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
'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