ISBN: 978-972-99101-5-9

Editors: Vitor Oliveira, Paulo Pinho, Luisa Mendes Batista, Tiago Patatas
Cover Design by Cludia Monteiro
The present volume contains the abstracts presented at the 21 st International Seminar on Urban Form,
held in Porto, from 3 to 6 July, 2014. Authors alone are responsible for otions expressed in the book.
Cite as: Oliveira V, Pinho P, Batista L and Patatas T (eds.) (2014) Our common future in Urban
Morphology, FEUP, Porto.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Preface

23

0. PLENARY SESSIONS

25

0.1 Porto

25

The urban form of Porto

Vtor Oliveira

25

The metropolitan area of Porto: form, structure and dynamics

Paulo Pinho

26

0.2 Special book presentation

0.3 Different approaches in the study of urban form

27

Conzenian research and urban landscape management

Jeremy Whitehand

27

Morphogenetic interpretation of Medieval Ground Plans of European town

Jurgen Lafren

28

Urban morphology as a disciplinary basis of architectural design

Giancarlo Cataldi

29

Space syntax as a method and as a theory

Bill Hillier

30

0.4 A preliminary study for a repository of urban tissue

31

Karl Kropf

0.5 ISUF Task Force on Research and Practice in Urban Morphology

32

Assessing the plan, the planning process and the results on the ground: Porto case study
Vtor Oliveira, Mafalda Silva

32

What can you offer us? Challenges facing the practical application of urban morphology
Michael Barke, Kayleigh Hancox

33

Revitalization of Ahmedabads informal walled city: the role of urban morphology

Marco Maretto, Nicola Scardigno

34

Urban morphological methodology and planning practice

Laurence Pattacini, Ivor Samuels

35

1. URBAN MORPHOLOGICAL THEORY

37

Modern city as modular construct

Doevendans K, Scheel A, Meulder B

38

The role of urban morphological theory in the contemporary urban theory

Kukina I

39

The phantom figure of the town centre

Macken J

40

Interior landscapes - a paradigm shift in contemporary urban regeneration strategies

Marzot N

41

Reading Lefebvre morphologically: a property-based conceptual framework in urban morphology

Bas Y

42

Conceptualizing the morphogenesis of the Ottoman town through urban morphological theory
Bessi O

43

Experience of Porto: understanding the physical environment

Lima C

44

The Village of Nossa Senhora da Vitria in the context of the Portuguese urbanistic universe
Pesotti L

45

Spatiality of multiculturalism
Sarraf M

46

New perspectives on the meaning of urban form

Camiz A

47

A methodology for the analytical interpretation of the urban fabric

Coelho C

48

Ambiguity in the definition of built form

Kropf K

49

Disruption and origins: towards a theory of urban evolution

Scheer B

50

From the scientific origin to current research status: the urban morphology research in China
Wu M, Shi C, Song F

51

2. URBAN MORPHOLOGICAL METHODS AND THECNIQUES

53

Morphological change in Um Al Sharayet residential neighborhood - Albirah and Ramallah

Awad S

54

Commercial strips evolution in a suburban context

Boursas A

55

Urban design and transition morphologies. Prospects for intervention in Lisbon Alcntara
Ferreira C

56

Urban morphological elements studies: for describing generated urban form

Li Q, Ding W

57

Urban morphology of streets in central area of Vitoria (ES)

Botechia F, Thompson A

58

Street characteristics and pedestrian experience, Vila Real as a case study

Duarte J, Carvalho J, S F

59

Emergent streets. The study of the form and type

Leite J

60

The Demi-Block
OConnell D

61

Towards a qualitative density: from the block to the street as the urban fabric structuring unit
Vicua M

62

Studies and hypothesis on Mdina and Rabat urban form

Camporeale A

63

Territorial and urban planning in northern Sinaloa

Cataldi G, Urios D, Colomer J, Portals A

64

A methodology for the analysis of pre-existing structures in contemporary urban fabric

Martins P

65

The memory of informality: the typological cycles in the self-built environment

Montejano M

66

From urban form to architectural design: the case of Guasave

Colomer V, Reig I, Armio L, Vicente-Almazn G

67

Urbanity and legibility at Av. Cora Coralina, Goinia-GO/ Brazil, from Janes Walk movement
Farias A, Andrade L, Tenrio G

68

The positive dissemination: interpreting a new process for urban form analysis
Gonalves A, Tom A, Medeiros V

69

City or parish: dilemmas in Brasilia, Brazil

Holanda F

70

Intensity of use in public squares in the central area of Florianpolis/SC Brazil

Mat C, Micheleti T, Saboya R, Santiago A

71

The sociability of the street interface - revisiting West Village, Manhattan

Palaiologou G, Vaughan L

72

Exploring the volumetric city

Doyle M

73

The Projeto Orla (Lake Parano, Braslia/Brazil): the production of an exclusionary margin
Lembi M, Medeiros V

75

Connecting strategic nodes in Stockholms suburbs

Locke R, Marcus L

76

The network that spreads: program my house my life and urban accessibility
Pereira G, Silva J

77

Mapping urban space based on visual perception

Zhuang Y, Ding W

78

Changing form of the Baltic cities: resurrection of the suburbs

Cirtautas M

79

Spatio-Structural correlates at the Regional and National scales

Hillier B, Serra M

80

Mind the gap

Marras F

81

The morphology of conurbation

Rigatti D

82

Configuration of urban grid and the relationship between apartments building location
Corra A, Saboya R

83

Analysis of pedestrian movement: a case study in Balnerio Cambori/SC

Largura A, Goettems R

84

Urban morphological methods in Miralles's St Catherines Courtyard type of urban design

Saura M

85

Boundary Line Type (BLT) Mapping: analysing the socio-spatial and material interfaces of urban form
Vis B

86

Mafalala grammar and the qualitative assessment of their livability requirements

Barros P, Beiro J, Viana D

87

Generating urban fabrics in the orthogonal and non-orthogonal urban landscapes

Orsi F, Fiorito S, Beiro J

88

Measuring morphological coherence: a performance criterion for planning

alkan O, Mashhoodi B

89

A generative design system for interventions in dispersed territories

Gong Q, Li J, Wang N, Zhang X, Li Y

90

An area structure approach for town plan analysis

Marshall S

91

The intensity of smallness and urban character. The case studies of Yanesen and Jiyugaoka (Tokyo)
Muminovi M

92

Mapping micromorphologies using 3D surveying technology

Shutter L

93

Typological atlases of block and block- face

Vialard A

94

Analysis and modeling of spatial changes: identification and quantification of urban growth
Weiss R, Santiago A

95

Source of resilience in the urban form of Naiwan area in Kesennuma

Abe T, Satoh S

96

Sao Paulo: A legal reading of urban form

Barbosa E

97

Air oriented urban form: to develop an Eco-City in the tropical urban area
Mamun M, Begum A

98

Urban form regulation methods: Garden City and Low Carbon Cities
Mouro J

99

Analysis of tools and patterns for assessment of urban sustainability to promote design quality
Otto E, Andrade L, Lemos N

100

The implication of the adoption of ICT on the fractal dimension of urban systems of Lagos megacity
Akindeju O

101

The study of territorial development cycles and settlement morphologies

Lombardini G

102

Modeling urban growth patterns across geographical scales by a fractal diffusion aggregation approach
Murcio R

103

Hybrid cellular automaton: agent-based model of informal peripheral development

Santos A, Polidori M, Peres O, Saraiva M

104

Simulation of urban growth on cellular spaces using accessibility measures

Saraiva M, Polidori M, Peres O, Santos A

106

Connections and spatial patterns of urban ecosystems for water sensitive urban design
Andrade L, Hills S, Blumenschein R

107

Mapping urban village as a form of urban ecology

Dou P, Ding W

108

Systemic analysis as tools for interaction. The case of Lyon Part-Dieu district
Meunier G

109

Understanding the relationship between urban form and microclimate conditions in urban planning
Villadiego K

110

Urban street tree modelling using high polygon 3D models with photometric daylight systems
White M, Langenheim N

111

The recomposition of urban public spaces. Case study of the historic centre of Noale, Italy
Pietrogrande E, Caneva A

112

Landscape design method toward tops of surrounding mountains in Japanese castle towns
Sugano K, Satoh S

113

Measuring urban canyons with a real-time sky view factor modelling

White M

114

An approach on describing the street skyline

Yang H

115

Urban form and accessibility to rail transit stations: a case study of Auckland
Adli S

116

Morphology and typology of multi-storey car park: the case of Vitria, Brasil
Borges H

117

Reciprocities in spatial positioning of airport and city

Mashhoodi B, Wandl A, Timmeren A

118

Systems thinking for new perspectives on urban form a case study of urban transport corridors
Stevens N, Salmon P

119

How urban form influences accessibility

Vale D, Alves R, Saraiva M, Pereira M

120

3. THE EVOLUTION OF URBAN FORM

123

Polish city from conzenian perspective fringe belt phenomenon in Toru

Deptua M

124

Investigating the fringe belt concept: The case of Istanbul, Turkey

Kubat A, Gumru F

125

Fringe belt analysis as a means to interpreting the urban evolution of Rabat

Safe S, Costa S

126

Transformation of the fringe belt units at the perimeter of Avenida do Contorno/Belo Horizonte/MG
Simo K, Costa S

127

The morphological evolution of Northwest and Northeast inner fringe belt in Macao's Portuguese Town
Zheng J, Cheong K

128

Urban morphology and architectural design in small towns. The case study of San Vito Romano
Ciotoli P

129

The urban layout evolution and the complexity of Portuguese city

Fernandes S

130

The morphogenesis of Qubec Citys first suburbs

Gauthier P

131

The building of a city: private and public agreements in Montreal 1790-1850

Ruelland A, Dufaux F

132

Analysis on the multi-scale morphological evolution of historic centre in Shantou, China

Zhou L, Chen K

133

The establishment and organization of mono-axial urban fabric

Amado A

134

Railway as a vehicle of urban transformation. Past and present of the train station
echov K

135

The evolution of street cross-section proportion in Lisbon

Proena S

136

The impact of Lisbons subway development on Avenida da Rpublica and Avenida da Liberdade
Sampayo M, Silvestre C

137

Urban chronicles: exploring the evolution of the entrepreneurial disposition of Coimbra periphery
Tavares A

138

Syntactic approach to cemetery morphology. Two cases in Lisbon

Bazaraite E, Heitor T, Medeiros V

139

U+D urbanform and design: a space syntax tool for design

Carlotti P

140

Building garages: the evolution of built form on the periphery of London 1880-2013
Dhanani A, Vaughan L, Griffiths S

141

The evolution of house forms and the change of culture: a Turkish perspective
Gokce D, Chen F

142

Planning new towns for Africa: the Portuguese in Asilah (1471-1550)

Correia J

143

Outside the city walls: the mendicant complexes and the spatial dynamics of Portuguese medieval towns
Marado C

144

The morphological lecture of the city through historic military architecture

Pastrana T, Montejano M

145

Transformation potential of public spaces in Osijeks fortification

Stober D, Lonar-Vickovi S, Jurkovi Z

146

Athens and military architecture

Zaroulas S

147

The Lisbon urban block: from shape to type

Justo R

148

Urban block Krakow tradition

Kantarek A

149

Transformation of urban blocks and property relations: cases from Historical Peninsula
Kk E, Kubat A

150

Study on the morphological differences between areas through the comparative analysis of urban block
Lin X

151

The transformation of the urban block in the European City

Oikonomou M

152

From Pergamon to Bergama: revealing the Layers to understand the evolution of urban form
Altinoz G

153

From Tomar to Angra: interpretative hypothesis of geometric pattern morphology

Dias J

154

Form follows function morphological and functional change in the Hague and Detroit 1911-2011
Kickert C

155

Disparity syndrome
Sarshar S, Masood J

156

A spatiotemporal model of growth and change in the network structure of Manhattan and Barcelona
Sayed K

157

The making of the Happiest City in the USA: managing urban form in San Luis Obispo, CA
Dandekar H

158

Power strategies and everyday drawing a city of colonial Brazil

Filha M, Filho I

159

Morphology and structure of road crossings of the modernist urban ring of Viana do Castelo
Lopes J, Gulias M, Cavaleiro R

160

Urbanization in the Brazilian hinterlands forgotten century: growth patterns in Planaltina

Palazzo P

161

From Oppidum to Suburbia: urban transformations in the medieval town of Mono

Torres V, Delgado J

162

Urbanization life cycle of Nablus City (1946-2015)

Ashqar H, Hadba L, Tuqan N

163

Hermann Jansen's Grnstreifen in Ankara and their transformation

Burat S

164

Morphological process as an instrument for knowing chronological character

Chen C, Lin W

165

The evolution of urban form since post-war period in Taiwan a case study of Yonghe city
Chen C, Tsai C

166

The evolution of the Anatolian townscape in the early republican period of Turkey in the Case of Mugla
Koca F

167

Analysis of the correlated relations between ancient Chinese urban morphology and social culture
Dai J, Wang Z

168

The impact of culture and social relations on urban form in Iran in the historical evolution
Daneshpour A, Taghidokht H, Sabokkhiz M

169

Morphological evolution of urban form components in the historical peninsula of Istanbul

Kubat A, Krkolu E

170

Grasping the meaning of the modern urban form in the Philippines

Morley I

171

A code for the Islamic cities of the Gulf

Petruccioli A

172

Evolution, the current state and future of physical urban form of Gaborone City, Botswana
Cavri B, Phuthologo B

173

Beira, a modernist landscape in tropical Africa

Fernandes M, Mealha R, Mendes R

174

From a miserable town of 150 mud huts to the city that never sleeps
Geddes I

175

The role of the PDAU in the urban morphology of Saida city in Algeria
Zatir S, Habib B, Zatir A

176

Analyzing the effects of hot and arid climate on the form of historic cities of Iran
Daneshpour S, Nedoushan M

177

Island-City/City-Island: Island precincts and evolving urban morphology of Abu Dhabi, UAE
Mishra A

178

Mapping the urban form. Coastal fishing villages in Algarve

Pacheco M, Heitor T

179

Spatial and economic integration of mill towns with their surrounding urban environment
Rohloff I

180

Evolved urban form to respond to extreme sea level events in coastal cities
Wang L, Han J

181

Restelo neighbourhood: a paradigmatic example of urban form overlapping

Almeida P

182

When the actions of the Office of PDRL transform planning a bureaucratic and operational discipline
Ferreira B

183

Utopia and reality: from tinne de Grer to the late 20th century. vora, Portugal
Monteiro M, Tereno M, Tom M

184

Campo Alegre, 1940-1994. The evolution and persistence of a territorial intend

Ramos S

185

Is there a transversal organic pattern? Favela and its diachronic relations

Loureiro V, Medeiros V

186

Urban planning failure and the tale of two informal neighbourhoods of Accra, Nima and Old Fadama
Owusu G, Awumbila M, Teye J

187

The Ilhas of Porto and the self-improvement urbanism

Sena N, Doevendans K, Rousseau S

188

From housing to city. Lisbons public housing promotions 1910/2012

Serpa F

189

The ilhas of Oporto, a fundamental component of the citys nineteenth century urban morphology
Teixeira M

190

4. AGENTS OF CHANGE

193

Influences of housing municipal policy in slum urban form: the case of Heliopolis (Sao Paulo, Brazil)
Antonucci D, Filocomo G

195

From informal neighborhoods to space regularization

Antunes G, Lcio J, Soares N, Julio R

196

The auto representative image as an agent of legitimation and incorporation of urban setllements
Hollanda C

197

Urbanization in large slums - the challenge of urban transformation

Lacerda J, Chiesse P

198

Favela: informality leading spontaneity into contemporary city

Loureiro V

199

The origins and pathways of urban (in)formality

Rocha M

200

The New Coach Museum a Brazilian urban narrative in Lisbon

Brito S, Mateus D

201

Modular design in social housing: the work of Justino Morais 1960-1990

Cardim J

202

Fernando Tvora and the Portuguese urban space design

Ferreira C

203

Reinventing Luanda. The Urbanization Plans of the Luanda's City Council Urbanization Office
Fiza F, Gama H

204

10

Fourth dimensions urban morphologies

Screpanti D, Carlesi P, Mancini G

205

Open-minded public. Shaping urbanity on a wave of change

Bravo L

206

Change, utopia and the public: urban transformations and agents of survival in Brasilia and Rio de
Janeiro
Carvalho T

207

A tale of two London Squares: the place of morphology in contemporary urban life
Davis H

208

Public involvement transformation for best future of cities in Russia

Gudz T, Meltsova E, Zaharova M

209

Changing features of the urban structure in a transitional city

Wkel J, Koriakina P

210

Hongta Group and its city: Danwei and its evolved Group as an agent of change in China
Dai Y, Song F

211

Unidade Residencial da Reboleira Sul. Critical reading of the optimist suburbia

Ferreira B

212

Tenure of urban land

Junior D, Salgado I

213

Agent and morphological process

Shi C, Wu M, Song F

214

An introduction to the research on use pattern of Lushan National Park based on its cultural landscape process

215

Xiong X, Liu M, Song F

From urban sprawl to a compact city policy: the primacy of process over form
Cavaco C

216

Interpret planning gap caused from accomplished roads by identifying building forms
Chen C, Liang C

217

The influence of the sacred on the urban form of Brazilian cities

Resende L

218

Events-driven morphological process: a case study of Auckland's Waterfront

Shephard T, Gibson L

219

How big is my garden? The morphological impact of density regulations upon garden size
Wilkinson D

220

Assessing the effects of governing thoughts on the form of cities

Daneshpour A, Soleimani A, Charbgoo N, Ashnaee T

221

The evolution of neighborhood model as a manifestation of political regime shift: the case of Cairo
Ghonimi I

222

Land use regulations in So Paulo: possible new paths

Silva J

223

Long term urban transformations and tactical urbanism short-term actions

Silva P

224

Power, ideology and space re-generation: Istanbul case

zden P

225

11

Tourism and mega-events: the birth of a conflict culture in Belo Horizonte, Brazil
Bessa A, lvares L, Barbosa T

226

Within and outside virtual walls

Braga A, Trusiani E, Rigatti D, Ugalde C, Zampieri F, Reckziegel D

227

Analysis of urban morphology on festival space decorated on urban space

Matsuura K

228

From planned decentralization to unplanned urban development: manipulation of 1990 Ankara Plan
zler O

229

Mi casa es tu casa: the creation of the Rambla del Raval in Barcelona

Scarnato A

230

Assessing the impacts of musealisation on urban form

Ayka P

231

A site that has been rearranged and then rehabilitated and then renewed
Dinler M, Guchan N

232

Public space and commons as the main resource for the rehabilitation of social housing settlements in
Italy
Gull L, Zazzi M

233

The role of municipality in urban regeneration: the case of Lisbons Eastern waterfront
Nevado A

234

The re-appropriation of industrial sites in the urban form of the post-communist city
Statica I

235

Urban mobility - Urban mutations. Means transport and morphological changes in the city of Belm
Andrade F, Silveira I

236

Urban road and street planning as part of urbanization: integration or separation?

CasasValle D

237

Accessibilities as an agent of change in urban form

Silva P

238

The dynamics of Structures impacting Transit Oriented Development in Noorderkwartier Area

Waaijer A

239

Tracing urban catalysts in Noorderkwartier area

Waaijer A

240

Actors of formation in urban periphery: ayyolu case

Kizilta A

241

Development of a suburb, throught series of unfortunate events

Kristjnsdttir S

242

Metropolitan dialogues: Lisbons external and place specific agents of change

Moreira I

243

Managing the mark of the memory

Moreira M

244

Heavier challenges fewer resources: lens for a new urban reality in Lisbon
Morgado S, Moreira I, Vargas J

245

Similar processes, divergent outcomes: analyzing urban redevelopment processes

Kuyucu T, Dan D

246

12

The built form of technology campuses: an exploratory study

Magdaniel F

247

New university complexes as a force of shaping the urban form of the medium sized cities
Nasserian A, Klets V, Kalbasi S

248

Urban black holes: the rural in the urban as liminal spaces from where to build a new city
Santos P, Pena-Corvillon D

249

Exploring university morphology

Silva L, Heitor T

250

Aging as an agent of change in the way how we occupy our territory

Bordalo A, Matos M

251

Confederations Cup 2013 in Brazil and urban conflicts manifest in Belo Horizonte / MG
Gonalves R, Simo K, Arajo J, Pedroso A

252

Urban conflicts observatory of Belo Horizonte / MG: sociospatial processes reading from conflicts
Gonalves R, Simo K, Arajo J, Pedroso A

253

Towards sustainable transformation in urban historical quarters

Jie H

254

Urban Morphologies of Alternative Spaces: A Case Study of Tehran

Soleimani B, Staub A

255

5. REVISITING URBAN MORPHOLOGICAL CLASSICS

257

Morphology vs typology: notes on Saverio Muratori and Ludovico Quaroni's urban projects
Del Monaco A

258

The critical doubt in typological and morphological studies of Italian school

Ieva M

259

Saverio Muratori. A legacy in urban design

Maretto M

260

Re-thinking city. An exemple of Ilses multidisciplinary approach to urban morphology questions

Nicosia C

261

Early ideas of urban morphology: a re-examination of Leighlys The towns of Mlardalen in Sweden (1928)

262

Larkham P
Urban form of contemporary compact city- case of Oslo
Marjanovic G, Thorn A

263

Five elements revisited: a morphological approach of Sol-Morales

Monteiro E, Turczyn D

264

The influence of classics on contemporary thinking Louis Kahn and Hestnes Ferreira
Saraiva A

265

Reelationship of morphological characteristics between residential plot and building pattern

Zhao Q

266

6. MULTIDISCIPLINARITY IN URBAN MORPHOLOGY

269

Human dynamics in the waters territory - the interaction of urban spaces and natural spaces
Baptista J, Junior M, Passos R

270

The connection between city, river, and sea: urban planning in coastal landfills
Barea G, Weiss R, Monteiro E, Loch C

271

13

The lagoon line mutation in the urban evolution of SantAntioco. An history of productive-natural landscape

272

Dess A
The study of urban form versus water management: lessons to a sustainable urban future
Marat-Mendes T, Mouro J, Almeida P

273

City waterfront territories: urban morphology as a key factor for sustainable development
Mezenina K

274

Interaction between rivers and morphology of cities in Sweden

Abshirini E

275

Morphology and functioning of the metropolitan urban areas

Benaiche A

276

Urban growth in Hanoi: a retrospective analysis based on Landsat images and field survey
Luong T, Cornet Y, Teller J

277

The city, the river and mangroves: a case study in San Jos, Santa Catarina, Brazil
Monteiro E, Weiss R, Barea G

279

Urban growth and hydrography: convergences on landscape morphology

Peres O, Polidori M, Saraiva M, Santos A, Tomiello F, Santos A

280

The natural elements on urban form: a critical analysis on the landscape construction
Baptista J, Junior M, Passos R

281

Experiencing the nature of the city

DeVuono-Powell S

282

Jucutuquara Stream: understanding the dialogue between the city and its water bodies
Passos R, Baptista J, Junior M

283

Urban form, spatial planning and the European landscape convention

Silva P, Gonalves C

284

A multidisciplinary approach to explore urban public spaces

Alvares L

285

Epistemology of public spaces - a cultural approach

Hanzl M

286

Public spaces and behavioral patterns: the case of Liljeholmstorget in Stockholm

Kariminia E

287

Public space and morphology of neighborhoods. Case study: Tehran

Sohrabi N

288

The urban wasteland as a stage for biogeochemical afforestation processes

Amaral R, Costa S

289

Sustainable mobility: the morphological planning contribution

Dufaux F, Labarthe M

290

The interaction between urban form and public art. Two examples on Lisbons waterfront
Ochoa R

291

Cities in the intersection of environment and public arts

imek G

292

Cities of aquifers and wind-catchers: eco-morphology of dwelling in the Persian plateau

Zamani P

293

The urban cool islands project, a case study crossing research and practice
Bonneaud F, Bonhomme M, Adolphe L

294

14

GENIUS, a tool to generate multi-scalar databases for urban energy studies

Bonhomme M

296

Energy planning from the zero level

Catarino R

298

The impact of urban form on wind energy potential

Wang B, Adolphe L, Cot L

299

Analysis of the correlated relations between ancient Chinese urban morphology and social culture
Dai J, Wang Z

300

An associated study of urban form analysis and urban morphology

Lustoza R

301

Heritage, urban morphology and infrastructure

Nascimento A, Silva M

302

Urban morphology and social geography, in the mid-nineteenth century, in Porto

Pinto J

303

Impact of sectoral urban development of Muritala Muhammed Int. Airport, Lagos on traffic flow
Fashina O, Agamah F

304

Morphological structure and system community facilities

Schfer K, Oliveira L

305

Housing development transformations: political directives and post-occupation life

Teixeira M, Maciel M, Alonso P

306

2014 World Cup in Brazil: what about urban mobility in Metro Porto Alegre?
Ugalde C, Braga A, Rigatti D, Zampieri F

307

The urban morphology around elevated station of urban rail transit in China
Yao M

308

Unsustainable empty for inadequate use of urban space

Carvalho M

309

Interactions between agricoltural-systems and urban forms in Sardinian villages

Dess A

310

Resilience thinking and urban form: a contribution to the spatial analysis of the territory
Martins A, Cruz S, Pinho P

311

Study on the sustainable development of urban fringe at the background of urban and rural co-ordination
Ying W

312

Contributions to the study of urban morphology

Dias F, Campos M

313

Densification process of Copacabana neighbourhood over 1930, 1950 and 2010 decades: comfort indexes
Drach P, Barbosa G, Corbella O

314

Dynamics interactions between urban form, green spaces and environmental quality
Montezuma R, Pezzuto C, Albuquerque C, Monteiro V

315

A construction perspective of urban morphology study in Shanghai Alleyway House

Ni J, Liu G

316

Assessment of the local climate zones in area residential with low-rise buildings
Pezzuto C, Monteiro V

317

Impact of spatial structure on womens travel in urban areas in Pakistan

Ahmed W, Imran M, Scheyvens R

318

15

Evolution of sociometric layout as a reflection of cultural changes

Hanzl M

319

The effects of urban form on levels of integration of housing schemes and social interaction among residents

320

Lay M, Lima M
Residential vilas in Rio de Janeiro: sustainability of a historic housing type
Rio V, Alcantara D, Cardeman R

321

Understanding the built form through the female service workers experience of urban space
Sungur C, Kubat A, Guloksuz E

322

Characterization of the relationship between commercial plots and building patterns

Jiang J

323

The commercial-residential building

Narvaez L

324

Municipal average building capacity

Rebelo E

325

The morphological sense of commerce

Saraiva M, Pinho P

327

Modern tendencies of the location of office functions in European cities

Zawada-Pgiel K

328

The systemic focus on walkability and urban form

Barros A

329

Safety in relation to the urban form

Benko M

330

Impact of walkable urban form on social security. A study of naragh in Iran

Daneshpour A, Sabokkhiz M, Jalili S, Taghidokht H

331

By So Paulo sidewalks: urban form and walkability

Degreas H, Katakura P, Santos C

332

Urban morphology: a prescription for healthy built environments?

Gilliland J

333

The elements of urban morphology which influence residents leisure walking activities
Mao J, Chen Y

334

7. COMPARATIVE STUDIES OF URBAN FORM

337

The syntax role: differences among urban fabrics in Lisbon

Barros A

338

Urban transformation in meeting places: the cases of Bursa & Yazd

Eslami S, Kubat A

339

Environmental evaluation method of urban spaces

Teixeira E, Romero M

340

Comparing urban forms and rules of the Pearl River delta cities
Tieben H, Liu D

341

Research on urban spatial form in provincial areas with different levels of economic development
Xiong G

342

The urban morphology concept in Brazil

Antonucci D

343

16

Gilberto Freyres work: between urban morphology and building typology first approaches
Arago S, Marques A

344

Investigation on the common concepts and different approaches of the major schools of urban morphology

345

Costa S, Netto M, Moraes L

Decipher the Babel Tower: a discourse analysis of urban morphology in China
Lu A

346

A Portuguese typo-morphological line of though: from geography to architecture

Marat-Mendes T, Cabrita M

347

A comparison between different urban analysis methods

Delsante I, Bertolino N, Giorgi E, Yinan Y

348

Past and present: an architectural survey of Birnin Lafiya, a Dendi village

Pinet J

349

Urban form and its implication for the use of urban spaces
Reis A

350

Morphogenetic analysis of Bahelievler Housing Cooperative, Ankara: exploring the Turkish case
Songlen N

351

Combining different morphological approaches in the study of Maputo

Viana D, Oliveira V

352

Revaluing urban morphology as Urban Heritage: case studies on Barcelona and Kyoto
Abe D

353

Application of morphological concepts to characterize German immigrations nucleus in Brazil

Andrade B, Taveira E, Almeida R

354

Spontaneous and induced form: comparing Sao Paulo, Jakarta, Hanoi and Belo Horizonte
Barbosa E, Capanema P, T N

355

Exhibition of city: Whats next? The case of Lisbon 1940 vs Rome 1942
Pegorin E

356

8. INTEGRATED APPROACHES

359

Study on regeneration of downtown area through riverfront development as urban catalyst.

Aitani K, Arima T

360

Taking a metabolic perspective in urban morphological analysis: the case of Isfahan

Kropf K, Changalvaiee

361

Sous le pav la plage: squares of Lisbon

Matos M

362

Urban morphology and the ecological paradigm

Meneguetti K, Costa S

363

The population spatial evolution impacts on urban morphology in urbanization process of China
Chen C, Zhou W

364

Effects of migration processes on urban form

Guimares A, Neto P

365

Diaspora typo-morphology analysis: a study of post-colonial city in critical approaches

Huang P, Kuo C

366

Morphological analysis of the informal city. The Villa 31 in Buenos Aires, Argentina
Maretto M, Amato A, Boggio N, Catanzano G, Corvigno A, Bandieri G

367

17

Urbanization in the Ave Valley region: more than a sum of building projects?
Travasso N, Casas Valle D

368

The implementation of urban plan strategies in Sintra: integration, identity and development
Cardim J, Borges T, Fiza F

369

Integration of public spaces into the urban environment in case of Perm

Kuznetsova A, Maximova S

370

Urban form in a system view

Perdicolis A

371

In between public and private space: the role of cul-de-sacs in the historic urban form of Antakya
Rifaiolu M, Ghan N

372

A method for planning viewing spots and cityscape control

Yamamoto D, Kawahara S

373

How to find spatial patterns for criminality in urban areas

Almeida H, Serdoura F, Guinote H

374

Assessing the impacts of urban barriers on the arterial system of the city: a case study in Montral
Buzzetti J, Gauthier P

375

Urban form and orientation in urban space

Kantarek A

376

Urban form and social output

Krafta R

377

Mapping and morpho-typological inferences in low-lying coastal Tianjin

Wang, L, Li L, Gong

378

Industrial-housing ensembles at Lisbon morphology and specialization

Antunes G, Lcio J, Soares N, Julio R

379

An urban taboo
Falsetti M

380

Classical ideas, progressive aspirations: academicist urbanism designing northern Paran new towns
Rego R, Ribeiro T, Taube J

381

Graphing history: the example of early American studies of Japanese settlements forms
Santini T, Taji T

382

European spatial paradigms. Urban infrastructural morphologies

Triggianese M, Berlingieri F

383

9. TEACHING URBAN FORM

385

A constructivist approach to urban morphology: engaging students in the study of urban form
Guaralda M

386

Exploring pedagogical intersections between urban design and morphological methods

McClure W

387

Urban form in diagrams

Monteiro E

388

Learning about urban form in Spain. A comparative study

Ruiz-Apilanez B, Solis E, Urea J, Alfaro J

389

Teaching and seminar of urban morphology in Peking University, China

Xiong X, Song F

390

18

Building-type and permanence of layout-plan: a study on the densification of Los Mochis urban fabric
Armio L, Reig I, Colomer V, Vicente-Almazn G

391

Teaching urban form in urban design program: experiences from South Korean context
Kim K

392

Imagining Ranha, Porto, from the subtropics

Richards P

393

Teaching urban form in public administration context: aims and challenges

Silva P

394

Serious urban play a digital game for teaching urban spatial design
Stevens N, Rosiera J, Rolfeb B, Tertonc U, Jones C

395

10. THE RELATIONS BETWEEN RESEARCH AND PRACTICE

397

The impediments for small-scale development in Miami-Dade County

Firley E, Frey A

398

Towards a flexible definition of limits in urban planning: controlling urban form under uncertainty
Moreira B

399

The role of morphology in redesigning old downtown in The Dalles, Oregon

Neis H

400

Interpretation of morphological data to inform design Bridge to Bridge

Sanders P

401

Recovery Machizukuri through the creation of a network community for Namie, Fkushima
Shiraki R

402

Urban form study for better future of the city

Kantarek A

403

The relation between research on urban morphology and planning

Maistrou E

404

The morphological dimension of planning documents: case study Belgrade, capital of Serbia
Nikovi A, oki V, Mani B

405

Future urban changes through design guidance: new principles

Sepe M

406

Changing patterns of urban development in Turkish cities: an investigation into planning practice
nl T

407

Density, urban form and quality of life

Beaurin C, Raymondon G, Andersen I, Dias S

408

Study on relationship between urban morphology and policy in China

Gao C, Ding W

409

Re-trial the role urban morphology in Taiwans modern planning mechanism

Huang Y

410

A subtropical urban taxonomy: the tension of research informing practice

Richards P

412

Current urban regulation and its limits regarding urban form in Brazilian cities
Silva J

413

Shaping the city. Public space in the (re)construction of Portuguese contemporary city
Coelho R

414

19

An urban analysis method for the historic city the Castelo and Alfama hill in Lisbon
Costa A, Crespo A, Gonalves J

415

Empty vacant redefining interiors block voids in Guimar es

Dias J, Ochoa R, Suarz M

416

Urban design and transition morphologies. Prospects for intervention in Lisbon Alcntara
Ferreira C

417

Morphological analysis as support for interventions in public spaces in historic cities

Filha M, Azevedo M, Silva A

418

Reviving the heart of a historical metropolis: comparative study between different urban forms
Ismail K

419

Urban design guideline for upgrading environmental quality of Niayasar

Lari S, Dehkordi N

420

Employing typomorphology to restore collective city memory through urban design in Taiwan
Lin M, Tsao C

421

Project MEAVS / Mapping East Asian vernacular settlements

Shutter L

422

Urban morphology of historic fabrics and contemporary architectural design. The case study of Lazio
Strappa G

423

11. SPECIAL PARALLEL SESSIONS

425

11.1 Urban food and urban form: an underexplored intersection

425

Nasr J, Gilliland J, Hardman M, Komisar J, Mees C

11.2 Chinese network of urban morphology

427

CNUM and the evolution of chinese discourse on urban form

Ding W, Lu A
The typological process and the morphological period: a cross-cultural assessment
Gu K

427

An application of urban morphology to a structural preservation urban design project

Hu Y

428

The mode of landscape and village pattern in Changzhou

Hua X

429

Spatial patterns of urban growth in Xian, China: a fringe-belt approach

Ren Y

430

An exploration of complementary utilization of Space Syntax and Spacemate methods in urban design
Xiaoxi L, Zhang Y

431

11.3 Turkish network urban morphology

433

A look at the past, present and future: an overview of urban morphology research in Turkey
Kubat A

433

The role of TNUM in furthering urban morphology research in Turkey

nl T

434

11.4 The Middle Eastern cities and Isfahan School of Urban Morphology
Discussion about the similarity of the forms of the cities of Porto and Qazvin
Jabbari M, Ramos R

20

435
435

11.5.1 Open spaces and the new Brazilian urban form

436

The open spaces systems and the Brazilian urban form a national research network first results
Queiroga E, Macedo S

436

Open spaces and urban form: a systemic relation

Campos A, Queiroga E, Custdio V

437

Landscape units as territorial analysis procedure

Montezuma R, Tangari V, Isidoro I, Magalhes A

438

The sprawl landscape: relationship between urban and environmental dynamics

Coelho L, Macedo S

440

Urban form and land value: morphological types and patterns from spatial segregation in Campinasl
Silva J, Lima F

441

Integrated approaches in Vitria workshop: a study on open space system and the urban form
Mendona E

442

11.5.1 Brazilian morphology

443

Simulation techniques to analyze transformations of urban form, landscape and micro climate
Tngari V, Cardeman R

443

The urban form of the housing policy Minha Casa Minha Vida in the Metropolitan Area of S o Paulo
Donoso V, Queiroga E

444

Open spaces system: describing the urban morphology of Vila Marianas district
Degreas H, Macedo S

445

Urban form and multidisciplinarity: contributions to the So Paulo Master Plan revision
Queiroga E, Meyer J, Macedo S

446

Public policies towards river and streams restoration: perception and appropriation
Galender F, Campos A

447

Morphologic transformations of public spaces in the surroundings of Nova Limas churchs

Maciel M, Teixeira M

448

21

22

Preface
This year the International Seminar on Urban Form (ISUF) celebrates its twentieth birthday.
Over the last two decades, the ISUF annual conferences and the journal Urban Morphology
have steadily established as the main references of morphological debate worldwide.
The development of ISUF included the formation of affiliated networks. The Portuguese
Network of Urban Morphology (PNUM) was established in 2010 at the Hamburg conference. In
June 2011 the PNUM launched its annual conference and in December 2013 it published the
first issue of the Revista de Morfologia Urbana. Against this dynamic background, and for the
first time in two decades of history, the ISUF annual conference takes place in Portugal.
Our common future in urban morphology has a record number of presentations. Almost
400 presentations are included in the conference programme comprising four plenary sessions
and 80 parallel sessions. This book, composed of two volumes, follows the structure of the
conference. Volume 1 gathers the abstracts of all communications included in the conference
programme. Volume 2 includes the full papers submitted to the conference.
The plenary sessions of ISUF2014 include an overview of the urban form and structure of
Porto; a debate on different approaches in the study of urban form (the German morphogenetic
approach, the Conzenian school, the Muratorian school and space syntax); the description of a
repository of urban tissue; and, finally, the presentation of recent work developed by the ISUF
Task Force on Research and Practice in Urban Morphology, particularly of four case studies of
application of morphological concepts and methods in professional practice and of the Porto
Charter including ISUFs fundamental principles.
The 80 parallel sessions are structured around ten fundamental themes (including also five
special sessions): urban morphological theory; urban morphological methods and techniques;
the evolution of urban form, agents of change; revisiting urban morphological classics; teaching
urban form; comparative studies of urban form; multidisciplinarity in urban morphology;
integrated approaches; and, finally, the relations between research and practice. The debate of
these themes should help us to understand what should be our main contribution as urban
morphologists, how it could be part of wider integrated research on cities, and how this could be
applied into day-to-day practice.
Vtor Oliveira
Paulo Pinho

23

24

0.
Plenary Sessions

0.1 Porto
The urban form of Porto
Vtor Oliveira
CITTA Centro de Investigao do Territrio, Transportes e Ambiente, Faculdade de
Engenharia, Universidade do Porto, Rua Roberto Frias 4200-465 Porto, Portugal.
E-mail: vitorm@fe.up.pt.
This paper offers a description and explanation of the urban history of Porto, focusing on the
evolution and main characteristics of its streets, plots and buildings. After considering the
origins of Porto in the twelfth century (despite some previous forms of human occupation, the
foral was attributed to the city in 1123) attention is given to the city within its fourteenth
century wall. In the third part, the paper moves to a decisive period in the urban history of Porto,
comprised between 1764 and 1833, when the Junta das Obras Pblicas was responsible for
planning and managing the city. After the extinguishment of the Junta, its role and functions
were divided by different entities carrying different goals; the process of urban expansion in the
second half of the nineteenth century was not as effective as it has been in the first half. Yet, the
importance of two fundamental axes in structuring the expansion towards north and west, the
Rua da Constituio and the Avenida da Boavista, is highlighted. The fifth part of the paper
focuses on the 20th century. Particular attention is given to the main residential types, including
the public promotion (first constituted by single-family houses and then by multi-family
buildings) with the permanent concern of eradicating the working class housing, the ilhas, and
the private promotion of housing. Finally, the paper identifies some of the future challenges of
Porto, in terms of its urban form and structure: the conservation of built heritage, the promotion
of mixed land uses in the different parts of the municipal territory and, finally, the steady
integration of spatially segregated areas of the city.
Key Words: Porto, urban form, streets, plots, buildings.

