Tall Buildings and City Development: Comparison of Five Case Studies

Skyscrapers commonly rise in major cities worldwide, but the difference is in how they are integrated into the urban plan. This paper provides a comprehensive study brief of tall buildings’ integration into urban fabrics worldwide, via focused case studies on Singapore, Tel Aviv, Dubai, London, and Milan. Through historical and map analysis, interviews, and on-site visits, the authors explore analogies and differences in the design and integration of skyscrapers in diverse cultural, social, environmental contexts, in competition for height, and with shapes affected by the zoning regulations. The research provides an overview of the evolution of the growth scenarios of skyscrapers across diverse urban contexts, analyzing how cities have evolved in the past, and observing how tall buildings and cities will evolve in the future.