The Importance of Urban Form as an Object of Study

The importance of urban morphology is argued from three perspectives—philosophical, cultural and practical. Urban morphology makes sense of the world around us and this chapter will demonstrate the importance of ‘ways of seeing’, arguing for a philosophical approach that integrates physical, social and cultural dimensions of cities. Culturally, understanding urban morphology is a prerequisite to an awareness of urban aesthetics and the layers of meaning attached to townscapes. Through such appreciation, its study adds to the quality of life. Practically, the study of urban morphology performs a vital educational function. Through the detailed study of urban form, we learn both what not to do and how to do things better, a vital objective in achieving successful and holistic urban management. Urban morphology provides an appreciation and unique training for integrating closely related fields of practical application such as urban design, planning, architecture and conservation

Assuming it is all about conditions. Framing a simulation model for complex, adaptive urban space

International audienceIn this paper, we explore the route beyond the conventional, linear attitude within planning and its rationality debate. We combine our theoretical reasoning with a multiscale approach and with fractal-like argumentation which results in a frame of conditions which is supported by the outline of a theoretical conceptual simulation model which would also allow non-linear, iterative simulations of the urban space. The understanding of autonomous non-linear spatial development has a direct impact on planning. Addressing the underlying thinking behind Haken’s synergetics we develop a framework within which the interdependencies between different levels of scale are key. We are aware that bottom-up and top-down processes often have a mutual influence on one another. We therefore propose a conceptual simulation model for planning where conditions have an impact at various levels of scale. In coherence with the idea of the ‘dynamic behaviour of the system after a planning decision was made’, this feedback gives us information on the surviving and non-surviving planning scenarios and decisions and is reminiscent of systems which are open to self-organizing pattern formation. Our reasoning with regard to planning and decision-making and their multilevel consequences is strongly influenced by the arguments presented in complexity studies