25

The metropolitan area of Porto: form, structure and

dynamics
Paulo Pinho
CITTA Research Centre for Territory, Transports and Environment
Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, Portugal
E-mail: pcpinho@fe.up
An overview of the major changes and developments in the social and economic profile of the
Metropolitan Area of Porto, as well as of the major investments in transport systems throughout
the last decades, is initially provided as an introduction and an operational framework to address
the analysis of the changing form and structure of this Portuguese metropolis, with around 1.5
million inhabitants. From a typical polycentric structure, this metropolitan area evolved into a
rather more complex region, in which continuous centrifugal sprawl end up blurring and down
grading existing centralities. These spatial restructuring trends had profound consequences on
the levels of mobility and accessibility to goods and services of both the resident and the
commuting population. Indeed, the territorial impacts of the investments in the trunk road
system and, to a lesser extent, in the different railway systems, the new forms of urban space
production, and the weak responses provided by the municipal planning system, institutionally
and politically fragmented, despite the emergence of a Metropolitan Junta, gave raise to new
patterns of urban development and to a new and rather more complex geography of centralities
and spatial interdependences. From an environmental quality and energy efficiency point of
view the whole metropolitan area is now facing more demanding challenges, particularly in
present times of financial constraints and deep economic recession. In this context, more
ambitious and comprehensive planning policies and policy instruments are needed to pave a
new road map to a post carbon, competitive and inclusive metropolis.

26

0.3 Different approaches in the study of urban

form
Conzenian research and urban landscape management
J. W. R. Whitehand
Urban Morphology Research Group, School of Geography, Earth and Environmental
Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK.
E-mail: J.W.R.Whitehand@bham.ac.uk

The findings of research in urban morphology should be fundamental to urban landscape

management. There are parallels with the relationships between the pure and applied sciences.
In this paper the development and application in practice of one approach to urban morphology
the Conzenian approach is examined. The contrast with the approach to historical urban
landscapes taken by urban conservation and heritage organizations is explored and ways in
which Conzenian urban morphology can benefit the management of historical urban landscapes
are considered. The need to identify and recognize the significance of urban landscape
ensembles as distinct from individual sites and structures is stressed and a method of
achieving this is described. The importance of historico-geographical understanding and
mapping is emphasized. A key underpinning of the application of the method in planning
practice, especially in relation to urban conservation and heritage, is the recognition of urban
landscapes as embodiments of human experience.
Key Words: research, practice, urban form, conservation, heritage, ensemble.

27

Morphogenetic interpretation of medieval ground plans of

European towns. A critical balance
Jrgen Lafrenz
Institut fr Geographie. Universitt Hamburg
E-mail: jurgen.lafrenz@uni-hamburg.de

The objective of morphogenetic investigation of medieval towns is to analyze their spatial

development in urban layers. The exhaustive advances to decipher the genesis of fairly
composite ground plans came about in the second half of the 20 th century. Since then, the
earliest detailed cartographic survey (which originated in every respect at the point of the
Industrial Age) has always been used as the established source to determine the phases of longterm topographical evolution. In some exceptional cases, the first cadastral map was taken to
reconstruct the spatial structure retrospectively by perusing archival property transfer records.
Until now, the only in-depth case study that went back as far as the beginnings of a settlement
was made by Otto Treptow in respect of Siegburg in the Rhineland.
There are two principal different types of medieval towns. The ground plans of most of the
earlier towns reflect an instinctive growth probably the result of successive spontaneous
decisions which consequently led to an irregular layout. The plans of most the later towns
suggest planning activities but although they partly complied with rules, a strict geometrical
rectangular model was seldom applied.
The cadastres actual interpretation assumes persistence in the topographical pattern. However,
some of the reconstructions meanwhile indicate that textures handed down possibly only
evolved through subsequent divisions and a more broadly defined plot model would have been
in existence originally. The paper tries to formulate a critical balance of the methods to detect
the sections of development of towns. The morphological examination of the cadastral
topography can be divided into morphographic and morphometric methods, whereby the townplans of instinctive growth mainly fall under the scrutiny of the first, the classical, method
only. The urban historian Erich Keyser was the most prominent scholar in the development of
morphographic analysis. He examined over 40 small and large towns, using all accessible types
of sources. The pattern of land allocation was to itemize meticulously the regularity as well on
the disruption of its geometrical complexity. These findings are impulses of a topographical
interpretation which tries to integrate the functional requirements in the medieval towns. Keyser
was one of the initiators of the Historic Atlas of European Towns. Meanwhile, such manner of
town-plan analysis has undergone conceptual richness and analytical depth in numerous
volumes of this international project. The morphometric analysis, first used by the geographer
David Hanneberg, involves the measurement of the block and plot pattern in the light of
surviving cartographic sources. The method is based on the supposition that the lengths and
width of the blocks and plots were laid out as multiples of a fixed measuring system. The
method concentrates mainly on the reconstruction of the primary layout of a settlement. Such
processes were used for the reconstruction of the grid of Roman settlements and their aftereffect on the ground plan framework of medieval cities built on the same sites and, furthermore,
to establish an initial geometric impression of a not fully rectangular layout of more planned
towns of Late Medieval Times. An innovative study was made by the architect Klaus Humpert.
Starting with the ground plan of Freiburg in Breisgau, he found measurement signs, module
columns and radiuses which he conceived as evidence that the town was based on geometrical
measurement structures. The ideosyncratic fiction of an artificial town planning system he
engages to identify for Bern, Lbeck, Munich, Speyer and numerous other Late Medieval
towns.

28

Urban morphology as a disciplinary basis for architectural

design
Giancarlo Cataldi
Dipartimento di Architettura, Universit di Firenze, Via San Niccol 89a/95, 50125
Firenze, Italy. E-mail: giancarlo.cataldi@gmail.com

Architecture: art or science? From the first Vitruvian definitions of architecture, the status
ambiguous and multi-faceted of the architectural profession has always oscillated between these
two poles, considered from non-architects apparently oppositional. This question becomes even
more complex and problematic if projected backwards to the investigation of the spontaneous
world of architecture without architects. From which no doubt is derived classical architecture,
whose historical developments clearly show the tendency to converge in the figure of architect
an increasing amount of diverse and heterogeneous knowledge. Up to specialisations of the
modern world, which on the basis of forced division of his main branches (historical, technical,
urban and artistic) has led both teaching and practice of architecture in increasing complexity
levels, inversely proportional to the not excellent quality of its current production. Hence the
need to try to reverse the trend to restore the unity shattered. The urban morphology seems to
indicate a possible way, with a view to find in the city the meeting point between different
disciplines, which feel the need to compare their professional approaches to correct their
inevitable distortions. To point to finally put together a corpus of coherent and shared notions,
especially able to clarify the dialectical relationship between theory and practice, reading and
design, town-plan analysis and town-planning.

29

Space syntax as a method and as a theory

Bill Hillier
University of London. E-mail: b.hillier@spacesyntax.com

Space syntax is commonly thought of as a set of techniques for analysing architectural and
urban space and foreseeing functional outcomes. It is of course both, but it aspires to be more
than this: a theoretical model of human space: how it is structured, how it works, how it is
understood, and how it is part of the thing we call society. Part of the theoretical model, as it has
so far developed, is a theory of the city as a partially ordered system. In this paper, I will
explain the space syntax theory of the city, and why and how it reflects fundamental dimensions
of societies as spatial systems.

30

0.4 A preliminary study for a repository of urban

tissue
Karl Kropf
Department of Planning, Oxford Brookes University; Urban Morphology Research
Group, University of Birmingham. E-mail: kkropf@brookes.ac.uk

The paper sets out the results of a preliminary investigation into the merits and feasibility of
establishing a repository of urban tissue. In simple terms, such a repository would be a
searchable library of sample types of urban tissue from around the world, both historical and
contemporary. The long term aim of the repository is to provide a common resource for
academic research, teaching and applications in urban design, architecture and planning
practice. Most significantly, the repository would make it possible to undertake comparative
studies of urban form with much greater ease than is currently the case. The repository would
also bring major benefits in: i) providing a foundation for investigations into the development
and evolution of urban form; ii) recording and improving our understanding of the urban
landscape as a cultural asset and manifestation of ethno-diversity; iii) providing a design
resource, something like a 'seed bank', preserving the accumulated learning from different
periods and 'bottom up' solutions or 'wild types'; iv) providing a core evidence base for
investigating the environmental performance of different types of urban form. The core
conception of the repository is an open access, community based project along the lines of open
source software. Ideally the presentation would be brief and allow for significant interaction,
questions, criticism, ideas and suggestions.
Key Words: urban morphology, comparative study, digital resources, open access.

31

0.5 ISUF Task Force on Research and Practice in

Urban Morphology
Assessing the plan, the planning process and the results on the
ground: Porto case study
Vtor Oliveira, Mafalda Silva
CITTA Centro de Investigao do Territrio, Transportes e Ambiente, Faculdade de
Engenharia, Universidade do Porto, Rua Roberto Frias 4200-465 Porto, Portugal.
E-mails: vitorm@fe.up.pt , mfld.slv@gmail.com.
At the end of 2011, the President of ISUF launched a Task Force to report on ways in which
ISUF could build better bridges between researchers in urban morphology and practitioners.
The Task Force promoted discussion of ways in which ISUF could provide leadership and it
prepared an interim report with concrete suggestions for action. That report contained four main
proposals. One of these proposals was the production of a good practice catalogue of how and
where urban morphology is being used successfully. In early 2013, the Council of ISUF started
promoting the development of assessments that would make a direct contribution to this
proposal. Four case studies were developed. This paper describes the assessment of the first case
study, the 2006 Plano Director Municipal for Porto. The selection of Porto reflects the well
articulated typological approach developed in this plan. The assessment is in three parts: i) the
contents of the plan, with a particular focus on its typological approach; ii) the results on the
ground; and iii) the planning process (including the involvement of different agents) developed
under the framework of the plan. Benefiting from a first appraisal of the plan carried out soon
after its ratification in 2006, this study traces the implementation of the plan over the last 6
years. It focuses on a sample of 50 building permits, 34 of which have already been
implemented, and is supported by 20 interviews of politicians and practitioners from the local
authority, and the architects and developers of a number of the projects.
Key Words: urban morphological research, planning practice, assessment, plans, urban tissue.

32

What can you offer us? Challenges facing the practical

application of urban morphology: South Jesmond
Conservation Area, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
Michael Barke, Kayleigh Hancox
Department of Geography, University of Northumbria, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE1
8ST, UK. E-mail: Michael.barke@northumbria.ac.uk

Amongst urban morphologists there is a broad consensus that the quality of the urban
environment would be considerably enhanced through the application of urban
morphological principles in both design and management. However, the obstacles in
the path of achieving successful applications remain considerable, not least because of
their multi-faceted character. Based on some preliminary findings from an on-going
research project in a small conservation area in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, this paper
will illustrate some of the problems involved. Based upon analysis of applications for
planning permission over a period of 40 years and interviews with key practitioners in
both conservation and planning within the area, an attempt will be made to conduct an
audit of the extent to which urban morphological principles either are or could be
applied. From this experience it will be argued that before any comprehensive and
successful applications of urban morphological principles in urban development can
take place a range of theoretical and practical issues need resolution. These include
the precise relationship to other key actors, the specific role to be played, the
appropriate point of intervention in any scheme and the sheer complexity relating to the
range and nature of morphological components involved. Despite the almost
overwhelming character of these problems, it would be wrong to be unduly pessimistic
but for urban morphologists to achieve any impact a degree of pragmatism and
compromise may be necessary.

33

Ahmedabads informal walled city: the role of morphology

within a project of urban regeneration
Marco Maretto, Nicola Scardigno
Department of Civil Engineering, Environment, Land and Architecture. University of
Parma, Parco area delle Scienze n181/A, 43124 Parma, Italy.
Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture. University of Bari, Via Edoardo
Orabona, n4, 70126 Bari, Italy; Department of Architecture. Roma Tre University,
Largo Giovanni Battista Marzi, n10, 00153, Italy
E-mail: nickscardigno@yahoo.it , marco.maretto@unipr.it
This research investigated the regeneration project of Ahmedabads walled city led by
Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC). Particularly, the analysis of the experimental case
of the Aka-Sheth-Kuwa-ni-Pol showed how such process of urban regeneration (today still in
progress) essentially basis on a binomial: the understanding of the morphological structure of
the informal city and a direct involvement of urban community within the transformative
process. Thanks to this binomial the transformation of the walled city into a contemporary city
is occurring in such a way that the city is preserving its historical meaning: not a museum city
but a city which is lively, active, dynamic and conscious of its own identity. Specifically, under
the guidance of AMC, houses owners within the walled city, instead abandoning their real
estate property for benefit of new building in the western city, have started to conceive their
house as part of a common heritage, and the restoration of it as an adaptation to new standards
of contemporary living. After this research and a brief analysis of some recent results of this
transformative process, it can be stated how strategies of urban regeneration, morphologically
based, might represent a solution technically, economically and socially efficient in case of
historicized contexts.

Key Words: urban morphology, urban regeneration, history, Pol, urban community,
India.

34

Urban morphological methodology and planning practice: the

Plan dOccupation des Sols for Saint Gervais Les Bains
(Haute Savoie, France). A case study
Laurence Pattacini, Ivor Samuels
University of Sheffield, Birmingham University
E-mail: l.pattacini@sheffield.ac.uk , ivor.samuels @googlemail.com

The study draws from previous research and publications related to the use of typological and
morphological methodologies to prepare and produce local land use plans (Plan dOccupation
des Sols, POS) for local authorities in France (Samuels, 1993; Samuels and Pattacini, 1997;
Samuels, 1999; Pattacini, 2001). The focus is on the evaluation of the practical application of
the plan for Saint Gervais Les Bains in the past ten years and the resulting built environment.
Saint Gervais Les Bains is a market town and tourist resort in the Val Montjoie, below the Mont
Blanc massif in the French Alps. Following the adoption of the Loi de Montagne in 1985, two
land use plans (POS), which had zoned much of the land in Saint Gervais as constructable, were
declared nul and void. A new plan was then commissioned from Qualipos, a multidisciplinary
team of consultants in 1997. The main aim of the new local plan, ratified in 2001 was to identify
specific characteristics and qualities of the local environment in order to devise rules and design
guidance to generate new developments better integrated in the existing landscape and the
traditional built environment. Similarly to the evaluation work undertaken for another French
local plan in Asnieres-sur-Oise using the same typomorphological approach (Samuels and
Pattacini, 1997), the study analyses some of the major projects implemented since the adoption
of the POS and evaluate the extent to which the planning policies have influenced the form of
these developments. Interviews with the relevant stakeholders and principle actors provide
evidence to evaluate the effectiveness and limitations of the local plan since its adoption more
than ten years ago. The aim is to identify how the morphological content of the local plan has
influenced the planning and design process and how it has contributed to develop the specific
local character of this alpine town. Fieldwork is scheduled to take place during February 2014
and it is intended to have the research completed in time to be presented at the ISUF conference
in Porto in July 2014.
Key Words: typology, morphology, planning practice, local character, evaluation.
References
Pattacini, L. (2001) 'Landscape and design guidance: Saint Gervais -les Bains', Journal of
Urban Design 6, 317-325.
Samuels, I. (1993) 'The Plan D'Occupation de Sols for Asnieres-sur-Oise: A morphological
design guide', in R. Hayward and S. McGlynn (eds.) Making bettr plces; Urban design now
(Butterworth heinemann, Oxford) 113-121.
Samuels, I. (1999) 'A typomorphological appoach to design: the plan for St Gervais', Urban
Design International 4, 129-141.
Samuels, I. and L. Pattacini (1997) 'From description to prescription: reflections on the use of
morphological approach in design guidance', Urban Design International 2, 81-91

35

36

1.
Urban Morphological Theory
Theory in urban morphology is necessarily diverse and often reflects its origins in the habitual
ways of thinking about urban form that have been conducted in the contributing intellectual
disciplines. It is desirable that this diversity be accepted, welcomed, and strenuously engaged
not merely tolerated in a compartmentalized way in which there is no effective dialogue
between dissimilar methods. At the same time, there is a great need to link the different
approaches to morphological theorizing so that a path to ultimate integration can be enabled. In
recent years, the clearest identity of theoretical formulations has belonged to what may be
termed the process typological approach (Italian architectural tradition), the historicogeographical approach (British geographical tradition), the configurational approach (space
syntax), and the spatial modeling approach (mathematical simulation). It is possible that a
geo-ecological approach may also be emerging in the literature, drawing on concepts common
in the physical-environmental sciences, although this strand is least assimilated into current
discourse over the theoretical content of urban morphology. Each of these theoretical domains
offer only a partial and often highly selective account of the underlying principles that explain
urban form in all its expressions and scales around the world. These underlying principles
themselves, we may presume, should unite in some way to form a fundamental theory, the direct
applications of which can help elucidate the circumstances of any and all casesultimately.
This is not necessarily a super-theory, but rather a platform of interconnected logical
relationships between form elements and their progenitors that can give firmer foundations for
situating specific theoretical propositions within an all-encompassing framework of processpattern signification. Therefore, it seems desirable to cultivate two streams of thought
simultaneously in building theory in urban morphology. First, a stream that encourages the
articulation of new types of theoretical thinking that may at first glance seem only poorly tied to
existing thought, in order to test their relevance in explaining certain types of empirically
discovered and described urban forms. Whereas the second stream ought to follow a line of
basic inquiry into the deep structure of urban morphological explanations, in order to find their
commonalities and thereby improve their interrelatedness and power.

Michael P. Conzen

37

Modern city as modular construct

Kees Doevendans, Antonio Zumelzu Scheel, Bruno de Meulder
TU Eindhoven, the Netherlands and KU Leuven, Belgium
E-mail: c.h.doevendans@tue.nl

In its fight against a culture of contingency 20th Century urbanism was driven by two main
assumptions inherent to modernity: i) Construction of a rational order by social-technical
normalization taking the city as a machine of progress and ii) Construction of an abstract
reality by means of aesthetic sovereignty the world as autonomous work of art (Makropoulos,
1995). These tendencies determined morphology and typology of the modern city. This will be
shown from a theoretical and practical perspective. The presentation will focus on: i) how above
mentioned assumptions led towards a design method of modularization, which had radical
consequences for morphology and typology of the city. Modularization was applied on different
scales, such as functional zoning at the scale of the city, formation of neighborhood units on
district level and so called stamps at the level of allotments. The concept of the dwelling unit
figured as a key word; ii) examples of morphological modularization at the level of allotments,
taking the strip as point of departure, theoretically in the creation of stamps as morphological
and social building blocks for the modern city, aiming at the creation of society; iii) an analysis
of the practice of modularization at the different scales in Woensel, the Northern part of
Eindhoven, The Netherlands, a typical example of a modern industrial city; iv) an evaluation of
the modularization method of modernism, especially its postwar downfall into contingency
and an attempt to rescale the Woensel-district in the line of modularization by formation of new
modules anticipating needs of the future city by a pragmatic rather than theoretical approach.
Key Words: modernism, contingency, morphology and typology, modularization
References
Makropoulos, M. (1995) Tendencies of the 1920s: On the discourse of classical modernity in
Germany, Theory, Culture & Society 12, 103 129.

38

The role of urban morphological theory in the contemporary

urban theory (theory of the city)
Irina Kukina
Department of Urban Design and Planning, Institute of Architecture and Design,
Siberian Federal University. E-mail: ikukina@inbox.ru
Understanding of the contemporary ideal city-dream is focused primarily on the model of the
compact city which is consists of the unique multifunctional high density communities kernels. Second attitude towards high quality of urban life is associated with understanding of
dynamic synergetic uncontrolled urban processes and growing interest in the ways in which
cities are changing their structures in this regard. Historical approach was developed in the
search for the logical structure of the contemporary large city. In particular, a solution was
sought to one of the biggest problems of the twentieth century preventing urban sprawl.
Terms such as urban fabric, environment, landscape, genetic and ecosystem, and others
borrowed from the natural sciences, became prominent in urban theory. Researching into, and
adopting principles of, biology and geography became familiar aspects of urban analysis, design
and planning. Ideas relating to landscape unity and heterogeneity, and the nexus of physical,
biological and social processes came into urban analysis from the theoretical works. The urban
landscape has become of increased interest in the practice of design and building. Town builders
understand landscape as a spatial unit as an integral combination of urban form and landscape
form. The mapping of morphological units became a part of the historico-morphological and
landscape approach to urban structural analysis. Historical successions of forms in the landscape
were evidenced in surviving forms. Understanding of the morphological concepts such as
market concretion, landscape units, fringe belts, other becoming necessity for the
successful decisions in the urban planning and design.
Key Words: morphological concepts, contemporary urban theory

39

The phantom figure of the town centre

Jared Macken
ETH-Zrich. E-mail: macken@arch.ethz.ch

By the middle of the twentieth century, city officials and citizens of the metropolis were seeking
methods and tools for revitalizing their city centres. Economic decline, destructive wars, and
entropic planning doctrines all contributed to the decline of the city centre, a place once
associated with a concept of collective identity and coherent urban form. As a result, cities
began commissioning architects to design and implement town centre projects as redevelopment
strategies with the expectation that these kinds of projects would provide moments of coherence
in the already existing urban fabrics of the city. The outcome of these commissions is a
consistent body of town centre projects designed in the 1960s and 1970s, each sharing
common typological characteristics. Up to this moment in architectural history the town centre
had not been implemented in this manner as a design strategy. In order to demonstrate that these
town centre projects of the 60s and 70s are a product of their time, that they meet the
characteristics described by architectural discourse, and that they have relevance within the
historical record of the metropolis, this research utilizes a theoretical lens through which these
projects will be analyzed. This lens comes from architectural theory and discourse produced in
the middle of the twentieth century. The discipline of architecture at this time was dominated by
a discussion about what urban form should be produced as a response to the newly constructed
20th century city. As a result, architectural theorists, such as Colin Rowe, Fumihiko Maki, and
Anthony Vidler, were obsessed with describing what this new typology could look like and how
it would respond to the urban forms that came before it. However, they never explicitly
pinpointed what this typology is. Instead, this discourse about urban form has become a search
for an elusive hantom figure of the city, a term introduced here as a way of defining this
mysterious typology that was described but never actually found. The main output of this
theoretical lens will be to show that the town centre projects are a sighting of this phantom
figure and therefore provide a theoretical completion of a discussion within the discipline of
architecture.
Key Words: architecture, urbanism, theory, figure, plan, third typology.
References
Maki, F. (1964) Investigations in Collective Form, (School of Architecture, Washington
University. St. Louis).
Rowe, C. and Koetter, F. (1983) The crisis of the object: The predicament of texture in
Collage City (MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass.) 50-85.
Vidler, A. (2013) The third typology and other essays (Seaforth Publishing, Barnsley).

40

Interior landscapes - a paradigm shift in contemporary urban

regeneration strategies
Nicola Marzot
Department of Architecture TU Delft. E-mail: nmarzot@tudelft.nl
Focusing on the European situation, the contemporary city is highly characterized by a building
surplus, which is basically increasing. Paradoxically, the emerging framework is not anymore
prompted and governed by the financial capitalism, as Saskia Sassen and Manuel Castell were
describing it, but by its emblematic crisis. The world we have witnessed coming into existence
over the last two decades, suddenly went into a process of unavoidable decay. As an immediate
tangible effect, the European city urban landscape starts inheriting an embarrassing emptiness,
punctuated by vacant buildings and waiting lands. In addition, the economic recession also
brought to a labour emergence, which went crossing through all social classes, urgently
affecting the most talented young generations. The encounter between the above mentioned
lines is challenging the architectural practice on a new perspective. The traditional approach to
urban design, defined by consistent program of brownfield refurbishment, necessitating of high
density program to tackle the required investments in soil reclamation and infrastructures, is
consequently leaving space to an unexpected experimental field of investigation. By comparing
the most interesting case studies, urban regeneration programs seem to consider the existing
urban morphology as an over exceeding landscape to be re-colonized on a tight time based
perspective. The adopted strategies tend to partially parasite the emerging field, performing as
interior design practices. The new condition is also bringing to an interesting shift in paradigm
at a theoretical level. Consequently, the structural approach to urban morphology needs to be
verified and up to date. The proposed paper offers a selection of European best practices as a
general premise, to focus on the city of Bologna, Italy as a new potential challenging laboratory,
to drown conclusion on a methodological level of general validity for both urban morphology
analysis and design.
Key Words: financial capitalism, crisis, vacant buildings, waiting lands, Bologna.
References
Ciorra, P. and Marini, S. (eds.) (2001) Re-cycle. strategie per larchitettura, la citt e il pianeta
(Electa, Milano).
Muratori, S. (1967) Civilt e territorio (Centro Studi di Storia Urbanistica, Roma).
Sassen, S. (1994) Global cities in a world economy (Pine Forge Press, Thousands Oaks).

41

Reading Lefebvre morphologically: a property-based

conceptual framework in urban morphology
Yener Ba
Department of City and Regional Planning, Mersin University
E-mail: yenerbas@gmail.com

This paper proposes a conceptual framework based on property relations through a reading of
Lefebvres Production of Space in morphological terms. The core of this framework is defined
by a Lefebvrian notion, the dialectics of work and product. Morphological implications in
Lefebvres conception of space are examined at two levels. Firstly, focusing on the role of
(private) property relations in the production of urban form, the paper discusses the correlation
between Lefebvres main proposition each society produces its own space and the
Conzenian notion of urban landscape as the objectivation of social mind. Secondly, Lefebvres
work-product dialectic is reviewed as a historical process, through which urban space is formed
both as work and product; as the unity of conflicting tendencies towards uniqueness and
repetition, difference and homogeneity, creation and production. Lefebvre conceives the
capitalist city as the domination of commodity production over urban space by its inherent
violence of abstraction and quantification. Contradictions and illusions of abstract space are also
internalized and represented in urban design approaches by the works of architects and city
planners. In this context, the parcel as a morphological element is analyzed as a unit of
commodity. The characteristics of parcel, subordinated by the requirements of commodity
production, are extended into the broader categories of urban morphology, so that urban
landscape is conceptualized as a contradictory outcome of private property relations and
capitalist production. The paper is concluded with an evaluation on the potentials of a
Lefebvrian framework in morphological research.
Key Words: Lefebvre, urban morphology, property relations, work and product, commodity.

42

Conceptualizing the morphogenesis of the Ottoman town

through urban morphological theory: an interdisciplinary
methodology
Ourania Bessi
Center for Balkan and Black Sea Studies, Yildiz Technical University, Istanbul Turkey
Centre for Byzantine, Ottoman and Modern Greek Studies, University of Birmingham,
UK. E-mail: OXB815@bham.ac.uk
This paper presents an innovative method of analysis which lies on the interdisciplinary
investigation of the relationship between defterology and urban morphology (Lowry 1992,
Conzen 1960). The devised methodology aims by paying tribute to M.R. Conzens theoretical
apparatus to establish basic concepts applicable to recurrent phenomena in the morphogenesis of
the early Ottoman town (Conzen 1960, 1988, 2004). Through the comparative analysis of the
town plans of three towns (Didimoteicho, Komotini, Serres), which constitute the earliest
Ottoman conquests in Europe (first half of the 14th century) within the strictly defined
geographical area of the lower Balkans, we mean to explain the arrangement and diversity of the
urban area in terms of plan types and resulting geographical divisions. The recovery of
defterological (archival) data cross-referenced with miscellaneous metadata serves towards the
reconstruction of the nowadays corrupted Ottoman town plan of the towns under discussion.
Followingly, the adaptation of an evolutionary viewpoint spanning the reigns of six sultans over
the course of a century and a half (14th-16th c.) means to trace existing and reconstructed forms
back to their formative processes and to interpret them within a rationalized conceptual
framework. The findings are striking and can be applicable to the study of the Ottoman city in
general: the geographical result emerging gradually from the Ottoman settlement is a system of
successive, broadly, concentric fringe belts (Whitehand 1967, 2007) separated from the kernel,
i.e, the Byzantine (Christian) citadel. The Ottoman town corresponds exclusively to the
development of the fringe belt. This evolution is attributed to specific historical Ourania Bessi,
Conceptualizing the morphogenesis of the Ottoman town through urban morphological theory:
an interdisciplinary methodology 2 circumstances which dictated that the kernel could only
receive restricted accretional development during the fixation phase of the IFB, since it was
occupied by the pre-existing Christian population.
Key Words: urban morphology; Ottoman morphogenesis; Historical Topography; Balkan
urbanism; Fringe belt.
References
Conzen, M.R.G. (1960) Alnwick Northumberland: a study in town-plan analysis (Institute of
British Geographers, London) 4-11.
Conzen M.R.G. (1988) Morphogenesis, morphological regions and secular human agency in
the historic townscape as exemplified by Ludlow, in D.Deneke and G.Shaw (eds.) Urban
historical geography: recent progress in Britain and Germany, 258-272
Conzen M.R.G. (2004) Thinking about urban form: papers on urban morphology 1932-1998,
(Bern).
Lowry H. (1992) The Ottoman Tahrir Defterleri as a source for social and economic history:
pitfalls and limitations, Studies in Defterology, Ottoman society in the fifteenth and
sixteenth centuries, (Isis Press, Istanbul): 3-19.
Whitehand J.W.R (1967) Fringe Belts: A neglected Aspect of Urban Geography, Transactions
of the Institute of British Geographers 41, 223-233
Whitehand J.W.R (2007) Urban fringe belts: Development of an idea, Planning Perspectives
3, 47-58.

43

Experience of Porto: understanding the physical environment

Cludia Gonalves Lima
Faculdade de Arquitectura e Artes, Universidade Lusada do Porto
E-mail: clima.arch@gmail.com

This paper analysis uses a both objective and personal perspectives of the physical environment
of Porto. People experience the city as it is in reality and also as it is imagined and conveyed by
its representations. However, what people see is subjective and that varies for every individual.
Direct experience is understood as experience, which is made through close relations, being also
a reflection of people's memories and life experiences. The perceptions and experiences that are
of interest for this study are those that are generated by individuals as they engage with and
experience city life. The aim, as a result of these analyses, is to reach an understanding of how
the physical environment facilitates people's behaviours and interrelations, conceptualising
Walter Benjamins notions of 'porosity', 'threshold' and 'shock' and drawing upon a
multidisciplinary body of research works that has studied the multiple relations and impacts
between the physical environment and people.
Key Words: physical environment, city life, experience, perception.

44

The Village of Nossa Senhora da Vitria in the context of the

Portuguese urbanistic universe: matrices and singularities
Luciene Pessotti
Departamento de Arquitetura e Urbanismo, Centro de Artes, Universidade Federal do
Esprito Santo. E-mail: luciene.pessotti@terra.com.br/

The territory of Portuguese America was a vast field of urbanistic experimentation

during the colonization period. Portuguese references and matrices originated different
urban morphologies that possess elements of erudite and vernacular tradition adaptable
to the local conditionality. The physical-spatial configuration and the urban landscape of
the first foundations possess traces of this cultural process which involved the
adaptation of the scientific principles of Military Engineering, the Portuguese tradition
on building cities, and the conditions that the environment and the process of
consolidation n of a new society had determined. The Portuguese expansion is a
relevant contribution to the history of cities and urbanism. Different experiences in
Africa, Asia, India and in America have given rise to urban forms that are at the same
time exceptional and unique. These experiences possessed a global and local character
because the references of Portuguese culture were used in the territories of the
Metropolis and the colonies. In an effort to contribute with studies on this thematic, we
will present in the form of a case study the urban morphology and landscape of the
Village of Nossa Senhora da Vitria, founded during the period of 1551, its spatial
matrices and the multiple references of the Portuguese urban culture.
Key Words: urban morphological theory, colonial urban morphology, spatial matrices,
urban forms, modeladore agents.

45

Spatiality of multiculturalism
Mohammad Sarraf
School of Architecture and the Built Environment, KTH-Royal Institute of Technology
Sweden. E-mail: msarraf@kth.se

Living with cultural diversity, as but one aspect of social justice, has been the nub of the
concern for an abundance body of the contemporary urban planning and design theory. How
does the theory of urban form conceptualize the contemporary multicultural city of the West,
where varieties of people, notwithstanding their differences, converge on, and share the built
environment? The question of living with cultural differences is at the core of this research. The
paper conveys a clear vision of multiculturalism ideology (Parekh, 2006), its emergence in
political theory and its practice in the context of national to local scales, despite the widespread
backlash against it. Exploring the contemporary urban planning discourse, the paper argues that
gaining a deep understanding of difference (Sandercock, 2009) is set as the underlying ground
for different approaches towards multiculturalism in the theory of urban planning. Elucidating
the potentials of physical encounter, the research challenges the plausibility of the emergence of
a deep recognition of difference through spatial encounter in the diverse society of today.
Consequently, it proposes the civility of indifference (Amin, 2012) to difference as an
alternative ground for living with difference. Given the proposed common ground, the research
tries to re-interpret multiculturalism policy within the urban design theory and its spatial
application within the urban form studies. The crux of the argument is that in order to discern its
inherently spatial dimensions, the multiculturalism idea should be recapitulated through the lens
of space. Therefore, the morphological patterns of the spatial structure of the city, and its
influence on the complexity of movement flow and social groupings (Hanson and Hillier, 1987),
are discussed as a means of conceptualizing multicultural urban form.
Key Words: multiculturalism, living with difference, civility of indifference, urban form, urban
morphology.
References
Amin, A. (2012) Land of strangers (Polity Press, Cambridge).
Hanson, J., and Hillier, B. (1987) The Architecture of community: Some new proposals on the
social consequences of architectural and planning decisions, Architecture et
Comportement/Architecture and Behaviour 3, 251 -273.
Parekh, B. (2006) Rethinking multiculturalism: cultural diversity and political theory (Palgrave
Macmillan, Basingstoke).
Sandercock, L. (2009) Towards a cosmopolitan urbanism: from theory to practice, in
Sandercock, L. and Attili, G. (eds.) Where Strangers Become Neighbours: integrating
immigrants in Vancouver, Canada (Springer) 193-230.

46

New perspectives on the meaning of urban form

Alessandro Camiz
Dipartimento di Architettura e Progetto, Laboratorio di lettura e progetto
dellarchitettura, Sapienza, Universit di Roma.
E-mail: alessandro.camiz@uniroma1.it
The recent proposal to include meaning in the ISUF definition of urban morphology (Conzen,
2013) was followed by some discussion (Kropf and Malfroy, 2013). Since the structuralist
approach to architecture (Eco, 1967) and to urban studies (Barthes, 1967) urban semiotics has
developed into an almost autonomous discipline: in the presence of a large amount of literature,
this topic cannot be left to sociological studies alone. Urban form is the consequence of
architects and planners activities and if there is some intentionality in their work, the result
must have some significance (Strappa, 2013). In the absence of a written code, it could be
argued that there cannot be meaning in urban form: we hypothesize a code developed by city
builders through history (Smith, 2007) and hidden in urban fabric, where sometimes
anthropomorphic and zoomorphic patterns appear (Guidoni, 1976). Two sculpted felidae aside
of a gate bear the same meaning, be aware: this is an important entrance! in a pre-Columbian
city, in medieval Bergamo, in III millennium B.C. Egypt and in the Yuan dynasty China. The
discussion on the recipients of urban meaning is central: across time urban spaces can pursue
different levels of meaning (Rossi, 1966) and be aimed at different classes of recipients, with
different purposes: to orient, to symbolize political powers, or to express spatial exclusion and
inclusion. Urban meaning must differ from architectural signs which refer to one building, one
set of users and one owner; the meaning of urban form, instead, is related to collective entities.
The paper will consider different theories, comparing a selection of meaningful case-studies,
with a focus on communities where more importance is given to collective values (Strappa,
1995) outlining why urban meaning has become ancillary nowadays and why it should be
included in urban morphology studies in the future.
Key Words: urban-morphology, urban-semiotics, urban-design, history, theory.
References
Barthes, R. (1967) Semiology and the Urban, in Leach, N. (1997) Rethinking Architecture: A
reader in cultural theory (Routledge, London) 166-171.
Conzen, M. P. (2013) Substance, method, and meaning in urban morphology, Urban
Morphology 17, 132-134.
Eco, U. (1967) Proposte per una semiologia dellarchitettura, Marcatr, 34-36, 56-76.
Guidoni, E. (1976) Architektur der primitiven Kulturen (Belser, Stuttgart).
Kropf, K. and Malfroy, S. (2013) What is urban morphology supposed to be about?
Specialization and the growth of a discipline, Urban Morphology 17, 128-131.
Rossi, A. (1966) Larchitettura della citt (Marsilio, Padova).
Smith, M.E. (2007) Form and meaning in the earliest cities: A new approach to ancient urban
planning, Journal of Planning History 6, 3-47.
Strappa, G. (2013) Territorial organism and urban knotting. Design methods for minor centers
of Lazio, FA magazine 23, 19-23.
Strappa, G. (1995) Unit dellorganismo architettonico. Note sulla formazione e trasformazione
dei caratteri degli edifici (Edizioni Dedalo, Bari).

47

A methodology for the analytical interpretation of the urban

fabric
Carlos Dias Coelho
FormaUrbis Lab, CIAUD and Department of Project, Faculty of Architecture University of
Lisbon. E-mail: cdcoelho.luotp@gmail.com

The urban fabric, as a physical reality, condenses the whole evolutionary process of the urban
form, its whole history, which translates into a very specific outcome in each moment, the
foundation of the formal richness of our cities. In this sense, the interpretation of the city shape
should articulate the understanding of the urban fabric evolution with the interpretation of its
features in a specific moment. The concept of urban fabric expresses the reality of the built city,
a matter with real and temporal existence, which inextricably includes the open and the built
space, the public and the private, that is, streets, parcels, buildings, infrastructures, etc., in other
words all the physical city. The inseparability of its components refers the concept of urban
fabric to a concrete and threedimensional reality, whose dismemberment in any analytical and
fragmental system can only be carried out in order to identify its individual elements and
facilitate its interpretation. This paper seeks to address this analytical facet of the interpretation
of the urban fabric, which refers to its disaggregation in homogeneous areas and samples, and
its decomposition into systems or elements, held at a given moment and abstracting all its
evolutionary process. This methodology can be performed only as a theoretical approach of
simplification of the variables involved, in order to allow an understanding of the composition
of the urban fabric, its properties and characteristics, which should imperatively be combined
with the evolutionary interpretation.
Key Words: urban fabric, morphological analysis, urban elements.
References
Coelho, C. D. and Lamas, J. (eds.) (2007) A praa em Portugal: Inventrio de espao pblico
Continente, Squares in Portugal: Public space inventory Mainland (DGOTDU, Lisboa).
Coelho, C. D. (eds.) (2013) Cadernos de Morfologia Urbana: Os Elementos Urbanos 1,
(Argumentum, Lisboa).
Caniggia, G. and Maffei, G. L. (1979) Composizione architettonica e tipologia edilizia, 1:
Lettura delledilizia di base (Marsilio Editore, Venezia).
Cozen, M. R. G. (1969) Alnwick, Northumberland: A study in town-plan analysis (Institute of
British Geographers, London).
Merlin, P. and Choay, F. (1988) Dictionnaire de LUrbanisme et de lAmnagement (dition
Dunod, Paris).
Muratori, S. (1960) Studi per una operante storia urbana di Venezia (Instituto Poligrafico dello
Stato, Roma).
Panerai, P., Depaule, J-Ch., and Demorgon, M. (1999). Analyse Urbaine (ditions Parenthses,
Marselha).
Sol-Morales, M. (1993) Les formes de creixement urb (Edicions UPC, Barcelona).

48

Ambiguity in the definition of built form

Karl Kropf
Department of Planning, Oxford Brookes University; Urban Morphology Research
Group, University of Birmingham. E-mail: kkropf@brookes.ac.uk

The paper reports on a detailed critical analysis of the definitions of built form as used in urban
morphology. The analysis reveals ambiguities that are inherent to the generic structure of built
form. The results reinforce the point made by Christopher Alexander in his essay, 'A city is not
a tree', that the built environment is more accurately characterized by overlapping rather than
strictly nested sets. A given element can be in more than one category and so can have more
than one meaning. But if we seek to take a comparative approach to the study of built form, how
do we deal with that ambiguity? How do we ensure we are comparing like with like? The
overarching aim of the analysis reported here was to establish a common reference point for
examination of the different aspects and elements of urban form in the comparative study of
cases from different times and places. Seminal works examined in detail, include those of M. R.
G. Conzen, Gianfranco Caniggia and Gian Luigi Maffei. The starting point is the common
conception of a hierarchical relationship between buildings, plots and streets and the
overlapping of aspects and elements. Different types of ambiguity inherent in the generic
structure of built form are identified. Incorporation of these into a rigorous conception of the
hierarchy allows for the richness of overlapping sets, reconciles earlier conceptions and
accommodates a wide range of specific forms.
Key Words: urban form, structure, hierarchy, abstraction, comparative study.

