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'Fractal' Design Makes More With Less

Posted by: Nate Berg

21 September 2006 - 6:00am

In a comparative study of English towns, one small village with a compact and walkable design has been shown to seem much larger to pedestrians than a comparable area in a big city -- mainly because there is more to see there.

Portmeirion, Wales, is regarded in England as one of the country's most beautiful villages. It is now also being recognized for its near-illusory effect of seeming much larger than it actually is. Many in the architectural community are looking to Portmeirion's "fractal" design as the template for new village design.

"Architect Dr. Andrew Crompton from the University of Manchester asked architecture students to walk 500 metre along Oxford Road in Manchester and in Portmeirion from a Nelson statue to an arched gate."

"The average Manchester estimate for distance walked was 804 metres."

"In Portmeirion it was 1,497 metres - three times the actual distance."

"He added, 'It would seem that vastly more information is absorbed during a walk in Portmeirion than it is in Manchester.' "

" 'That should be of interest to urban designers whom I believe should create complicated, fractal environments like Portmeirion.' "

Full Story: Portmeirion's big success in space travel
Source: Western Mail, September 19, 2006
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The areas where we have severe blight and indications of more blight to come are basically the same as they ever were. How in the world are we ever going to move our community development selves into an alternative future that thinks differently about the challenges we face in our cities and low-income suburban and rural communities?
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