Reflective Blog: Developing Critical Perspectives in Urban Design
My understanding of urban design has gone well beyond simply how it looks or the way it looks, which is indicative of the relationship between building form and the city as a whole, to exploring what the actual effects of urban design are and to what extent they affect the way humans behave and interact in their environment. My exploration through studio projects and writing on my blog has encouraged me to further investigate how urban design influences and facilitates access to various aspects of the urban environment, including identity and social connections; critical examination of the relationship between architecture, public space, and society; and how both political forces and culture (digital) affect our built environment at an urban level.
Figure 1. Site analysis and urban context diagrams illustrating land use, movement networks, and cultural activity surrounding the Ouseburn site (Aljaroudi, 2026).
My studio projects focus on providing residents with an equally accessible and connected, multi-modal urban environment through the use of interconnected urban design components, such as master plans, detailed interventions, sections, and spatial configurations, that define circulation, provide pedestrian access, and support vegetation and community interaction, as well as the ability of incoming users to establish new uses within the urban fabric. The projects were also an important learning experience as to how spatial configuration can have a direct influence on individuals’ experience and everyday movement patterns in public spaces. Additionally, completion of my studio projects has improved my visual communication abilities as well as my ability to express and visualize complex systems and/or ideas about urbanism through drawing and/or diagramming techniques.
Figure 2. Section and blow-up section illustrating the relationship between built form, landscape, and public space within the proposed urban environment of the Newburn site (Aljaroudi, 2026).
Ultimately, my blogging experience throughout this semester has improved my ability to express myself clearly about urban issues while developing new and unique formats for both visual and written media and has enhanced my ability to think critically about issues of the city, to produce meaningful research on urban issues, and to actively communicate about urban issues and has changed my perspective on urban areas each day.
References:
Figure 1. Aljaroudi, D. (2026) Site analysis and urban context diagrams of the Ouseburn site. Unpublished university coursework. Newcastle University.
Figure 2. Aljaroudi, D. (2026) Section and blow-up section drawings of the housing development suggestion for the Newburn site. Unpublished university coursework. Newcastle University.