49

Disruption and origins: towards a theory of urban evolution

Brenda Case Scheer
University of Utah. E-mail: scheer@arch.utah.edu

Taking on the challenge presented by a recent review of the book The Evolution of Urban Form
(Scheer, 2010) and others in Urban Morphology (Kropf, 2013) this paper will summarize a few
key concepts and constructs arising from previous research that must be examined before a
larger theory can be proposed. For this work, the construct of an analog of the organic evolution
with its parts making up the whole is discarded, which is a radical departure from much of the
theory that has already been produced. Instead, I am seeking: i) a level of wholeness abstracted
from observations of the reality of urban form and its change, ii) a theory that corresponds to
most urban form not just traditional closed cities, and iii) a theory which is particularly useful
for practice. The components of form that we have all found useful: buildings, plots, streets,
tissues, districts, remain in this analysis, but they are reconfigured with different kinds of
emphasis, for the sole purpose of understanding change over time, classifying common patterns,
and identifying disruptions. Urban physical elements are thus arranged as simultaneously
present at the same scale, and having relationships that can be characterized as origination or
disruption. The elements are further animated in time by an understanding of the effects of
typical persistence on each element separately and by the effects of one element on another due
to differing rates of change.
Key Words: typology, practice, evolution, theory, disruption.
References
Kropf, K. (2013) Evolution and urban form: Staking out the ground for a more mature theory.
Urban Morphology 17, 136-49.
Scheer, B. (2010) The evolution of urban form: Typology for planners and architects (Planners
Press, Chicago).

50

From the scientific origin to current research status: the

challenge and prospect of the urban morphology research in
China
Menghe Wu1, Chunhui Shi2, Feng Song1
College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University,
Beijing 100871, China.
2
Yuanpei College, Peking University, Beijing 100871, P.R. China.
E-mail: shich1991@163.com , viola_wumenghe@163.com ,
songfeng@urban.pku.edu.cn

The urban morphology research of China has its own tradition and has absorbed theories from
western countries, in the practice of which, however, has come across several difficulties,
including the ones caused by the different understanding of researchers about the nature of
urban morphology and the ones that caused by the differentiation of research objects. This paper
starts with the tracing back of the science of morphology. Urban morphology, as a branch of
morphology, is a discipline studying urban form and in accordance with morphology in nature,
primary aim, object, research methods, etc. Based on these aspects, this paper then puts
emphasis on the comparative analysis of the tradition and status in quo of urban morphology
research in China and western countries, in order to figure out the underlying causes of the
current problems and go for a promising future in the urban morphological research of China.
Key Words: origin of morphology, theory, comparative study, China, western countries,
Conzenian School.

51

52

2.
Urban Morphological Methods and Techniques

The identity of any field of study or discipline is inextricably bound up not only with
what the discipline does but the way it does it. We are defined, in part, by our methods
not least because methods to a large extent fall out as a logical consequence of the
subject matter. At the same time, our methods are a reflection of where we want to go
with the subject and what we want it to become. But what happens when the field is
multi-disciplinary and the subject as multi-faceted as the city? What happens when 'we'
are architects, archaeologists, anthropologists, geographers and historians? The
multiplicity of methods potentially becomes a liability rather than an asset. The step
back out of this corner is the recognition that urban morphology is, in part, a metadiscipline, a fact that goes back to the inception of the field. Goethe in his preliminary
notes on morphology set out the following sequence of thoughts. Characterization and
limitation of the field in which we are working; i) phenomenon of organic structure; ii)
phenomenon of the simplest structure which appears to be a mere aggregation of parts
but often explainable just as well through evolution and epigenesis; iii) necessity of
considering all expository methods together, not to thoroughly explore a thing and its
nature, but to give at least some description of the phenomenon, and to impart to others
what has been perceived and seen (Goethe 1952, p85).The last note provides the
perspective that gets us out of the corner. The multiplicity of methods becomes an asset
when we see that one of the roles of morphology is to coordinate the findings of other
disciplines around the unifying aspect of form (Wilkinson 1962). This is not to say we
don't have 'in-house' methods, far from it. It is to say that the coordinating framework is
part of morphological method. So, whether the primary investigation is in-house or not,
part of what we need to do is to situate the results within the framework. To make the
most of the information we need to see where it sits within to the body of accumulating
knowledge and how it is related to the other parts.

Karl Kropf
References
Goethe, J.W. (1952) Goethe's Botanical Writings, translated by Bertha Mueller
(University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu).
Wilkinson, E. M. (1962) 'Goethe's Conception of Form' in Wilkinson and Willoghby
(eds.) Goethe: Poet and Thinker (Edward Arnold, London).

53

Morphological change in Um Al Sharayet residential

neighborhood - Albirah and Ramallah
Shaden Q. Awad
Department of Architectural Engineering, Birzeit University, Palestine
E-mail: sqasem @birzeit.edu

Um Al Sharayet neighborhood in the twin cities of Ramallah and Al Bireh, Palestine is one facet
of rapid urbanization in the Palestinian context. This area was transformed from agriculturalundeveloped land to one of the most dense residential neighborhoods that evocated the major
urban restructuring and transformation in both cities during the 1990-now. The aim of this paper
is to study the evolution of Um Al Sharayet as an area that located at the periphery of Al Bireh
City, surrounded by residential neighborhoods, Al Amari refugee camp, area C and Jerusalem
municipality land. The study also will analyze the interrelation between the neighborhood
urban transformations and the spatial and urban development of Ramallah and Al-Bireh and
define the main factors that affected the urban change. Finally the study will examine the urban
fabric and the neighborhoods spatial quality. In order to read and analyze the neighborhood of
Um Al Sharayet an analysis of the morphological aspects will be done so as to understand. An
analytical approach based on the Conzenian School and space syntax method will be applied in
the study.
Key Words: Ramallah, Al Bireh, Um al sharayet, urban transformation, spatial quality,
morphological analysis.

54

Commercial strips evolution in a suburban context:

a morphological analysis of Taschereau Boulevard in
Brossard (Quebec, Canada)
Adnan Boursas
School of Architecture, Universit Laval (Quebec, Canada)
E-mail: adnan.boursas.1@ulaval.ca

The Commercial Strip is a quintessential feature of the North American Suburban Sprawl.
Taschereau Boulevard, located on Montreals south shore, displays the collage of big boxes,
extensive parking lots, road segregation and disconnected residential developments. Since
Venturi, this landscape is vested with cultural meanings about the American dream. Indeed,
Taschereau Boulevard contributed to the growth of Brossard (1958), a new suburb that became
home for a higher ratio of immigrants in the metropolitan area. While cultural identity and
social aspirations provide sociological clues for the selection of a neighbourhood, Brossards
urban form adopted conventional North American suburban patterns of streets hierarchy, land
use zoning, and building types for residential and commercial premises. After 50 years, the
resilience and stability associated with the suburban lifestyle is challenged. The infrastructures
and buildings confront the end of the original life cycle planned for 40 years. The demographic
fabric stretches to include a wider range of classes and age groups. The land values and
profitable investments require higher density of urban development. Finally, residents and
investors express new expectations regarding the amenities and images for their neighbourhood.
With a degree of bravado, Brossards mayor declared that Taschereau Boulevard should be
redesigned as the Champs lyses. Thus the central question: how could transformed this
commercial strip? Using the tool developed by Vitor Olivieira, a morphological analysis
explores the evolving degree of urbanity, in the past 50 years and how it could evolve in future
proposals. This exploration raise both issues regarding the effectiveness of the analytical
method in a suburban environment, and the capability to redesign such environment, between
the urban and suburban ideals and their spatial consequences on land use, mobility and the
public and private spaces.
Key Words: morpho assessment tool, commercial strip, and morphological analysis.

55

Urban design and transition morphologies. Prospects for

intervention in Lisbon Alcntara
Carlos Henriques Ferreira
CIAUD, FAUL. E-mail: cferr@fa.utl.pt

Urban growth forms revealed the interactions of social and economic contexts with
geomorphological nature of the territory. Some parts of the city became a successive challenger
on the ability to adjust and response between its morphological and architectural nature. In this
sense, Alcntara is one of these paradigms processing in Lisbon, assuming as a defensive barrier
and as the motor area of great transformations, as the limit of urban growth and opportunity to
further accessibility test. The areas of historical transition in the cities represent a permanent
challenge to review the process of urban expansion and also new ways to approach the project.
Transition areas call for a process of reflection and intervention where opportunities are as
appealing as constraints encountered, especially at the level of the infrastructure commitments.
The work presents a set of guidelines for the areas of transition as Alcntara considering the
historical and cultural context of these areas and the strategies/opportunities for urban projects
in a sustainable development. The results presented include a set of guidelines, which includes a
critical perspective on the various instruments of territorial management in place, as well as the
interaction of these with the conceptualization mechanisms of the project.
Key Words: urban design, intervention in Alcntara, urban morphology, projects for Lisbon,
rehabilitation of the city fringes.

56

Urban morphological elements studies: for describing

generated urban form
Qian Li, Wowo Ding
School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Nanjing University
liqian82@nju.edu.cn, dww@nju.edu.cn
Urban morphology represents entire city areas or built environment consisting of two parts:
generated form and planned form, in terms of their growing processes and morphological
characteristics. In classic urban morphological theories three morphological elements, such as
streets/blocks, plots and buildings have perfectly defined urban physical form. However, these
elements are constituted as the top-down hierarchical mechanisms, which could not fully
express morphological feature of generated form. Following previous morphological studies, it
is worthwhile to further examine these uncertain conditions.
To clarify the relevance of morphological elements and characteristics of two forms, four cases
including both generated form and planned form were chosen from the same area: southern
Jiangsu province. Based on morphological analysis a comparative study was made among those
cases. This paper will present that two factors: topography and street crossing pattern should be
employed for identifying the morphological feature of generated form. In conclusion, the
generated form can be defined by integrating new factors into the existing morphological
elements. It also shows the value of urban morphological research for urban design method.
Key Words Generated Form; Morphological Element; Topography; Street Crossing Pattern
References
Conzen, M.R.G. (1960) Alnwick Northumberland: a study in town-plan analysis, Institute of
British Geographers, London.
Ding, W.(2001) The generation of a villagethe study of villages in the ZJG region (ETH
University Press, Zurich).
Kropf, K. (1993) An enquiry into the definition of built form in urban morphology,
unpublished PhD thesis, University of Birmingham, UK.
Levy, A. (1999) Urban morphology and the problem of the modern urban fabric: some
questions for research, Urban Morphology 3, 79-85.
Moudon, A. V. (1997) Urban morphology as an emerging interdisciplinary field, Urban
Morphology 1, 3-10.
Osmond, P.,(2010)The urban structural unit: toward a descriptive framework to support urban
analysis and planning,Urban Morphology 14(1), 5-20.
Oliveira,V. (2013) Morpho: a methodology for assessing urban form, Urban Morphology 17,
21-33.

57

Urban morphology of streets in central area of Vitoria (ES)

Flavia Botechia, Agnes Thompson
College of Architecture and Urbanism, Brazilian Faculty Multivix - Vitria (Brazil)
E- mail: flaviabotechia@yahoo.com.br , nisthompson@gmail.com
It is proposed the construction of frame-type morphology, representative of the urban form,
from the analysis of streets and its typological variations, of the central area of Vitria (ES),
featuring characterizing the relationships between physical elements (buildings, lots and streets)
through analysis of floor plan and cross-sectional profiles, produced with graphic scale, in order
to allow for correlations between studied elements of different typologies. The theoretical
framework is based on Panerai et al. (2013), Oliveira (2013), Proena (2011), Borthagaray
(2010), Busquets et al. (2004) and Moudon (1994). This research is justified by the necessity of
studying the city of our century, through the demonstration of how they were built and
transformed in Latin American cultures, using the case study. The central area of Vitria (ES)
the first urban area to be occupied in the island and with Portuguese urban form influence cause
of the colonization in 1551 was chosen as a pretext and context for the development of a study
group, with reference in urban morphology, because it is the subject of frequent analysis of the
student of architecture and urbanism in our school, holds proximity to the urban reality of the
students, and has current reliable cartographic bases do make the analysis and the maps. The
registration and analysis of cycles of urban transformation of the physical dimension of certain
tissues, give a meaning to the study of morphology, when combined with the practice of
urbanism and the potential to be effective instrument for design of the city.
Key Words: morphology, center, typology.
References
Borthagaray, A. (2010) Conquistar a Rua!: Compartilhar Sem Dividir (Romano Guerra, So
Paulo).
Busquets, J. et al (2004) El centro historico de Barcelona: un pasado con futuro (Ajuntament de
Barcelona, Barcelona).
Moudon, A. V. (1997) Urban morphology as an emerging interdisciplinary field, Urban
Morphology 1, 3 10.
Oliveira, V. (2013) A evoluo das formas urbanas de Lisboa e do Porto nos sculos XIX e XX
(Universidade do Porto, Porto).
Panerai, P. et al (2013) Formas Urbanas: a dissoluo da quadra (Bookman, Porto Alegre).
Proena, S. S. B. (2011) A diversidade da rua na cidade de Lisboa. Morfologia e morfognese,
IV Seminrio Internacional de Investigacin en Urbanismo (DUOT; UPC, Barcelona) 257271.

58

Street characteristics and pedestrian experience, Vila Real as

a case study
Joana Duarte, Jorge Carvalho, Frederico S
Department of Social, Political and Territorial Sciences, University of Aveiro
E-mail: jmduarte@ua.pt , jcarvalho@ua.pt , fredericomsa@ua.pt
This manifesto draws from a master research focuses on the streets while vital organs of
public space. The streets and their small enlargements are geared to accommodate pedestrians
and other soft modes of transportation. Denying its importance as a stage for pedestrian
experience means hindering its essence as public space. Under this assumption, the research
goal was to investigate how important are the street characteristics for pedestrians experience.
This study was assumed to be an asset for urban planning because it payed attention to the
pedestrians perspective. This work provides a specific typology of streets that can influence
planning and design options. The methodology adopted included two different phases: i) The
first aims to develop two theoretical frameworks, for further application to the study area (one
regarding the pedestrian experience indicators and another related to the street characteristics);
ii) The second concerns the application of both theoretical frameworks, as a preliminary test,
implemented to a sample of twelve streets, in the city of Vila Real. Although the outcomes
about the selected and characterized streets and study area are just exploratory, the results are
relevant. It was concluded that the characteristics that comprise the load of the marginal
buildings have a great influence on the level of pedestrians experience. On the other hand their
physical characteristics or the load arising from the automobile functional performance has less
influence. Although the hypothetical nature of the framework and its need of improvement and
validation, it arises as a potential contribution for future investigations.
Key Words: street, pedestrian experience, characteristics of the street, public space, urbanism.

59

Emergent streets. The study of the form and type

Joo Silva Leite
FormaUrbis Lab, CIAUD and Department of Project, Faculty of Architecture
University of Lisbon. E-mail: jao.mleite@gmail.com or joaoleite@fa.ulisboa.pt

The introduction of some mobility infrastructures or their simple positioning in certain urban
contexts led, in last decades, to urban transformation processes in the territories that go through.
It prints, on the infrastructure, changes of character and form. This acquires, now, new qualities,
accumulating on themselves the ability to withstand urban fabric. Emerge on the territory linear
urban elements with complex morphologies that have points of contact with the classical
definitions of street, seen that unite, support and structure the contemporary territory. Thus, the
communication exposes a typification essay of two different urban layouts typologies of these
emergent urban elements. Urban morphology classic techniques are used for this purpose,
allowing the creation of transversal lines of analysis between these emergent elements and other
consolidated urban structures. The typification exercise is the result of detailed study of two
specific cases, the N378 and N117, located in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, and were duly
crossed with other comparable cases located in different urban contexts in Portugal. The
communication seeks to draw the attention of the increasing relevance of these emergent urban
elements and how the study and understanding of the basic features of their urban layouts could
allow a more effective knowledge of the function and capabilities of such urban structures in
support, aggregation, structure and hierarchy of certain territories. It is intended to enhance the
process of typification as an important tool in the study of these morphological structures, and
its final product, seen as a didactic object of production of urban spaces with more balance and
quality.
Key Words: emergent street; mobility axis, typification, structural element, metropolitan
territories.

60

The Demi-Block
Derry OConnell
School of Geography, Planning and Environmental Policy, University College Dublin,
Ireland. E-mail: derry.oconnell@ucd.ie

The study of urban form tends to focus on the block rather than the street and because urban
planning tends also to do so, the city is reproduced block by block. In the traditional town, the
street was the binding line, along which plots collected individually. In such arrangement, the
transect from centre line of street to tail seam of plot represented the axis of individual
participation with the town, carrying within it such spatial distinctions as front and back, or
public and private, the clarity of which is somewhat diffused in the now-popular perimeter
block layout. When city form is defined by blocks, and the individual no longer addresses the
city through a plot faade, the street as focal axis has less clarity and the block core becomes a
competing space. In such arrangement the street may become a dividing boundary. There have
been some attempts in planning to correct or modify this trend. A common part if both street
and block is the demi-block, or the area, defined by one side of the street and its plots, which
forms half of the street or half of the block, according to how it might be viewed. If in the way
we perceive the city we transfer the concept of boundary from the street to the block core, the
true boundaries of character areas and morphological regions can sometimes be seen differently.
Drawing from a current research study on Irish towns, this paper considers the demi-block and
its transect as a subject of urban study, looking at current metamorphosis in plot structure and
the emergence of such concepts as block inversion, the rise of semi-private place, and the
significance of change in the relationship between street and block core.
Key Words: urban block, plot transect.

61

Towards a qualitative density: from the block to the street as

the urban fabric structuring unit
Magdalena Vicua
Pontificia Universidad Catlica de Chile. E-mail: mvicunad@uc.cl
Contemporary urban growth trends necessarily imply that urban policies must orient towards
densification. In this context, density must be addressed not only as a quantitative parameter,
but also from the role it plays in the strengthening of urbanity and qualifying the public sphere.
The principal aim of this research is to clarify and re-conceptualize density, in order to find
criteria that allow integrating the abstract and quantitative vision of density, and the qualitative
components that define urban form. A re-conceptualization of density would imply a shift in the
focus of urban analysis: if residential density is measured in the block, that is, in the private
sphere; qualitative density is expressed and experienced in the street, that is, the public sphere.
Indeed, Phillipe Panerai proposes that the urban fabric basic unit not necessarily corresponds to
the block, but it can be represented as a portion of street that distributes on both sides a set of
plots. In this sense, we can pose the following question: Is the street the morphological unit that
allows a transition to a qualitative density? The proposed methodology consists on the survey of
3 representative streets of contemporary Great Santiago, Chile: i) the peri-urban social housing
condo street, ii) the affordable housing street in the peri-center, and iii) the street of intensive
densification in the citys central core. Density-related indicators are raised for these streets, in
order to understand its relation with qualitative variables of urban fabrics morphology.
Therefore, this article explores methods for analyzing qualitative density from the street as
morphological unit, with the aim of providing new approaches to city planning and design,
proposing a change in the focus of urban analysis and urban project.
Key Words: qualitative density, urban morphology, Santiago de Chile.

62

Studies and hypothesis on Mdina and Rabat urban form

Antonio Camporeale
Department of Architecture and Project, University of Rome La Sapienza
E-mail: antonio.camporeale.7@gmail.com
The study presented here deals with the theme of the reading of the urban form of the city of
Mdina, the old capital of the island of Malta, and Rabat. The interest in the study of these two
urban centers, whose fortunes are inextricably linked to structural reasons, arises from some
geographical considerations. The island of Malta, in fact, lies at the center of the Mediterranean
Sea, in a central position respect to cultural exchanges between the peoples who inhabited its
shores and the resulting hybridization dynamics that have characterized its history. Dynamics
that can be researched in Maltese architecture, built result of contributions and strong exchanges
between the different cultural areas and during different historical periods. Mdina, with Rabat,
still preserves its urban form, readable and comparable with other centers such as Birgu and
Valletta. The analysis of its urban form aims to highlight some typical features of the
Mediterranean: the presence and persistence of the house with a courtyard in the building
tissues. It was also possible to advance a hypothesis, based on the method of study and reading
of the alignments walls, identification of medieval pathways, advances and the size of the bands
attributable to the built, of any planned reorganization by Romans, more evident in the tissues of
Rabat.
Key Words: method, urban tissues, typological process, urban organism, Mediterranean Sea.

63

Territorial and urban planning in northern Sinaloa

Giancarlo Cataldi, David Urios, J. Colomer, A. Portals
E-mail: giancarlo.cataldi@gmail.com, umdav@urb.upv.es, vcolomer@urb.upv.es

A scientific reading of the territorial structure of both municipalities of Guasave and Ahome, in
northern Sinaloa, has been carried out starting from the urban analysis through three successive
workscales: territory, city and quarter. In the first approach, the agricultural planning of a vast
portion of the coastal plain where a hierarchical grid of roads and canals modulate the territory
with high precision is detected. At the city scale, it is revealed the presence of natural and
historic traces, that compete with the geometric rigidity of the territorial grid to configure the
present urban fabric of Guasave. The Sinaloa river and the courses that interconnected the old
Sinaloa missions of the 17th century are historical paths that become incorporated into the urban
planning of the 20th century, where the development of the central quarter (Colonia Centro)
acquires a differential character. The old core mission of the Nuestra Seora del Rosario Church
generated, since 1930, a urban grid that followed the geometric pattern of the colonial city with
square blocks on orthogonal axes deviated slightly from the traces of the agricultural
macroplanning. It is flexible in any case, because settles into the plot divergent paths departing
north from the church square and sets its limits to the natural accidents or historical traces.
Key Words: Guasave, Ahome, Sinaloa, Mexico, urban and territorial planning.

64

Typological series - A methodology for the analysis of preexisting structures in contemporary urban fabric
Pedro Martins
Forma Urbis Lab, CIAUD, Faculdade de Arquitectura da Universidade de Lisboa
E-mail: pedro.vasco.martins@gmail.com
The shape of the city is made of constant construction and reuse of a multiplicity of urban
elements. These elements overlap each other in space and time through various processes in
continuity or rupture, creating a complex evolutionary structure. One of the most interesting
processes of urban transformation is the urban sedimentation, in which different time periods
and cultures contribute with information to form the urban fabric, constantly reusing and
reinterpreting the past in new urban structures. The urban fabric thus preserves in a particular
way fragments of a past form into the fabric of the new structures that overlap them, allowing
through the conduction of a detailed analysis, the detection and interpretation of the remains of
missing structures, as well as rediscovering their original shapes by comparing them with
typologically similar structures. In this presentation we address the typological series method as
a tool for the study of the urban fabric that results from processes of urban sedimentation. In this
method we complete and expand the partial and fragmentary nature of the information available
through conventional sources like history and archeology, by comparing the remains of preexisting past structures with the typological matrix extracted from similar structures for which
there is better documentation. So in addition to improvement of the analysis of the known
remains from history and archeology, the method of typological series allows the understanding
of the surrounding urban fabric, enabling the discovery of new remains or even contributing to
the construction of new hypotheses identifying previously unknown structures.
Key Words: urban morphology, urban sedimentation, urban fabric, typology, urban
preexistences.

65

The memory of informality: the typological cycles in the selfbuilt environment

Milton Montejano Castillo
School of Architecture and Engineering, Instituto Politcnico Nacional, Mexico
E-mail: mmontejanoc@ipn.mx

Informal or self-built settlements are concentrations of dwellings, built without compliance to

official norms or urban planning. Today, it is estimated that there are approximately one billion
people living in these conditions. This represents about one third of the world population living
in cities today. In order to understand and upgrade the conditions of these settlements, it is of
crucial importance to monitor their speed of change along the time. However, such a task
represents a challenge because these settlements are rarely documented in records or official
sources. Departing from this situation, an attempt to track these changes based on the example
of one of these settlements: Ciudad Nezahualcyotl, a 1 million people city, that during the
last fifty years has been informally developed as part of the Metropolitan Area of Mexico City.
Such a method is based on the identification and analysis of the typology of dwellings and their
transformation through the time. Based on empirical evidences, we may say that morphological
changes in informal settlements do not occur at random or chaotically. Rather, such changes are
susceptible to be explained and traced back at the urban scale, by means of the observation of
building types and the logic of changes they follow in time. That is to say, a particular
morphological arrangement of the informal city itself. With the latter, we may confirm the
idea that urban morphology goes beyond giving answers to the logic of the built environment
patterns, and may also provide us with powerful tools to decide and prioritize public upgrading
actions.
Key Words: informal settlements, typologies, morphology, building cycles.

66

From urban form to architectural design: the case of Guasave

Vincente Colomer, Ignacio Reig, Luis Armio, Gonzalo Vicente-Almazn
E-mail: vcolomer@urb.upv.es, ibosch@pra.upv.es, luis@arminoarquitectos.com,
gvalmazan@arquired.es
The article is aimed at putting to test a method to address urban and territorial issues, by means
of using primarily the resources of architectural project as a basic tool. This method requires a
formal and functional synthetic reading of the addressed object (a city, or a part of its territory),
to identify some of the imbalances whose correction is needed to enhance its potential values. It
is also necessary to identify and delineate the areas, and their corresponding action programs, in
which architectural projects may be undertaken in a coordinated manner. Finally, the
propositional development requires the completion of architectural proposals, including
consistent plans and drawings, elaborated both in the dihedral classic representation system,
elevations and sections, as well as models and virtual images. The material thus obtained shall
be the basis for the participation of stakeholders in planning policy decisions, allowing for
greater action and urban and architectural quality. Guasave is presented as a case-study recently
conducted
Key Words: urban morphology, urban project, intervention strategies, regeneration by
induction, territorial rebalancing.

67

Urbanity and legibility at Av. Cora Coralina, Goinia-GO/

Brazil, from Janes Walk movement
Ana Farias, Liza Andrade, Gabriela Tenrio
FAU/UnB, REABILITA
E-mail: carol@sobreurbana.com , lizamsa@gmail.com , gabrielastenorio@gmail.com

Throughout the twentieth century, urban planning was applied in Brazil to build several cities,
like Goinia, where a picturesque residential neighborhood, the South Sector, was inspired by
the organic design of the garden city. However, this neighborhood suffered interventions that
contradict its own nature, such as the implementation of Av. Cora Coralina, projected to ease
the traffic in the region. That avenue cut culs-de-sac and crossed through green areas and is
bounded by closed, uniform and passive edges, unattractive to walk or stay. Monotonous
landscapes like this led to criticisms of planning models, by neglecting the reality of the
intervention areas. With the failure of the planning, the urban design discipline appeared,
offering an interdisciplinary humanist approach and treating the space on local scale and linked
to other reality aspects. Authors like Jacobs, Lynch, Appleyard, Whyte, Gehl, Hillier and
recently Kohlsdorf, Holanda and Tenrio, intensified research on the relationship between space
and society, forming the conceptual framework of legibility and urbanity. This research aims to
demonstrate a method of evaluating the morphological performance of the avenue, regarding its
urbanity and legibility, validated by the Jane's Walk movement, a community walk tour inspired
by the ideals of Jacobs. During a walk in 2013, participants revealed not feeling welcome in the
public spaces that avenue. Starting from the users perception and urban design guidelines on
pedestrian scale, we elaborated a diagnosis on the study area and pointed paths for its
rehabilitation, aiming to provide attractive spaces for walk, stay and social life.
Key Words: urbanity, legibility, walkability, Janes Walk, morphologic dimensions.

68

The positive dissemination: interpreting a new process for

urban form analysis
Andrea Gonalves, Ana Tom, Valrio Medeiros
Instituto Superior Tcnico, Universidade de Lisboa
E-mail: andrea.goncalves@tecnico.ulisboa.pt
This paper discusses the role of the urban form for the positive dissemination processes inherent
to urban phenomenon. Positive dissemination means the interrelation of urban elements/factors,
so that a particular action is analysed according to its propagation effects, resulting in a
continuous transformation over the urban system, with impact on its regeneration. It is assumed
that certain places, public spaces or buildings, by their syntactic, typological and/or functional
features, have the capacity to trigger these processes. A diachronic study of vora (Portugal)
urban form, under the Space Syntax perspective, was the research focus. Throughout this study
configurational changes were identified and interpreted as the reflex or the origin of new urban
dynamics which contribute to urban dissemination processes. The results and corresponding
discussion enabled the creation of a conceptual and methodological framework to categorize the
selected cases, aiming at the distinction between positive and negative urban dissemination
focus, as well the differentiation of their morphological, functional and resilience
characteristics. The methodological approach, first, requires a record for each selected
case/focus of urban dissemination, analyzed both as individual system and as part of a global
system, and, second, implies the research and critical reflection of theoretical references that
support a category system able to characterize each type of case/focus. By integrating a wider
research that aims the creation and validation of an urban regeneration strategic model boosted
by positive dissemination processes, this study intends to contribute to the understanding of
these processes that are directly dependent from the type of case/focus.
Key Words: focus of positive dissemination, urban regeneration, category system, urban
morphology, vora.

69

City or parish: dilemmas in Brasilia, Brazil

Frederico de Holanda
Faculdade de Arquitetura e Urbanismo, Universidade de Braslia
E-mail: fredholanda4@gmail.com

Surprisingly enough, neighbourhood unit related concepts have lasting appeal. Time and
again it resuscitates in urban morphological debates. This is the case concerning current
controversies about the preservation plan of Brasilia, Brazils Federal Capital, as a
World Cultural Heritage site. A proposal has been prepared by the Local Government,
submitted to the Legislative Power, and widely publicised so that contributions from
Civil Society might arise. One wonders what is worst: the governmental proposal or its
critique stemming from Civil Society. On the one hand, the governmental proposal
sticks to modernistic principles or urban design, considering individual buildings or city
blocks in themselves, not in their relation with the surroundings. A piecemeal approach
predominates, not one which is about the attributes and qualities of space between
buildings, or of sets of blocks defining morphological urban types. Units under analysis
are delimited by road axes, not by a set of built volumes and the public places they
define. On the other hand, outstanding speakers on behalf of Civil Society do not
consider the city as a system, but rather as i) a patchwork of isolated parts and ii) the
sum total of, again, isolated dimensions, not a phenomenon which involves
simultaneously practical and expressive aspects functional, bioclimatic, economic and
sociological, in the first case, imagistic, affective, symbolic and aesthetic, in the second.
The critique does not understand that, e.g., traffic and built densities are both variables
in a plan; it rather attacks a more compact city because of purported traffic jams therein
implied (it sees nothing beyond the car paradigm that presides over the city since its
inception). They also demonize supposedly bad impacts (and highly mythical, one
might add) of measures in local communities, ignoring that such measures have a wide
and important effect on the city as a whole as a system. This paper draws on a set of
theoretical, methodological and technical trends, ranging from Kevin Lynch, through
Jan Gehl and Alain Bertaud, to Bill Hillier and Space Syntax Theory, besides our own
findings. The benefits of a systemic approach of the city are revealed one that does not
consider it a sum total of parishes nor of isolated disciplinary approaches.
Key Words: Brasilia, preservation policies, architectural ideology, conflicting interests .

70

Intensity of use in public squares in the central area of

Florianpolis/SC - Brazil
Cludia Mat, Talita Micheleti, Renato T. Saboya, Alina G. Santiago
Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina UFSC, Brasil
E-mail: claudiaamate@gmail.com , tali.micheleti@gmail.com , rtsaboya@gmail.com
alina@arq.ufsc.br

The shortage of public open spaces is a common problem in Brazilian cities due to their rapid
urbanization processes. As a consequence, open spaces are fragmented and isolated, or difficult
to access, which inhibits their use by the population (Kohlsdorf, 2002). Moreover, there is a
general agreement that relates the vitality of a space exclusively to their local design variables
(Campos, 2000), restricting the analyzes to the space morphology regardless of how it is
embedded in the urban grid (Campos, 1997) and its possible implications on the levels of
pedestrian movement and occupation of squares. According to Hillier and Hanson (1984), the
intensity of use of public squares or, in other words, the levels and distribution of pedestrian
movement and active people within the space, are to a great degree determined by the
configuration of the urban grid in which it is inserted.
This paper investigates this relation in six public squares of the central area of Florianpolis
using different syntactic measures: integration, which captures closeness, and choice, which
captures betweenness. In loco observations were made to quantify the levels of use of these
spaces and the data obtained through the observations were summarized in tables-charts and
maps, and subsequently correlated with the syntactic measures. The results indicate that the
levels of use of the public squares of the central area of Florianpolis are more related to
proximity (integration) than to the property of falling on the shortest paths between pairs of
spaces (choice).
Key Words: space syntax, urban morphology, urban grid, public squares, Florianpolis.
References
Campos, M. B. M. A. (1997) Strategic Spaces: Patterns of Use in Public Squares of The City of
London, Space Syntax First International Symposium, London.
Campos, M. B. M. A. (2000) Urban Public Spaces: A study of the relation between spatial
configuration and use patterns, (University College London, London).
Hillier, B. and Hanson,J. (1984) The social logic of space (Cambridge University Press,
Cambridge).
Kohlsdorf, M. E. (2002) Metamorfoses nas reas livres pblicas das cidades brasileiras:
identidade cultural e interao social, (Universitt Stuttgart, Stuttgart).

71

The sociability of the street interface - revisiting West Village,

Manhattan
Garyfalia Palaiologou, Laura Vaughan
The Bartlett School of Graduate Studies, University College London
E-mail: g.palaiologou@ucl.ac.uk , l.vaughan@ucl.ac.uk
This paper examines the micromorphology of street interfaces, considering how street life is
shaped by the emergent pattern of spatial layout and built form. In an effort to reassess Jane
Jacobss conception of liveability, the study uses urban form and space syntax methods to
record the changing micro socio-spatial texture of West Village, Manhattan. The paper shows
that West Village contains a wide range of morphological street vistas, in which residential
buildings are differentially interspersed with institutional and commercial uses while being in
close proximity with the industrial west waterfront. The paper considers the way in which
pedestrian experience varies and changes as the characteristics of street facades change: from
the postmodern solid block front to an alignment of short row house facades or from a wholly
domestic setting, to a street lined with shops and businesses. In order to understand the urban
streetscape as a place of social activity, the study uses novel techniques for measuring built
volume in terms of building-street connections aggregated within a block frontage. The
resulting pattern is analysed to consider how morphological properties might give rise to street
interaction. The study also maps the mixture of buildings by age and relates this pattern to the
spatial distribution of non-domestic land uses, the street network configuration and associated
urban interfaces to draw the conclusion that notwithstanding the areas conservation status it
has maintained its street-life characteristics in part due to the stability of its built form coupled
with its inherent spatial adaptability.
Key Words: micromorphology, urban interfaces, Jacobs, West Village, row house.

72

Exploring the volumetric city: a methodology for investigating the

topology and morphology of surface and subsurface urban spatial
networks
Michael R. Doyle
Deep City Project, cole polytechnique fdrale de Lausanne
E-mail: michael.doyle@epfl.ch
The urban underground has historically been developed as a series of sporadic responses to
surface land shortage or to hide unsightly urban activities (Parriaux et al 2004; 2010). The Deep
City project at the cole polytechnique fdrale de Lausanne in Switzerland is questioning this
piecemeal approach through the development of a methodology to qualify and map the spatial
potential of the city subsurface. An important part of this methodology is identifying and
critically reflecting upon the spatial configurations that characterize complex urban underground
ensembles (like the Montreal underground). Although past research has explored the
relationship between form and pedestrian movement in the underground (Zacharias 2000,
2011), the topological relationships of the subsurface to neighbouring surface spaces has not yet
been investigated. Furthermore, attempts at characterizing the morphology of underground
spaces has been limited to generalizations around very few types (Carmody & Sterling 1993),
while ignoring the particularities of the spatial and functional contexts in which such projects
are situated. This communication will present a methodology to investigate urban underground
spaces within their three-dimensional spatial context drawing from graph theory (Hillier 2007;
Sevtsuk 2010) and urban morphologys approach to investigating city form (Cannigia & Maffei
2001; Oliveira 2013). The objective of the topological analysis is to be able to aid spatial
configuration decisions made both in the conceptual phase of underground space design as well
as to diagnose and test alternatives to problematic existing spatial configurations of underground
spaces and their topological relationship to surface spaces. The morphological analysis seeks to
identify patterns that could serve to guide form-based urban legal instruments. The conclusion
will present preliminary results of this method taking Montreals underground as a case study.
Key Words: 3D urban diagnostic tools, urban underground, spatial configuration, urban
morphology; GIS.
References
Cannigia, G., and Maffei, G. L. (2001) Architectural Composition and Building Typology:
Interpreting Basic Building (Alinea, Florence, Italy).
Carmody, J., and Sterling, R. L. (1993) Underground space design: a guide to subsurface
utilization and design for people in underground spaces. (Van Nostrand Reinhold, New
York).
Hillier, B. (2007) Space is the machine: a configurational theory of architecture (Cambridge
University Press, Cambridge).
Oliveira, V. (2013) Morpho: a methodology for assessing urban form Urban Morphology, 17,
2133.
Parriaux, A., Tacher, L., and Joliquin, P. (2004) The hidden side of citiestowards threedimensional land planning, Energy and Buildings 36, 335341.
Parriaux, Aurle, Blunier, P., Maire, P., Dekkil, G., and Tacher, L. (2010). Projet Deep city:
ressources du sous-sol et dveloppement durable des espaces urbains. (Lausanne: vdf
Hochschulverlag AG an der ETH Zrich).

73

Sevtsuk, A. (2010) Path and place: a study of urban geometry and retail activity in Cambridge
and Somerville, MA (Doctoral Dissertation). (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept
of Urban Studies and Planning, Cambridge, MA).
Zacharias, J. (2000) Modeling Pedestrian Dynamics in Montreals Underground City, Journal
of Transportation Engineering 126, 405412.
Zacharias, J. (2011) The Dynamics of People Movement Systems in Central Areas,
Challenges 2, 94108.

74

The Projeto Orla (Lake Parano, Braslia/Brazil): the

production of an exclusionary margin
Marcelo Lembi, Valrio Medeiros
Faculdade de Arquitetura e Urbanismo, Universidade de Braslia
E-mail: marcelolembi@gmail.com , medeiros.valerio@uol.com.br
The study explores morphological features at two sites (poles) of the Projeto Orla (Fonseca,
2001) in Lake Parano (Braslia Brazil), in order to understand how the configurational
characteristics affect the local vitality. Relationships between built form and movement are
explored, following the Theory of Social Logic of Space or Space Syntax approach (Hillier and
Hanson, 1984; Hillier, 1996; Medeiros, 2006). The research variables are: land use, relationship
between solids and voids, density, axial structure, intelligibility/perception, blind spaces,
transports, infrastructure, imagistic potential, monumental scale and bioclimatic aspects,
focusing on four dimensions of architecture: topocepcion, functionality, copresence, expressive
and symbolic issues (Holanda et al., 2005; Holanda, 2010) . The case studies correspond to
Braslia Palace Complex, located between Bosque dos Lees and Clube da Imprensa, and
Pont o do Lago Sul, nearby Costa e Silva Bridge. The findings allow to distinguish the study
areas in the paradigms of formality (Braslia Palace) and urbanity (Pont o do Lago Sul), with
subsidies for the discussion of the differences between pre-modern and modern cities (Hollanda,
2002). In addition, provide subsidies for design exercise, launching strategies or
recommendations that can be applied in future development stages of the remaining poles.
Key Words: morphological features, vitality, formality and urbanity.
References
Fonseca, F. (2001). Olhares sobre o Lago Parano (Secretaria de Meio Ambiente e Recursos
Hdricos, Braslia).
Hillier, B. (1996) Space is the machine (CUP, Cambridge).
Hillier, B., Hanson, J. (1984) The social logic of space (CUP, Cambridge).
Holanda, F. (2002) Espao e organizao social (EdUnB, Braslia).
Holanda, F. (2010) Braslia: cidade eterna e cidade moderna (FAU UnB, Braslia).
Holanda, F., Kohldorf, M., Kohsdorf, G. (2005) Dimenses morfolgicas dos lugares: a
dimenso copresencial (FAU UnB, Braslia).
Medeiros, V. (2006) Urbis brasiliae ou sobre cidades do Brasil: inserindo assentamentos
urbanos do pas em investigaes configuracionais comparativas, PhD Thesis, Universidade
de Braslia - Faculdade de Arquitetura e Urbanismo, Braslia.

75

Connecting strategic nodes in Stockholms suburbs - utilizing

the Place Syntax Tool in the analysis and design process
Ryan Locke, Lars Marcus
School of Architecture and the Built Environment, KTH Royal Institute of
Technology. E-mail: ryan.locke@abe.kth.se , lars.marcus@arch.kth.se

This paper investigates how suburban areas in Stockholm can be densified in an attempt to
increase the urban qualities of suburban areas without reducing accessibility to the green spaces.
Rooted in the fields of architecture and urban design, and following the tradition of Space
Syntax and urban morphology research, Place Syntax (Karlstrm et al. 2005) adds the social
performativity dimension of urban form to the analysis and captures accessibility values to
attractions such as population density and plot diversity. These will be measured with the Place
Syntax Tool (PST), a plug-in for the GIS software MapInfo. The paper focuses on using Place
Syntax as an analytic-generative tool for urban design practice. These theoretical outlines and
methodological framework are applied in a design case. The urban network of two existing
modernist suburbs surrounding a large public green-space in Stockholm is analyzed and using
the described methods, measures urbanity as accessibility to density and plot diversity as a
way of informing the design process. The design section of the paper shows how applying a
spatial morphology densification strategy based on the analysis can connect suburban areas. The
analysis technique is again applied to the design to reevaluate the effects of the proposed design
in relation to the goals. The results suggest how suburban densification at one-site impacts the
values and measures of Spatial Capital in the surrounding areas, without altering the structure of
those areas. The paper concludes by suggesting that urban analysis utilizing the Place Syntax
Tool can aid the urban design process, especially in the context of un-built green fields in
suburban areas.
Key Words: urban form, urban design, spatial capital, place syntax, Stockholm.
References
Karlstrm, A., Sthle, A, Marcus, L, (2005) Place Syntax - geographic accessibility with
visibility in GIS, 5th International Space Syntax Symposium, Istanbul, Turkey.

