A Review of The Routledge Handbook of Urban Design Research Methods

Abstract

This book review critically examines The Routledge Handbook of Urban Design Research Methods, edited by Hesam Kamalipour, Patricia Aelbrecht, and Nastaran Peimani (2023, 1st edition). The book offers an extensive exploration of urban design research, organized under five thematic parts: “agency,” “affordance,” “place,” “informality,” and “performance.” Each part delves into the complexities and nuances of urban design research, integrating a diverse range of methodologies and case studies from different perspectives. This review explores the book’s comprehensive approach, noting its efforts to combine theoretical frameworks with methodological insights and its inclusion of a wide range of topics while highlighting the book’s strengths in addressing current issues in urban design research. The review maintains a critical approach, providing a balanced overview of the book’s contribution to urban design literature.

Keywords

• affordance
• agency
• handbook
• informality
• methodology
• performance
• place
• research methods
• urban design