An interactive method for generating and evaluating urban design alternatives in early design stages

The field of generative design strives to enable the automated generation of multiple suitable urban design alternatives. However, quantitative analysis is typically conducted in the later design stages, when options are limited, and modifications are costly. Generative methods enable the creating of designs that bridge traditional methods, through systematic examination of numerous options during the early design stages. Yet their utilization in architectural practices is limited, partly due to antagonism that stems from the perceived lack of involvement of urban designers in such methods (which often behave like black boxes). The objective of this study was to develop a generative design process that combines rule-based automated algorithmic processes with the active involvement of urban designers, thereby offering a wide range of design alternatives during the planning phase. Additionally, the study aims at ensuring the key involvement of urban designers throughout the design process. The methodology employed in this study is comprised of both quantitative and subjective evaluations that the urban designers can conduct themselves. This result is an interactive process that utilizes generative tools and computerized analytical measures for creating, evaluating, and screening multiple urban design options at the urban neighborhood level, with an emphasis on residents’ well-being, and based on the designers’ preferred parameters. This parametric workflow could assist designers in the early decision-making process and may be integrated into current urban design processes.