76

The network that spreads: program my house my life and

urban accessibility
Gislene Pereira, Jussara Silva
Department of Architecture and Urbanism, Universidade Federal do Paran, Curitiba,
Brazil
Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism, Universidade Positivo, Curitiba, Brazil
E-mail: jumaria25@gmail

Curitiba is the capital city of the state of Paran, Brazil, and it is also the hub-city of its
metropolitan area, which had a total of 2,768,394 inhabitants in 2010. This paper aims to
interpret the relationship between the form of provision of affordable housing, translated by
Minha Casa Minha Vida (MCMV), and the socio-spatial organization of the Metropolitan Area
of Curitiba. Using space syntax, the text evaluates the integration of MCMV projects in twelve
municipalities in the region of Curitiba, checking the spatial mobility of the population living in
these areas.
Key Words: space syntax, affordable housing, Curitiba

77

Mapping urban space based on visual perception

Yue Zhuang, Wowo Ding
School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China
22 Hankou Road, Nanjing, China. E-mail: ppmountain@163.com , dww@nju.edu.cn

Urban space plays a very important role in urban morphological studies, while 2dimention based urban patterns were often used as a research basis. Many researchers
have tried different ways to make urban pattern with 3-dimentional information as study
basis, however the results were not entirely satisfactory until now. Isovist is a method
used for testing visibility of the plan or space, which has been used for describing
spatial character of urban street. Along that line our research tries to develop a method
to read urban pattern with height information, to create better urban physical space
model for further spatial study. 3D urban physical space model is built by Matlab, and
new database for the space is formed simultaneously. Our approach is setting a
viewpoint forming a Viewsphere within the urban physical space built by Matlab, which
can measure the urban space and collect 3D information as well. Based on Isovist idea,
new mapping method is developed. This paper tries to show our working process and
discuss how to convert three-dimensional data to two-dimensional plan.
Key Words: urban space, 3-dimentional information, isovist, viewsphere.

78

Changing form of the Baltic cities: resurrection of the

suburbs
Matas Cirtautas
Urban Research Lab, Department of Urban Design, Vilnius Gediminas Technical
University. E-mail: matas.cirtautas@vgtu.lt

Urban sprawl is one of the dominant types of urban development (Bruegmann 2005). It is
described as process of gradual conversion of rural areas into partly urbanized environment.
This kind of urban growth is often considered as uncoordinated process creating fragmented
suburban landscape (Sieverts 2003). However, tools of morphological research can be adopted
to study contemporary suburban fabric (Levy 1999). This is crucial for urban regions which
experience significant structural changes as in the Baltic States. Over the last century Lithuanian
cities have experienced several fundamental transformations of their urban form. From
historical compact towns they became large cities with distinct characteristics of late-soviet era
(e.g. monofunctional districts scattered in the manner of polycentric structure). Currently
Lithuanian cities face three major challenges that will determine their future form: regeneration
of central parts (Alistratovait 2004), modernization of large housing estates (Dervus 2013)
and development of emerging suburban zones (Cirtautas 2013). The latter is chosen as the main
research area, as suburban structures are still poorly investigated because of their relative
newness and complex form. The study covers analysis of centrally collected statistical data with
detail analysis of morphostructure of suburban settlements. This helps to identify zones of
intensive suburban development pressure and establish a link between development processes
(as condition) and the prevailing form of the suburban settlement (as consequence). According
to the studys results, the fragmented urban fabric can prevent future sustainable development of
suburban areas. Closer examination of changes around major Lithuanian cities suggests that
morphological knowledge can upgrade current urban planning and design principles.
Key Words: urban sprawl, suburban development, post-Soviet city, Baltic States.
References
Alistratovait, I. (2004) Transformations of urban morphological structure in the central
business district (on the example of Lithuania), Summary of doctoral dissertation, Vilnius
Gediminas Technical University, Vilnius.
Bruegmann, R. (2005) Sprawl: a compact History (University of Chicago Press, Chicago).
Cirtautas, M. (2013) Urban sprawl of major cities in the Baltic states, Architecture and Urban
Planning 7, 72-79.
Dervus, P. (2013) Postmodern discourse of post-Soviet large housing districts: Modeling the
Possibilities, Architecture and Urban Planning 7, 51-58.
Levy, A. (1999) 'Urban morphology and the problem of the modern urban fabric: some
questions for research', Urban Morphology 3, 79-85.
Sieverts, T. (2003) City without city: Between place and world, space and time, town and
country (Spon Press, London).

79

Spatio-Structural correlates at the Regional and National

scales
Bill Hillier, Miguel Serra
The Bartlett School of Graduate Studies, University College London
E-mail: b.hillier@ucl.ac.uk , m.serra@ucl.ac.uk

Throughout the last 30 years, space syntax has imposed itself as a reliable analytical technique
for quantifying structural properties of urban spatial networks, which have shown to be strongly
associated with a wide range of social and functional urban phenomena. However, space syntax
studies have, until very recently, been almost exclusively dedicated to the inner urban scale territorial scales beyond that of the city have not been systematically explored. In this paper we
take a step in that direction, extending space syntax analysis into the regional and national
scales, through the study of two very-large spatial systems in the UK, namely the complete road
network (1,208,674 nodes) of three contiguous NUTS1 regions (the East of England, South East
of England and Greater London) and the top-tier road network of the entire country (170,007
nodes). We compare the results of such analysis with several types of socio-economic data,
finding clear statistical associations between the structure of those networks and the spatial
distribution of several socio-economic variables. We conclude by arguing that space syntax
models and analysis hold their value at very-large territorial scales, being highly robust and
producing coherent results between datasets of different sources, themes and dimensionalities.
Key Words: space syntax, territorial scale, regional, national.

80

Mind the gap

Francesco Marras
DICAAR- University of Cagliari. E-mail: francesc.marras@gmail.com
The expression mind the gap refers to the act of paying attention to crossing pass from one
element to another. In urban transformation and architecture project it is necessary to reflect on
the concept of distance and crossing in particular in relation to the theme of the change of scale
and especially from urban design to the architectural design and detailed design. Roberto
Gambino talks about the concept of scaling gap, that is a multi-scale approach to urban design
that can go through all the steps of the project and it tries to give control to a transformation.
The method is based on a deep morphological analysis of the territory and the landscape and
detections of elements and invariants inside, after establishing the invariants you are able to
define a formal grid that keeps continuing at all scales of design, starting the territorial scale up
to reach the scale of architectural detail. Supporting this reflection may present a set of projects
that participated in the competition Europan 12 which show that the multi-scale approach can be
a way to control an urban transformation. The site of Hoganas can be considered a research field
of this approach that involves urban, rural and coastal morphologies, and their relationship. The
project at multiple scales can be a basis to monitor and study the existing urban form and to
reflect on the possibilities of future transformations going to define development scenarios and
guidelines for the territories.
Key Words: multi-scale, urban morphology, geography, urban project, landscape.

81

The morphology of conurbation

Dcio Rigatti
Faculdade de Arquitetura e Urbanismo UniRitter Laureate International Universities
E-mail: driga2000@yahoo.com.br

One of the main features of metropolitan regions is the spread of urban fabrics belonging to
different municipalities and their tendency to conurbation. Former relatively isolated parts
slowly tend to connect to each other, making up a spatial unit of a different scale and
complexity where the whole and not only the parts of its structure follow a new logic. The main
goal of this paper is to make a further investigation on how the morphology of conurbation is
produced. By using space syntax methodology, it is possible to understand that when a
conurbation is strong, syntactic measures tend to be more robust that those presented by the
isolated units. This can be measured through the Conurbation Index. From a theoretical model,
eighteen pairs of contiguous municipalities of the Porto Alegre Metropolitan Region were
examined, together with four wider systems made up of three or more contiguous
municipalities. The same methodology used in the theoretical model was applied to two groups
of municipalities, presenting different morphological features. The results so far suggest that,
although spatial contiguity of the urban fabric is required in order to build conurbation, this
condition does not suffice; whenever contiguous urban fabrics share spaces on their borders that
cross the spatial systems, the conurbation becomes stronger; different levels of conurbation,
urban compactness and spatial contiguity not have qualitative implications and correspond to
different roles of the parts in the metropolitan region; emergent processes can produce higher
conurbation indexes among contiguous urban fabrics through the overcome of the centrality and
visibility paradoxes whenever the urban transformations are consistent with both local and
global needs for the functioning of the metropolitan structure as a whole.
Key Words: conurbation, metropolitan regions, urban morphology, space syntax conurbation
index.

82

Configuration of urban grid and the relationship between

apartments building location: case Florianpolis, Brazil
Amanda Corra, Renato Saboya
Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina. E-mail: amanda@carvalhoepatricio.com

The verticalization process is one of the most determining factors of the production and growth
of the cities, since its allow the multiplication of urban land and its profit maximization. The
location is an important factor in this process and, among other things, is related to the
configuration of the urban grid, which conforms to a great extent the pedestrian movement on
the grid (Hillier et al, 1993) and is able to make certain spaces more or less attractive, thus
assigning greater or lesser degree of probability for these areas to be developed or redeveloped.
The aim of this paper is to investigate the patterns of configuration of the urban grids associated
with the location of apartment buildings in the central area in Florianpolis. In order to do this,
we used the Space Syntax Theory (Hillier and Hanson, 1984; Hillier et al, 1987). Its two main
measures, integration and choice, were applied in global (Rn) and local (R3) scales. Both have
been successfully correlated in previous studies with pedestrians and vehicles movements
(Hillier and Iida, 2005), although to capture different properties: the first measures how close a
space is from all others in the system, in terms of changes in direction. The second measures the
degree to which a space falls on the shortest paths between other pairs of spaces. Results show
that apartment buildings are mostly located on both globally (Rn) and locally (R3) highly
integrated spaces. On the other hand, for the choice measure buildings are situated in low global
choice (Rn), and medium to high local choice (R3). Thus, apartment buildings seem to prefer
locations close to the rest of the city, but which, however, prioritize relatively quiet roads
detached from the passageways to other spaces.
Key Words: verticalization, space syntax, configuration of the urban grid.
References
Hillier, B and Hanson, J. (1984) The social logic of space (Cambridge University Press,
Cambridge).
Hillier, B and Lida, S. (2005) Network and psychological effects: A Theory of Urban
Movement, in Cohn, A. and Mark, D. (eds.) Spatial information theory. Lecture notes in
computer science 3603 (Springer, Verlag) 473-490.
Hillier, B et al (1987) Creating life: or, does architecture determine anything?, Architecture
and Behaviour 3,.233-250.
Hillier, B. et al (1993) Natural movement: or, configuration and attraction in urban pedestrian
movement, Environment and planning b: planning and design 20, 2966.

83

Analysis of pedestrian movement: a case study in Balnerio

Cambori/SC
Aline Estela Largura, Renata Franceschet Goettems
Departmente of Architecture and Urbanism, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina
E-mail: alineestela.l@gmail.com , arqrenatagoettems@gmail.com

This article aims to explore the application of space syntax as a tool used to understand the built
environment as well as to understand its importance in the analysis of these spaces. Thus, the
present study took place in the city of Balneario Cambori, using Depthmap program with the
purpose of relating the flow of pedestrians with the analysis of integration maps generated by
this software. We sought to identify its applicability as a tool for identifying more or less flow
in order to propose urban interventions, such as squares in appropriate locations that provide the
greatest use of these public spaces. To survey the possible flows of pedestrians two methods
were used: firstly applied to the survey data, by counting pedestrians in a central belt, where
some roads were chosen according to their uses, and secondly we developed a axial map to
make comparative analysis between the results of the counts and the result of the integration of
maps generated by Depthmap software. Comparing counting pedestrian with maps of
integration can be seen that there are some differences between analysis developed by the
program and used the counts performed at the study site, identified primarily due to some flaws
in the tool that does not allow the inclusion of cultural behavior of each site.
Key Words: space syntax, pedestrians, flows, analysis.

84

Urban morphological methods in Miralles's St Catherines

Courtyard type of urban design
Magdalena Saura
magdalena.saura@upc.edu
The courtyard St Catherines Market is an architectural type of urban space studied
through space syntax mapping and other urban morphology, multi-disciplinary. Post
occupancy analysis evaluates the programmed transformation of the urban fabric around
the courtyard. Almost the whole market, built in 1848 by the demolition of a cloister
and an abbey church, was renovated by the architect Enric Miralles and took a long time
to be built, from 1997 to 2005. Remodeling action improved not only a commercial
structure but also controlled the quality of life of children playing there. The residential
area around the market, and the market itself, were built on the old site of a thirteenthcentury, black friars monastery. Multidisciplinarity in urban morphology has been
achieved in the St. Catherines courtyard case through archaeological, university
research and architectural, urban design practice. Unexpected archaeological remains
appeared at early stages of construction. At that time the author was teaching a graduate
course with Miralles, at the School of Architecture of Barcelona (ETSAB), was
involved in St Catherines research and participated with her students in the
archaeological survey; she advised him to continue renovations by including in his
original project some of the ruins which had been recently found. Foundation walls and
street layouts date from Late Antiquity to Early Christian periods; Miralles drew then
new plans to define the courtyard, public space placed in the back of the market and at
the intersection of the cloister, open space and abbey-church apse. Courtyard defined as
an architectural type as an architectural type because it was constructed first in the
mind of the builders. Typology has been questioned in earlier ISUF debates (Urban
Form, 1997, vol. 1, pp.49-60) and in St Catherine courtyard has provided tools for post
occupancy evaluation through quantitative method of Bill Hillier's Space Syntax
mapping, which has provided in turn a framework for qualitative, ethnographic data
gathering process. The syntax depth model, which Hillier applied in other parts of the
urban environment of Barcelona, maps dating from 1891 to 2005 has been implemented
to the network of courtyards laced around St Catherine. The study includes urban
integration and social interaction (connectivity) by observation of how children use this
in this type of urban spaces planned in the second half of the nineteenth century by
Cerd and renovated today by Miralles and other contemporary architects. To
summarize, post occupancy has recorded use of space of the St Catherine courtyard and
that use has been compared to that of other courtyards built in different periods of time
and very alive today in Barcelona's urban fabric. In future typology debates must
involve a reflection on other urban morphology constructs such as space syntax and
multidisciplinary approaches for understanding transformation of different kinds of
historic, urban spaces.

85

Boundary Line Type (BLT) Mapping: analysing the sociospatial and material interfaces of urban form
Benjamin Vis
School of Geography, University of Leeds. E-mail: B.N.Vis10@leeds.ac.uk

This paper introduces the new research method of Boundary Line Type (BLT) Mapping and
explores its potential for the comparative social study of urban built environments. Differing
from classic urban morphology, BLT Mapping reveals the social functioning of inhabiting
urban form, but aims not to reconstruct historical city development. To this end, the method
views the structure of urban form as a contiguous configuration of socio-spatial and material
interfaces: boundary concepts. The occupiable spatial subdivisions in which urban life takes
place are composed of these built boundaries, which turn out to be highly variable. No other
approach reveals the multiplicity and composition of socio-spatial relations constituting how
spaces of a city are divided. Furthermore, a focus on subdivisions also structures rigorous
reasoning to resolve the ambiguity and fragmentary nature of e.g. archaeological spatial data,
maximising long-term comparative research potential on urban social life without requiring
comprehensive cultural contexts. The fundamental ontology of Boundary Line Types has been
carefully defined and tested on a variety of outline base plans, which convey the ground-level
layout of past and present cities. In keeping with its general social theoretical basis, its
comparative applicability is ensured to be as broad as possible. Preliminary results demonstrate
not only that a variety of mapping sources (archaeological to contemporary) can be used, but
also that both synchronic and diachronic analyses are possible. Furthermore, its comparative
ability is evidenced by successful application on urban traditions as diverse as the ancient Maya
and historical British.
Key Words: mapping method, socio-spatial ontology, urban form, archaeology, urban
geography.

86

Mafalala grammar and the qualitative assessment of their

livability requirements
Pedro Barros, Jos Beiro, David Viana
CIAUD, Faculdade de Arquitetura, Universidade Tcnica de Lisboa, Portugal.
CIESG, Escola Superior Gallaecia, Portugal. E-mail: prbarros.arq@gmail.com.

One of the main challenges in African cities is the rapid expansion of areas of informal
settlements, often regarded as slums. According to the UN-Habitat, Maputo, the capital city of
Mozambique, has 1.3 million inhabitants, of which 70% live in these settlements. Slum cities
grow daily by self-organization where the collective creates rules and builds social and cultural
structures, which are the base for urbanity. The lack of integrated tools to analyse the
complexity of these fabrics hampers the ability to maximize the response of plans and strategies
to these contextual conditions. This paper shows preliminary results of an ongoing research that
aims to develop such tools, integrating generation and evaluation capabilities. It focuses on the
correlation of urban form and spatial quality requirements analyses applied to the Bairro de
Mafalala, one of the oldest slum settlement of Maputo. This methodology uses Stinys Shape
Grammars formalism resorting to its analytical and generative capabilities. The analytical
process enables the identification of the rules that generate informal urban fabrics; hence it
permits the description through Shape Grammars of the emergent phenomenon of the informal.
In other words it will infer the shape rules inherent to the selected sample, Mafalala, defining a
grammar able to capture the syntactic rules of generation of the existent fabric. By comparing
with Branco Pedros neighbourhood indicators we can identify objective qualities and flaws
present in the informal settlements and propose a set of grammar transformations that can
transform the pure representation of slums as they are, into improved structures. The paper
discusses how the proposed method can be used for developing and monitoring urban
interventions based on incremental upgrades resulting from the application of the
transformation.
Key Words: Maputo urban analysis, informal settlements, Shape Grammars, regeneration,
computation.

87

Measuring morphological coherence: a performance criterion

for planning
Olgu alkan, Bardia Mashhoodi
Middle East Technical University, Faculty of Architecture, Department of City and
Regional, Turkey
TU Delft, Department of Urbanism, Julianalaan 134, 2628 BL Delft, The Netherlands.

In the contemporary urbanism, the central role of urban planning is apparently to coordinate
multiple design applications on the basis of a certain regulatory framework. In the context of
complexity, the actual challenge of any (urban) design control system is therefore to ensure
spatial coherence in the larger context of plan applications. However, despite being widely used
for justification of any planning proposal, the concept of urban coherence still needs to be a
concise morphological definition to be utilised as a measurable performance criterion in
planning. In this regard, the paper suggests a method of analysis for the assessment of urban
coherence, which is generated after the long-term application of a design control process.
Following the conceptual and analytical definition of the concept (based on the key
morphological indicators, spatial proximity and consistency), the authors apply the proposed
model of analysis on a series of tissues from the planned urban districts in the Netherlands and
Turkey. Discussing the different design control approaches with reference to the results of the
coherence analysis, the paper basically tends to test the relevance of the method as a tool for
assessing the (morphological) quality of any actual design control process.
Key Words: coherence, spatial pattern, fabric, design control, urban morphology and planning.

88

Generating urban fabrics in the orthogonal and nonorthogonal urban landscapes

Qingyu Gong1 , Jingzhu Li1, Na Wang2, Xuzhou Zhang1
1
Tianjin University, School of Architecture, P.R. China
2
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, USA. E-mail. gong@tju.edu.cn

A good urban form records and is situated in the continuum of urban evolution, which, however,
is interrupted by the bulldozing with top-down plans for large-scale redevelopment. This article
presents two bottom-up approaches based on shape grammars to emulate the intensification
process and generate building footprints in both orthogonal and non-orthogonal urban
landscapes. The planar grammars of both methods are inferred by the existing configuration of
the un-planned coastal and riparian one-story settlements in Tianjin, whereas the overall floorspaces are intended to consist with the current land-use planning. The orthogonal patterns were
implemented in a shape grammar interpreter (SGI) and the non-orthogonal compositions were
derived manually. To create an orthogonal pattern, we scattered transforming labels across the
rule space, and facilitated the growth by the four- or nine- cell neighbourhoods centred on the
labels. By using the SGI, the orthogonal method is also applicable for generating the windows
for faades and roofs. For the non-orthogonal planar grammar, the direction and length of
laneway segments govern the piecemeal growth and global distribution of courtyards. The
results suggest that the grammars may capture some features of the exiting fabrics while achieve
three times the existing FAR as required by the current development in Tianjin. The grammar
rules will provide a systematic urban design tool that can be operated manually or semiautomatically.
Key Words: morphogenesis urbanism, shape grammar, bottom-up, low-rise high density, largescale redevelopment.
Acknowledgements
This work is supported in part by NSFC-51178295 and B13011.

89

A generative design system for interventions in dispersed

territories
rancesco Orsi, Stefano iorito, os uno Beiro
Centro de Investigao em Arquitectura, Urbanismo e Design
Faculdade de Arquitectura da Universidade de Lisboa
E-mail: orsi@fa.utl.pt , fiorito@fa.utl.pt , jnb@fa.utl.pt
Land-consuming practices and overall costs implied by dispersed urbanism constitute serious
issues to the Portuguese territorial management (Carvalho, 2013). Urban and regional policies
able to mitigate such effects are therefore urgently needed. The main goal of our research is to
improve urban performances in such dispersed territories by promoting compactness and
coherence in the urban fabric within the lowest manageable growth ratio. To do so we introduce
an integrated approach based on the comparative analysis of urban form, density indicators and
network configuration. The novel character of the research lies in the use of an urban design
framework (Beir o et al., 2011) connecting spatial databases (GIS) with a parametric design
system embedded in a CAD environment by means of a visual programming interface. This
framework allows for a seamless and interactive workflow of analysis-design-assessment loop
of information accessible any time during the design decision process. Such methodology
allows to cross-reference different kinds of data to be used in urban design (and policy-making
processes) and to fine-tune design hypotheses to match predefined goals and benchmarks. The
research is focused on two case-study areas Sintra and bidos / Caldas da Rainha. They are
analysed first in terms of morphological characteristics, detecting their main urban elements,
then assessed in term of the degrees and type of dispersion, network configuration and finally
compared in terms of statistical data about economic activities and land value seeking for
patterns of correlations between the urban form and the amount of social and economic activity
of a place.
Key Words: generative design system, density studies, GIS, dispersed urbanism.
References
Beir o, J., Nourian, P., Mashhoodi, B. (2011) Parametric urban design: An interactive
sketching system for shaping neighborhoods (eCAADe 2011, Ljubljiana).
Carvalho, J. (2013) Ocupao dispersa. Custos e benefcios escala local (Direco-geral do
Territrio. Lisboa).

90

An area structure approach for town plan analysis

Stephen Marshall
Bartlett School of Planning, UCL. E-mail: s.marshall@ucl.ac.uk

A town plan may be interpreted as a geometric object: as such, there is an inherent mathematical
underpinning to urban morphology by town plan analysis. This paper presents research which
makes this mathematical aspect explicit and uses it to analyse urban morphological structure, by
identifying morphological elements as areas and area structures. An area structure is an
abstraction from the town plan, which omits some geometric details but is not as abstract as a
graph (e.g. Krger, 1979) nor as limited as linear representations of urban space. An area
structure maintains relationships of containment (e.g. building footprints within plots) and
continuity of plot boundaries (e.g. retaining identity of plot series) and so helps focus on items
of typical morphological interest (e.g. Kropf, 2011). Hence, building footprints, plots, plot
series, blocks and street-space can all be represented as areas, and their relationships analysed
and compared. This approach may be applied to any morphological investigation employing
town plan analysis. A newly advanced system of area structure analysis is presented, making
explicit patterns of containment, subdivision, part-whole relations, and typical urban syntax
relationships (Marshall, 2009). Area structure attributes are contrasted with geometric and graph
theoretical representations, and suggested axioms are set out. Sample town plans area structures
labelled with a symbolic notation are used to identify and quantify different kinds of plot series
in relation to building types (terraces, etc.). The paper reflects on the scope of urban
morphology and town plans in relation to other kinds of morphological structure at different
scales.
Key Words: representation, geometry, urban syntax, morphological elements, town plan
analysis.
References
Kropf, K. (2011) Morphological Investigations: Cutting into the Substance of Urban Form,
Built Environment 37, 393-408.
Krger, M. J. T. (1979) An approach to built-form connectivity at an urban scale: system
description and its representation, Environment and Planning B: Planning and Design 6,
67-88.
Marshall, S. (2009) Cities, Design and Evolution (Routledge, Abingdon).

91

The intensity of smallness and urban character. The case

studies of Yanesen and Jiyugaoka precincts in Tokyo
Milica Muminovi
Faculty of Science and Technology, Keio University, Japan
E-mail: arh.muminovic@hotmail.rs

The smallness represents an important quality of urban character in Tokyo. This characteristic
can be found at all scales of built environment: from the architectural detail all the way to the
urban scales of whole neighbourhoods. This paper focuses on the intensity of smallness which is
produced in the structure of built environment. The research explores qualities formed through
the relationships between elements of built environment rather than those deriving from the
elements themselves. The objective of the paper is to develop a method in order to analyse the
intensity of smallness in built environment. The research aims to explore the ways in which
intensity of smallness is assembled by elements of built environment (streets, blocks and
building footprint) and how that intensity contributes to the particular character of the place.
The analysis of the relationships between elements of built environment is developed based on
the statistical classification model of standard deviation and uses the Arc GIS software. The
intensity of smallness is explored through mapping of two case studies in Tokyo, Yanesen and
Jiyugaoka. Both areas have distinct urban character, the former deriving from the past and
historical urban landscapes and the latter based on the stylish family oriented home town. The
paper discusses relationships between intensity of smallness and urban character through
comparison of these two precincts. The results show differences in diversity and distribution of
the intensity of smallness that supports the distinctive urban character of Yanesen and
Jiyugaoka.
Key Words: relationships, intensity; smallness, built environment, standard deviation.

92

Mapping micromorphologies using 3D surveying technology:

Qilou architecture in the Xiguan district of Guangzhou
Leigh Shutter
Griffith School of Environment, Griffith University. E-mail: l.shutter@griffith.edu.au

In recent decades there has been rapid development in the capability of geospatial analysis and
simulation technology and software, creating new opportunities and perspectives for the
analysis and understanding of urban form. A thread of this work has focused on laser scanning
techniques and the rapidly evolving technology facilitating the real time production of
dimensionally accurate virtual models of physical settings. Much of the focus has been on
recording single iconic and culturally significant buildings, however, current development of
this technology is now enabling the survey of larger urban areas and this offers new potential for
urban morphology. More accurate and extensive surveys can be completed in a fraction of the
time taken using traditional techniques. This new capability now enables the accelerated
mapping of urban precincts, and the compilation of data rich models of urban areas not
previously surveyed. In turn the virtual models produced provide a platform to measure,
compare and analyse urban forms in ways not previously possible. This paper will interrogate
the opportunities of this new technology for the discipline with particular reference to a pilot
application to be undertaken in the Xiguan district of Guangzhou in February 2015. The Xiguan
district is to the west of Guangzhou's ancient city core. This important precinct has historically
formed the key foreign gateway to the city. This connection has helped to nurture the
development of the 'Qilou' architectural typology, an indigenous architectural type that evolved
in southern China in the early 20th Century. Qilou incorporates local Chinese characteristics
while also displaying a blend of architectural qualities present in buildings of both the East and
West of that period. The use of this building type has had a substantial influence on the
changing urban pattern of the precinct. The 3D survey of the precinct will form the basis of an
urban analysis examining the impact of the Qilou typology on the changing urban form.
Key Words: mapping, micromorphology, 3D surveying, Qilou, Xiguan.

93

Typological atlases of block and block-face

Alice Vialard
School of Architecture, Georgia Institute of Technology. E-mail: alicevial@gmail.com

The classification of blocks and block-faces according to several morphological characteristics

is used in this paper as a basis for assessing urban form. Classification aggregates discrete data
into categories which can subsequently become associated with specific considerations,
requirements or solutions regarding city planning and design (Steadman, P. et al. 2000). The
issue, then, is to present similarities, co-variations or contingencies in a meaningful and legible
manner so that the resulting typology of urban conditions can support planning or design
actions. The intent is to represent and characterize urban units according to numerical profiles
and to group them into clusters, using the k-means method (Gil, J. et al. 2012). As a second
step, clusters are depicted on maps to produce typological atlases. They serve to assess existing
urban conditions or test future urban conditions. Two typological atlases are proposed. The first
concerns the morphology of blocks based on shape and size; the second concerns block-faces as
the interface between street and building, coalescing external and internal loads. Syntactic
measures such as metric and directional reach (Peponis, J. et al. 2008) characterize the external
load exercised by the street system and morphological measures such as setbacks and building
frontages (Talen 2005; Oliveira 2013) represent the internal load exerted by buildings. The
typological atlases help visualize the prevailing building and street patterns and facilitate the
evaluation of urban conditions so as to distinguish between saturated areas and areas with
greater potential for future development.
Key Words: block-face, typological atlas, block morphology, metric reach.
References
Gil, J. et al. (2012) On the discovery of urban typologies: data mining the many dimensions of
urban form, Urban Morphology 16, 27.
Oliveira, V. (2013) Morpho: a methodology for assessing urban form Urban Morphology 17,
21-33.
Peponis, J. et al. (2008) The connectivity of streets: reach and directional distance,
Environment and Planning B: Planning and Design 35, 881-901.
Steadman, P. et al. (2000) A classification of built forms, Environment and Planning B:
Planning and Design 27, 73-91.
Talen, E. (2005) Evaluating good urban form in an inner-city neighborhood: An empirical
application Journal of Architectural and Planning Research 22, 204-228.

94

Analysis and modeling of spatial changes: identification and

quantification of urban growth in Florianpolis-SC-Brazil
Raquel Weiss, Alina G. Santiago
Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina
E-mail: rwarqui@hotmail.com , alinagsantiago@hotmail.com
The urbanization process is one of the most remarkable manifestations of human actions on
space, highlighted by the progressive population growth in urban centers. Such growth is what
makes cities big and complex structures, representing the peak of the way of life,
appropriations, transformations and manifestations that humankind is capable of imposing, be
them economic, social, or environmental (Barredo and Demicheli, 2003; Yu and Ng; 2007).
Thus, scenarios with a tangled, intrinsic and dynamic physical and territorial structure emerge,
reflecting the changes in the morphology and functionality of such places, thus becoming urban
spaces rather than rural areas (Herold et al, 2005; Yu and Ng, 2006; Thapa and Murayama,
2009; Ramachandra et al, 2012). Among the trends in urban expansion, it can be highlighted
urban sprawl, characterized by low density, fragmented, poli-nuclear, and often uncontrolled
urban dispersion (Inostroza, Baur and Csaplovics, 2013). Considering this, and taking as case
study the city of Florianpolis-SC-Brazil, marked by the distribution of several urban nuclei
consolidated throughout its insular territory, the present study aims at understanding, identifying
and quantifying the dynamics and spatial organizations of the city areas. In order to do so,
spatial-temporal analyses of land use through photo interpretation in GIS platforms of
representative spatial cutouts representing different existing urban morphologies have been
conducted. Besides that, geoprocessing techniques and the use of spatial metrics are employed
in the evaluation and classification of variables through numeral indicators. Thus, the mapping
and quantification of the alterations represented by Human vs Space interaction throughout the
analyzed period allows a better understanding and a higher accuracy of the spatial dynamic
processes.
Key Words: urban morphology, spatial metrics, GIS, spatial-temporal analysis, urban sprawl.
References
Barredo, J. L. and Demicheli, L. (2003) Urban sustainability in developing countries
megacities: modeling and predicting future urban growth in Lagos, Cities 20, 297310.
Herold, M., Couclelis, H. and Clarke, C. (2005) The role of spatial metrics in the analysis and
modeling of urban land use change, Computers, Environment and Urban Systems 29, 369
399.
Inostroza, L., Bauer, R. and Csaplovics, E. (2013) Urban sprawl and fragmentation in Latin
America: A dynamic quantification and characterization of spatial patterns, Journal of
Environmental Management. 115, 87-97.
Ramachandra, T.V., Aithal, B. H. and Sanna, D. D. (2012) Insights to urban dynamics through
landscape spatial pattern analysis, International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and
Geoinformation 18, 329343.
Thapa, R. B. and Murayama, Y. (2009) Examining spatiotemporal urbanization patterns in
Kathmandu Valley, Nepal, Remote Sensing 1, 534556.
Yu, J. X. and Ng, C. N. (2007) Spatial and temporal dynamics of urban sprawl along two
urbanrural transects, Landscape and Urban Planning 79, 96109.
Yu, X. and Ng, C. (2006) An integrated evaluation of landscape change using remote sensing
and landscape metrics: a case study of Panyu, Guangzhou, International Journal of Remote
Sensing 27, 10751092.

95

Source of resilience in the urban form of Naiwan area in

Kesennuma
Toshihiko Abe, Shigeru Satoh
Institute of Urban and Region, Waseda University
Dept. of Architecture,Waseda Univ. E-mail: abetoshi@aoni.waseda.jp

Kesennuma City, which is in Northern part of the Miyagi Prefecture in Japan, was struck by the
Tsunami in March 11th, 2011. The city has an area of 46 square kilometers, and that of 9.6
square kilometers, 20.5% of the area, were flooded. Reconstruction of city center, Kesennuma
Naiwan area, was making little headway, since stakeholders have focused their arguments on
the seawall construction. In fact, they should have more discussion about comprehensive
reconstruction, including land-use plan, scenery and townscape, which would give the vibrancy
around the waterfront. After two years after the earthquake, they established Community
Conference organization comprising city planners and architects, and the recovery program has
made by citizens, and progressing towards revival. There are two sources of the power of the
resilience is in the urban form of Naiwan area. One is the dynamic urban form structured by
townscape updated again and again taking in an advanced architectural design from overseas at
every tsunami and conflagration. The other is static urban form, consisting of landscape, the sea
and a mountain weave, climate, and scenery. The object of this research is to clarify the urban
form that contributes to develop the resilient city, through the study on the contents and the
process of making the recovery program of Naiwan area.
Key Words: Tsunami, resilience, seawall, scenary, hazardous area.

96

Sao Paulo: a legal reading of urban form

Eliana Barbosa
Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie So Paulo,
Faculty of Architecture Universiteit Katholieke Leuven, Faculty of Sciences, Landscape
Architecture Universidade do Porto. E-mail: queirozeliana@hotmail.com

To those who are not used to it, the complexity of Sao Paulos urban landscape is commonly
described as chaotic. Waisman (2012) while dealing with Latin American cities in general, pleas
the opposite. The author sustains the necessity of developing news conceptual tools, enabling
the proper reading of urban phenomena, developed according to the local context, which are
engraved by time-space discontinuities in its developments. The typology, she argues, cannot be
defined as a symbolic and structuring element in this context, since it does not hold symbolic
and historic sedimentation, quite the opposite, it is the driver of change, a symbol of
transformation (Waisman, 2012).The paper intends to explore analytical instruments which are
capable of dealing with the complexity of the citys urban form, developing a legal reading of
urban morphology, in which typology appears as a consequence, not a cause, of the urban form.
This way, a comparative analysis is proposed, using the city of Sao Paulo and different
fragments as an Object, in which three different urban samples (the neighbourhoods of Santa
Ceclia, Jardim Paulistano and Vila Leopoldina), mainly developed according to different urban
regulations (Masterplan of 1954, Zoning Law of 1972, Parcelling Law of 1979, and
Materpland/Zoning 2002), will be tackled. The aim is to identify the possible influences of each
urban regulation in the rise and fall of certain typologies in the city and understand in which
ways these urban regulations contributed to the urban morphology in the city.
Key Words: urban form in the south, urban regulations, contemporary typology, high rise, urban
morphology.
References
Waisman, M. (2012) O interior da Histria (Perspectiva, So Paulo).

97

Air oriented urban form: to develop an Eco-City in the

tropical urban area
Md Mustiafiz AL Mamun, Anjuman Ara Begum
Department of Architecture, Chittagong University of Engineering & Technology,
Chittagong; Doshomik Sthapathi. E-mail: mustiafiz@gmail.com
The quality of citys living environment spaces has an impact on all aspects of life. It is essential
that the spaces we create and improve through the principles of sustainable urban planning will
influence how we feel. For the fast expansion of globalization with the unplanned organization
of an urban area has affected to develop a citys sustainability within the means of the
environments, social and economical foundations. However, those inappropriate approaches of
development strategies such as, citys geometric force of density, undefined land-use pattern,
different transformation systems and build forms could tremendous change to our urban
climatology. Air circulation as one of the most prominent urban principles of urban climate is an
effective question for our local and global area where air circulation flows are discontinuing by
different level of building form, its height, wrong orientation and building to building buffering
spaces. Due to no contact with sunlight, some buildings are obtained cold temperature and
during seasonal change it absorbs more cold temperature and increase running expenditure with
discomfort living situation. On the other hand, sun orientated surfaces of the build forms are
also absorb heat and urban areas temperature extensively space heater than its surrounding
rural areas. In this paper we focus on urban build-form orientations, analysis those, its
performance and how to reduce solar heat grain through the sustainable indicators of proper air
flow circulations to develop an eco-city in the tropical area.
Key Words: air circulation, orientation, urban form, eco-city, built environment.

98

Urban form regulation methods: Garden City and Low Carbon

Cities
Joana Mouro
DINAMIACET-IUL, ISCTE. E-mail: jfmmo@iscte.pt

The control of atmospheric emissions is an objective of urban form regulation, at least since the
XIX century, when the effects of the industrial revolution turned visible in the urban
environment. At the beginning of the XIX century, Climate Change and Our Common Future
challenges brought this environmental concern again to urban form research and planning,
demanding specific urban form regulation methods to control urban Greenhouse Gases
Emissions (CO2). Analysing the concepts of smokeless cities and of low carbon cities this
article analysis the ecological purposes of urban form regulation methods (on what concerns to
urban atmospheric emissions control) in different times of Urban Planning. First, it analyses the
concept proposed by Ebenezer Howard for the formation of urban form (1898) in England;
secondly, it analyses an experimental low carbon urban form regulation method, proposed by
the author and tested in municipalities in Portugal (PhD, 2012). This article evidences that,
although it is not possible to identify a unique ecological urban form, nor an universal method
for ecological urban form regulation, it is important to use specific methods for urban form
regulation in order to achieve a more sustainable urban future. The relation between urban
form regulation and the control of ecological performance of cities and territories will be
discussed, on what concerns to energy demand and its environmental externalities (e.g.
atmospheric emissions), within the framework of ecological urban planning practices trough
time.
Key-Words: urban form, garden city, climate change; carbon balance; ecological urban
planning.

99

Analysis of tools and patterns for assessment of urban

sustainability to promote design quality
rika Otto, Liza Andrade, Natlia Lemos
Faculdade de Arquietura e Urbanismo Universidade de Braslia - Brasil.
E-mail: erika_passosotto@hotmail.com , lizamsa@gmail.com ,
lemos.natalia@gmail.com

This research on methods and requirements to forward urban environmental regeneration aims
to investigate the requirements and patterns of assessment of urban sustainability to the process
of urban design. In the environmental certification of urban developments there is a wide range
of evaluation methods that work different versions developed and disseminated by various
countries and organizations. In Brazil, the main evaluation methods adopted focus at
classificatory typology (LEED-ND - EUA; AQUA/HQE - French and Selo Azul/CE - Brazil).
Even adopting different criteria, the quantitative system is common to achieve the certificate.
But none of them deals directly to the spatial shape or patterns as qualitative parameters of
architectural and urban projects. As a methodology aimed to the urban environmental
regeneration, it integrates studies of ecological urbanism principles for resilient cities (Spirn,
2011) and the principles of sustainability urban environmental (Andrade, 2008), relating them to
patterns of Alexander et al (1977) identified by Moehlecke (2010). The patterns illustrate
design strategies through the auxiliary codes for project process, and offer interventions that
designed more sustainable human settlements. For the in depth examination, research picked the
method of BREEAM Communities (UK) by his approximate approach with projective
parameters that mitigate impacts of the built environment. This method related with 108 patterns
selected by Moehlecke (2010) that has brought satisfactory results showing the contemplation of
the categories of sustainability in social, economic and environmental dimensions. Also, it
allows to check other certification systems, resulting in great quality for the project.
Key Words: urban regeneration, sustainability principles, urban patterns, environmental
certification.
References
Alexander, C. et al (1977) A Pattern Language (Oxford University Press, New York).
Andrade, L. M. S. (2008) Princpios de sustentabilidade para a reabilitao de assentamentos
urbanos, in Romero, M. A. B. (ed.) Reabilitao ambiental sustentvel arquitetnica e
urbanstica (PPG-FAU/UnB. Braslia), 344-411.
Moehlecke, J. (2010)Uma contribui o para o desenvolvimento de assentamentos humanos
mais sustentveis: identificao de padres urbanos relacionados aos princpios de
sustentabilidade, Master thesis, UFRGS, Porto Alegre.
Spirn, A.W. (2011) Ecological Urbanism: a framework for the design of resilient cities
(Massachusetts Institute of technology).

