DESIGN STUDIO
Its good to remember that the grid of the Romans, and the dense urbanism that made it up, is at a radically different scale than our own Enlightenment Industrial grid. On a small scale, each American block can be a Krier 'Urban Quarter'.
Let the existing exterior of the block be - create a world within the block.
"Inside the city block, you find the intimacy of the hamlet; the quietness and sense of safety that can bring families with children into the city".
-Douglas Duany
Some Characteristics of the Innerblock;
-Nested;
Inner-block urbanism is nested inside the block or block-of-blocks and off the main armature of the city.
-Transect Shift;
Settlement character. From City Street, to Town Marketplace, to Village Street, to hidden Hamlet.
-Human Scale;
Off the main armature, the inner-block can be formed at a pedestrian scale
The Schnoor Quarter, Bremen Germany
- Fits within the block
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'Anchor Urbanism' can take up very little square footage and be composed of simple buildings
Innerblock spaces can be the most powerful 'anchor urbanism' for todays cities