Urban grain
Bradford City Centre Design Guide, Supplementary Planning Document, published in 2006, defines ‘grain as: ‘The complexity and coarseness of an urban area. Fine grained areas have a large number of different buildings and closely spaces streets. Course grained areas have large blocks and building and little architectural variety.’
Landscape Institute Technical Information Note TIN 05/2017, Townscape Character Assessment suggests that urban grain refers to: 'The arrangement or pattern of the buildings and streets within the built form. It may be fine or course, formal or informal, linear, blocky, planned, structured or unstructured.'
See also: Urban fabric.
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