100

The implication of the adoption of ICT on the fractal

dimension of urban systems of Lagos megacity
Oluyemi Akindeju
Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Faculty of Environmental Sciences,
University of Lagos, Nigeria. E-mail: email.fakindeju@unilag.edu.ng

Lagos, a rapidly urbanizing morphological entity, as the only Megacity in Nigeria and
the other of the only two in Africa, has been studied with much efforts directed at the
functional aspect of urban evolution without consideration for the geometric evolution
of cities and what influences these patterns/form. These approaches have dwelled on
euclidean geometry which isn't sufficient to explain or predict a complex phenomenon
such as (Lagos) Megacity. More importantly, when the adoption of Information and
Communication Technology (ICT) influences the city morphology. This paper therefore
considers the fractal analysis imprints of African urban morphology as influenced by the
ICT thereby providing avenues to understand and predict emerging African cities'
morphology. Comparative Analysis of the Spatio-Temporal attributes of selected
communities (both organic and planned)in the Lagos Megacity Region between 1960
and 2010 (using 10 years interval) to determine the fractal qualities and dimension of
the city and consequently a comparism of impact of ICT adoption on the fractal
structure of the selected areas in the Megacity. The study establishes the heterogeneous
properties of urban areas through the Fractal dimension and lacunarity values for the
different communities to be studied thereby being able to justify the non -functionality
of generalized policies adopted by the existing planning legislation and agencies. As
well as outline the trend of spread in the adoption of ICT on city form. This will
inherently have implications on the transport, health, informality, city administration,
housing, governance, technology adoption, sustainability of infrastructure and other
areas of concern.
Key Words: city morphology, fractal dimension, ICT, lacunarity, Lagos megacity.

101

The study of territorial development cycles and settlement

morphologies through of geosimulation techniques
Giampiero Lombardini
Dipartimento di Scienze per lArchitettura, University of Genoa (I)
E-mail: g.lombardini@arch.unige.it

The urbanization of recent decades has radically changed the original morphology of the
territorial systems. Recognize the traces of long-term urban and territorial plants, on a large
scale, can help land use policies and building control and design, in order to make the
settlements more sustainable (in terms of environmental and landscape perspectives) and
consistent with the process of their historic formation. The aim of the paper is to analyze the
long-term urban plan for the whole territory of the coastal and its villages and boroughs of
Eastern Liguria. Settlements are analyzed together with the basic territorial structures that have
generated them during the historic long period. The study starts from the diachronic reading of
cycles of territorial development that have gradually formed the present settlement. The matrix
elements that determine the shape of the settlements are, in the first instance, the paths and the
plot (including land uses), detectable by comparing different historical maps. In our hypothesis,
settlement morphologies are derived from these two basic elements of spatial configuration.
Subsequently small towns, villages, boroughs, farmhouses, together with their county territories,
are classified into morpho-territorial typologies that characterize different geographical areas
(valleys, coastal zones, rivers, ridges). The representation of the settlement into different
temporal stages is the result of processing carried out through the use of GIS and spatial
morphological analysis techniques. In particular, we have used simulation models based on
cellular automata. Through geosimulation techniques it is possible to rebuild both the process of
formation and transformation of the settlements, and to represent the structure of long-term of
territorial morpho-types. The use of the techniques of geosimulation also allows the
construction of scenarios in which it is represented how the process of urbanization of the last
50 years has radically altered the original settlement structures and also allows us to represent
the possible evolutions of the settlement system.
Key Words: morphology, territorial development cycles, geosimulation, GIS, long-term urban
and territorial.

102

Modeling urban growth patterns across geographical scales by a

fractal diffusion aggregation approach
Roberto Murcio
Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis, University College London,
1ST Floor, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1T 4TJ, UK. E-mail: r.murcio@ucl.ac.uk

A multi-scale urban growth model to capture the different spatial morphologies and urban
dynamics observed when more than one city is interacting on a specific region is introduced. To
model growth at local scale, our model is based on two well-known fractal growth process:
diffusion and percolation (Makse et. al., 1998; Witten and Sander, 1981; Meakin, 1998; Batty
2007), in order to represent two of the main urban growth drivers: people migration and
economics of agglomeration respectably (Korotayev et al., 2006; Fujita,2002); growth at
regional scale is derived from a Self-Organized Criticality (Bak and Tang, 1987) model adapted
for urban interactions to explore the possible relations between avalanches and cities
redensification processes. Our model intends to provide a better understanding about the
complex dynamics that eventually controls and regulate the spatial distribution of towns over
the physical terrain. We address the inherent complex nature of cities and systems of cities in
global terms, given up local information which is normally coming from small scale human
decisions. From this, experiments are performed to simulate the spatial distribution of the urban
areas, particularly, the Greater London Area. The emerging patters obtained from our model,
without external tuning, give us a clue about cities self-organization capabilities, and how these
patterns at small scales are almost independent of the process taking place in larger ones.
Key Words: urban models, cities, aggregates, fractals.
References
Makse, H.A., Andrade Jr, J.S., Batty, M., Havlin, S., Stanley, H.E. (1998) Modeling urban
growth patterns with correlated percolation, Phys. Rev. E 58 7054.
Witten, T.A., Sander, L.M. (1981) Diffusion-limited aggregation, a kinetic critical
phenomenon, Phys. Rev. Lett. 47 1400.
Meakin, P. (1998) Fractals, Scaling and Growth Far from Equilibrium (Cambridge University
Press, MA).
Batty,M. (2007) Cities and Complexity: Understanding Cities with Cellular Automata, AgentBased Models, and Fractals (The MIT Press, MA).
Korotayev, A., Malkov, A., Khaltourina, D. (2006) Introduction to Social Macro Dynamics:
Secular Cycles and Millennial Trends (Moscow).
Fujita, M., Thisse, J.F. (2002) Economics of Agglomeration. Cities, Industrial Location, and
Regional Growth (Cambridge University Press, MA).
Bak P.,Tang C.,Wiesenfeld K. (1987) Self-organized criticality, Phys. Rev. A 38, 364.

103

Hybrid cellular automaton agent-based model of informal

peripheral development in Latin American cities
Alexandre Santos, Maurcio Polidori, Otvio Peres, Marcus Saraiva
Laboratrio de Urbanismo da Universidade Federal de Pelotas
E-mail: alexandre.pereira.arq@gmail.com , mauricio.polidori@gmail.com ,
otmperes@gmail.com , marcus.saraiva@gmail.com

The study of the complex dynamics that engage urban form presents powerful instruments to
understand the driving forces of contemporary urban development. The research intends to test
traditional urban growth tendencies against informal development mechanisms and decision
making behaviours of cooperation and competition in geosimulated environments. The
empirical objectives are to investigate the morphological patterns of peripheral poverty and its
interactions in which accessibility, centrality and urbanization potential (Krafta 1994; Polidori
2004) have played important parts sided by informal processes from Latin-American
contemporary cities (Barros 2004; Batty, Barros, and Alves-Junior 2004). The paper will
present a theoretical review of agent-based models (Heppenstall et al. 2012; Macal and North
2010) in cellular environments stressing urban growth and decision making processes (Epstein
and Axtell 1996; Axelrod 1997) and a proposal for a hybrid agent-based model in cellular space.
The contemplated model expands the CityCell modelling framework (Saraiva, Polidori, and
Peres 2013) by including the interpretation of the models landscape composed of explicit
urban, institutional and natural features by heterogeneous collective agents which settle and
promote growth in cooperative or competitive dynamics according to each agents preferences
and hierarchy. The expected result is a landscape of urban development intensities, natural
features and agent-types concentration which should allow one to analyse urban form expansion
and fragmentation, socioeconomic segregation, urban policies effects and other issues.
This work succeeds the research by the LabUrb/UFPEL (Polidori 2004; Peres 2010; Toralles
2013; Saraiva 2013) which has yielded insights on the linkages between urban morphology,
social and environmental attributes through emergent urban phenomena simulation focused on
temporal and spatial dynamics.
Key Words: urban morphology, urban growth, social process dynamic simulation, cellular
automata, agent-based models.
References
Axelrod, R. M. (1997) The Complexity of Cooperation: Agent-Based Models of Competition
and Collaboration (Princeton University Press, Princeton).
Barros, J. X. (2004) Urban Growth in Latin American Cities Exploring Urban Dynamics
through
Agent-Based
Simulation
(University
College
London,
London:).
http://www.dpi.inpe.br/cursos/environmental_modelling/joana_phd_thesis.pdf.
Batty, M., Barros, J. X. and Alves-Junior, S. (2004) 'Cities: Continuity, Transformation, and
Emergence' CASA Working Papers 72.
Epstein, J. M. and Axtell, R.. (1996) Growing Artificial Societies: Social Science from the
Bottom Up (Brookings Institution Press, Washington DC).
Heppenstall, A. J; Crooks, A. T.; See, L. M. and Batty, M. (2012) Agent-Based Models of
Geographical Systems. Edited by Alison J. Heppenstall, Andrew T. Crooks, Linda M. See,
and Michael Batty. Dordrecht, Heidelberg, London, New York: Springer.
Krafta, R. (1994) 'Modelling Intraurban Configurational Development' Environment and
Planning B: Planning and Design 21, 6782.

104

Macal, C. M. and North, M. J. (2010) 'Tutorial on agent-based modelling and simulation'

Journal of Simulation 4, 151162.
Peres, O. M. (2010) Crescimento Urbano e Hidrografia: Dinmicas Morfolgicas e Articulao
Paisagem Natural (Universidade Federal de Pelotas).
Polidori, M. C. (2004) 'Crescimento urbano e ambiente: Um estudo exploratrio sobre as
transformaes e o futuro da cidade', PhD Thesis, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do
Sul, Porto Alegre
Saraiva, M. V. P. (2013) Simulao de crescimento urbano em espaos celulares com uma
medida de acessibilidade: Mtodo e estudo de caso em cidades do sul do Rio Grande do Sul
(Universidade Federal de Pelotas).
Saraiva, M. V. P.; Polidori, M. C. and Peres, O.M. (2013) CityCell (Pelotas: Laboratrio de
Urbanismo LABURB).
Toralles, C. P. (2013) Cidade e crescimento perifrico: Modelagem e simulao da formao de
periferias urbanas com autmatos celulares (Universidade Federal de Pelotas, Pelotas).
http://prograu.ufpel.edu.br/uploads/biblioteca/cidade_e_crescimento_periferico_dissertacao_
cptoralles_mar2013ufpel.pdf.

105

Simulation of urban growth on cellular spaces using

accessibility measures
Marcus Saraiva, Mauricio Polidori, Otvio Peres, Alexandre Santos
Laboratory of Urbanism, Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism of the Federal
University of Pelotas, Brazil. E-mail: marcus.saraiva@gmail.com.br

This work is committed to verify the capability of an accessibility measure to identify areas
prone to high urban growth, related to the presence of higher locational advantages. This issue is
addressed via urban modeling, using techniques of urban growth simulation based on cellular
automata. Accessibility measures have proven effective in studies about the urbanized space and
the natural landscape, with theoretical and methodological similarities. An expanded version of
one of such measures is proposed, called Weighted Accessibility, considering the characteristics
of the surrounding city, both natural and modified by human action. This measure was
implemented in a cellular environment and used in a dynamic urban growth model. The model
was tested in southern Rio Grande do Sul cities. Two types of constraints external to the city
were considered: i) environmental factors, represented by the topography and hydrography ii)
anthropic factors, represented by the city traffic network. These conditions were grouped into
four scenarios: i) absence of external factors; ii) presence of anthropic factors; iii) presence of
environmental factors; iv) simultaneous presence of environmental and anthropic factors.
Evaluations were made using techniques of cell-by-cell comparison and fuzzy similarity. The
best results were obtained in simulations that considered the influence of environmental factors
alone or in combination with anthropic factors. These results suggest that city surroundings have
an important influence on the urban growth process and that this influence can be identified by
the accessibility measure at issue.
Key Words: urban growth, accessibility, environment, urban modelling, computer simulation.

106

Connections and spatial patterns of urban ecosystems for

water sensitive urban design in the Housing Sector Taquari DF Brazil
Liza Andrade, Shinelle Hills, Raquel Blumenschein
Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism - University of Brasilia - Brazil.
E-mail: lizamsa@gmail.com , shinelle.hills@gmail.com , raquelblum@terra.com.br

In Brazil, the urban planners work using a multidisciplinary approach that contributes to the
analysis in the global plan of the urban structure, create order. However, there are no
connections, as occurs in the organic order (Alexander et al, 1978) established from the richness
of patterns of spatial heterogeneity found on the local scale (Cadenasso and Pickett, 2013).
This research has as objective to make important connections between the disciplinary field of
Urban Design and Ecology of the city through the study of spatial patterns of urban ecosystems
to contribute to the building of a method with transdisciplinary approach to the process of water
sensitive urban design (WSUD). The area chosen for the application of the method, the
expansion of the Housing Sector Taquari, in Asa Nova Norte, cited by Lucio Costa, in The
Basin of the Lake Parano, in Federal District, a region characterized by high environmental
sensitivity with several water courses. After evaluating the Spatial Syntax map and the
guidelines of the plans of the territory, it was found that these direct the parceling out of land for
low density occupation, do not promote the urbanity and mobility and, consequently, stimulate
social exclusion. As a way to illustrate new scenarios, new spatial patterns (Alexander et al,
1977) were systematized and applied in process of the project to promote a water sensitive
urban design for the Phase 2 plot. In this way, it is expected to help the sustainability of water
resources in the region, promoting social and environmental justice.
Key Words: ecology of the city, the water sensitive urban design, transdisciplinary, patterns of
organization, urban sustainability.
References
Alexander, C et al. (1977) A pattern language (Oxford University Press, London).
Alexander, C et al. (1978) Urbanismo y parcipacin (Editorial Gustavo Gilli, Barcelona).
Cadenasso, M. L. and Pickett, S.T.A (2013) ThreeTides: The development and state of urban
ecological science, in: Pickett, S.T.A., Cadenasso, M .L. and McGrath, B. Resilience in
ecology and urban design. Linking theory and practice for sustainable cities (Springer
Science. New York) 29-46.

107

Mapping urban village as a form of urban ecology

Pingping Dou, Wowo Ding
School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Nanjing University, China
E-mail: pinnydou@gmail.com

Urban village is a by-product of the rapid development of Chinese cities and is often treated
negatively as an unplanned and undisciplined phenomenon. One of the key characteristics of
urban village is the co-existence of urban high-density and rural land ownership, which results
in a compromised urban form of economy, policy and everyday life. This paper takes Shenzhen,
the migrant city with a total number of over 300 urban villages, as the case study city, to build
up an in-depth understanding of this distinctive urban form. We conduct field studies of selected
urban villages that represent various urban locations and developmental stages, and then
develop a method of mapping these urban villages in a multi-dimensional, context-sensitive and
quantitative manner, thus facilitating a richly layered description of this collective urban form.
By analysing the achieved mappings, the study improves the understanding of urban village in
three aspects: first, it deciphers the underlying formative logic of this urban form; second, it
identifies the evolutionary processes of this urban form; third, it proposes urban village as a
form of self-sustained ecological sub-system that is sympathetic to the larger urban ecology.
Key Words: urban village, mapping, evolution, urban ecology.

108

Systemic analysis as tools for interaction. The case of Lyon

Part-Dieu district
Guillaume Meunier
4, rue Ibarruri,TSA 80006,F-93188 Montreuil, France. E-mail: g.meunier@elioth.fr
One of the future challenges of building evaluation is the management of an increasing number
of data. Whether we talk about the environment, acoustics or building itself, the information
available or desirable in order to understand the situation is only growing. Worse, the evolution
of a project on its entire life-cycle cannot be read in the light of one isolated information, but it
can be addressed on indicators that provide a systemic approach to a set of changing factors. It
is in this context that we sought to find a way to aggregate, analyse, evolve and present
environmental information on the neighborhood level. The first idea is to use a database of the
area and to create a data warehouse by injecting data we create or get from various sources:
heterogeneous data must be made consistent and standardized. Then we need to visualize those
data but our concern was to be more realistic and less diagrammatic so we use a 3D modeler to
really see things. The 3D modeler was then the enhanced platform that interacts and visualizes
data evolution over time. We propose also to share our experience in the case study of the
district of Lyon Part-Dieu in France. First part will be about systemic analysis Second part will
be on visualization Third part will be the case study We will conclude with the feedback we've
had on our project and what future improvements can be made.
Key Words: systemic, interaction, tools, analysis, datawarehouse.

109

Understanding the relationship between urban form and microclimate

conditions in urban planning
Kattia Villadiego Bernal
ABC Laboratory - National School of Architecture - ENSAM
CIRTA Laboratory, Institute for Urbanism and Regional Planning (IUAR) IUAR,
Aix-Marseille University. E-mail: katth27@hotmail.com

The impact of urban form on microclimate conditions has been established by several
investigations (Makaremi et al., 2012; Mallick, 1996). Energy consumption, vulnerability of
cities and human thermal comfort are all affected by climate. We are particularly concerned
about human thermal comfort, especially in cities with hot and humid climates. In many such
cities socio-economic conditions do not permit residents to avoid uncomfortable thermal
conditions. We carried out a survey in Barranquilla (Colombia), a tropical city with 1,193,952
inhabitants. Using tools and knowledge from urban climatology (Stewart, 2011), we classified
the urban forms of the city by taking into account the parameters related to microclimate at the
street scale. Results confirm the fact that adaptation plays an important role in thermal comfort,
as other authors have suggested (Nikolopoulou and Lykoudis, 2006). But adaptation is not
synonymous with comfort. Interviews with urban planners and designers (most of them
architects) in Barranquillas Local Urban Planning Department showed that they are not well
familiarized with urban climate knowledge, and as expected, this subject is not being integrated
into the citys urban policy. Planning and urban design can improve difficult thermal conditions,
but first, urban planners need a better understanding of urban climate and more effective
methods and procedures to incorporate climatology and bioclimatology in urban projects and
urban policies. We present our study of urban form and thermal comfort in order to help
architects and urban planners understand climate variables and introduce such considerations in
urban projects to improve thermal comfort.
Key Words: urban form, microclimate, thermal comfort, Barranquilla.
References
Makaremi, N., Salleh, E., Jaafar, MZ, and GhaffarianHoseini, A. (2012) Thermal comfort
conditions of shaded outdoor spaces in hot and humid climate of Malaysia, Building and
Environment 48,7-14.
Mallick, F.H. (1996) Thermal comfort and building design in the tropical climates, Energy
and Buildings 23, 161-167.
Stewart, I. (2011) Redefining urban heat island, Thesis dissertation, The University of British
Columbia, Vancouver.
Nikolopoulou, M. and Lykoudis, S. (2006) Thermal comfort in outdoor urban spaces: analysis
across different European countries, Building and Environment 41, 1455-70.

110

Urban street tree modelling using high polygon 3D models

with photometric daylight systems.
Marcus White, Nano Langenheim
Architecture Building and Planning, University of Melbourne.
E-mail: mrwhite@unimelb.edu.au

The choice of street tree species, size and placement is an integral part of street design in any
city, but particularly in cities with large seasonal temperature variation such as those
experienced in Melbourne, Australia. The arrangement and choice of street tree can make a
street seem too dark in winter or not provide enough shade in summer. Trees have traditionally
been difficult to model digitally and have been considered polygon-heavy (thousands of
polygons) making them computationally prohibitive to use for three-dimensional modelling and
rendering analysis, particularly on an urban design scale. Thus street tree assessment is typically
limited to spreadsheet /database form, two-dimensional plans and sections or photographic
collage to test aesthetic implications. In this paper we discuss methods which bring together
developing research into mathematical algorithm tree simulation, increasing processing power
in affordable personal computers along with improvements in render engines with photometric
daylight analysis along with efficient proxy objects which allow large numbers of highly
detailed three-dimensional representations of trees to be rendered. We discuss the initial results
of this study demonstrating that it is now feasible to use high quality three dimensional polygon
street trees in urban models with photometric daylight analysis. We report that it is now possible
to assess the solar amenity and shade impact of a variety of tree species at different seasonal and
time intervals with an iterative design process allowing multiple scenarios to be tested
effectively in short periods of time.
Key Words: tree modelling, urban modelling, liveability, urban forest.

111

The recomposition of urban public spaces. Case study of the

historic centre of Noale, Italy
Enrico Pietrogrande, Alessandro Dalla Caneva
Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering, University of Padua
E-mail: enrico.pietrogrande@unipd.it
The theme of this paper is the recomposition of public spaces in the ancient town when
compromised by old and recent speculative interventions. The working method is based on the
belief that, in the study of urban morphology, is basic to analyse the history of the city,
clarifying the relationship between permanent structures on the one hand and temporary ones on
the other. The history becomes an indispensable tool to know the deep reasons of the urban
structure which is the memory and the image of the community. The paper is based on
fundamental 1960s studies and following about typological analysis (Aldo Rossi, 1966; Carlos
Mart Ars, 1993) specifically oriented towards the theme of public spaces and establishing
relationships between these ones and private spaces. The spatial aspects and formal image of the
transformations in the city are studied as a premise for the design of the new architecture. Noale,
not far from Treviso (Italy), was one of the subjects the students on the course of Architectural
and Urban Composition 2 at the Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural
Engineering of the University of Padua specifically investigated as an opportunity to redesign
the unity of the historic centre of this town that had previously been lost. The order and
hierarchy of the elements that characterize the form of this old place has been compromised by
subsequent actions of speculation operated in the second half of the twentieth century. The
ancient town is used as a case study in which the analysis and proposals for a new urban design
concentrate.
Key Words: public space, urban analysis, identity of the community, memory, history as a tool
for the project.
References
Rossi, A. (1966) Larchitettura della citt (Marsilio Editori, Padua).
Mart Ars, C. (1993) Le variazioni dellidentit. Il tipo in architettura (CittStudi, Milan).

112

Landscape design method toward tops of surrounding

mountains in Japanese castle towns
Keisuke Sugano, Shigeru Satoh
Graduate School of Science and Eng., Waseda University, Japan
E-mail: keisukesugano@gmail.com

The crowned mountaintops of almost all Japanese castle towns are visible from the streets. This
landscape composition is common in Japan and, evidently, in most countries of East Asia,
seeking to pay respects to mountains and Nature with belief a landscape design worthy of
consideration. Yet, although this landscaping phenomenon can be verified via large scaled map
or field inspection, the landscape design with specific aims, religious worshiping for example,
must be processed with scientific methods for accuracy. Thus, this paper concerns itself with the
relation between mountaintop and centerline of street; accurate typological locations cannot be
pinpointed to serve the aimed landscape design without applying GIS and GPS. This research,
based on street location variation, seeks to manifest the landscape characters and mountain
variances with the following three points. First, the centerline of main street as Towns frame
must be mathematically linked to the mountaintop; accordingly, the towns streets may be built
using the mountaintop as reference point for measure. Second, streets being towns details, the
street-centerlines do not always perpendicularly face the mountaintop. As the street bends, the
mountain view changes; the mountaintop leans and shifts, also. This is landscape aesthetics; the
mountain view must be grasped visibly from the streets, whilst designing the town. Third, for
the mountain as sacred object, the worshiping paths of temples and shrines must be accurately
measured to face the sacred mountaintop.
Key Words: landscape design method, Sacred Mountain, castle town, GIS, GPS.

113

Measuring urban canyons with a real-time sky view factor

modelling
Marcus White
Architecture Building and Planning, University of Melbourne.
E-mail: mrwhite@unimelb.edu.au

Many Australian cities are currently experiencing rapid urbanisation and densification with the
unintended consequence of creating dense city fabric with deep urban canyons. Dense urban
areas have a profound impact on the local atmospheric conditions in particular, the urban heat
island (UHI) which can increase temperatures within urban centres considerably when
compared to surrounding rural areas. As Australian cities are presently experience record heat
waves with temperatures in excess of 40 degrees Celsius for five consecutive days, there is a
critical need to better understand urban form and heat retention in city centres urban heat
island effect (UHI) and the associated heat related morbidity. This paper describes the
development of a new three-dimensional analysis approach based on a modified daylight
modelling system to improve an established method of UHI prediction sky view factor (SVF).
A rapid SVF is calculated in a digital modelling and visualisation environment allowing
iterative design decision making informed by UHI and SVF impacts on an urban design scale.
The new technique provides real-time SVF feedback for of complex three-dimensional urban
scenarios enabling city designers to have a greater understanding of existing and proposed urban
forms and identifying potential UHI problem areas; improve decision making, community
engagement and design advocacy; potentially have an impact on citys temperature reducing
cooling energy load costs; and more importantly, potentially reduce heat related mortality.
Key Words: sky view factor, urban heat island, urban canyon, urban modelling, liveability.

114

An approach on describing the street skyline: a framework for

identifying streets spatial significant lines
Hao Yang
School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Nanjing University
E-mail: byldhc@126.com

In urban morphology, researchers have developed many methods on describing the

characteristics of urban street patterns. However, a simplified representation of urban texture in
just two-dimensions, which does not take into account the dimensional property of streets
elevation(later referred to as `metric'), therefore, the topological representation of cities discards
precious metric information and is rather limiting. Some researchers has attempt to add the
informationsuch as the fractal dimensionabout the street skyline to study the street
configuration. However, when preparing a street skyline for this method, several critical
decisions must be made about which street skyline features should be included in the
representation and why. Without a consistent, reasoned way of making such decisions, isolated
fractal dimension results for streets are potentially meaningless. Therefore, the present paper
draws on postpositivist reasoning to propose a framework for deciding which lines in a street
representation are significant for a study and why. The framework contains several levels of
representation that are defined and mapped against comparable research agendas. These levels
are described and demonstrated using a street skyline from 12 blocks which contains 6 housing
blocks and 6 mix-use blocks in urban area of Nanjing, China. The results of the fractal
dimension analysis of different representations of the street skyline are used to demonstrate how
decisions about significant lines have a direct impact on measures derived from fractal analysis.
By using different layers to expression the spatial significant lines, we can interpretation the
average and properties of block.
Key Words: street skyline, framework, fractal dimension, layers, interpretation.

115

Urban form and accessibility to rail transit stations: a case

study of Auckland.
Saeid Nazari Adli
School of Architecture and Planning, University of Auckland
E-mail: saeid.nazari-adli@auckland.ac.nz

Urban train stations (UTSs) are important destinations for every day walking and cycling, and
providing them with quality pedestrian access improves urban rail ridership. However, little
research has been done to explore how the characteristics of urban form along these routes that
provide pedestrian access to UTSs can influence urban rail travel demand. Urban morphology in
general and the idea of urban fringe belts in particular have been recognised as a powerful
means of understanding the physical form. This study examines how urban forms in different
morphological periods affect a persons decision to walk to a UTS. All 38 UTSs in Auckland,
New Zealand have been grouped into three categories, based on their location and the
corresponding morphological period that relates to the development of Auckland. Using GIS, a
multiple regression model will be applied to each of the three categories of stations. It is
expected that the results show that the transit ridership between the inner, middle and outer
fringe belts and beyond that, are influenced by the morphological characteristics of their urban
form. The results provide policy implications for a city to improve its walkability and increase
urban rail ridership. More specifically, the results will help to inform the evaluation, design and
development of more walkable surroundings near train stations. Despite the fact that the
findings will be validated in Auckland, the methodological framework is expected to be
applicable in different contexts.
Key Words: urban form, pedestrian accessibility, urban train station, Auckland.

116

Morphology and typology of multi-storey car park: the case

of Vitria, Brasil
Heraldo Borges
Faculdade de Arquitetura e Urbanismo, Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie
E-mail: heraldofborges@gmail.com

From the 50s, the automobile, as few inventions, became, with the endorsement of the literature,
Hollywood and advertising, status symbol and expression of freedom and individuality.
Currently, this same invention is associated with serious urban and environmental issues
becoming uncool for recent generations. However, as Louis Khan can vouch, the automobile is
a means of transportation as important, necessary and legitimate as any other, and do not
constitute itself in a problem but how it is currently used, especially in Latin Americas large
cities, still very deficient in mass transportation. So, how to deal with this ambivalent nature and
how to embrace it according contemporary paradigms such as sustainability and low-carbon
cities? To answer this question the investigation will use the city of Vitria a Brazilian midsize metropolis which offers various examples of multi-storey car park scattered in distinct
urban situations within its historic center and, in the next future, will be reviewing its Urban
Planning Code to cope with typical latin american urban problems as real state speculation,
traffic congestion, social and territorial inequalities and lack of public spaces.
Therefore, the paper investigates how the morphology/typology of multi-storey car park holds
potentialities to be a viable alternative for the improvement of dense urban fabric with low
quality public space and is divided in three parts: i) Theorical and conceptual framework about
multi-storey car park and its impact in the surroundings; ii) Typological and morphological
analysis of four case studies in downtown Vitria; iii) Final considerations about how this
morphology/typology can contribute to the planning and designing of the public and constructed
space.
Key Words: urban morphology, building typology, multi-storey car park, Latin America,
Vitria.

117

Reciprocities in spatial positioning of airport and city

Bardia Mashhoodi, Alex Wandl, Arjan van Timmeren
TU Delft / Faculty of Architecture & the Built Environment
Department of Urbanism, Julianalaan 134, 2628 BL Delft, The Netherlands
E-mail: b.mashhoodi@tudelft.nl

The vocabulary of urban morphology is dominated by the terms which try to explain the
morphological properties of a location such as urban fringe, centre, suburb, corridors, etc.
However, in most of the cases, such words are either ill-defined or merely refer to a single type
of morphological property (such as a space syntax analysis). This research, aims to explore the
relation between location of airports and regional economy across Europe. To do so, a method
has been developed to describe the location of an airport through obtaining the relative
centrality values (by means of Kernel density) of an airport, in regards to its different
morphological properties. In this case, an assessment on topological Betweenness in 45km,
population, and three types of land cover: urbanized, agriculture and leisure/green (see the
histogram), is presented. Based on the centrality values, different typomorphologies of airports
locations are obtained by means of Hierarchical cluster analysis. At the end, we compare
different typomorphologies of the airport location in terms of employment and prosperity,
which they bring to their urban region (employment and GDP per passenger, compared by
ANOVA, one way analysis of variance). The proposed method is generic and adaptable, in a
sense that it can be applied for different purposes by using different types of geographic
information. It also can be applied by different users, because its components (Kernel density
and Hierarchical analysis) are well known techniques and are supported by variety of software
(such as Arc map, spss, R, MATLAB, etc).
Key Words: Europe, centrality, airport, typomorphology, urban economy.

118

Systems thinking for new perspectives on urban form a case

study of urban transport corridors
Nicholas Stevens, Paul Salmon
Regional and Urban Planning Program, University of the Sunshine Coast,
Maroochydore, Australia
USCAR, University of the Sunshine Coast, Maroochydore, Australia
E-mail: nstevens@usc.edu.au

Urban planning and design require new ways of interpreting urban form that allows for the
understanding of multidisciplinary approaches and cooperative outcomes. This innovative study
brings together the disciplines of Human Factors with Urban Design to investigate the form and
design of urban transport corridors (Stevens and Buksh, 2013). These connectors of people and
place go beyond the roadway and consider the dynamics of adjacent urban form. They are
defined by the disparate demands of engineering, urban planning, urban design, property
development and community expectation. Using Cognitive Work Analysis (CWA) this study
investigates and identifies the interdependencies and ability of these urban corridors to
operationalize best practice road user hierarchies that give highest priority to walking and
cycling. CWA (Vicente, 1999) is a systems analysis and design framework that identifies the
constraints imposed on activities and designs new systems that better support the activities of
interest. CWA has been used in a variety of design activities in several domains, including
defence, disaster management, process control, and road safety (Salmon et al., 2010). This
research is the first to apply CWA as a tool to interpret the interdependencies of urban form and
its component elements. The application and extension of sociotechnical systems theory in an
urban setting has allowed for unique insights. A key aspect of the framework is that it is
formative in nature describing what could happen if design modifications are undertaken, rather
than provide normative analyses of what should happen. The results of this study allow for a
clearer interpretation of the relationships between all of the physical elements of the corridor
and its intended functional purposes. Through the analysis of case study urban corridors, this
research provides a means to understand the multidisciplinary requirements for establishing
urban form which supports safe and accessible use by pedestrians and cyclists.
Key Words: Cognitive Work Analysis, urban corridors, systems analysis; multidisciplinary
design framework.
References
Salmon, P. M., Stanton, N. A., Jenkins, D. P. and Walker, G. H. (2010) Hierarchical task
analysis versus cognitive work analysis: comparison of theory, methodology, and
contribution to system design, Theoretical Issues in Ergonomics Science. 11, 504-531.
Stevens, N. and Buksh, B. (2013) A leading practice framework for sustainable urban transport
corridors, Proceedings of the 2013 Planning Institute of Australia National Congress,
March.
Vicente, K.J. (1999). Cognitive work analysis: Toward safe, productive, and healthy
computerbased work. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

119

How urban form influences accessibility: calculating several

measures for distinct urban contexts in Portugal
David Vale1, Rui Alves2, Miguel Saraiva1, Mauro Pereira1
1
CIAUD, Faculty of Architecture, Universidade de Lisboa
2
Instituto Politcnico de Castelo Branco
E-mail: dvale@fa.ulisboa.pt

There is a vast literature about the relationship between urban form and travel, in which six
dimensions of the built environment that influence travel are identified density, diversity,
design, destination accessibility, distance to public transport and demand management besides
the influence of demographics, forming the so called 7 Ds. However, we argue that these
dimensions in themselves do not have a straightforward relationship with travel, but only an
indirect relation by changing the accessibility of places, which in turn has a clear influence on
travel. Urban form in itself is such a variable with an indirect relationship, included in the
design dimension identified above. Specifically it influences the topological accessibility of
places, one of the four main categories of active accessibility. In this paper, we calculate several
accessibility measures applied to distinct urban form typologies, in order to understand the
impact of urban form on topological accessibility and also to understand the limitations of the
available topological accessibility indexes. Our results show that there is a clear influence of
urban form on accessibility, but also that the parameters used to calculate the indexes have a
strong impact on the value of the accessibility itself. Therefore, in order to understand which
parameter best represents the influence of urban form on accessibility, further sensitivity
analysis is needed, based on an analysis of mobility patterns of residents and workers and of the
urban characteristics of their residential and workplaces.
Key Words: accessibility, urban form, active travel, topology, urban morphology.

120

121

122

3.
The Evolution of Urban Form
Analysing urban forms almost always involves a time dimension since human societies
are not static. There were dramatic changes in town plans in the 12 th and 13th centuries
in European cities. Architects rediscovered geometrical techniques that had been lost
since Roman times and applied them to both buildings and town plans. At the same
time, and on a different scale, more stable building materials came into use (timberframing and brick) which enabled buildings to survive for much longer time periods so
that it was economically sensible to adapt them rather than rebuild. With the industrial
revolution of the 18th and 19th centuries European cities grew rapidly and new house
forms were developed to provide cheap housing for industrial workers. City centres
were re-planned, adapted and rebuilt to provide greater functional utility. At the same
time a multiplicity of new building types were developed to cater for new functions:
from banks to prisons and shopping arcades to city halls. From the 17 th to the 19th
centuries European economies were extending their reach to new colonial territories and
exporting urban layouts to provide the necessary central-place and military functions,
and the entrept economic functions, necessary in these colonial territories. Most of
these new urban places were based on grid street patterns and common plot sizes and
growth was demarcated by grid extensions, not always in congruence with their
predecessors, based on underlying land-ownership patterns. The end of the 19th century
saw a new morphological period develop in many parts of the world with low-density
housing layouts characterising much of the Anglophone world and much higher density
apartment blocks in other parts of the world. In city centres technological innovations
led to taller office towers and the pace of morphological change at all scales became
more rapid. In many city centres the life of buildings from new-built to demolition and
redevelopment could be as short as 25 years, whilst concentration of capital resources
has meant that huge developments can wipe out a thousand years of an intricate town
plan and replace it with layouts lacking any historicity. Urban morphologists are still
struggling to get to grips with the scale of some of these modern changes and integrate
them into their models of townscape change.
Terry R Slater

123

Polish city from conzenian perspective fringe belt

phenomenon in Toru
Magdalena Deptua
Department of Political Geography and Regional Studies, University of d, ul.
Kopciskiego 31, 90-142 d, Poland. E-mail: magbar81@wp.pl

The fringe belt idea is one of the most important concepts of urban morphology originating
from conzenian tradition. Being developed through over half a century it significantly evolved
becoming not only an integral part of the detailed town plan analysis but also a tool for synthetic
comparisons of towns and cities of different regions and cultural contexts. In the current
literature on the subject a great attention is paid, among the others, on the influence of various
processes, especially those resulting from different political and economic systems and
ideologies, on patterns of fringe belt development. An often raised question is also the role of
fortification systems in the process of fringe belt formation. The analysis of fringe belt
phenomenon in the city of Toru makes it possible to take an attitude towards above-mentioned
issues in relation to Polish conditions. As an important political and administrative urban centre
of medieval genesis Toru experienced turbulent history, which was not indifferent to its urban
structure. This paper seeks to outline how the following morphological periods, especially
partitions of Poland, when Toru was transformed into an important Prussian stronghold with
double fortification zone, but also socialism period with associating it industrialization and
controlled urbanization, influenced the specificity of fringe belt in Toru.
Key Words: fringe belt, fixation lines, stronghold, historical development, socialism, Toru,
Poland

124

Investigating the fringe belt concept: The case of Istanbul,

Turkey
Ayse Sema Kubat, F. Belgin Gumru
Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Istanbul Technical University. E-mail:
kubat@itu.edu.tr

Urban fringe belts are substantial morphological elements that enable the interpretation of the
physical form of urban areas, urban growth and transformation. This paper presents the findings
and results of the preliminary study of fringe belts in Istanbul, Turkey with a specific focus on
the inner fringe belt formed with the fixation effect of the Theodosian Land Walls. The analysis
of Istanbuls fringe belts was conducted by examining the land uses that are classified as fringe
belt uses and parcel sizes. Eventually, the existence of an almost continuous fringe area in
Istanbul was identified. This area begins with the inner fringe belt formed along the Byzantine
Theodosian Land Walls, is then followed by the fringe belts along the E-5 Highway and
Kurbagalidere, a river on the Asian side of the city. This fringe area is evaluated through
historical and spatial points of view. The paper, then, further analyzes the inner fringe belt along
the Theodosian Land Walls. In this context, three areas with different characteristics along the
inner fringe belt are identified: Fixation cemeteries between Ayvansaray-Edirnekapi, fixation
parks between Edirnekapi-Topkapi, and fixation farms between Topkapi-Yedikule. It is
concluded that the unique characters of the fringe belts of Istanbul should be carefully analyzed
and evaluated by urban planners, urban designers and landscape architects. The conservation of
this unique character should be considered as a priority.
Key words: fringe belt; fixation line; Istanbul; urban morphology

125

Fringe belt analysis as a means to interpreting the urban

evolution of Rabat
Simone Safe, Stael de Alvarenga Pereira Costa
School of Architecture, UFMG
E-mail: simonesafe@globo.com , staelalvarenga@gmail.com

Fringe belts, extensive areas of low density and wide open spaces designated for institutional
use, are a morphological element in the urban landscape. Rabat, capital of Morocco, conceived
during the French protectorate, received in 2012 a UNESCO World Heritage title for
representing a modern urban planning model that integrates an open space system with its
historical nucleus. The aim of this study is to investigate the evolution of urban Rabat according
to the morphological periods of developments, in order to, ascertain whether or not the fringe
belts can reveal the historic areas in which the city has evolved over time. It also seeks to
understand how fringe belts have contributed or may contribute to the formation of an integrated
open space system. The spatial boundary used in this research follows the Henri Prost designed
city. Units of fringe belts and open spaces were identified based on historical and fieldwork
research. The detection and analysis of existing fringe belts can widen our understanding of the
integration of the open space system. Moreover, recognition of these elements may apply to
public management planning parameters and possible interventions in the environment,
incorporating the fringe belts in an open space system policy. This methodological application
can also assist in urban planning as being in control of fringe belt occupation can help in
preservation. Furthermore, anticipation of new uses assists in keeping low density areas intact
and can prevent high density, high profit developments, which effectively destroy urban quality.
Considering the relevance of this morphological element to the urban landscape and the scarcity
of studies on the fringe belts in Morocco, the approach adopted in this work demonstrates how
the application and dissemination of a methodology may be practically employed and opens
new perspectives for studies on the subject.
Key Words: urban morphology, fringe belts, open space system, Rabat.

