Refining the Complex Urban: The Comparative Study of Urban Blocks, Layouts and Patterns in the City of Ningbo, China

The complex urban environment has multiple levels of design and planning that are applied in the form of urban blocks, layouts and patterns of the city. The main aim of this research paper is to develop a comparative analytical study based on the study of urban blocks in several dense urban environments of a large city in China. This study will explore the issues of green infrastructure, urban environmental performance and urban patterns as the three main elements of the analysis. The city of Ningbo, located at the Eastern coast of China, is selected as the core case study. The findings of the study will enable the urban planners and designers to identify refining methods to [better] optimise urban blocks, layouts and patterns of the cities.  This study will emphasise on the relations between green infrastructure and urban environmental performance of the selected case studies.