative Commons’ “Attribution-ShareAlike”*. Those who would like to revise, extend, modify, or otherwise re-publish the text with their own (one hopes) proper evidence- based alterations, are welcome to do so, in whatever media they choose, with the only stipulation of attribution to this original source, and continued openness to peer review and challenge on evidence. In that spirit, as Christopher Alexander and his co-authors said in the original book, may we finally see “countless thousands of other languages…

Table of Contents (NPL)

Aus Pattern Language Wiki

New kinds of patterns

SECTION I:

PATTERNS OF SCALE

1. REGIONAL PATTERNS

2. URBAN PATTERNS

3. STREET PATTERNS

4. NEIGHBORHOOD PATTERNS

5. SPECIAL USE PATTERNS

6. PUBLIC SPACE PATTERNS

7. BLOCK AND PLOT PATTERNS

8. STREETSCAPE PATTERNS

9. BUILDING PATTERNS

10. BUILDING EDGE PATTERNS

SECTION II:

PATTERNS OF MULTIPLE SCALE

11. GEOMETRIC PATTERNS

12. AFFORDANCE PATTERNS

13. RETROFIT PATTERNS

14. INFORMAL GROWTH PATTERNS

15. CONSTRUCTION PATTERNS

SECTION III:

PATTERNS OF PROCESS

16. IMPLEMENTATION TOOL PATTERNS

17. PROJECT ECONOMICS PATTERNS

18. PLACE GOVERNANCE PATTERNS

19. AFFORDABILITY PATTERNS

20. NEW TECHNOLOGY PATTERNS