126

Transformation of the fringe belt units at the perimeter of

Avenida do Contorno/Belo Horizonte/MG
Karina Machado Simo, Stael de Alvarenga Costa
Urbanism Department, Architecture School Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil
E-mail: karinamdcs@yahoo.com.br , staelalvarenga@gmail.com
This article reports the transformations that have occurred in inner fringe belt units located
within Avenida do Contorno, Belo Horizonte / MG. Fringe belts, according to urban
morphology concepts, are spaces for institutional use, low density and have a higher amount of
free space in relation to nearby residential areas. They are classified, according to M.R.G.
Conzen (1960), as inner, middle and outer, depending on their development over time and
location. Conzen (2004) contended that, the transformation of fringe belts included growth or
reduction that may occur by alienation or transference. This issue has been reported in European
and American institutions that follow the English School of urban morphology. In this article,
fringe belt units are identified and their transformation is analyzed individually. An evaluation is
also made of the transformation of the three elements recommended by Conzen that make up
the urban landscape (urban plan, built fabric and land use) of each fringe belt unit. The process
of transformation mapped out in the study is reported in terms of increases or decreases and
indicates that, for example, 30% showed an increase, whilst the remaining 70% manifested a
reduction, Therefore the study concludes that there has been substantial and detrimental
reduction in fringe belt units in Belo Horizonte.
Key Words: fringe belts, transformation, urban form, process, Belo Horizonte.
References
Conzen, M.R.G. (1960) Alnwick Northumberland: a study in town-plan analysis (Institute of
British Geographers, London).
Conzen, M. R. G and Conzen, M. P. (2004) Thinking about urban form: papers on Urban
Morphology, 1932-1998 (Peter Lang Publishing, European Academic Publishers, Bern).

127

The morphological evolution of Northwest and Northeast inner

fringe belt in Macao's Portuguese Town influenced by FujianCanton ethnic culture
Jianyi Zheng, Kuantai Cheong
School of Architecture, Huaqiao University. School of Architecture, South China
University of Technology
Fujian Zhongjing (Xiamen) Architectural Design Co., Ltd
E-mail: archi_yi@163.com , 546590928 @qq.com,

Macao, known as a port city for trade between modern China and the West, had formed a
unique double-city space structure, namely the Portuguese Town in the southern city governed
by Portugal and the Chinese Village in the northern city governed by Ming&Qing Dynasty.
With the economic development and ethnic struggle and fusion, the IFB had gradually develop
along the fixation line based on the wall of Portuguese Town and the original coastline. In this
article, we have a deep research on this area by field survey, map analysis, ArcGIS, Depthmap
according the method of M.R.G Conzen theory. It concludes: i) the fixation line was constructed
by man-made city wall for fortifications in the northeast and geographic boundaries in the
northwest and southeast; ii) it was the Fujian-Canton ethnic culture that had greatly developed
the IFB, especially those Chinese merchants who were the intermediaries between the
Portuguese Macao government and Chinese government. In the northeast, the motivation was
the invasion of Chinese ancient villages and the urbanization by force. However, in the
northwest, it was the great demand for port trade lands and commercial-residential lands
reclaimed from sea; iii) then, it showed the big blocks composed by large plots and grid street
patterns in northeast. In the northwest, it showed the unique Patio-Beco blocks composed by
organic plots which were similar to Chinese traditional market streets.
Key words: Macao, Portuguese town, Fujian-Canton ethnic culture, inner fringe belt, PatioBeco blocks

128

Urban morphology and architectural design in small towns.

The case study of San Vito Romano
Pina Ciotoli
Departement Diap, Doctorate Draco, University of Rome Sapienza, Italy
E-mail: giusiciotoli@libero.it

This paper presents a case study of an ongoing research on urban morphology and design in
small towns, following a experimented methodology (Strappa, 2013) focused on special
building types, and the relationship between consolidated urban tissues and contemporary
design. This methodology is applied in the case study of San Vito, analyzing the place as a text,
identifying the elementary structures and subsequent changes of the historical fabrics. Reading
the place in different scales, territorial, urban organism, urban fabric, building (basic,
specialized) we understand the formation process, corresponding to a phenomenological
reduction necessary to solve the organisms complexity. Reading San Vitos urban fabrics was
accomplished first by surveying ground plan walls and the orientation of houses along the
routes. Following these alignments we can recognize the pathss hierarchy within the urban
organism. The presence of trapezoidal form buildings is due to the shift of the front housing or
maybe to the less importance of a matrix route. Reading buildings and public spaces is
substantial and integral part of the project. The specific characteristics of housing expressed by
types notion are transformed over time through continuous updates. The most important of
these changes is recognizable as a specific character of Italian architecture, the increasing of
basic buildings to form specialized ones. The project is based on the concept of a building as a
synthesis of all these processes, so were considered the relations established over time between
routes, public spaces, buildings. All this constitutes the primary structure of the project.
Key Words: urban-morphology, architecture, urban-design, small-towns, knotting.
References
Strappa, G. (2013) Territorial organism and urban knotting. Design methods for minor centers
of Lazio, FA magazine, 23, 19-23.

129

The urban layout evolution and the complexity of Portuguese

city
Srgio Fernandes
Forma Urbis Lab, Department of Project, Faculty of Architecture - University
of Lisbon. E-mail: sergiopadrao@gmail.com
The morphological reading of the built city is developed with the aim of identifying and
understanding the complexity of urban form and the phenomena that act in the production of
urban layouts, focusing on the Portuguese cultural context as an observation and analysis
privileged space. The paper addresses the theoretical urban layout composition principles
present at the city shapings initial moment. This phase of the urban construction is always a
consequence of an urban idea, a project, or simply a prior conceptualization that can be drawn
or not, but which always originates a built reality. It may include the entire city layout or just a
single part of it. Considering the conceptual framework of actions, operations and rules that
involve the urbanization process and, consequently, the production of urban forms, we clarify,
through the reading of the layout sedimentation process, that the Portuguese citys
morphological identity reveals itself on particular conception of the urban layout. The urban
layout imprint can be understood as a phased process of urban formation throughout the time
and its specificity is generated by the sensitive interpretation of the site, the adjustment to the
topography and the rational use of pre-existences in which the city shape is mainly a result of
applying composition principles and urban space organization systems. The methodological
approach is based upon the constitutive strata decomposition of the Portuguese cities layouts
and upon their comparative reading by the sedimentation process reconstitution. From this point
of view we examine the urban form today, in its current state, and particularly the facts that
determined or led to the origin of its production.
Key Words: urban morphology, urban layout, urban evolution, public space, Portuguese city.

130

The morphogenesis of Qu bec Citys first suburbs

Pierre Gauthier
Department of Geography, Planning and Environment, Concordia University
E-mail: pierre.gauthier@concordia.ca

Relying on the theory and methods of process typology, this paper presents the results of a case
study on the morphogenesis of Qubec Citys first suburbs from the 18 th and 19th centuries
onward. Drawing heavily on cartographic documentation, urban iconography, and archival
material on land development, it sets about retracing the initial edification and later evolution of
the urban tissues of the Saint-Roch and Saint-Jean suburbs, before unveiling the typological
process that affects their residential architecture. In a classical urban morphology manner, the
study tells the tale of an urbanization process that sees modest residential forms of rural origin
gradually transform into denser multifamily structures once transplanted in an urban context.
But these were times of rapid urban growth and a period that saw an old-regime economic and
juridical system giving way to a capitalistic mode of production. Here, the narrative gains in
complexity as one could read in the fine folds and articulations of the domestic and urban
spaces, shifting modes of spatial symbolization that denote rapidly changing economic and
building practices as well as evolving dwelling habits. The research highlights the fact that the
morphogenesis of Qubec Citys old suburbs is both strongly rooted in the vernacular
architectural tradition on the one hand, while manifesting a collective and localized response to
broader political economy and historical circumstances on the other. The fact that such complex
dialectics can be accounted for by process typologys analytical framework, testifies to the
pertinence and robustness of that approach.
Key Words: Qubec City, urban morphogenesis, process typology, building and development
practices.

131

The building of a city: private and public agreements in

Montreal 1790-1850
Alexis Ruelland, Franois Dufaux
cole darchitecture de lUniversit Laval, Qubec
E-mail: alexis.ruelland.1@ulaval.ca , francois.dufaux@arc.ulaval.ca
The production of private and public spaces housing, squares and streets in Montreals first
half of the 19th century is framed by observations and paradigms about why and how was
conducted the planning and development of the American city and the colonial town (King) in
the 18th century (Latouche) or after 1850 (Gilliland). The analysis of the provision of the public
spaces in the growing faubourgs highlights the peculiar balance between private interest and
the public common good. A combination of limited means and modest speculative expectations
favoured an array of small procedures, from top-down planning proposal by a civic ordinance
and expropriations, to private initiatives of selling or giving the right-of-way opening streets
segments. The range of rigth-of-ways and land subdivisions patterns are morphological
components making the urban space. A similar and parallel study of building contracts in the
notaries archives depicts similar small scale processes in the housing patterns and the
construction methods. The contracts and the specifications set the commitments between clients
and builders defining the common assumptions for the erection of a building, and the specific
features answering a site condition and location. Construction materials describe another set of
morphological components for the production of the built space. Both scales described the
morphological translation of an emerging urban form and culture. It renews the interpretation
about the relationship between public and private processes, colonial order and vernacular
opportunities. The morphological analysis is a demonstration of a material culture, and the
disclosure of political agreement between the public good and the private interest.
Key Words: colonial city, street planning, building specification, public and private interest.

132

Analysis on the multi-scale morphological evolution of

historic centre in Shantou, China
Lin Zhou, Keshi Chen
School of Urban Planning and Design, Peking University
E-mail: lin.zhoupku@qq.com

With the fast speed of Chinese urbanization and economic development, urban spatial growth
has experienced noticeable changes. Most large and medium-sized cities are representing
recessions of historic centres in varying degree nowadays. In this context, how to correctly
understand the evolution of historic centre in urban spatial morphology is important. This
research combines space syntax techniques with digitized historic maps and socio-economic
variations in order to take the morphological evolution of Small Park conservation districts of
historic sites, Shantou, China from the 1860s onwards. The result shows that the evolution has
mainly experienced three stages, which are self-organization period, urban planning-directed
period and commuter network control period. Two embedded urban renewals, either of which
took place in different social system played an important role in the evolution. The living center
transforms from its original form of centralization into the later one of decentralization in multiscale. This research also reveals that Small park area has been featured with the local centrality
in different periods. However, with the expansion of city, it has lost its capacity to integrate
social and economic activities in the whole city. On the basis of content analyse, some useful
pieces of advice have been put forward for historic centre development. Objective and
quantitative researches on the multi-scale morphological evolution are of extreme importance to
clarify the history of urban planning. It can also give some methodological suggestion for the
renewals of the historic centres in Chinese cities.
Key Words: space syntax, morphological evolution, multi-scale, historic centre, Shantou.

133

The establishment and organization of mono-axial urban

fabric: the Rua Direita in the Portuguese city
Ana Amado
Forma Urbis Lab, CIAUD, Faculdade de Arquitectura da Universidade de Lisboa
E-mail: ana.martinho.amado@gmail.com
In the Portuguese urban and cultural environment art of making the city and specificity of the
Portuguese city have been argued and characterized as a group process that clusters and
contains a synthesis of knowledge developed over centuries that will materialize specifically at
the time of expansion overseas. The expansion model of the Portuguese city, generally
recognized as complex and subject to numerous and different principles, has been questioned
especially in contrast with the models of other European nations based on orthogonal meshes.
Thus, we present the object of study Rua Direita (Straight Street) as a structural element of
many cities of Portuguese origin. The Rua Direita is identified as a common element in this
cultural context, which is expressed through a wide range of features, revealing a specificity and
complexity, particularly in relation to their morphological diversity. From a methodological
process based on comparative reading of representative cases and on the construction of a
Typological Framework that identifies the type and summarizes its variants, charactering this
mono-axial model and reflecting the tradition of Rua Direita with medieval origin,
demonstrating its importance as a translator for an order and hierarchy, as a structural element
and as a generator of urban fabric.
Key Words: Rua Direita (Straight Street), urban morphology, urban fabric, Portuguese City.

134

Railway as a vehicle of urban transformation. Past and

present of the train station
Kateina echov
Department of Urban Design, Faculty of Architecture, Czech Technical University,
Prague. E-mail: cechokat@fa.cvut.cz

This paper aims to analyze the impact of railway development on the European city, and the
evolution of this impact from the middle of the 19th century until nowadays. A core question
underlies the analysis and directs the paper on the morphological path: The urban form of the
19th century was significantly redefined by the presence of the railway in all scales
(Schievelbusch, 1986 and Vesel, 2008). On the single unit level, the train station, as the object
of major evidence of railway presence in the city, caused whole city structure to reconfigure,
from the position of city centre to the infrastructural network definition (Hons, 1961, Krejik,
1991, Musil and Maur, 2002). In the beginning of 21 st century, the European railway celebrates
its renaissance, despite not enjoying the exclusivity of its 19 th century predecessor. The railway
has changed significantly over the 150 years, so has the train stations. The hybrid objects,
emblematic for the city, remind us remotely of the 19 th century railway stations (Bene and
evk, 2011). Back to the core question: Is there any transformative force in the contemporary
nature of train station, affecting the urban structure in any way comparable to the force of the
19th century train stations? Is there any reconfiguration of urban patterns present in the
contemporary city, that can be granted to the train station of present times? The examples of
several European train stations are used to identify and specify the changes in urban structures,
taking place all over Europe right now.
Key Words: railway, train station, urban transformation, urban structure.
References
Bene, O. and evk, O. (2011) Architektura: Devadest lta a prvn desetilet 21.stolet,
Architektra a Urbanizmus 45, 221-251.
Hons, J. (1961) astnou cestu: vyprvn o praskch ndrach (Orbis, Praha).
Krejik, M. (1991) Po stopch naich eleznic (Nadas, Praha).
Musil, J. and Maur, E. (2002) Zrod velkomsta: urbanizace eskch zem a Evropa (Paseka,
Praha).
Schivelbusch, W. (1986) The railway journey. The industrialization of time and space
(University of California Press) 171-178.
Vesel, D. (2008) Architektura ve vku rozdlen reprezentace: problm tvoivosti ve stnu
produkce (Academia, Praha) 320-350.

135

The evolution of street cross-section proportion in Lisbon

Srgio Barreiros Proena
Forma Urbis Lab, CIAUD, Department of Project, Faculty of Architecture, University
of Lisbon. E-mail: sergiobarreirosproenca@gmail.com

Streets have always played a key role in the history of cities and city planning and configure
both banal urban fabric and structural elements of the urban layout. Streets have such a seminal
role for the urban artifact that some authors state that without them there would be no city, at
least as our culture understands it. The morphological richness of the urban fabric of Lisbon
allows to compose a broad and representative corpus of the city with Portuguese urban cultural
matrix. In this study, this characteristic is relevant and significant of the morphological and
morphogenetic diversity of the predominant urban element in the constitution of the
consolidated urban fabric of the city the Street. Despite the most common two-dimensional
representation of the street space be made in plan, the one that is more immediately seized by
who walks the street is its cross-section. The width and height of the street as well as the
characteristics of its lateral limits are essential for the definition of the public space that
constitutes the street channel. Based on a morphological reading and interpretation of the city
streets, this communication addresses the evolution of the street cross-section proportion in
Lisbon, and the rules that were at the base of its definition in each period from the XVI to the
XX century, defining street types regarding the proportion ratio of the cross-section.
Key Words: urban morphology, typology, street, street cross-section, Lisbon.

136

The impact of Lisbons subway development on Avenida da

R publica and Avenida da Liberdade
Mafalda Sampayo, Carina Silvestre
Departamento de Arquitectura e Urbanismo, ISCTE-IUL. E-mail: mgts@iscte.pt
In an environment of political regeneration, Lisbon expansion during the XX century is marked
by the Avenidas Novas (new avenues) project. This expansion is defined by the progressive
urbanism of Frederico Ressano Garcia. The avenues are the concretization of the Plano Geral
de Melhoramentos de Lisboa (plan for the improvement of Lisbon) ordered in 1864 by the
public affair minister. The Avenida da Liberdade is publicly opened in 1886 and is followed
soon after by the remaining avenues. These are separated into four phases of construction: the
first ending in 1920, the second going up to 1959, the third ending in 1989 and the fourth since
then and into the present days. To each construction phase there is a correspondence with
several constructive typologies. Many of the original buildings of these avenues have been
replaced during the past few decades by new buildings with different functions and typologies.
In this work we show how the development of the Avenida da Repblica and Avenida da
Liberdade is affected by the development of the Lisbon subway. The opening of a new subway
station is transformative event that has potential impacts on the development of different sectors
and of the growth of the city. We show the influence in the urban fabric of the opening of the
subway stations of Restauradores, Avenida, and Rotunda in Avenida da Liberdade and
Saldanha, Campo Pequeno and Entrecampos in Avenida da Repblica. This work was
done by in several phases: i) critical reading of works that focus the space and time of the object
of this study; ii) identification and analysis of several specific moments of the growth of both
avenues; iii) assessment of the urban form of the Avenida da Liberdade and Avenida da
Repblica through a comparative analysis of the results.
Key Words: urban form, urban fabric, Lisbon subway, Avenida da Liberdade, Avenida da
Repblica.

137

Urban chronicles: exploring the evolution of the

entrepreneurial disposition of Coimbra periphery
Ana Tavares
Department of Architecture, Faculty of Sciences and Technology, University of
Coimbra. E-mail: contact.anatavares@gmail.com

Having recently evinced that roadway infra-structuration plays a significant role as engine of
urban reorganization and territorial cohesion in the peripheral areas of the Coimbra city
(Portugal), and having also tested it`s attraction role for a diversified set of urban equipment that
prioritizes the connection to the transportation networks of people and goods instead of the
proximity to the consolidated urban core, the ensuing development of this line of investigation
raises the question about how far the narratives of high topological accessibility and
connectivity that I observed are in fact supported by a long-term perspective on historical
evolution of the morphology of the Coimbra periphery and of its land uses. To answer this
question I propose to examine the eastern parishes of Coimbra, long known for their industrial
and entrepreneurial character, though the delineation of a longitudinal dataset on the human
appropriation of their territory. The methodology will entail the construction of chronological
series of axial maps of the area (based on the Social Logic of Space Theory, or Space Syntax)
which will be associated with data collected from the publications of the National Statistical
Institute and other relevant resources, both historic and contemporary, whereas providing
adequately disaggregated data. By achieving this aim I will be able to identify both the
morphological and socio-cultural parameters of change and/or continuity that would account for
the maintenance of the economic strength of these parishes throughout the years and to
summarize the reasons for their success inside Coimbra municipality.
Key Words: space syntax, Coimbra periphery, roadway infra-structuration, entrepreneurial
character, economic strength.

138

Syntactic approach to cemetery morphology. Two cases in

Lisbon
Egle Bazaraite, Teresa Heitor, Valrio Medeiros
DECivil Departamento Engenharia Civil Arquitectura e Georrecursos
Instituto Superior Tcnico, UTL
E-mail: egle.bazaraite@tecnico.ulisboa.pt , teresa.heitor@tecnico.ulisboa.pt ,
medeiros.valerio@uol.com.br

With the urban sprawl of the cities, the cemeteries and graveyards have been growing as well,
turning into the metaphors of the cities themselves. At the moment a city faces a difficulty to
maintain live and dead in decent conditions and side-by-side. Putting the cemetery outside of
the city and dedicating an individual grave to each one were the solutions for the 18th century
urban society, however today the situation goes back to the previous times becoming the same
problem of confusion and loss of individuality. This paper studies the questions of orientation in
two 19th century Lisbon cemeteries (Alto So Joo and Prazeres). Prazeres grew twice its size;
while Alto de So Joo has grown by 3 times since it was founded. Using Space Syntax theory
and Depthmap software the paper approaches the parameters of integration, intelligibility inter
alia, that are put into a cross comparison with the questionnaire results, retrieved from the
visitors of both cemeteries. The questionnaire focuses on intelligibility of the cemetery and
correspondents relation to the cemeterys qualities.
Key Words: burial, cemetery, place ballet, space syntax, urban morphology.

139

U+D urbanform and design: a space syntax tool for design

Paolo Carlotti
University of Rome Sapienza DIAP. E-mail: paolo.carlotti@uniroma1.it
It's time for a reflection about architectural design through European geographicals thought of
the late nineteenth century (LEIGHLY, 1965), developed further especially in English and
Italian cultures and particularly in urban morphology (urban morphology Conzen)
(Conzen,1969) and architecture design (building typology Caniggia)(Caniggia Maffei,1979).
This subject, initiated by Ricther and Ratzers thesis, advances to the primary synthesis with the
idea of region by Vidal de la Blanche, and aftewards with the Sauers idea of landscape as an
organic body (Sauer,1925). Later it was improved by Conzen in urban morphologys field, and
Muratori and Caniggia in the field of architecture relatively to the concept of tipo.
Morphology and architecture, landscape and building process are, actually, complementary
scientific fields, essential for designers of historical landscape (Nevter, 2009). Several research
and comparative studies between this two schools, have been the focus and a field for reflection.
This has produced some major studies like that of space syntax. Landscape and historical spaces
are texts that one should learn to read (Strappa, 2011), with this point of view the tissue and the
urban body are words of a paper written by many authors, that shall be interpreted. They are like
sentences and words of a collective work to be interpreted in order to build a grammar and
syntax for architectonical and urban design. U+ D wants to bring the Italian exception
(typological analysis-Muratori-Caniggia) to a wider international discussion of urban
morphology and in the same time it wants to emphasize the architectural aspect of this theme,
which is essential for further and more effective architectural design dimension.
Key Words: space syntax, urban morphology.
References
Caniggia, G. and Maffei, G.L. (2006) Interpreting basic building (Alinea, Firenze).
Conzen, M.R.G. (1969) Alnwick, Northumberland: a study in town-plan analysis (George Philip
& Son, London).
Leighly, J. (1965) Land and life. A selection from the writing of Carl Ortwin Sauer (Berkeley
press, Los Angeles).
Nevtrer, Z. (2009) Testing an integrated methodology for urban typo-morphological analysis
on Famagusta and Ludlow, Master's and Ph.D Theses, Eastern Mediterranean University.
Sauer C. (1925) Geography (University of California publications, Berkeley).
Strappa, G. (2011) The fabris as text, in P.Carlotti, Studi tipologici sul palazzetto pugliese,
(Polibapress, Bari).
Valente V. (2012) Space syntax and urban form: the case of late-medieval Padue, in PCA.
Post classical archeologies (Mantova).

140

Building garages: the evolution of built form on the periphery

of London 1880-2013
Ashley Dhanani, Laura Vaughan, Sam Griffiths
Bartlett School of Graduate Studies, University College London
E-mail: ashley.dhanani@ucl.ac.uk

This paper considers how the peripheral settlements of London have developed since 1880.
Using a detailed reconstruction of built form and street networks for three historic epochs, an
extensive area surrounding the town centres of Surbiton and South Norwood is studied. The
study period captures the transformation of the areas from being relatively independent
settlements to forming parts of the continuous urban fabric. This spatial transformation
encompasses dramatic changes in building mass and type. This is modelled using novel semiautomated digitisation techniques to redraw the building footprints for each period. The detail
achieved in the building footprint reconstruction allows for direct analytical comparison
between historic and contemporary street maps. Similarly, cartographic redrawing techniques
are used to reconstruct the street networks for the study periods. Rather than a simple linear
increase in mass, the trajectory of built form is shown to be the dual outcome of shifts in land
use patterns and the evolution of building types. In particular, the appearance of the domestic
garage and the widespread adoption of personal motor vehicles are shown to coincide with a
significant shift in the spatial development of the city: with large-scale road network
infrastructures and changing patterns of street network densification. In order to contextualise
the growth of peripheral built form structures in relation to the wider urban region, the study
also includes diachronic analysis of the street network of Greater London overall. The results
highlight the interdependencies between technology, network infrastructures and building
typologies in the historical development of urban form.
Key Words: built form, garages, networks, peri-urban, London.

141

The evolution of house forms and the change of culture: a

Turkish perspective
Duygu Gokce, Fei Chen
Liverpool School of Architecture, University of Liverpool.
E-mail: duygu.gokce@liverpool.ac.uk

The paper aims to investigate the interplay between the evolution of house forms and the change
of residents life styles. People continuously modify their living environment to improve their
life quality. This has been done in a piecemeal manner traditionally where both the physical
forms and life styles could be gradually adapted. However, high transformation rate of cities at
the modern age has caused incompatibility of physical forms and the local culture. It is therefore
important to study the dynamic link between house forms and the residents everyday life and
needs over time. Within the Turkish context, this paper will explain the change of Turkish house
types within 5 different morphological phases (from the late Ottoman period to the present:
1890-1923, 1923-1950, 1950-1980, 1980-2000, and 2000s) when external influences have been
received and indigenised. The house types are traditional Turkish houses, terrace houses, garden
houses and apartments. The spatial arrangements of each house type will be analysed through
case studies and special attentions will be paid to the everyday use in those houses and the
relationships between private, semi-private and public spaces. The conclusion will be drawn on
the house form in relation to peoples way of living and will shed light on socio-culturally
sustainable development and regeneration in contemporary Turkey. This paper will also
contribute to the argument of positive impact of typological processes of physical environment
on the local culture.
Key Words: urban transformation, house form, spatial organisation, residential satisfaction,
quality of life.

142

Planning new towns for Africa: the Portuguese in Asilah

(1471-1550)
Jorge Correia
School of Architecture, University of Minho, Portugal
E-mail: jorge.correia@arquitectura.uminho.pt
Asilah is a small town in Morocco, around 40 km south of Tangier. Its present size doesnt
match the magnitude and importance of its past, especially as far as architectural and urban
aspects are concerned. This paper examines one of its thinnest layers, yet extremely relevant:
the Portuguese occupation (1471 to 1550). Asilah suffered intense processes of urban growth
and shortening during the last millennium. After its medieval Islamic heyday, when the city
occupied a large area, the perimeter was drastically shortened and reset upon the arrival of the
Portuguese. Christian occupants decided a significant surface short cut, which still corresponds
to the present-day walled medina. Through urban fabric analysis and resulting from recent field
research, this paper wishes to state how the narrow Portuguese stratum has marked the urban
image of the town at a time when urban concepts and practices were being modernized not only
through the experience with the founding of medieval new towns, but also by adjusting to a
hygienist spirit intertwined with an announced modernity in Europe. The search of a new
identity related to a new lord and faith has induced strategies of fabric regularisation, now
subordinated by a permanent re-Islamization process. Urban morphology methodologies allow
retrospective keys to the reading of an important urban clash occurred in the early 1500s that
still marks Asilahs present dimension, street display and touristic dynamic. Thus, dual concepts
are also questioned, such as: colonial vs. autochthonous or Christian vs. Muslim urban images.
Key Words: Islamic city, European new town, urban morphology, Early Modern.

143

Outside the city walls: the mendicant complexes and the

spatial dynamics of Portuguese medieval towns
Catarina Almeida Marado
CES-Centre for Social Studies, University of Coimbra. E-mail: catarinamarado@ces.pt

Mendicant communities have settled in a large number of European medieval towns. In

medieval Portugal the most important cities had at least two or more mendicant religious
houses. Their presence had an important impact in the social, political, economic and
topographical structures of towns. Urban convents reshaped the urban form in many different
ways and they were also connected with the major urban transformation that occurred in
Portuguese towns in the late Medieval Ages. This paper examines briefly the settlement
characteristics of mendicant friaries in the Portuguese medieval towns and discusses the factors
that determined their locations. Finally, it analyses the impacts of mendicant houses in the
development of the urban form, particularly their role in the formation of a new urban
centrality outside the city walls. Several cities will be analysed, and regarding this final issue,
the city of Santarm will be presented as one of the most significant case.
Key Words: medieval city, Portuguese towns, urban dynamics, mendicant architecture, urban
periphery.

144

The morphological lecture of the city through historic

military architecture
Tarsicio Pastrana Salcedo, Milton Montejano Castillo
Instituto Politecnico Nacional Mexico.
E-mail: taarpaa@msn.com , mmontejanoc@ipn.mx

Military architecture during the viceregal period, in what is now Mexico, was based on a
strategy of defense. It was designed by the Spanish crown, constructing systems mainly made of
fortifications and walls entrusted to military engineers that used renaissance military treatises as
a model. The work shown here is about the historic reading of two Mexican cities that were
fortified during the viceregal period. The first one is the port of Veracruz, the walls and the
systems built during this time left scars that established the urban development of the city, and
that nowadays are perceivable even after the disappearance of the majority of its elements. The
second example is the city of Campeche, which holds a category of World Heritage, and that in
its fortified systems, partially conserved, show their imprint in the city that has developed from
them. Both examples allow us to analyze how the techniques of historical reading, at urban
level, allow us to obtain parameters of validation and establish lines of intervention that
preserve the urban architectural patrimony. Hence the importance of their teachings and
applications in education centers relative to the conservation and patrimonial restorations.
Key Words: military architecture, military engineering, viceregal engineering, Mexico, world
heritage.

145

Transformation potential of public spaces in Osijeks

fortification
Dina Stober, Sanja Lonar-Vickovi, eljka urkovi
Department of Architecture and Urban Planning, Faculty of Civil Engineering Osijek
E-mail: dstober@gfos.hr

Tvrdja fortess, urban core of the city of Osijek, Eastern Croatia, was built at the beginning of
18th century following military planners blueprints. Public spaces within the fortification walls
originally concentrated around three squares, each containing a separate function main square,
church square and army drill square. Through the centuries, Tvrdjas urban texture remained
almost intact, while its contents and significance in Osijeks development transformed into an
illegible spatial image. The research presented in this article documents the chronological,
functional and morphological evolution of public squares in Tvrdja with the aim to detect their
revival potential. The authors set out to review Tvrdjas public spaces as one entity and to apply
elements of vibrant, successful places like the main square on spaces that were less visible,
less frequented and misused. Three main criteria of comparison between the three squares were
elements of physical structure, level of activity and revival potential, each specified by a set of
different indicators. Indicators were defined according to latest references in the field of urban
form research, modified following Tvrdjas inhabitants preferences (survey, interviews).
Preliminary results indicate that a certain amount of spatial flexibility is a major advantage in a
developmental cycle of encapsulated urban entities like the Tvrdja fortress.
Key Words: fortification, public spaces, urban image, vitality.

146

Athens and military architecture

Sotirios Zaroulas
Politecnico di Milano, facolt di Architettura Civile. E-mail: sotirios.zaroulas@polimi.it

This paper describes the relation between military areas and the form of the current city of
Athens, as it derives from the main urban plans and their elements during the nineteenth century
and the purpose is to show how the settlement of military areas has influenced the construction
of the modern city. In addition, nowadays all these buildings have been left to stand derelict and
have become a dual challenge for the city: on the one hand, to manage to reuse this important
architectural heritage and on the other to succeed in reconnecting these projects with the city.
Through a certain number of plans and an urban scale analysis, the objective is to study the
projects of these military areas, focusing on the design, the typology and their settlement
principles. In other words, the aim is to analyse them so as to understand the process of their
construction and their influence on the evolution of the modern city of Athens. What emerges
from this analysis is the fact that the early projects of the barracks during the nineteenth century
are closely related to the city plans, the urban elements and the history of the city. Moreover, its
important to underline that even in those cases the military buildings have been demolished,
many urban voids have been created that have offered new opportunities for the growth and the
expansion of the city.
Key Words: settlement principles, military building, nineteenth century, urban types, urban
growth.

147

The Lisbon urban block: from shape to type

Rui Morais Justo
Faculdade de Arquitectura Universidade de Lisboa. E-mail: ruijusto87@gmail.com
The urban fabric, both in his public and private component, translates the parallel stress of
tension and change, transformation and permanence, which characterize the space and
architecture that builds the city. This dynamic process of urban production is reflected in the
continuing evolution of the shape and organization of the urban block as an intermediary
between the housing function and other urban activities. The urban block has proven repeatedly
to be able to adapt several types of buildings and adapt to changing urban and architectural
models that developed over time, occupying a place in its own right in the design of the city.
This study addresses the Lisbon urban block types, a city where the richness, diversity and
typological representation of the object of study allows to recognize different morphological
characteristics as well as different production processes of the urban block. We thus rely on a
morphological interpretation of this element that involves its relations with the shape of the city.
The types are defined through the aggregation of different blocks according to common
matrices, allowing the support of possible comparative readings between very different study
objects, or between objects that are possible to read comparatively when reduced to its essential
elements. The construction of this typological framework of the Lisbon urban blocks
presupposes an approach supported by an interpretative mechanism that will inform issues
related to the problem of the production of the urban fabric from the private space of the city.
Key Words: block, typology, urban morphology, built fabric, Lisbon.

148

Urban block Krakow tradition

Anna Agata Kantarek
Faculty of Architecture, Cracow University of Technology.
E-mail: akanta@poczta.onet.pl

Development of settlements in the area of today's Krakow dates back to the Paleolithic era and
began about 50 thousand years ago. However, the first mention of the city as a big urban center
dates back to 965 /Ibrahim ibn Jakub/. The bishopric of Cracow was established in 1000.
The fact important from the point of view of the development of urban block form was the
expansion of the city in 1257. New location on Magdeburg Law was the beginning of Cracovia
- defined by an orthogonal system of blocks with huge market place /200x200 m/. This new,
defined urban complex became the center of a developing city over the centuries. Until today is
the undisputed center of the City. Further expansions benefited from the experience of Cracovia,
referring to the model elaborated here. It was not until the twentieth century brought further
expansion of the city, whose regular, defined form can compete in terms of regularity and extent
of the geometric definition of the Old City. It is Nowa Huta - an industrial city from the fifties
of the twentieth century. Nowa Huta is today one of the districts of the City. Against the
background of Krakow urban history article proposes to look at the urban block form as
developed in Krakow. This two extremely different models of urban quarter could be seen as
generating other forms of city urban fabric.
Key Words: Cracow, history of urban form, urban block structure, urban design, regulation
plan.

149

Transformation of urban blocks and property relations: cases

from Historical Peninsula
Ezgi Kk, Aye Sema Kubat
Faculty of Architecture, Istanbul Technical University
E-mail: ezgikucuk89@gmail.com , kubat@itu.edu.tr

Urban form which is defined as the union of streets, plots and buildings, in the historical
evaluation of the towns, also represents legal entities which imply tools for urban planners and
designers to design, to transform or to conserve the sites. In this context, this study aims to
recognise urban form as a product of property relations and investigate the morphological
regions in the case of Istanbuls Historical Peninsula by constituting its discussion on basic
concepts of M. R. G. Conzens morphologic analyses of historical towns. The elaboration for
the transformations of urban blocks between 19th century Ottoman period, early republican
period of Turkey and historical persistence of the urban form up to today are analysed in
Beyazt and Aksaray regions in particular. Further, Fener-Balat region as a conserved urban
fabric sample since 19th century is discussed in terms of the renewal projects which appeared in
late 20th century. Thus, it is observed that subsequent to the effects of modernisation movement
on urban form in Istanbul, big scaled physical interventions transformed urban blocks and
contributed to changes in property patterns. The dependence between urban morphology and
property relations is emphasised in terms of the development of urban form within historical
process.
Key Words: historical peninsula, morphological regions, urban blocks, urban morphology,
property relations.

150

Study on the morphological differences between areas

through the comparative analysis of urban block
Xiaoyin Lin
School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Nanjing University,
Hankou Road 22, Nanjing 210093, China. E-mail: 124065644@qq.com

The comparative study about the urban block employed in the describing morphological
differences between cities has a long research tradition. Previous researches focus on the
characteristics of block in the level of block and sometimes are unable to capture the different
character of cities. This paper aims to present a method to discriminate the morphological
characteristics between the different areas. At the core of the proposed method is comparing
characteristics of block in the level of block, sub-block and plot. The paper takes two districts of
the city of Nanjing as a test case, and the two districts are similar in the area and the number of
blocks. Based on the more than 200 samples of block, this paper investigates on the
morphological differences between two districts. Through the use of the method, the paper picks
up the blocks which perform distinctive differently between two districts level-by-level and
classifies them based on their performance. Finally, the paper describes the characteristics of all
kinds of classification and summarizes the morphological differences between two districts. The
consequences reveal the relation between the urban morphology and the urban development,
and the method used offers a systematic basic for other studies of describing the characteristics
of urban form.
Key Words: urban morphology, comparative study, block, sub-block, plot.

151

The transformation of the urban block in the European City

Maria Oikonomou
School of Architecture, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece
E-mail: moikono@arch.auth.gr
The main focus of the research is on issues about European cities urban form and social
characteristics by analyzing the element of the urban block through history. The aim is not to
analyze the whole history but to focus on specific periods and case studies, which show the
metamorphosis of the urban block. European cities are diverse in several scales but meanwhile
they are linked in a common urban development. By studying examples from the Greek Polis,
where the urban blocks are created by organized city planning focused on the grid, to the urban
block of the medieval city, where different built structures can be seen, to the compact blocks of
the industrial Berlin, to the large blocks of Transvaalbuurt in Amsterdam, where the traditional
urban block opens up as well as Le Corbusiers modern city and the refusal to the traditional
closed block, the reader will be able to understand the significant vital role of the urban block in
the urban tissue. These case studies are examined, analyzed and in the end illustrated in
diagrams based on indicators, which show spatial and social characteristics of the blocks. In that
way one can observe urban transformations and social changes of the European cities always in
comparison with the historical framework.
Key Words: urban blocks, European cities, metamorphosis.

152

From Pergamon to Bergama: revealing the Layers to

understand the evolution of urban form
Gliz Bilgin Altinoz
Middle East Technical University Department Architecture.
E-mail. bilging@metu.edu.tr

Being subject to continuous inhabitancy beginning from early ages onwards, majority of the
towns in Anatolia retain physical traces of different cultures as different layers within their
historical development processes, thus denoting them as multi-layered towns. In multi-layered
towns, different layers and their relation with each other contribute to their contemporary urban
form through 'diversity and specificity. Thereupon, in analysing and assessing the urban form
of such towns, multi-layeredness should be considered as a core issue. Bergama,
uninterruptedly inhabited from prehistoric ages onwards, through Hellenistic, Roman,
Byzantine, Turkish Principalities, Ottoman and finally Turkish Republican Periods, is a
representative of multi-layered Anatolian towns. Contemporary urban form of Bergama, is a
result of formations, transformations, continuities and discontinuities due to continuous
inhabitancy from its foundation as Pergamon, the capital of the Pergamon Kingdom and a
showcase of Hellenistic urbanism, till todays Bergama. In order to understand and assess the
evolution of the urban form of Bergama, a method re-considering the tools, methods and
processes used by other disciplines dealing with stratified contexts, is used. Necessitating to
process complex and huge amounts of spatio-temporal data, GIS is chosen as the main tool.
This paper presents the method, process and tool used for understanding and assessing the
evolution of urban form of Bergama as a multi-layered town. Accordingly, the first part of the
paper explains the general structure and content of the method. In the second part, the spatiotemporal analysis of the urban form from Pergamon to Bergama is presented, following the
defined method. The paper concludes with a discussion on the pros and cons of a layered relook at the evolution of urban form of towns with continuous inhabitancy.
Key Words: multi-layered towns; Pergamon; Bergama; spatio-temporal analysis; GIS.

153

From Tomar to Angra: interpretative hypothesis of geometric

pattern morphology
Jos Cabral Dias
Faculty of Architecture, University of Porto. E-mail: jdias@arq.up.pt

Tomar is an unavoidable settlement, as regards the medieval conquest of the Iberian Peninsula
and the Portuguese overseas expansion (started in the fifteenth century). It is usually pointed as
directly resulting from the French bastides, nevertheless, that should be a simplistic hypothesis.
It is effortless to accept the importance of the Catholic Military Orders, as a possible unifying
factor of the European urban phenomenon and a base factor for the emergence of the urban
medieval regularity. A morphological point of view shows geometric principles common in key
territories for the Order of the Temple: the site of its emergence, in the pilgrimage place to the
Holy Sepulcher Jerusalem at its European headquarters Paris (Marais) at its headquarters
in Portugal, created in the context of the founding of the country Tomar and at the beginning
of the Portuguese Discoveries, on the route of the ships to Indies and northern Europe, the
Azores - we will focus on Angra, in Terceira island, whose spiritual domain belonged to that
religious order. By Knowing those geometric principles it is possible to achieve a different
interpretation of the medieval urban phenomenon, and to overcome the idea that medieval
geometric urbanism was exclusively originated in France. Thus this article focus on the study of
urban form of Tomar, travelling from Jerusalm to Angra, knowing that this approach is crucial
to deepen knowledge not only about the medieval geometric urbanism but also about the
Portuguese City. We notice, as we believe, the insularization of a model imported from
Jerusalem, We conclude, therefore, that the Roman-Byzantine tradition inherited from
Jerusalem as well as the same regularity that we point in Jerusalm as in Paris, and a urban
structure of elongated blocks mark the course of the Templars and their portuguese heirs, the
Order of Christ, from Tomar to Angra.

