On a planet that is changing faster than ever before, billions are leaving rural areas and
choosing to live in cities.
Since 1950, our world’s urban population has increased almost six-fold.
This rapid rate of urbanisation is placing pressure on cities, with major economic,
environmental and societal consequences.
But beyond the big metropolises that often get news coverage, many small cities are feeling
a similar – if not greater – impact, whether through the rise and fall of industry, demand
for housing or the implications of a changing climate.
From building in a crowded capital threatened by rising sea levels to creating modern housing
alongside historic landmarks, this is how small cities around the world are overcoming
some remarkable challenges.
Malé is one of the world’s most densely populated cities and capital of the Maldives
– the world’s lowest-lying country.
The growth of tourism coupled with local people migrating from surrounding islands and atolls
in search of work, healthcare and education - has seen the city’s population soar.
A shortage of land has driven a boom in high-rise construction that has only partly solved the problem.
In response, an artificial island built adjacent to the capital is now being redeveloped, and
a community of 240,000 people are set to live in a new master-planned district that will
take much of the capital’s strain.
With its two-metre elevation, Hulhumalé is designed to withstand rising sea levels
- a huge threat to the island chain.
The Maldives spends around USD $10 million each year on coastal protection,
and a USD $60 million seawall - paid for by Japan - now surrounds the capital.
But the Maldivian building boom has attracted controversy, with critics arguing that rampant
construction is damaging fragile reefs around the atolls and with local workers often being
overlooked for the many new jobs created.
When Estonia gained independence in 1991, car ownership doubled and placed extreme strain
on the road network - an issue that was acutely felt in the country’s capital Tallinn.
The solution was a radical one. In January 2013, Tallinn became the first capital city
in the world to offer free public transport to its residents.
Easing traffic congestion by 10%,
the initiative has also led to cleaner air and improvements to the mobility and job prospects
of unemployed and low-income residents.
But reducing car travel has shifted pressure to public transport infrastructure.
Much of the city’s population now relies on the ageing tram system, which mostly predates
the Soviet-era and is in urgent need of upgrading.
Some progress has already been made, including a new route between the airport and main passenger
terminal for the future Rail Baltica project, which will link Helsinki and the main Baltic
states with Poland and the wider European rail network when it completes in 2026.
Like in Malé, a shortage of suitable land to build on is also an issue in many of the UK's smaller cities.
Historic Oxford has struggled to make enough space available for housing, largely due to
long-standing green belt restrictions.
But while the availability of residential land has been a challenge for many years,
some progress is now being made.
Yurky Cross Architects has been granted planning approval for two new housing projects:
replacing existing housing on Gibbs Crescent with a six-storey structure overlooking the Thames
and a 30-home complex on Paradise Street in the city centre.
“So the new scheme at Gibbs is 140 new homes and the intention was to create a sustainable
mix of homes as we possibly could.
So out of that over half of them are social rent - that is proper affordable homes.”
Positioned in a conservation area on the edge of the city - and with elements of industrial
heritage that had to be retained - building a denser new development on this site is not easy.
The new Gibbs Crescent will merge history with 21st century placemaking, taking inspiration
from an old marina development nearby with a brick wharf style and adding a curved structure
to encourage social interaction between residents.
“We were trying to fit the building into the landscape, but also keep the architecture
of the industrial - the riverside wharf - in there as well.”
It’s a similar story on Paradise Street, bordering the grounds of Oxford Castle.
For this project, Yurky Cross’ design strategy was informed by Paradise Street’s former
position as a key thoroughfare in the heart of the city.
The scheme proposed here reimagines the historic street frontage and housing patterns, with
numerous entrances to both individual homes and the two main circulation cores.
For both of these projects, Yurky Cross had to produce high quality visual material to
give future residents and the wider public a clear indication of the finished results.
To do this, the team chose to use design and information modelling software
developed by Vectorworks.
“What we’ve found over the years is one of the advantages of using Vectorworks from
concept to construction is that you can start a model in Vectorworks, right at concept,
and then iterate and just add more detail to your model and keep that model all the
way through right to handing over to the client.”
In a city that has struggled to meet demand for new, affordable housing, these projects
gaining approval is welcome news.
Located 25 miles north of Dallas, Frisco has been one of the fastest-growing cities in
the US over the past two decades, with a 470% increase in its population since the year 2000.
Here, the rapid rise of industry has been the challenge.
The city has profited from copious businesses relocating to the Dallas-Fort Worth area in
recent years and many of these firms have chosen to set up base in and around Frisco,
bringing swathes of skilled workers and their families to the city.
Faced with such an influx, the Texas municipality has undertaken a vast construction programme,
and at a far quicker pace than most small cities would be capable of.
But the city’s leaders have so far risen to the challenge.
Transport infrastructure is regularly upgraded, new developments are largely mixed-use to
tempt professional buyers and its “$5BN mile” commercial district is experiencing
an explosion in corporate office space.
While other small, fast-growing cities nearby have had similar success only to fall out
of favour later on - Frisco’s continued popularity is partly down to an aesthetic
integrity that has formed a critical part of its development planning.
Over in the East Midlands – now home to one of the UK’s fastest-growing economies
outside London and the South East – Nottingham College has worked with the city’s authorities
to regenerate a disused area with a £58 million new campus.
With GDP in the East Midlands growing year-on-year and Nottingham becoming increasingly attractive
for professional services firms that rely on young talent, the city’s further education
sector has been crying out for a new flagship facility to nurture the next generation.
The College City Hub will serve as a centre for students while adding a business centre
for start-ups, café and theatre to the local community.
Though not in a conservation zone, the structure has to integrate with surrounding heritage
and its proximity to major transport infrastructure and other regeneration projects made pre-planning essential.
Ares Landscape Architects also had to consider the public realm in and around the site, setting
out to create an easily accessible open space.
Vectorworks Landmark helped to shorten the time involved in project drafting and data reporting.
Ares was able to significantly streamline its workflow with a singular, all-in-one solution.
“It had all of the things that we needed in a piece of software for landscape architects.
It could deal with complex site models, complex levels and topographical features with useful
bits of information in it for the wider team to use.”
Due to accommodate around 2,000 students a year from September 2020, the Nottingham College
City Hub will be the first major project completed as part of the city’s £250 million
Southern Gateway regeneration.
Whether small or large, as cities evolve and become ever more heavily populated,
the architecture and construction sectors are continuing to devise innovative solutions.
Though many of the challenges created by urbanisation cannot be easily overcome, technology is proving
to be an important enabler, allowing architects and engineers to focus their time and energy
on the parts of the job that really matter.
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