Jardin Siti - جاردن سيتي

This futuristic master plan represents a significant evolution of Ebenezer Howard's Garden City concept. It maintains the spirit of Howard's vision while addressing its shortcomings and adapting to the needs of the modern era. The digital rendition of the city model, created with Esri’s ArcGIS CityEngine, Nvidia’s Omniverse, and Epic’s Unreal Engine, showcases the harmony of historical urban planning principles and modern technological advancements, promising a sustainable and vibrant urban future. 

Jardin Siti, translated from Arabic, is The Garden City. Jarden Siti is Houseal Lavigne’s modern revision of the Garden City, a concept proposed by Ebenezer Howard in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. First introduced in his book To-morrow: A Peaceful Path to Real Reform published in 1898 and later reissued in 1902 under the title Garden Cities of Tomorrow, the concept sparked a revolution in urban planning.

The Garden City model proposed self-contained communities set within green belts, blending the advantages of town and country life. Howard’s concept attempted to address the overcrowding and deterioration of cities by building the city around green space and agricultural land. He believed that it had to be situated in the unspoiled countryside where land use could be meticulously planned from the beginning to ensure it provided all the needs of its residents. The originality and vision behind Howard's model were groundbreaking; however, despite its many merits, certain limitations and criticisms have emerged over time. 

Scalability: One of the central criticisms of Howard's design was its scalability. The Garden City was designed for a population of about 32,000 people per city, significantly smaller than the population of modern cities. As such, Howard’s original design struggles to accommodate the kind of urban growth seen in the 21st century. Jardin Siti addresses this limitation and has been designed to sustain a population of one million. 

Monotony: Moreover, Howard's concept was critiqued for potentially fostering monotony due to the uniformity in city layouts, designs, and socio-economic demographics. Our modernized Garden City emphasizes diversity in architecture and layout, promoting cultural richness and heterogeneity. 

Economic inequity: The economic structure of Howard's concept was another area of contention. The proposed leasehold system raised concerns over economic inequity and imbalanced power dynamics between investors and residents. In contrast, our updated city plan suggests flexible models of ownership and investment to ensure a more equitable urban living environment. 

Mobility, densities, and land use distribution: Howard's original concept also faced criticism over issues of walkability, transit supportive densities, and shopping locations. The segregation of home and work areas, coupled with low-density living, resulted in cities that were sprawling and not easy to get around.  Additionally, the city's central shopping district design made access to commercial amenities challenging for residents living on the outskirts. 

Addressing these shortcomings, our reimagined Garden City champions a pedestrian-friendly urban design. Wider sidewalks, dedicated bike lanes, and shaded walkways promote pedestrian movement, contributing to lower carbon emissions and enhanced community health. The 15-minute neighborhood concept, where residents can reach essential amenities within a short walk or bike ride, has been integrated into the city design. 

To tackle the issue of transit supportive densities, we've incorporated comprehensive public transport networks, including rapid transit corridors and efficient last-mile connectivity solutions. These initiatives promote high-frequency public transit, reducing reliance on private vehicles, and aiding in the creation of a sustainable urban environment. We've dispersed commercial zones throughout the city to provide multiple neighborhood commercial hubs, replacing the single central shopping district of Howard's model. In addition, innovation-focused business rings the city with high tech industrial sites. 

Parametric and procedural modeling are techniques often used in computer-aided design (CAD) and computer graphics, each offering unique capabilities.

Parametric Modeling Parametric modeling is a method of creating 3D models based on a series of pre-set rules, constraints, and relationships (parameters). This method allows designers to quickly modify designs by changing parameter values. These changes can ripple through the entire model, maintaining the relationships and constraints defined in the model. This is particularly useful in architectural design, where adjustments to one element (like a wall's length) can automatically adjust related elements (like the roof's length).

Procedural Modeling Procedural modeling is a technique that uses algorithms and rules (procedures) to create 3D models and textures. It is excellent for generating complex and detailed models, like landscapes, cities, and fractal-based objects, without the need to manually model every detail. Procedural modeling allows for vast amounts of detail and complexity with comparatively minimal inputs, and the outputs are easily adjustable by changing the algorithms or rules.

ArcGIS CityEngine ArcGIS CityEngine is a leading software for creating large-scale 3D city models, developed by Esri. It uses procedural modeling with its unique CGA (Computer Generated Architecture) shape grammar for creating detailed 3D cityscapes efficiently. The software's capabilities include the creation of architectural mass models, detailed facades, street furniture, and vegetation.

In CityEngine, users can adjust parameters such as building heights, land use types, street widths, or façade styles, and the city model adapts automatically due to the inherent procedural nature of the model. This makes CityEngine an efficient tool for urban planning, architectural design, and the creation of immersive 3D environments.

Additionally, CityEngine has strong capabilities for geospatial data handling and can incorporate GIS data into the modeling process. This allows for the creation of 3D city models that are geographically accurate and rooted in real-world data. Furthermore, CityEngine supports the export of 3D models to various formats, including ones compatible with game engines like Unreal Engine or Unity, facilitating the creation of interactive and immersive experiences.

To bring the vision of this new Garden City to life, we've used CityEngine to transform the blueprint into a rich 3D model. Procedural modeling and CGA rules have been used to populate the city with realistic textures, architecture, and urban elements, offering stakeholders a virtual walkthrough of the future cityscape.

We've further augmented this experience by porting the 3D city model to Unreal Engine 5.1. The powerful rendering capabilities of this game engine offer users the ability to navigate and interact with the city model in real-time, providing a unique, interactive exploration of the potential of the new Garden City.

This futuristic master plan represents a significant evolution of Ebenezer Howard's Garden City concept. It maintains the spirit of Howard's vision while addressing its shortcomings and adapting to the needs of the modern era. The digital rendition of the city model, facilitated by CityEngine and Unreal Engine 5.1, showcases the harmony of historical urban planning principles and modern technological advancements, promising a sustainable and vibrant urban future.