154

Form follows function morphological and functional change

in the Hague and Detroit 1911-2011
Conrad Kickert
Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning
University of Michigan, United States

This paper explores the relation between urban form, economy, architecture and public space in
The Hague (Netherlands) and Detroit (United States) over the past century. It is based on my
dissertation research at the University of Michigans Taubman College of Architecture and
Urban Planning. This research focuses on how ground floor frontages interact with public space,
and how this street level interaction has increasingly deteriorated in many downtowns over the
past century as a result of economic, cultural, political and social forces. Beyond form, frontage
interactivity is linked to the ground floor land use of buildings, ranging from highly interactive
retail businesses to dwellings and less interactive offices, parking structures and warehouses.
Historical mapping and business directories in 10 to 25 year intervals are combined to form an
image of frontage interactivity change as a function of morphological change and functional
change in a series of synthesizing maps. While familiar patterns of fringe belt formation and
urban erosion are found in the morphological maps, new transformation patterns are discovered
in the land use maps. Functional erosion of downtown fringe properties (i.e. the departure of
retail businesses and completely vacated premises) precede morphological erosion, and hence
serve as canaries in the coal mine of fringe belt formation. Furthermore, the discovered
functional erosion demonstrates distinct patterns of accelerated decline followed by a rapid
morphological change a pattern that is surprisingly similar in both cities.
Key Words: downtown, frontage interactivity, morphological transformation, functional
transformation, fringe belt.

155

Disparity syndrome
Saboohi Sarshar, Javeria Masood
School of Art and Design & Architecture, National University of Science and
Technology- Islamabad. E-mail: saboohi.sarshar@gmail.com

Created capitals (Glenn, 1970) of the past have been relatively small in size with the major
focus to set up a city with a unilateral administrative role. They were not envisaged as capable
of becoming metropolitan cities or cities with strong regional cores but Islamabad and
Rawalpindi were. Islamabads master plan was prepared in 1960 by integrating the city of
Rawalpindi as a twin city by Greek Planner Doxiadis. It aimed to foster a codependency in
terms of urban growth of these two cities, and proposed a two nuclei metropolis (Constantios,
1965). However, the original master plan encompassing the city of Rawalpindi was not put into
practice while Islamabad was being built. The two resilient cities that grew independently of the
vision and each other continue to do so; in a rapidly shifting socio-geographical, economic and
political scenario. These physically integrated and institutionally disparate cities have not been
able to keep up with the pace of rapid development. This research aims to explore this
phenomenon by analysing and studying the two twin cities with reference to the urban form and
its growth. The research will also seek to analyse the factors responsible for the change.
Key Words: urban growth, nucleus, metropolis, urban mapping.
References:
Glenn V. S. (1970) Two Newly-Created Capitals: Islamabad and Brasilia, The Town Planning
Review 41, 317-332.
Constantios A. D. (1965) Islamabad. The creation of a New Capital, The Town Planning
Review.36, 1-28.

156

A spatiotemporal model of growth and change in the network

structure of Manhattan and Barcelona
Kinda Al_Sayed
Bartlett School of Graduate Studies, University College London (UCL)
E-mail: k.sayed@ucl.ac.uk

In this paper, we argue that the abstract values of space-time as a dual dimension play a key role
as generators of city systems. Hence, we explore the driving forces that help reproduce growing
spatial networks and yet preserve their structural properties. In two case studies; Manhattan and
Barcelona, fifteen and eleven synchronic states of historical growth are analysed to cover a
period of five and eight centuries respectively. The states are separated by a certain radius of
time. The analysis leads to regularities that may outline a generative model embedded in the
pattern of growth and marked by alternating periods of expansion and pruning. In periods of
expansion, a positive feedback process operates and takes the form of exponential increase in
street elements. The emergence of patches on the edges follows high values of accessibility and
is subject to the temporal configurations of the grid. Once we observe the long-term time
dimensionality, we note a change in the trend of the system as it reaches its maximum boundary.
Following this change, another process of reinforcing feedback is introduced to the spatial
network. This process involves intensifying sparse grid structures that have witnessed high
gains in centrality in prior states and a process of pruning of poorly integrated elements. Both
processes aim to differentiate the spatial structure of a city hence matching that of an organic
grid. We introduce these feedback processes under a framework of a plausible generative model
to simulate city growth. The model is expected to both provide a better understanding of city
growth and to aid design decision making on urban and regional scales.
Key Words: urban morphogenesis, street networks, generative centrality, preferential
attachment, pruning, space syntax.

157

The making of the Happiest City in the USA: managing

urban form in San Luis Obispo, CA
Hemalata Dandekar
City and Regional Planning, San Luis Obispo, CA 93405
E-mail: hdandeka@calpoly.edu
San Luis Obispo (SLO), located mid way on the scenic belt of Californias central coast was
cited as the happiest city in America (Buettner, 2010), Oprah Winfrey in her television show
examined what makes people in SLO happy (youtube, 2011), and the city was named one of the
friendliest towns in America by USA Today and Rand McNally (2012) Best of the Road
competition. These accolades are a testament to the fact that SLO has benefitted from proactive
planning to protect its urban form, preserve its historic fabric, protect its natural scenic attributes
and view-sheds to the surrounding picturesque mountain ranges, and thus diversify its economy.
This paper describes the evolution of SLOs urban form and how the impacts of transportation
changes railroads, highways, current emphasis on pedestrian and bicycle friendly smart
streets- have been managed through good planning so as to enhance the sense of place and
quality of life in the city. The paper will address the arrival of the railroad (Dandekar and
Jordan, 2010), the creation of Mission Plaza (Schwartz, 2008), the creation of a downtown zone
that protects the urban core and its morphological patterns, to the recent (LUCE, 2013) update
of the land use and circulation elements of the SLO general plan. The case study of SLO
confirms that cities that adhere over the long-term to the principles derived from theories of
good city form (for instance Bentley et al 1985; Lynch, 1960) can succeed in creating
compelling cities with legible and attractive historic urban forms.
Key Words: urban form, strategic planning, historic preservation, economic development, good
city.
References
Bentley, I. at al (1985) Responsive environments (Architectural Press, London).
Buettner, D (2010) Thrive: finding happiness the Blue Zones Way, The National Geographic
Society
Dandekar, H. and Jordan, A. (2011) The railroads and San Luis Obispos Urban Form, Focus
VIII, 67-72.
LUCE (2013) Land use and circulation elements update Task Force Minutes, City of San Luis
Obispo.
Lynch, K. (1960) The image of the city (MIT Press, Cambridge MA)
Rand McNally (2012) see http://www.bestoftheroad.com/page/recap#2012friendly
Schwartz, K, (2008) The Making of Mission Plaza City Administrative Officer Minutes, San
Luis Obispo.
Youtube (2011) see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgeB7NtZnyc

158

Power strategies and everyday drawing a city of colonial Brazil:

the Filipia de Nossa Senhora das Neves in the XVI century
Maria Berthilde Filha, Ivan Cavalcanti Filho
Departamento de Arquitetura, Universidade Federal da Paraba
E-mail: berthilde_ufpb@yahoo.com.br

Among many authors who studied the Brazilians cities in the first centuries of colonization, as
Holanda (1994) and Delson (1997), is recurrente the assertion that exceptionally the orthogonal
urban grid was adopted by the colonizer. One of these exceptions is the Filipia de Nossa
Senhora das Neves (today Joo Pessoa) founded to be the seat city of the Captaincy of Paraba,
in 1585. Considering the relevance of its layout to study the production of space in the LusoBrazilian universe, as well as knowledge its morphology to proposed interventions in this
ancient city core, the aim of this paper is to analyze, from a historical perspective, the urban
form of this city. Built by the Portuguese Crown to meet the strategies of occupation and
domination of territory, had the drawing, in part, considered from the goals that would meet and
the action of agents producing its space: the royal power and the Catholic Church, represented
by the monastic orders and the lay brotherhoods. When founded, the city was defined by two
parallel main streets and crossed by other perpendicular, with a clear relationship with the
religious buildings (Moura Filha, 2010). So having support in the methods of morphological
analysis of Capel (2002) and Lamas (2004), we want to explore the assertion of Carlos (2007),
as being urban space the result of movements of domination and appropriation, which derives
both from the political and economic strategies as social practices that take shape in it.
Key Words: Brazil, colonization, urban form, religious buildings.
References
Capel, H. (2002) La morfologia de las ciudades (Ediciones del Serbal, Barcelona).
Carlos, A.F. (2007) O espao urbano: novos escritos sobre a cidade (FFLCH, So Paulo).
Delson, R.M. (1997) Novas vilas para o Brasil-Colnia: planejamento espacial e social no
sculo XVIII (Editora Alva-Ciord, Braslia).
Holanda, S. B. (1994) Razes do Brasil (Jos Olympio Editora, So Paulo).
Lamas, J.M.R.G. (2004) Morfologia urbana e desenho da cidade (Fundao Caloust
Gulbenkian, Junta Nacional de Investigao Cientfica e Tecnolgica, Lisboa).
Moura Filha, M.B. (2010) De Filipia Paraba: uma cidade na estratgia de colonizao do
Brasil. Sculos XVI XVIII (Superintendncia do Iphan na Paraba, Joo Pessoa).

159

Morphology and structure of road crossings of the modernist

urban ring of Viana do Castelo in the City's General Plan
Jos Lopes, Manuel Gulias, Rui Cavaleiro
Design de Ambientes, Instituto Politcnico de Viana do Castelo
E-mail: clopes@estg.ipvc.pt , mrivas@estg.ipvc.pt , brancocavaleiro.arq@sapo.pt

The consolidation of both the medieval walled perimeter of the village of Viana (1258 to 137475) and consequent urban sprawl, resulting in its five suburbs (Moreira 2005: 22-23), in the
following centuries, led to a new ovoid shape. This happened due to either contagion or
technical culture when designing the XVI to XVIII centuries streets and buildings centered on
constructive sets of convents / monasteries and their Renaissance churches - the urban convent
ring (Moreira 2005). In addition to this, the family mansions built on open ground and the lack
of major geographical obstacles reinforced their growth and progressive urban spread along
both ends of a main east-west axes (from So Vincente, along Rua da Bandeira, to Campo
d'Agonia, through the former So Sebastio street), allowing the circulation of people and the
establishment of trade, and thus, resulting in a wider relationship with the countryside and the
outside world (Lopes et al 2013; Veloso et al 2012). It is this space made up of streets and urban
buildings alongside the crossing of Minhos railway line (1877-78) that makes sense not only to
the city planning (1848) but also to its map. Even before the railway line was built there was
already an urbanist sense which led to a morpho- functional pattern expressed through the
urban quarters which are defined by the street crossings, where access to drinking water has
enabled the settling of people, houses, events and above all a better local circulation and contact
with the surrounding areas. Our proposal is an analysis of the study and interpretation of the
modernistic urban network, ex ante and ex post, of Viana do Castelo city.
Key Words: modernist city, streets and blocks, road standard, urban plant.
References
Lopes, J.C., Gulas, M.R. and Cavaleiro, R.J.B. (2013) Modernismo Urbano Revisitado. O caso
de Viana do Castelo, Cadernos Vianenses 47, Viana do Castelo: 157-188.
Moreira, M.A.F. (2005) A Histria de Viana do Castelo, in Dispersos-I (Cmara Municipal,
Viana do Castelo).
Veloso, C., Lopes, J.C. and Cavaleiro, R.J.B. (2012) O desenvolvimento polinucleado da
estrutura urbana da cidade de Viana do Castelo in Carbalada, A.M., Roy, D. and Jose I.V.
Vzquez, J. I. V. (eds.) Las Ciudades y el Sistema Urbano. Reflexiones en tempos de crisis:
Galicia Norte de Portugal (Meubook, Santiago de Compostela) 97-110

160

Urbanization in the Brazilian hinterlands forgotten

century: growth patterns in Planaltina
Pedro Paulo Palazzo
Faculdade de Arquitectura e Urbanismo, Universidade de Brasilia.
E-mail: pedro.palazzo@gmail.com
This paper examines the patterns of urbanization in a town founded during the period of
economic slump in Gois state comprised between the decline of gold mining in the late
eighteenth century and the construction of the new state capital, Goinia, in the 1930s. While
most gold towns shriveled during this period, a handful of new settlements, still poorly studied
in current scholarship, appeared in cattle ranching areas, among them Planaltina. Laid out on a
rough grid sometime after 1811, this town belies several key concepts of the canonical
Portuguese-Brazilian city, such as site selection, lot proportion, and density: it was built by a
valley, with wide and shallow lots having ample side yards, and its houses are often misaligned.
These features are compared with preceding and contemporary towns in central Brazil,
highlighting general changes in urban patterns during the preindustrial nineteenth century
throughout the region, as well as aspects unique to the case of Planaltina. Changes in regional
highway networks, the introduction of the automobile and of the airplane predictably influenced
the growth of the town. Starting in the early twentieth century, infill begins to occur, with lots
being subdivided either lengthwise or breadthwise, as well as changes in the historic center
brought about more recently by the demographic and economic effects of planned extensions to
the city.
Keywords: small towns, urban growth, preindustrial cities, Brazilian highlands, Planaltina.

161

From Oppidum to Suburbia: urban transformations in the

medieval town of Mono
Virglio Lopes Torres, Joo Paulo Delgado
FAAULF, FAAULP and Dinmia-CET. E-mail: jpdelgadoarq@gmail.com

The aim of this paper is to present the outcome of a research regarding the morphological
mutations in the urban features of Mono, Portugal. The paper tries to demonstrate that
Mono may be seen as a remarkable case, both for the urban study of small towns in northern
Portugal and for the understanding of their role in the interweaving of the surrounding
territories. As part of the defense of the North-western border of Portugal by the river Minho
(Andrade, 1998), the morphological lay-out of Mono gathers and exposes almost every stage
of its development: from its probable origins as a Celtic Oppidum, or Castro (Marques, 1987),
to its medieval foundation as a Portuguese counterpart of a French bastide (Barroca, 2004), to
its 17th century Vauban-styled fortress (Antunes, 1996). This was partly demolished in 1915 to
make room for the new railway facilities, thus enabling the development of new activities such
as tourism and the trade of Alvarinho wine (Cruz and Pregitzer, 2008). The paper follows this
process using purpose-made sequences of diagrams and drawings, based not only in previous
sources (Teixeira and Valla, 1999) but also in original research (Torres, 2012). The sequences
culminate with the questioning of the void resulting from the transformation of the railway
facilities in a new avenue, occurred in the 1990s. Lacking of any urban intention or any
capacity of connecting the fragile urban fabric with the newly built quarters and with the
international road grid (Delgado and S Machado, 2012), this non-place is the mark of a
diminished way of understanding the urban form: Suburbia.
Key Words: Mono, urban evolution, development of medieval towns.
References
Andrade, A.A. (1998) A estratgia dionisiana na fronteira noroeste, Revista da Faculdade de
Letras: Histria Srie II, vol. XV, Tomo I (Faculdade de Letras da Universidade do Porto)
163-176.
Antunes, J.M.V. (1996) Obras militares do Alto Minho: A Costa Atlntica e a raia ao servio
da restaura o, Unpublished Dissertion, Faculdade de Letras da Universidade do Porto,
Porto.
Barroca, M.J. (2004) Fortifica o e povoamento no Norte de Portugal (Sculo IX a XI),
Portuglia. Nova Srie, Vol. XXV, 181-203.
Cruz, J. and Pregitzer, A. (2008) Mono: Vila termal, bero do alvarinho (Cmara Municipal,
Mono).
Delgado, J.P. and S Machado, A. (2012) Regeneration of part of the historic fortified town of
Mon o, Portugal in C. Clark and C. Brebia (ed.) Defense Sites: Heritage and Future (WIT
Press) 149-160.
Marques, J.A.M. (1987) Assentamentos castrejos do Concelho de Mon o, Revista de
Cincias Histricas da Universidade Portucalense, Vol. II, 77-120.
Teixeira, M.C. and Valla, M. (1999) O urbanismo portugus: Sculos XIII-XVIII: PortugalBrasil, Livros Horizonte.
Torres, V.L. (2012) Evolu o urbana de uma vila raiana: o caso de Mon o, Unpublished
Dissertation, Faculdade de Arquitectura e Artes da Universidade Lusada, V. N. de
Famalico.

162

Urbanization life cycle of Nablus City (1946-2015)

Huthaifa Ashqar, Lujain Hadba, Nasser Tuqan
Urban Engineering, University of Minho. E-mail: h.i.ashqar@gmail.com

Nablus is a Palestinian city (178,249 population in 2013) located in the northern part of West
Bank. This commercial, historical, cultural, and educational city, has a deeply-rooted
municipality established in 1869. During the period from 1940s till 1990s, four different
administrative powers (governorates) ruled Nablus city: British Mandate, Jordanian
Administration, Israeli Administration and finally, the Palestinian Authority. In fact, the
establishment of the Palestinian Authority in 1995 had a noticeable organizational effect on the
urbanization. This study aims to analyze the urbanization in Nablus Municipality as an urban
growth area during 1946 - 2015. This is done through applying the Loureno meta-analysis for
urban growth areas, which allows a better understanding of the sequence of interdependencies
that exist. The analysis can be addressed expanding the concepts of urbanization and
redevelopment of urban areas within a continuum process associated to planning and investment
cycles (Loureno & Astuti, 2011). The applicability of the proposed model is tested by studying
the evolution and development of strategic urban planning, implementation and the resulted
effects on living for Nablus city in the stated period. The organization reached its peak in 2006,
when the Municipality engaged the public in the discussion of the plan; therefore, the planning
process is enriched by the representation of most civil society bodies. Nablus Plan-Process
showed a complete cycle (planning, action, and living). Innovative adaptation to the faced
conditions by engaging the society is one of the most important reasons of Nabluss complete
cycle.
Key Words: urbanization, urban strategy, meta-analysis, plan-process, public participation.
References
Loureno, J. M. and Astuti, Z. B. (2011) Success Key Factors of a Local Urban Strategy: the
case of Solo, Central Java, Indonesia, CITTA 4th Annual Conference on Planning Research
Innovation in Governance and Decision Making in Planning, Porto.

163

Hermann Jansen's Grnstreifen in Ankara and their

transformation
Sinan Burat
City and Regional Planning Department, Mersin University
E-mail: burat@mersin.edu.tr

Urban open spaces have been considered as an integral part of urban space in modern urban
planning theory and practice. A comprehensive urban development plan considering the green
spaces as such were prepared by Prof. Hermann Jansen for Ankara, capital of Turkey, in 1932,
after he won the development plan competition in 1928. Jansen proposed an extensive green
space structure. In the 70 years following the approval of the plan, this green space structure has
been modified in various ways and transformed to uses other than its original purposes. The
purpose of this paper is to trace the modification of this green space structure in general and to
analyse the transformations of one component of this green space structure, here called Gven
Park-Tandoan green strip, some parts of which still remain. The initial decisions for these plan
modifications were made between 1950 and 1957 by the Development Executive Committee.
The modifications induced on the plan are analysed and some modifications are found to be
more important than others since they initiated further modifications to the green strip. Also the
effect of changes in the floor order zoning to increase the density, increased use of automobiles
and the role of actors in the transformation process will be evaluated.
Key Words: Hermann Jansen, Ankara, green space structure.

164

Morphological process as an instrument for knowing

chronological character: a case study in Tainan
Chih-Hung Chen, Woan-Shiuan Lin
Department of Urban Planning, National Cheng Kung University
Email: chihhungchen@mail.ncku.edu.tw

The evolution of the historical process also produced the morphological character of the place,
which can obviously observe in previous European studies. However, in Asian cities, urban
morphology rapidly altered by industrialization and the population explosion in only half
century, lease the morphological structure not really apparently as European city. So, is the
morphological process (Conzen, 1988) still can be perceive in nowadays city form? If that, what
is the character of Asia morphological process? To realize the evolution particularity, find out
different type of fringe-belt (Whitehand, 1987) and built-up area (nl, 2012) as the
morphological region which base on the form complex and the morphogenetic priority (Conzen,
1985). Then, define the Asia specific period by its geographic specificity and multiple socioeconomic forces. Lastly, let the region and period as the horizontal and vertical axis making
matrix which summarized the evolution of morphological process. For knowing the
chronological character of Asian cities, Tainan, an old port city which lays on the East Asia
marine trade routes, experienced the Age of Exploration, industrialization, post-war population
explosion. The process recorded into the urban fabric and the morphological region can be
alienated to three times of accretion attaching with fringe-belt. In conclusion : i) each region has
divergent morphological process to adapt new period, and the margins of change are also
diverse; ii) city centre and inner fringe-belt have transform process type but outer parts have
more rapidly accretion and replace process; iii) the velocity of accretion process can represent
the era character.
Key Words: morphological period, morphological process, morphological region, East Asian
port city, Tainan.
References
Conzen, M.R.G. (1985) Morphogenesis and structure of the historic townscape in Britain, in
Thinking about urban form: Papers on urban morphology, (European Academic Pulishers,
London) 1932-1988.
Conzen, M.R.G. (1988) Morphogenesis, morphological regions, and secular human agency in
the historic townscape, as exemplified by Ludlow, in Urban Historical Geography. Recent
progress in Britain and Germany, 253-272.
nl, T. (2012) Thinking about urban fringe belts: a Mediterranean perspective, Urban
Morphology 17, 5-20.
Whitehand, J.W.R. (1987) The changing face of cities. A study of development cycles and urban
form (IBG special publications, Oxford).

165

The evolution of urban form since post-war period in Taiwan:

a case study of Yonghe city
Chih-Hung Chen, Chia-Hua Tsai
Department of Urban Planning, National Cheng Kung University
E-mail: chihhungchen@mail.ncku.edu.tw

To reorganize the living environment ruined by WWII, post-war modernism arose with
emphasis on quantity and function of residential buildings, which became the mainstream of
urban reconstruction. Moreover, the concept Automobile dependency (Reichow, 1959) was
comprehensively applied in 1950s. Both essential causes led to period specificity of forms: an
observable morphological period (Conzen, 1960, 1985). In contrast to Europe, two different
factors, namely industrialization and promptly increased immigration happened in East Asian
metropolises, which resulted in the short supply for residential demand. For the causes above,
the process of morphological change transformed rapidly that the form changing can be
observed evidently. A city is composed of the complexity of fatti urbani (Rossi, 1966) and
plots (Tarbatt, 2012). These visible and invisible parts are basic units of urban development
(Alexander, 1979). By comparing the correlation between streets, buildings and plots, the result
of the evolution of urban form since post-war period can be found in Yonghe, locating in the
surrounding area of Taipei, the capital of Taiwan. Theyre concluded as follows: i) Period
specificity of forms - Most are detached, duplex and attached apartments on small plots.
However, only some retail stores located along the main street. ii) Adaption forms - For more
residential needs, high-rise buildings appear on big plots not only apartments but also
commercial buildings near the MRT station or along the main street. iii) Replacement forms
The city government claimed urban regeneration as high priority of urban planning. A different
urban form is expected in the future.
Key Words: morphological period, post-war modernism, urban form evolution, period
specificity in Taiwan, morphological process.
References
Alexander C. (1979) Timeless Way of Building (Oxford University Press, Oxford).
Conzen, M.R.G. (1960) Alnwick Northumberland: a study in town-plan analysis (Institute of
British Geographers, London).
Conzen, M.R.G. (1985) Morphogenesis and structure of the historic townscape in Britain, in
Thinking about urban form: Papers on Urban Morphology (European Academic Publishers,
Bern) 1932-1998.
Reichow H.B. (1959) Die autogerechte Stadt. Ein Weg aus dem Verkehrs-Chaos, (Ravensburg:
Otto Maier, Verlag).
Rossi, A. (1966) L Architettura della citt (Quodlibet Abitare).
Tarbatt, J. (2012) The plot: Designing diversity in the built environment: a Manual for
architects and urban designers (RIBA).

166

The evolution of the Anatolian townscape in the early

republican period of Turkey in the Case of Mugla
Feray Koca
Department of City and Regional Planning, Mugla Sitki Koman University
E-mail: feraykoca@hotmail.com , feraykoca@mu.edu.tr

The establishment of the Turkish Republic in 1923 was a beginning in terms of modernization
of Ottoman Anatolia. During the Ottoman Period, the urban space was formed simultaneously
without any plan and neighborhoods clustered around some religious buildings such as mosque,
madrasah or masjid. In the early Republican Period, the ideal of National Architectural
Movement was prevalent in town planning as a modernization project. The Anatolian towns
were planned according to geometrical development plans that aimed to create the urban space
of nation-state. In many Anatolian towns, the organic traditional pattern was transformed into
geometrical formal pattern. Mugla is a town in the southwestern Turkey. As other historical
Anatolian towns, its townscape has been subjected to an evolution. The first planned city
development started with the establishment of the Republic in the 20th century. In 1936, a
geometrical development plan was prepared for Mugla. This plan defined the new town center
and the orientation of the residential development independently from the traditional pattern.
The project of Republican Square in every Anatolian town was implemented in Mugla and this
square became the new administrative center of the town. This paper aims to present the
evolution of the townscape of Mugla in the period of transition from the Ottoman State to the
Republic of Turkey. In order to assert the evolution, the paper explains the urban space of the
town in the Ottoman Period and puts forth the transformation of the townscape with national
modernization project of the Republic.
Key Words: Anatolian town, townscape, pattern, development plan.

167

Analysis of the correlated relations between ancient Chinese

urban morphology and social culture
Jinghua Dai, Zhu Wang
College of civil engineering and architecture, Zhejiang University
E-mail: jinghuadq@gmail.com

Cities gestate culture. Different cultural backgrounds and ideological concept promote diverse
city planning thoughts, as well as various forms of cities. Nowadays, the development status of
Chinese city, such as the high speed of construction along with the resulting one side thousand
cities pattern, urges the designers to turn over to think the guiding ideology and practice way of
future city construction. However, when looking back upon ancient Chinese urban morphology,
its distinct features of the age and spatial attributes are worthy of deep consideration. Based on
spatial distribution of ancient cities, this paper takes ancient Chinese culture as an entry point
from three cultural levels including the system, material and spirit. Furthermore, the effect and
influence of culture on constructing urban form are explored and analysed, and then cultural
connotation of ancient Chinese urban morphology is summarized aimed at leading the future
urban to be constructed with distinctive character and sense of belonging.
Key Words: Ancient Chinese, urban morphology, system, ancient culture.

168

The impact of culture and social relations on urban form in

Iran in the historical evolution, with emphasis on Islamic
culture
Abdolhadi Daneshpour, Hoorieh Taghidokht, Maryam Sabokkhiz, Samaneh Jalili
Iran University of Science & Technology (IUST), School of Architecture and
Environmental Design
E-mail: Daneshpour@iust.ac.ir , h_taghidokht@iust.ac.ir , Sabokkhiz@iust.ac.ir
Jalili@iust.ac.ir
Urban space is a social product. Human behaviors impact cites physical form. Conversely,
social relations and each area's culture have deep effect on urban structure. This paper initially
focuses on the impact of culture and social relations on the urban form and physical structures
of cites in Iran in the historical evolutions by the emphasis on Islamic culture. To that end, a
survey method was employed. Documentary and Library data elicitation techniques were also
applied to study the existing theoretical principles and approaches in the field. The evidences
show that before Islam in Iran, on the influence of society ascendancy with Persian,
Hellenistic and Party patterns produced specific urban form with Citadel, beyond town with
Bazaar skeleton and its rural hinterland. After Islam ingression with the influence of Islamic
doctrine, cites encounter physical changes based on Islamic culture. Islamic culture created
some physical elements such as Mosques, School and specific neighbourhoods which were not
exited before. These elements impact the urban form and urban fabric. So, this article seeks to
find the impacts and changes caused by Islamic culture.
Key Words: culture and social relation, urban form, Islamic culture, Iran.

169

Morphological evolution of urban form components in the

historical peninsula of Istanbul
Aye Sema Kubat, Eren Krkolu
Urban and Regional Planning Department, Istanbul Technical University
E-mail: kubat@itu.edu.tr , ekurkcuoglu@itu.edu.tr

Communities transform urban spaces according to their socio-cultural structures, needs,

principles and policies. This process occurs either as entirely rebuilding of the space, or as
constructing the remaining with the trails left by previous societies. Thus, several cultures
generate a physical and social mosaic within the same urban space over time. Certainly, the
most apparent reflection of this mosaic can be observed on the morphological structure of the
space. City blocks, transportation networks, open spaces, landmarks, monumental buildings and
urban facilities come forward as the most prominent components through the transformation
process of urban morphology. From this perspective, the Historical Peninsula of Istanbul can be
defined as a unique mosaic: The reflection of the cultural features on the urban space can be
seen by the variation of urban form components from Pre-Historic period to the present. The
aim of this study is to evaluate how different cultures have transformed the morphology of the
Historical Peninsula of Istanbul through history. Morphological structures and urban form
components were analyzed through old maps in four periods: Greek, Roman, Ottoman and
Republican. With the determinations obtained by mapping techniques, the transformation ratio
in morphological structure has been examined comparatively via urban form components. In
this context, the impact of cultures on urban morphology has also been discussed. According to
the findings of the study, 16% of the components has been existed throughout all periods, 68%
destroyed in the process, and the rest survived by being transformed or appeared in a certain
period.
Key Words: Istanbul, historical peninsula, urban history, urban morphology, urban form
components.

170

Grasping the meaning of the modern urban form in the

Philippines: political, social, and spatial perspectives
Ian Morley
Department of History, Chinese University of Hong Kong
E-mail: ianmorley@arts.cuhk.edu.hk

This paper explores the form and meaning of American colonial urban plans in the Philippines
during the period 1898 to 1916, i.e. the period between the onset of American rule and the
passing of the Philippine Autonomy Act, the decree that promoted the Filipinisation of the
colonial civil service. It evaluates how the importation of City Beautifulinspired urban layouts
was fundamental to the colonial bureaucratic process of enabling, firstly, the Philippines to
become civilised and, secondly, to educating Filipino elites in the art of self-government.
Accordingly the paper shall investigate the redesign of settlements such as Manila, Cebu and
Zamboanga, and the creation of new provincial civic centres of which 31 were either
instigated or proposed - as part of Americas process of reforming a society viewed by the
colonisers as backward. Aligning political, cultural and environmental transition in the
Philippines with the execution of progress the paper shall seek to determine the alliance
between urban morphology, governance, and Philippine societys advancement after 1898 so
that comprehension may be deepened as to how cultural, political, artistic and environmental
forces affected each other during a time when modern urban planning became applied in the
country for the first time. How modern urban design was utilised within the public domain to
enable a new society to take root will be explained so that, in broad terms, knowledge can be
imparted as to why America sought to disassociate their newly acquired colony from its
allegedly uncivilised and savage past.
Key Words: The Philippines, American imperialism, City Beautiful, societal reform, modernity.

171

A code for the Islamic cities of the Gulf

Attilio Petruccioli
Department of Architecture and Urban Planning
Qatar University, Doha. E-mail: petruccioli@yahoo.com
The paper demonstrates that the urban fabric of the traditional cities of the Islamic countries,
beyond an apparently chaotic image, possess a logical structure, that contains all the information
needed for the formulation of a contemporary urban planning code.
Key Words: history, fast growing Islamic cities, typology, urban fabric.

172

Evolution, the current state and future of physical urban form

of Gaborone City, Botswana
Branko Cavri, Botlhe Phuthologo
Department of Architecture and Planning, Faculty of Engineering and Technology,
University of Botswana. E-mail: cavra@botsnet.bw

For nearly five decades the built environment of Gaborone the capital city of Botswana has been
altering its green complexion by cumulative impacts of numerous actors involved in creation
of a contemporary urban milieu. Similar to other African new-towns, Gaborones semi-urban
scenery was not immune to planning concepts invented and used in the developed world. In
most of the cases such approaches neglected local philosophy of settlement location and its
physical and social structuring. The dominance of western and other borrowed planning
doctrines is shaping its horizontal and vertical urban skylines today. Building on the legacy of
Garden City, it was assumed that it will continue to shape and gain recognition as an urban
oasis. However, this was not the case and Gaborone became the fastest growing urban
laboratory in Africa. The spectacular population increase from 7,000 people in 1966 to almost
250,000 in 2013, and urban sprawling were inevitable. The dominant planning and design tools
in evolution of Gaborone physical form expanded on conventional zoning, cluster sub-divisions,
super blocks, and transit oriented developments, need rethinking and replacement with more
environmentally, socially and economically sound solutions. Experimenting and applications
with traditional horse shoe subdivisions and kgotla pattern on one side, in combination with
smart conservation development, smart growth, new urbanism and traditional neighbourhood
concept on the other hand, might be an excellent sustainable opportunity in merging local and
global ideas when creating the physical structure, plan layout, the townscape and functional
areas of Gaborone.
Key Words: new town, physical form, kgotla, townscape.

173

Beira, a modernist landscape in tropical Africa

Mrio Gonalves Fernandes1, Rui Mealha2, Rui Paes Mendes3
Centro de Estudos de Geografia e Ordenamento do Territrio (CEGOT)
1,3
Faculdade de Letras da Universidade do Porto (FLUP)
2
Faculdade de Arquitetura da Universidade do Porto (FAUP)
E-mail: mgfernan@letras.up.pt , rmealha@gmail.com , ruipaesmendes@gmail.com
1,3

The city of Beira founded in 1887, in a river flood area survived against all natural odds in
an unsuitable place, became from (19)40s onward a unique and complex study case about the
modernist ideas in tropical countries, namely in African continent. Todays city is an open
museum of modernist architecture and urbanism, forged by young and experimentalist architects
and civil engineers that, from Portugal (and in some cases from South Africa), searched the
Portuguese colony of Mozambique to build a career. The city of Beira became a prosperous city
due to high income provided by its harbour and railroad interface that served
Rhodesia/Zimbabwe and was the base of cities health, allied to a large political and civic
autonomy from central powers of Lisbon and Loureno Marques (Maputo) that, both, gave to
the city the ability to attract young, ambitious ant talented architects and civil engineers that
built a paradoxal city, full of emblematic modernist buildings both private and public -,
complex and unorthodox engineering solutions that filled an urbanistic plan unique in
Portuguese colonial Africa. City authorities and even public opinion were eager of architectural
landmarks and proud of what they considered a beautiful city. Today, that confluence of
willingness, talent, ambition an aesthetic sense produced a city that is recovering from the
eclipse produced by years of civil war and where we can find in its landscape emblematic
buildings as the Central Station, the Grand Hotel of Beira, the airport, the swimming pool
complex, among many other buildings
Key Words: modernism, urbanism, urban morphology, colonial urbanism,

174

rom a miserable town of 150 mud huts to the city that

never sleeps: the transformation of Limassols urban form
over the past 200 years
Ilaria Geddes
Department of Architecture, University of Cyprus. E-mail: ilaria.geddes@gmail.com

This paper describes PhD research, which uses spatial analysis to trace the development of the
urban form of Limassol between 1883 and the present day. The research is specifically
concerned with the street network and how this relates to different social variables such as
ethnicity, educational level, and occupational status. It focuses on how these factors have
changed spatially and overtime, on analysing such changes diachronically using historical and
contemporary maps (from 1883, 1933, 1960, 1987, 2003 and 2011), historical records and
census data. This paper presents the findings of the first phase of the research, which analyses
the urban morphology using space syntax methodology and block size analysis. Firstly, the
syntactical characteristics of the contemporary city are examined, assessing its spatial
properties, problems and the way its urban form functions. Secondly, the space syntax model of
the contemporary city is used to constructs models of the city in the past based on historical
maps, while the elements added and changed between two periods are assessed quantitatively
and qualitatively. The analysis shows that as Limassol grew, fringe belts developed around its
historical core, firstly along radial routes - former rural paths leading to surrounding villages
and then through the development of ring roads. Although the central core of Limassol has
shifted overtime towards the inner ring road and further out into the contemporary city, the
historical core still retains functions and properties typical of its former spatial characteristics.
The results suggest that the diachronic analysis provides valuable evidence and facilitates an
understanding of the ways in which historical formations of urban configuration influence the
present life and form of the city.
Key Words: space syntax, diachronic analysis, Limassol.

175

The role of the PDAU in the urban morphology of Saida city

in Algeria
Sara Zatir, Benkoula Sidi Mohamed el Habib, Amira Zatir
University of Bechar, Bechar, Algeria. E-mail: zatirsara@yahoo.fr

Saida city is a good place to development and to implement new schemes relating to
sociospatial mutations. To complete this, an analysis of urban expansion of the city is necessary
to understand the growth of the built area passed from 5.421.904 ha to 18.419.150 ha and the
intramuros population passing from 30,000 to 130,000 in four decades. The urban morphology
of Saida city had extended because of several factors such as laws and demographic growth that
have a negative effect to the proprieties on landscape and environment.
Key Words: Saida, urban morphology, PDAU, urban planning.

176

Analyzing the effects of hot and arid climate on the form of

historic cities of Iran
Seyed Abdolhadi Daneshpour, Mohammad Rezai Nedoushan
Department of urban planning and design in IUST, School of Architecture &
Environmental Design
E-mail: daneshpour@iust.ac.ir , rezainedoushan@iust.ac.ir

A significant portion of the current territory of Iran is situated in hot and arid climate. While the
strenuous climatic conditions have made living very trying, the greatest and biggest cities of
Iran in the last millennium have emerged in these areas. It seems that one of the reasons
contributing to the formation, growth and sustainability of these cities, is the specific methods
used in their architecture and urban planning. Since one of the methods has manifested itself in
the form of historic cities in hot and arid climate, in this paper urban form is analysed. The main
focus in analysis of urban form is urban structure (shape, figure, direction of passages),
neighborhood context (shape, size, direction, sort of buildings and yards) and mass and space
patterns. The aim of this paper is to assess the urban form in order to discern the characteristics
whose make the harmony between urban settlement and harsh climatic conditions. Results of
this survey are shown that special form of historic cities (Esfahan, Yazd, Kerman, Kashan,
Meybod and Ardakan) was affected by Climate property. Moreover the special climatic
characteristics of each of these cities make a difference in their form characteristics to achieve
appropriate compatibility with environment.
Key Words: form characteristics, hot and arid climate, historic cities of Iran.

177

Island-City/City-Island: Island precincts and evolving urban

morphology of Abu Dhabi, UAE
Anamika Mishra
Department or Architecture and Design, College of Engineering, Abu Dhabi University,
Abu Dhabi. E-mail: Anamika.Mishra@adu.ac.ae

Islands hold a strong association with concepts of exclusivity and nature, due to their isolated
configuration and the strong presence of the Sea, respectively. However, examples abound of
cities that have emerged as island cities and as urban archipelagos. Consumerist and
tourismdriven economies have helped further appreciate the value of the islands waterfronts and
their adaptation as landscapes of leisure and recreation. Advances in technology and availability
of capital have allowed articulation of grand visions for islands, both natural and man-made.
Hence the development of islands has played a significant role in the emerging urban form of
several coastal cities. Cities in the Middle East, in particular, have displayed this pattern in a
more pronounced manner as a recurring theme, evident in projects like The Pearl-Qatar and The
Palm Islands (Elsheshtawy, 2010), which have also contributed to the city-image of Doha and
Dubai respectively. Abu Dhabi, an island city itself, has joined this trend by recognizing the
development potential of its peripheral islands. While historically development was
concentrated on the main island, which characterised the city form, it has now extended to the
various peripheral islands that are being developed as key projects. This paper studies the
emergent morphology of Abu Dhabi, as influenced by the creation, development and
redevelopment of its various islands. Common morphological patterns at the scale of the island
shall be identified and relations drawn to the overall city morphology. The paper also discusses
issues pertaining to the evolving city morphology such as the environment, connectivity, edges,
seams and gateways.
Key Words: Abu Dhabi, islands, morphology, urban form, urban design.
References
Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Vision 2030. (www.upc.gov.ae/template/upc/pdf/abu-dhabi-vision2030-revised.pdf). Accessed on 20th Jan 2014.
Elsheshtawy, Y. (2010) Dubai: Behind an Urban Spectacle (Routledge, Oxfordshire) 142-144.

178

Mapping the urban form. Coastal fishing villages in Algarve

Mafalda Pacheco, Teresa Heitor
DECivil Departamento de Engenharia Civil, Arquitectura e Georrecursos, Instituto
Superior Tcnico, UTL
E-mail: mafaldapacheco@tecnico.ulisboa.pt , teresa.heitor@tecnico.ulisboa.pt

The paper examines the historical growth patterns of coastal fishing villages in eastern Algarve,
Portugal. The goal is to investigate the relationship between the configurational and shape
properties of their urban forms in order to identify generative or emergent patterns,
understanding the historical reasons for the emergence of a particular morphology. Syntactical
modelling of historical cartography combined with conventional morphological techniques, i.e.
micro-scale urban form analysis, namely street system, plot and building patterns analysis are
applied to understand more about the urban growth processes. Syntactic variables of
connectivity, line length and integration to model the evolutionary trends are used both to
identify generic rules of urban growth and the specific historical factors. This is an attempt to
define potential bridges between the more quantitative approaches and more traditional urban
history analytical procedures and develop an operational urban morphology method.
Key Words: urban morphology, space syntax, coastal fishing villages, Algarve.

