The identification
and definition needed to shelter the activities of growing populations within
economically stable and geographically limited communities.
The term “dissection” in the title of
this essay means the comprehensive, consistent identification, measurement, and
evaluation of the design specification topics that define building mass and the
related site plan features of a building design category. They do not operate
independently. The values assigned to these topics must be mathematically
correlated before their shelter capacity, intensity, and intrusion implications
can be calculated and guided toward context results that represent a
desirable quality of life and coexistence with our source of life.
There is no divine guidance that directs the growth and anatomy
of shelter toward adequate organization, context, and coexistence. Master plans
and zoning ordinances have been our attempt to provide guidance, but conflicting
regulations, rezoning, variance requests, and annexation have randomly diluted
their intent. This has often left us with sprawl, excessive intensity,
diminishing agriculture, and a threatened natural source of life. The results have
confirmed our inability to identify and evaluate the building design
categories, activity groups, design specification topics, and topic values that
must be mathematically correlated at the project level to consistently produce shelter
capacity for the activities of growing populations within limited areas of the
planet.
SHELTER CAPACITY
Shelter capacity evaluation involves the capacity of land to
accommodate gross building area options, their related site plan features, and
their shelter capacity, intensity, intrusion, and context implications. The
shelter options are three-dimensional. The site support options are
two-dimensional. Population density and activity options per square foot of
gross building area measured or predicted are separate social issues.
Density has been an inadequate measure for the shelter
capacity of land. It has not been able to bridge a gap that requires
mathematical correlation of many related shelter capacity decisions before we can
learn to protect the activities of growing populations within geographic limits
defined to guard both their quality and source of life.
The dissection of a shelter project identifies the specification
components and mathematical decisions that lead to the formation of shelter
capacity, intensity, intrusion, and context in a limited land area long before
appearance becomes an issue. Identification is not enough, however. Measurement,
evaluation, and correlation are needed to define and predict the mathematical parameters
that have physical, social, psychological, environmental, and economic leadership
potential. The knowledge acquired can help us step beyond the random results
produced by isolated and often conflicting zoning ordinance regulations.
BUILDING DESIGN CATEGORIES and ACTIVITY GROUPS
A building design category is distinguished by the parking system chosen to serve its occupants such as (G1), (G2), (S1), and so on. An activity group is the generic occupant activity historically referred to as “land use” such as (R) for residential. A shelter type is a unique form and arrangement of shelter for an activity group member such as a single-family home (R1); a townhouse (R2), or an apartment (R3). An activity group member is identified by the specification characteristics related to its building design category, occupant activity, and shelter type.
The first seven chapters in Table 1 address six generic
building design categories that may be occupied by any permitted activity.
Chapters 9-17 explain how these categories are used to accommodate the
Residential Activity Group.
For example, a G1 or G2 Building Design Category is
typically used to accommodate single-family occupancy members
of the Residential Activity Group that are designated (R1) in Chapters 9-12.
The characteristics of this group member are defined in the specification
templates of its G1.R1 and G2.R1 forecast models. The values entered in the
templates are either measurements or value entries used to predict gross
building areas and building cover options for the land area given. The implications
calculated for these predictions indicate the suitability of the values for the
purpose intended. These shelter capacity, intensity, intrusion, and context
implications are found using the secondary equations above the relevant columns
in the model.
The G1 and G2 building design categories are also used to
shelter the townhouse occupancy members of the
Residential Activity Group that are designated (R2) in Chapter 13 of the
Residential Activity Group. The characteristics of this group member are
defined in the specification templates of its G1.R2 and G2.R2 forecast models.
The values entered in the templates are either measurements or value entries
used to predict gross building areas and building cover options for the land
area given. The implications of these predictions indicate the suitability of
the values for the purpose intended. These shelter capacity, intensity,
intrusion, and context implications are found using the secondary equations
above the relevant columns in the model.
Any building design category may be used to shelter
apartment occupancy members of the Residential Activity Group designated (R3)
in Chapters 14-17 of Table 1. The characteristics of this group member are
defined in the specification templates of its G1, G2, S1, S2, S3, and NP forecast
models. The values entered in the templates are either measurements or value
entries used to predict gross building areas and building cover options for the
land area given. The implications of these predictions indicate the suitability
of the values for the purpose intended. These shelter capacity, intensity,
intrusion, and context implications are found using the secondary equations
above the relevant columns in the model.
The point is that the gross building area of a building
design category may be occupied by any permitted activity, but subdivision of
the gross building area for occupant activity may require additional design
specification topics and values to define or predict the internal capacity of
the building for the activity under consideration. The shelter capacity of
the land for gross building area is a constant function of the building design
category, site plan specifications, and floor quantity options that pertain to
the generic building design category under consideration.
DESIGN SPECIFICATION TEMPLATE
Table 2 is an example introduced in many previous essays. It
is included to show that the values assigned to the shaded cells in a design
specification template are mathematically correlated by an architectural
algorithm to predict their core area implications in cell F33 and G33.
The Design Specification Template in Table 2 is an example
related to the generic G1 Building Design Category. The gray cells in the template
represent a dissection of the category’s essential specification topics. The
value assignments entered in the gray cells above cell F33 are mathematically
correlated to determine their combined core area implications in cell F33 and
G33.
The master equation in cell B39 combines this core value
found in cells F33 and G33 with the additional specification values entered to find gross building
area implications in cells B44-B53. These vary with the floor quantities entered
in cells A44-A53 of the model. The gross building area options become the basis
for all other predictions in the Planning Forecast Panel and Implications
Module of the forecast model.
QUESTIONS and CHOICES
Our ability to shelter the activities of growing populations
within geographic limits that protect our quality and source of life is the
question that the equations in Table 1 have been derived to address. The
forecast models and design specification templates involved with the answer offer
the ability to measure, evaluate, and predict the implications of quantitative choices
that have the potential to lead future shelter capacity, intensity, intrusion,
and context debate and decisions. The templates do not make decisions. The
intent is to improve the discussion by defining questions and potential answers
with a common, quantitative language based on consistent measurement and
evaluation. This can make it possible to express options and decisions with a
credible leadership vocabulary and language equal to the challenge.
ECONOMIC IMPLICATIONS
A building can shelter any permitted activity. The
correlation of shelter capacity, intensity, activity, and location of a
building has context, quality, and economic implications.
Private investment implications are limited to the specific
project costs involved and the profit per square foot potential of the activity, location, and scope anticipated.
Public implications concern the combined revenue potential
per acre of municipal land consumed by a city’s combined shelter capacity, intensity,
intrusion, and activity decisions for all projects in the city, since the
average revenue received from all taxable acres must equal a city’s annual cost
per acre for operations, maintenance, improvement, and debt service. In other
words, land use allocation for shelter capacity, intensity, intrusion,
activity, and context represents the content of a city’s investment portfolio
and the yield available to serve its population.
To my knowledge, no city can comprehensively monitor and
adjust the relationships between shelter capacity, land use allocation, and
revenue potential at the parcel, block, tract, or zone level of the community.
In the absence of this ability to monitor and correlate, a city must rely on annual
budget estimates and random economic development initiatives. These initiatives
represent hope without the data, evaluation, knowledge, and vision required to increase
revenue for the quality of life desired, and hope is not a strategy.
FINAL COMMENT
An improved method of definition, measurement, evaluation, and expression is needed before leadership debate can credibly address the issue of shelter capacity for the activities of growing populations within land areas limited to protect their source of life and improve their quality of life.
Walter M. Hosack, July 4, 2025
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