Planning and Designing for more Connected NPUs: Lessons from Abu Dhabi Neighborhoods

Abstract

The Neighborhood Planning Unit concept (NPU) by Clarence Perry had large implications on town planning around the world. Abu Dhabi (AD) is an example of a rapid urbanizing city that utilized the NPU concept in shaping its neighborhoods. Its neighborhood planning is based on a configuration of rectangular NPUs, or superblocks, each with a unique street network and plot density level. This study assesses the street connectivity at a local scale of ten NPUs in AD, selected from two distinct urban growth periods: Pre-1990 and Post-1990. The study uses Pedestrian Route Directness (PRD), a connectivity measure that quantifies the directness of routes between origins and destinations. The metric is used to assess two scenarios. Scenario 1 (S1) tests the street connectivity of the ten NPUs with plot density determined by selecting the recent plot size regulated by AD for future neighborhoods (25m plot frontage). Scenario 2 tests the street connectivity of the same NPUs using two other plot densities to quantify the impact of plot density on network efficiency. One plot density corresponds to the smallest plot size used in the United Arab Emirates (15m). The second one represents the average plot frontage used in planning current AD neighborhoods (45m). Results indicate that the different networks provide various levels of connectivity, most of them with low connectivity levels. Findings also show that the connectivity level (the ranking) is not altered as plot densities increase or decrease. Moreover, the network connectivity by which these plots interact with one another using the network is not altered. Therefore, the main factor affecting the street connectivity of the NPUs is the street layout. The study also examined the effect of street patterns on connectivity using the Betweenness Centrality analysis. These findings can assist in the formation of new planning policies and design strategies that contribute to building more connected neighborhoods. It could further benefit other cities around the world, given the diversity in the selection of the street layouts, which include fragmented parallels, grid-iron, cul-de-sacs, and other unique layouts.

Date of Award	Dec 2019
Original language	American English