179

Spatial and economic integration of mill towns with their

surrounding urban environment
Ipek Kaynar Rohloff
Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, MA, USA. E-mail: irohloff@mtholyoke.edu

Once served to industrial land uses, street and canal network in historic mill towns may be the
most striking elements of a declined urban environment. In revitalization efforts, canals are
often considered central to place-making efforts due to the scenic capacity that can engage
pedestrians. However, a research approach examining urban form performance in terms of street
network relations (Hillier, 1996; Hillier and Hanson, 1984) may reveal that canals within the
urban form can be segregating and thus detrimental revitalization of downtown with its vibrant
unity. This paper investigates to what extent current form of mill towns can support downtown
revitalization with maintained centrality, or else if declined mill towns inevitably evolve into
separated urban zones due to their more direct connection with surrounding towns. The
discussion is built upon the insights from our analysis of Holyoke, MA (USA) prior to this
study. Holyoke is a declined historic mill town currently going through revitalization with
mixed-use development driven by information technology and retail market. Our analysis of
downtown Holyoke urban form in comparison with revitalization plans suggest that downtown
Holyoke will evolve into two differentiated urban zones due to the divisive role of the central
canals as well as block size differences at two sides of the canals (Rohloff, 2013). This paper
will investigate further the predicted evolution of urban form towards fragmentation by
extending the analysis to the surrounding urban region and by examining other mill town
clusters. Results will help explore new capacities of urban form for future renewal efforts.
Key Words: urban form evolution, fragmentation, street network, industrial town morphology.
References
Hillier, B. (1996) Space is the machine: a configurational theory of architecture (Cambridge
University Press, New York).
Hillier, B. and Hanson, J. (1984) The social logic of space (Cambridge University Press, New
York).
Rohloff, I. K. (2013) Urban morphologies of mill towns and positive transformation. analyzing
regenerative capacity of the morphology of Holyoke, Proceedings of Ninth International
Space Syntax Symposium (Sejong University Press, Seoul).

180

Evolved urban form to respond to extreme sea level events in

coastal cities
Wang Liangliang, Han Jie
Department or Architecture, National University of Singapore
E-mail: wangliangliang@nus.edu.sg

Along with climate change and global warming, extreme sea level events (ESLEs) are seriously
threatening coastal cities development. In order to respond to such events, transformational
adaptation strategy in urban planning might play an important role. For the purpose of urban
planning practices, the main objective of this research is to develop a method which could
formulate the proper urban form in vulnerable coastal areas. In this research, several typical
urban forms in waterfronts will be selected and simplified in digital models. Then, a severe
storm surge will be simulated by CFD software. The storm surge is designed to break the
protection of the seawall and run into the coastal area. The pressures endured by the buildings
will be recorded during the simulations. At last, the collected data will be analyzed and
compared in order to understand the diverse wave activities in different urban forms. This
research might prove that in dense coastal areas, ESLEs will cause serious damage to the built
environment if their protective structures fail. It will also show that, with different urban forms,
the impact caused by ESLEs might be various. Through comparisons, it may be possible for
urban planner choice the right urban forms for waterfront development in coastal cities. This
study might contributes some knowledge for waterfront development in vulnerable locations,
and it also provides scientific and useful proof for sustainable strategies in coastal cities and
reveals that particular urban forms could play an essential role in responding to ESLEs.
Key Words: extreme sea level events (ESLEs), CFD simulation, urban forms, waterfront
development.

181

Restelo neighbourhood: a paradigmatic example of urban form

overlapping
Patrcia Bento dAlmeida
DINMIACET-IUL, Instituto Universitrio de Lisboa ISCTE-IUL
E-mail: pbdao@iscte.pt

Restelo neighbourhood located in Lisbon reflects the paradigmatic result of an amalgam of

urban interventions in the same territory that is important to explore. Through the twentieth
century the growth of the capital of Portugal was directly related to political decisions from the
election of the municipality president and to the Public Works Ministry. The urban forms that
resulted from such decisions, reproduced in this neighbourhood, do represent a specific case
study that testifies different urban design solutions, which need to be revealed. The intention to
develop a housing neighbourhood in the south-west limit of Lisbons city emerge from the
dictatorship minister, that saw in this territory a perfect scenario to Faria da Costa, the first
Portuguese urban planner, to put into practice the urban knowledge acquired with Agache, De
Grer and Henri Prost. But, if with Duarte Pacheco has been called one urban planner, with the
subsequent politicians, architect teams were called to redraw what had not been built therefore.
Restelo is a cluster of different neighbourhood parts that all together does not make one single
neighbourhood, but previously reveals the overall evolution of Portuguese Urban History.
Today, with parcels of land yet to urbanize, it is still a territory open to future urban design
solutions and interventions. This article presents the survey of diverse urban plans for Restelo
and reveals the evolution of the urban form of a paradigmatic example of Portuguese urban
planning. Moreover, it contributes to debate the importance of respect from previous urban
design solutions.
Key Words: Restelo-Portugal, urban history, urban form; municipality.

182

When the actions of the Office of PDRL transform planning a

bureaucratic and operational discipline
Bruno Macedo Ferreira
Instituto Universitrio de Lisboa (ISCTE-IUL), DINMIACET-IUL
E-mail: bruno.macedo.ferreira@gmail.com
There is no denying the growing importance of that metropolitan areas going to take over these
days, hence the need to go back to the exact moment of its origin - when the phenomenon is
especially "director". This communication aims to present part of an investigation that, by
surveying 30 cases study unpublished sought to understand the phenomenon of residential
occupation of the northern suburb of Lisbon. Questions whether the evolution of the territory
built in the suburbs (architectural and urban planning) when, in the late 1960s, the ideals of
neoliberalism, the emergence of large property developers and a large demographic pressure
reshape the process of urban growth and the logic of metropolitan relations (the traditional
building lot to lot by the production of large urban packages) and urban area in the suburbs of
Lisbon acquires its contemporary shape. Specifically, we shall show the Masterplan for the
Lisbon Region (Plano Director da Regio de Lisboa PDRL) presented in 1964 in its
preliminary version. The plan that has been ignored by historiography of town planning, urban
morphology and territorial management in Portugal is the first plan for the Lisbon region. The
process of expansion of the urban area of Lisbon had as starting point the PDRL. In this plan
then it proposed the reorganization of the whole process of urban growth aimed at decongesting
the central urban fabric of the city of Lisbon. This goal was to take the form of the
establishment of judicious for population expansion of the city and suburban cores limitations.
Supported by a network of roads and highways in the development of rail links suggested the
development of 5 independent clusters organized around Lisbon. Also it was suggested the
expansion of existing roads along the convergent communication in Lisbon and around the
Tagus estuary clusters. Each of these clusters was assigned as much as possible its own "local
life" and not totally dependent on the central city. Although never approved, nor had effective
implementation, this plan symbolizes the "new spirit" of this new era and is launching the "first
stone" of large-scale urbanization that from that moment appeared embedded in a incomplete
road infrastructural network. More important than the plan itself drawn was the action of the
Gabinete do PDRL. This office was responsible for approving all urban operations in Lisbon
region and its action planning become a flexible determination bureaucratically controlled,
where the exclusively technical disciplines assume supremacy at the expense of spatial and
architectural.
Key Words: Lisbon Metropolitan Area, Plano Director da Regio de Lisboa, suburb, urban
agents, urban planning.

183

Utopia and reality: from tinne de Grer to the late 20th

century. vora, Portugal
Maria Filomena Monteiro, Maria do Cu Tereno, Manuela Maria Tom
Cmara Municipal de vora, Universidade de vora, Cmara Municipal de Setbal
E-mail: fmonteiro@cm-evora.pt , mcst@uevora.pt , mjtome@sapo.pt

The origin of the city of vora dates back a few millennia, a fact that determined successive
urban morphologies, which adapted diachronically to the needs of a sum of significantly
diversified generations. The curtain wall was consolidated since the late fifteen century and
during the 1940s it was integrated in the first Urbanization Plan of this city, designed by tinne
de Grer. This plan and the following integrated a spatial structure based on urban axes that date
the Cardo and Decumamum of the Roman era. The reformulation of these urban axes
determined the insertion of new dynamic functions, in the case of preexisting axes. The
constitution of new urban fabric was achieved with the creation of new axes, obtained at the
cost of drastic demolitions in the dense and consolidated hull. New urban centers were created
extramural, contradicting the proposed by de Grer, who advocated the establishment of a
garden city surrounding the walled nucleus.
Key Words: urban planning, urban evolution, axes.

184

Campo Alegre, 1940-1994. The evolution and persistence of a

territorial intend
Slvia Ramos
Centro de Estudos de Arquitectura e Urbanismo, Faculdade de Arquitectura,
Universidade do Porto. E-mail: silviactramos@gmail.com

The work we propose to present is about Campo Alegre1, in the city of Oporto. It focuses a set
of urban plans designed between the 40s and the 90s for the area. Our objective is to review
each of these plans by considering the overlapping layers that have built Campo Alegre
throughout time. Although these plans propose a complete change of Campo Alegres form, we
believe that they always interpret the character of the existing area - certain features of Campo
Alegre persist through time, even if its form changes. Campo Alegre is a large area of high, flat
land, on Douros riverbank. In the first half of the 20th century, Campo Alegre was chosen as
the site for a new bridge over Douro, which was part of the major national motorway network.
The plans we plan to study aimed to design the bridge, its links to the local road network and the
access to the motorway. They also planned to transform Campo Alegre from rural into urban:
design a new city center, a fresh image of Oporto. Renowned architects participate in these
plans, namely Giovanni Muzio, Fernando Tvora and Janurio Godinho, which represent
different views on the construction of urban fabric. Our work is informed by contemporary
published documentation and archival documents. For the interpretation of each of these
documents, we resort to graphic representation. By redesigning each of the Campo Alegres
plans over its predated situation, we analyze the evolution of its urban form throughout the last
century.
Key Words: Porto, contemporary architecture, urban morphology, design.

185

Is there a transversal organic pattern? Favela and its

diachronic relations
Vnia Loureiro, Valrio Medeiros
University of Braslia. E-mail: vania.teles.loureiro@gmail.com , vaugusto@unb.br
This paper aims to explore Favelas spatial configuration within contemporary city searching
for a diachronic relation in its complex process. Recognized as an actual phenomenon in urban
space it seems important to infer its genesis in order to understand its evolvement. And as an
informal and organic type of space, favela must be observed by its collective emergent and
spontaneous actions. It is important to understand its specific organic behavior as responsible
for the fractal (and natural) complexity inherent to it and enormously meaningful for urban
quality (Salingaros, 1998). To explore these similarities in organic form, a comparison is made
between medieval Portuguese towns, Brazilian colonial cities, favelas and contemporary cities
in order to read diachronically the common configurational type. Space Syntax (Hillier and
Hanson, 1984) is the theoretical and methodological approach adopted. So, axial maps and
segment analysis were used to recognize the patterns in the study cases, as well as to recognize
the differences implicit. Were used the following variables: Connectivity, Integration, Line
Length, Segment Length, Mean Depth, Number of Axes, Synergy, Intelligibility, Connections
Type, and Angular Choice. Findings show that favela as definition of a city space is much
closely related to its configuration than with its socioeconomic status. Its organic genesis and
spontaneous development are responsible for space qualities, and so, any settlement without it
cant be consider similar. There is also, a transversal organicity which forbids favela to be
considered an innovative (in)formal phenomenon it takes part in the organic form genotype.
The space being defined as Fractal and Synergic internal scales relating in harmony, being
complex and spontaneous justifies its less immediate seizing but allows more intuitive use of
space and more natural paths.
Key Words: favela, organic form, spontaneity, configuration.
References
Hillier, B.; Hanson, J. (1984) The social logic of space (Cambridge University Press, London).
Salingaros, N. A. (1998) A Teoria da Teia Urbana, Journal of Urban Design 3, 53-71.

186

Urban planning failure and the tale of two informal

neighbourhoods of Accra, Nima and Old Fadama: same
outcome separated by time and space?
George Owusu, Mariama Awumbila, Joseph Teye
Department of Geography & Resource Development, University of Ghana
E-mail: geowusu@yahoo.com , gowusu@ug.edu.gh

Like many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, Ghana is undergoing a rapid pace of urbanization.
The last four decades have witnessed a significant rise in the level of urbanization from about
29% in 1970 to almost 44% in 2000 and about 51% in 2010. A key feature of Ghanas
urbanization process is the skewed distribution of the urbanized population. The urban
population of Ghana is heavily concentrated in the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA),
which hosts the national capital, Accra, and the hub of the countrys economic and industrial
establishments. As consequent of the heavy population pressure on land, housing and basic
services in GAMA, and exacerbated by weak municipal capacities in services and infrastructure
provision, slums and poorly serviced neighbourhoods are becoming a common feature of the
metropolitan landscape. This paper examines the history and development of two informal
neighbourhoods of Accra: Nima, an old informal neighbourhood and Old Fadama, a new
informal neighbourhood. While Nima has been accepted as an integral part and parcel of the
city of Accra, Old Fadama is largely regarded by city authorities as a community requiring
clearance. The paper contrasts the over 70 year history and development of Nima with that of
Old Fadama, and questioned whether history is not repeating itself. More importantly, it argues
that long-term solution to informal neighbourhoods in Ghana and elsewhere does not lay in
slum clearance, but lessons and best practices that can be distilled from the development
experiences of places such as Nima.
Key Words: urban planning, slum, Nima, Old Fadama, Accra.

187

The Ilhas of Porto and the self-improvement urbanism: the

inhabitants as engine of urban transformation
Natasha de Sena, Kees Doevendans, Sophie Rousseau
Alterra Research Institute, Wageningen University. Eindhoven University of
Technology. The Netherlands. E-mail: natasha.desena@wur.nl
The subject of the presentation is the analysis of the morphology of the Ilhas of Porto,
Portugal. The objective is to illustrate what the typology currently means for its inhabitants and
for the urban space and propose methods of improving their living standards. An Ilha in Porto
is a typology of low cost housing which spread within the city in the 19th Century as a result of
the industrial development. The extremely small dwellings (around 4x4m) were established
within backyards of middle class houses, connected to the street through a narrow corridor
(Teixeira, 1996, p. 1-2). Despite all public trials of destruction, more than 1.000 Ilhas still
shelter more than 13.000 people within the city of Porto (Pereira, 2003, p. 145). The social and
spatial dimension of the Ilhas as an assemblage of the city determines the research method,
focusing on: i) an analysis of the morphology and typology of a selected cluster of Ilhas in
different scales; ii) participatory research involving the inhabitants, including interviews and
observation of daily practices and community values. Despite the low quality living conditions,
the inhabitants of the Ilhas show an impressive attachment to their living space, forming a
strong community. This quality is used as a foundation for the self-improvement urbanism,
where the community operates as the main engine of the urban transformation. The main
finding of the research is that the Ilhas could be an inexpensive solution for the current
housing crisis through the further development of the self-improvement urbanism. This
innovative approach includes strong public participation and an innovative position of the
planner within the process.
Key Words: Ilhas, social history, morphology and typology, urban anthropology, selfimprovement urbanism.
References
Pereira, V. B. (2003) Uma imensa espera de concretizaes... Ilhas, bairros e classes laboriosas
brevemente perspectivados a partir da cidade do Porto, Sociologia13, 139-148.
Teixeira, M. C. (1996) Habitao popular na cidade oitocentista - As Ilhas do Porto (Fundao
Calouste Gulbekian, Junta Nacional de Investigao Cientfica e Tecnolgica, Portugal).

188

From housing to city. Lisbons public housing promotions

1910/2012
Filipa Serpa
Faculty of Architecture, Lisbon University. E-mail: filipa.serpa@gmail.com

Citys urban tissue is organised in two essential parts: public and private spaces (Coelho, 2003).
If public spaces assign the task of structuring the city, private spaces assume the role of giving
body to the urban ensemble. This last one is essentially composed of residential buildings, the
function that being the most "silent" over public spaces role is what constitutes citys
connective tissue. The fact that residential tissue is an essential part of the city linked with the
crisis of housing that crossed the twentieth century and with the recognized importance of
residential tissue in the city form, defined the object of analyses public housing projects.
Lisbons up-and-down topography, Portuguese legislative evolution and international urban
design tendencies led to a wide and diverse constructed range of examples in the past 100 years.
Considering a global analysis on public housing projects in Lisbon and its patterns, this paper
proposes to identify typomorphological (Moudon, 1989) patterns in Lisbons public housing
projects in the period between 1910 and 2012. Contributing for this categorization is a
diachronic reading and a thematic analysis, based on the drawing as the elected tool for the
reflexion. It is established through the assemblage of case studies and its analyses by the
redesign of the urban phenomena, looking for its permanencies and patterns, which are deducted
or implied from urban tissues abstract rules (Busquets and Correa, 2006). In result, the
research proposes a typomorphological classification that allows a reflection on the ability of
these projects to make city.
Key Words: Lisbon, housing, urban morphology.
References
Busquets, J. and Correa, F. (2006) Ciudades x Formas: una nueva mirada hacia el proyecto
urbanistico (Harvard University, Graduate School of Design: Nicolodi editore, Harvard).
Coelho, C. et al. (2013) Os Elementos Urbanos, Cadernos de Morfologia Urbana, Estudos da
cidade portuguesa 1; (Argumentum, Lisboa).
Moudon, A. V. (1989) The role of typomorphological studies in environmental design
research, Changing Paradigms (University of Washington), 41-48.

189

The ilhas of Oporto, a fundamental component of the citys

nineteenth century urban morphology
Manuel C. Teixeira
Faculdade de Arquitectura Universidade de Lisboa, CIAUD
E-mail: manuelcteixeira@gmail.com
The ilhas are nuclei of working-class housing that were built on Oporto in the second half of
the nineteenth century, in the period of greater industrial development of the city. The ilhas
were made up of groups of small houses, with an area of about 16 square metres, built along the
back-gardens of middle-class houses (or which had been originally built as middle-class houses)
in areas of the city that, given their proximity to industries located nearby, had begun a process
of physical and social decay that would be further accentuated by the construction of these
working-class houses. These houses were built either in a row, along the 5.5 or 6 metres wide
urban lots, or in two rows, back-to-back or facing each other, when they occupied two of these
plots. They were not unlike similar forms of working-class housing built elsewhere in Europe in
the same period, and they would be replicated, by Portuguese emigrants, later on, in Brazil.
Small areas, bad construction and a lack of the most basic infrastructures were translated into
deplorable housing and sanitary conditions, endemic illnesses and high rates of mortality.
Towards the end of the nineteenth century, it is estimated that between one-third and one-half of
the population of Porto lived in these conditions. Despite these numbers, and the sheer presence
of their inhabitants in urban life, most ilhas were invisible from the formal city: built in the
back-gardens, in the interior of urban blocks, their sole relationship with the street was by
means of a door no different from any door on the faade of the middle-class building facing
the street, that led to a corridor under this house and next to an open corridor along the back
garden where the rows of small houses were built. In the existing citys cartography they were
also absent. Their presence would only be acknowledged towards the end of the century, when a
number of epidemics, and a new cartographic survey of the city, led to their formal recognition
on the part of the bourgeoisie and the municipal authorities.
Key words: ilhas, working-class housing, Oporto, nineteenth-century, industrial city.

190

191

192

4.
Agents of Change
For much of the period of its existence as an identifiable field of academic study, urban
morphology has been criticised as being largely descriptive in its approach. This was
particularly the case in the formative phase of the 1960s and 1970s when urban
geography and social science generally were dominated by quantitative spatial analysis
and political economic (mainly Marxian) approaches respectively. Although there may
have been some substance to such criticisms they considerably underplay the necessary
groundwork in urban morphology that was being established at this time and reflect an
assumption that process could only be uncovered through the measurement of specific
social and economic mechanisms. The priorities in urban morphology were different,
reflecting the need to establish a common framework for study including identifying a
taxonomy for the analysis of morphological change, the recognition of the key
components of urban morphology and methodologies for their examination. Building on
this underpinning, urban morphology has subsequently developed strongly in several
academic directions but, given the continuing societal, academic and practical interest in
change in the physical form of urban areas, much emphasis has been placed on the
agents of change. Initially, work focused on the roles played by the principal actors in
urban change, particularly land and property owners, politicians, architects, planners
and developers. In some ways, this has paralleled the interests of other urban scholars,
less concerned with physical form and more with the power relations and economic
influences of specific groups in determining outcomes. The Agents of Change sessions
at the Porto ISUF 2014 Conference will undoubtedly continue to explore some of these
relationships, including the examination of the conflicts that inevitably arise between
such actors. However, a brief survey of recent literature indicates that the term agents
of change has moved beyond the consideration of key actors, functioning as individuals
and/or groups, and also encompasses the role of institutions, transport infrastructure and
connectivity, demographic trends, religion, and street systems. Critics may consider the
inclusion of such phenomena to constitute too wide a definition, but their role as factors
and processes of urban transformation cannot be denied. The papers to be delivered in
the Agents of Change sessions promise to explore the role of many of the above in
specific situations and stimulate debate on diverse aspects of their operation. Whilst
listening to the detailed content of presentations however, it may be useful to reflect on
the applicability of specific studies to broader themes and conceptual frameworks.
Three such themes will be briefly mentioned here scale, comparability and the
morphological components being studies. The scale of study is vital in its interpretation
if only because conclusions drawn at one scale may be considerably less (or possibly
more) applicable at a different scale. In any search for concepts of universal
applicability it is important to remember the difference that scale makes to empirical
reality and theoretical interpretation. Second, comparability of experience, cultures,
political systems and many other dimensions remains an important dimension of
morphological study and can stimulate some of the most intriguing work. Despite the
pressure of globalisation, the question of what sort of processes operate in different
cultural milieu remains an extremely important one. Finally, we need to be very clear
which specific morphological components we are discussing and debating, not least

193

because different components change at a very different rate and are themselves subject
to rather different processes.

Michael Barke

194

Influences of housing municipal policy in slum urban form:

the case of Heliopolis (Sao Paulo, Brazil)
Denise Antonucci1, Guilherme Filocomo2
1
Faculdade de Arquitetura e Urbanismo Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie, So
Paulo, Brasil.
2
Architect, So Paulo, Brasil.
E-mail: antonucci.denise@gmail.com , gfilocomo@gmail.com

This paper seeks to understand the influences of the different municipal administrations of So
Paulo on the architectural and urban designs produced for the slums of the city. Seeking
temporal and physical boundaries, we decided to study the influence of different housing
policies post-military dictatorship over the architectural plans developed to Heliopolis, the
largest slum in the city. First of all, by basic bibliography, we seek to understand the evolution
of housing policy in So Paulo. Considering the temporal delimitation already explained the
work will address the following local governments: Erundina (1989-92), Maluf (1993-96), Pitta
(1997-00), Suplicy (2001-04), Serra (2005-06) and Kassab (2007-12). The main housing
guidelines of each government will be delivered (Antonucci and Filocomo, 2012), (Barda and
Frana, 2011), (Bonduki, 2000), (Bonduki, 2010), (Frana, 2012), (Krhenbhl, 1996). Then,
the history of Heliopolis will be raised through documents provided by the So Paulo mayor and
bibliographical study. At this stage, it will be understood as the urban fabric of the slum was
formed and changed since its foundation in 1971 (Collet and Fontes, 2014). Finally, the housing
projects that were built in Heliopolis since Erundinas municipal administration will be searched
in the SEHAB archives. Based on this survey, an analysis that seeks to identify the differences
and similarities between the activities of each municipal management will be presented. This
article aims to expose how different policy guidelines, which were clear and well defined
guidelines, might interfere in different ways in the urban form of the same slum: Heliopolis.

Key Words: urban form, housing policies, slum, architectural and urban projects.
References
Antonucci, D. and Filocomo, G. (2012) Design and occupancy of public spaces in social
housing (So Paulo, Brazil) - As the guidelines of housing policy of the mayor Luiza
Erundina influenced the design of public spaces in the social interest housing (1989-92) and
its appropriation, 19st International Seminar of Urban Form, Delft.
Barda, M. and Frana, E. (eds.) (2011) Renova SP - Concurso de projetos de arquitetura e
urbanismo (HABI - Superintendncia de Habitao Popular, So Paulo).
Bonduki, N. (2000) Habitar So Paulo: reflexes sobre a gesto urbana (Estao Liberdade.
So Paulo).
Bonduki, N. (2010) Poltica habitacional e possibilidades de atuao do arquiteto (Escola da
Cidade. So Paulo).
Collet, G. and Fontes, M. C. L. P. (2014) A interveno do poder pblico nos projetos de
habitao de interesse social (www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=81015222012) Accessed
January 2014.
Frana, E. (2012) Plano Municipal de Habitao, uma construo coletiva in Poltica
Municipal de Habitao. Uma construo coletiva (HABI - Superintendncia de Habitao
Popular, So Paulo).
Krhenbhl, L. A. S. (1996) Cingapura, o encontro de So Paulo com a cidadania (Bix Design
Corporativo Editora. So Paulo).

195

From informal neighborhoods to space regularization the case

of morphological transformations from Musgueira
neighborhood to Alta de Lisboa plan
Gonalo Antunes, Jos Lcio, Nuno Soares, Rui Julio
e-GEO, Research Centre for Geography and Regional Planning, Faculdade de Cincias
Sociais e Humanas, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Avenida de Berna, 26-C,
1069-061, Lisboa, Portugal.
E-mail: goncalo.ant@fcsh.unl.pt , jmrl@fcsh.unl.pt , nhpsoares@fcsh.unl.pt ,
rpj@fcsh.unl.pt

This study area located at the northern limit of the municipality of Lisbon reports to a landscape,
that till the first half of the 20th century was mainly composed by old farms, spontaneous
vegetation and dumping sites. In the 60 this space was separated from the city by the Lisbon
International Airport and the Segunda-Circular motorway. During the last half of the 20th
century, the rural landscape became various slums (informal settlements), commonly referred
as: Calvanas, Musgueira Sul, Musgueira Norte, Quinta Grande, Cruz Vermelha and Quinta
Grande. All these informal settlements were popularly known only as Musgueira, where
inhabitants lived in an environment of urban poverty, exclusion, segregation and stigmatization.
In 1998, the City Council began the regularization of Musgueira area. The City Council
launched an ambitious 300ha urban project for the inhabitants rehousing called Alto do Lumiar
City PlanEN - Plano de Urbanizao do Alto do LumiarPT, designed for 60,000 miscegenated
inhabitants (slum dwellers and new residents). The main objective of the communication is to
describe and analyse the urban morphological changes since the rural landscape (till first half of
last century), to the slums period (where more than 10,000 persons dwelt), and finally the last
morphological changes providing by the City Council with the Alto do Lumiar City Plan. We
also intent to realize how the urban morphology can influence the life of citizens and provides
socio-spacial changes.
Key Words: urban regeneration, urban morphology, Lisbon, Musgueira, Alta de Lisboa.

196

The auto representative image as an agent of legitimation and

incorporation of urban setllements in the city of Rio de
Janeiro
Carolina de Hollanda
Bauhaus Universitt-Weimar/IPP-EU, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro
state/PROURB
E-mail: carolina.hollanda@uni-weimar.de

Social Housing is a highly sensitive social issue in Brazil, where there is an urgent need to
develop strong building policies for large conurbations. As consequence and with the objective
of guaranteeing more security and access to dignified housing, was established as vital attitude
the societys engagement and the practice of new strategies that enable a bigger commitment
with the elaborated proposals. In this sense, Independent initiatives that intend to form
photographers in slums are accomplishing a bigger visibility in Rio de Janeiro and this
pedagogical work represents today a new dialogue possibility with the inhabitants of informal
areas of the city. By means of the record realized about their own reality, the inhabitants start to
contribute in an effective way to a housing and urban proposal more suitable to their actual
aspirations and to spread a view that agrees with their space reality. The image
decharacterization language here assumes, in a concrete way, the guiding role of the research in
the inclusionary housing investigative analysis of the city and its urban context, contributing to
help to solve housing issues, pointed with the assistance of the documentary look. The research
attempts to investigate how such images can contribute to the development and evaluation of
inclusive practices of public policies in Social Housing and, importantly, how they may benefit
from the communitys perception of their own environment. In the interaction between dwellers
and local photographers, the community can convey their aspirations more effectively and more
closely related to their local realities.
Key words: inclusionary housing; urban planning; housing planning; auto representative image;
urban settlements.

197

Urbanization in large slums - the challenge of urban

transformation
Joz Candido Lacerda, Priscilla Chiesse
JC&S Arquitetos Associados and Architecture and Urbanism Department of Santa
Ursula University. E-mail: jc@zk.arq.br

The objective of this article is to describe the processes that cause urban transformation in lowincome communities (slums) of the city of Rio de Janeiro after the changes of urban
developments planned by the Government, and analyze the effects that these changes may have
on the morphology of the city. The article is divided into three parts: its formation, development
and current situation and proposal for urban transformation. We will use as an example the
Complexo do Lins, a conglomerate of fifteen communities in the north zone of the city with
20.000 inhabitants. In the first part we discuss their historical and geographical aspects, its
origin and its formation. The complex is inserted in the Tijuca National Park, a fragment of the
Atlantic Forest biome, which was been declared a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 1992. In
the second part, we comment on the development and consolidation of this huge urban space the topography plays a fundamental role in the formal arrangement of the occupation. The urban
morphology of the complex is irregular due to the adaptation of buildings to the structure
contours, drawing an organic road layout without order of lots and blocks, with interstices
resulting constructions often used for pedestrian access. Green and sustainable urbanism - theme
of the third party the main challenge of the proposal is the reversal of the negative physical
and social space existing degradation: Improve the self-esteem of the community complex,
developing a local environmental culture; neutralize the conflict zones and risks environmental;
prevent illegal advancement of urban territory within the natural areas; connecting the complex
to the tourist attraction of the city.
Key Words: transformation, urbanism; slum; sustainability, connection.

198

Favela: informality leading spontaneity into contemporary

city
Vnia Loureiro
University of Braslia. E-mail: vania.teles.loureiro@gmail.com

Contemporary city is facing new forms and features, such as complex informality: the scale of
informal settlements favelas has stated its presence as part of the city. It is necessary to
understand this frequent phenomenon in some cities and its effects on urban life there. It is also
urgent to see informality or organicity as a specific type of order and no more as a chaotic type
of space. Frederico de Holanda valuates informality in contemporary city by recognizing that
diverse volumetric and spatial configurations lead to exceptional urbanity levels (2010). He also
states the need for interaction between both sides public organized space frequently benefits
from informal activities. So this paper aims to look at informal urban shape and discuss its place
in contemporary city, why is it considered illegal and why is it so important. This work is
methodologically divided in two phases, first of all a theoretical discussion about contemporary
city, formal/informal, planned and spontaneous, as well as all the concepts related to the
acknowledgement of favelas effect on city and of informality on space. Second, to ensure the
empirical achievements, a configurational study comparing Braslia to Rio de Janeiro based on
Space Syntax methods (Social Logic of Space) to analyze urban morphology. Findings prove,
so far, the importance of an organized complexity in urban space. Favela, as a bottom up (and
complex) structure doesnt interact correctly with the legal and formal city around and once it is
possible to look up for qualities in informality, it is also possible to discuss the errors of
modernistic approaches in urban space.
Key Words: informality, contemporary city, favela.

199

The origins and pathways of urban (in)formality: towards an

understanding of local dynamics and agents of change within
a favela in Rio de Janeiro
Mnica Guerra da Rocha
Royal Institute of Art, Stockholm. E-mail: mfmguerra@gmail.com

Subnormal settlements, informal settlements, favelas, slums - the words remind us of places of
non-planning, the opposite of the formal city, lack of infrastructure and services, poverty and
segregation. In Rio de Janeiro around 22% of the population lives in informal settlements. These
territories have structural characteristics that diverse them from the rest of the city, but that also
diverse them from each other. Although they have been historically understood as the informal
place, segregated and separated from the rest of the city, they are in fact territories that result
from the formal city, dialogue with it and build its own dynamics as an autonomous and specific
urban place. This research looks for the historical background that built up the favela of Mar,
in the North region of Rio de Janeiro, with approximately 130.000 dwellers. This territory may
be considered as a paradigmatic example on how different agents of change build the
morphology of our territories. It is a complex of 16 favelas, each with its own background and
particular form, built upon a landfill (mar is the Portuguese word for tide), delimited by 3 of
the most important traffic ways of the city. The aim of this research is to understand the
construction of informality and its inner variations by questioning the dialogues and
dichotomies between the formal / informal city and how it determines the urban morphology of
the informality. It states that informality has its own "form" and its own place within the city,
and asks for an open-minded planning perspective while considering the understanding of the
local needs and potentials, strengths and weaknesses. It tries to look at the urban form as a
complex result of human, social, political, geographical and infrastructural dialogues, and
suggests a shift in the paradigmatic planning conceptualization in order to act with the dynamics
of (in)formality, instead of planning against it.
Key words: informality, favela, urban dynamics, urban structure.

200

The New Coach Museum a Brazilian urban narrative in

Lisbon
Susana Brito, Diogo Mateus
e-Geo Centro de Estudos de Geografia e Planeamento Regional, FCSH Universidade
Nova de Lisboa, Portugal | ULHT, Universidade Lusfona, Portugal
ULHT, Universidade Lusfona, Portugal
E-mail: susanasbrito@fsh.unl.pt , dmateus@ulusofona.pt
A proposal for a public building as is the New Coach Museum, in Lisbon, from Paulo Mendes
da Rocha suggests the understanding, diversification and improvement of its implantation and
surroundings. That being acknowledged we intend to elucidate about its urban technological
methods and techniques. Heir of the modern Brazilian generation of architects-planners, Paulo
Mendes da Rocha as being able to demonstrate with his recent and unique proposal in the
Iberian Peninsula territory, the New Coach Museum, the contemporaneity of his artwork
without neglecting the modern guidelines that determine his thinking and unquestionable
technical expertise, as is our intention to evidence. The main aim of this communication is to
define and demonstrate the elements wish compose the method of integrated urban renewal used
in the New Coach Museum project, by sharing its urban improvements contributions, for Lisbon
city intelligible in the urban narrative of the urban-architectural proposal of 13.500m2, designed
by principles of modification and restructuring. Appointed by Lisbon City Council - a New
Coach Museum was in need for Belms monumental area, therefore this project is a simple
response to a simple city-planning claim. Taking this action forces the re-localization of some
services presenting itself as an urban renovation response for the area. Through a
theoretical/conceptual reflection about the New Coach Museum urban-architectural proposal,
for Belm, as well as the study of the work and life of its architect we intend to share a
systematized methodology used by this urban agent on this specific public space approach.
Key Words: New Coach Museum, Lisbon, integrated urban renewal.

201

Modular design in social housing: the work of Justino Morais

1960-1990
Joo Cardim
DINMIACET, ISCTE Instituto Universitrio de Lisboa.
E-mail: caardim@gmail.com

Although Portuguese architect Justino Morais (1928-2011) had a diversified work in a career
spanning more than fifty decades, the majority of his designs consisted of social housing
complexes. Commissioned by several public institutions, he designed over 7000 homes using a
gradually perfected Modular System, abbreviation of system of typological and morphological
units modularly organized. This design method uses the combination of multipurpose standard
elements, enabling a total adaptation of the typologies to the users to their habits as well as to
their economical profile as well as a large flexibility and variation in plan and elevation,
which purpose was to counter the usual uniformity of the social housing complexes. These are
located in numerous towns throughout the country, including Almada, Barreiro, Setbal, Beja,
vora and Portalegre. The housing complexes were organized in urban plans also designed by
Morais, which sometimes included civic and commercial centres, primary schools and
kindergartens. This paper intends to identify some of the more than twenty complexes that
Justino Morais designed with this system, and to analyse its several dimensions from the
housing unit to the neighbourhood. The aim of the architect was to design, through the spatial
manipulation of the apartments and through the urban composition, an architecture which
served in the best way its users in everyday life. Summarily, what was intended was the almost
instantaneous creation of city due to the pressing housing needs of the pre and post-revolution
period where it didnt existed or in continuity with the existing urban fabric.
Key Words: social housing, modular design, urban planning, Justino Morais, 1960-1990.

202

Fernando Tvora and the Portuguese urban space design

Carolina Ferreira
Department of architecture, Faculty of Sciences and Technology, University of Coimbra
E-mail: carolina.darq@gmail.com

As our urban context is considered in new and complex ways, in which territory is no longer a
mere network or mesh, but an interaction of different plans and systems of urban life
relationships, a territory constituted by several layers that either continue or split from urban
collective memory, we are challenged to grasp the urban question by studying the processes that
occur while a project is created. This paper aims to reflect on idea-based construction processes
seeking to intervene in the urban space by looking at the theoretical and practical career of
Fernando Tvora (1923-2005) - a Portuguese architect that has influenced the teaching and
practice of this subject in Portugal from the 1960s to the present time - starting from the General
Plans and Urban Arrangements carried out by him and his team, during the second half of the
20th century in several Portuguese cities, namely Montemor-o-Velho (1951-59), Aveiro (196263), Barredo in Oporto (1969-76), Guimares (1979-86) and Coimbra (1989-1992). Fernando
Tvoras work supports a methodological position of the utmost importance to our time: to
intervene locally, according to global strategies, establishing as many relations and continuities
as possible; in other words, to act surgically, promoting an effect of surrounding contamination.
As a result, this approach partakes in the current debate on contemporary cities and the standing,
as a subject, of architectural practice regarding urban (re)design, identifying instruments and
tools capable of facilitating ones research, reflection, and reality questioning (analysis) so as to
achieve a formal realization of ideas (synthesis).
Key Words: methodology, urban intervention, urban design, Fernando Tvora, Portuguese space
design.

203

Reinventing Luanda. The Urbanization Plans of the Luanda's

City Council Urbanization Office
Filipa Fiza, Henrique Gama
DINMIA'CET, ISCTE-IUL. E-mail: filipa.fiuza.arq@gmail.com

From the 1960s on, the Estado Novo intensifies the occupation politics of the African territories
in order to establish white population, mostly from the middle-class. Luanda's case is
paradigmatic in the Angolan context. The growth of inhabitants resulted largely from the rural
exodus from the Angolan outback due to the Colonial War (1961-1974). Also, the revocation of
the Estatuto do Indigenato (Native's Statute) and the corresponding attribution of Portuguese
citizenship to all the overseas provinces inhabitants by the Overseas Minister Adriano Moreira,
as the deriving mobility between the territories, were key factors that helped this demographic
outbreak. In 1961, the Luanda's City Council Urbanization Office is fully functioning. Headed
by architect and urbanist Ferno Lopes Simes de Carvalho, it is composed by a
multidisciplinary team. The beginning of the Colonial War and the will to mitigate the existing
segregation in the capital forced the architect to a very pragmatic approach, in which he applies
the knowledge acquired at the Sorbonne, refusing the most diagrammatic aspect of the Athens
Charter. At this time, he starts the design of a hundred detail plans to all the city, before
finishing the city's Master Plan, which was never approved. It was through the plans that he
designed in the City Council Office, which we propose to analyze, that the architect was able to
approach the vision he had of the discipline of Urbanism, as a motor for the development and
improvement of the populations living conditions. He himself considers that "the history of
urbanism shows us that where there is any economic, social or racial segregation, there are
always imbalances, there are always riots, there are always crimes. And I, as a native of Luanda,
every time I went there, I felt bad about this separation" (Carvalho in Prado, 2011: 230).
Key Words: Architecture e urbanism, urban planning, Angola Luanda, Simes de Carvalho,
Luanda's City Council Urbanization Office.
References
Prado, G.R. and Mart, P.N. (2011) La modernidad ignorada - arquitectura moderna de Luanda
(Universidad de Alcal, Alcal de Henares)

204

Fourth dimensions urban morphologies

Daniel Screpanti, Piernicola Carlesi, Gloria Mancini
Centro de Estudos de Arquitectura e Urbanismo, Faculty of Architecture, University of
Porto. Department of Civil, Construction-Architectural and Environmental Engineering,
University of LAquila.
Department of Urban Design and Territorial Planning, University of Florence
Specialisation School in Anaesthesia and intensive care, University of Perugia
E-mail: dscrepanti@arq.up.pt , piernicolacarlesi@yahoo.it ,
gloriamancini85@gmail.com

The reality is not static but dynamic! Any context we choose, it has four dimensions. There are
also common grounds, as urban or metropolitan spaces (Fantin et al, 2012 and Barbieri, 2003),
with very slow temporal motions, compared them to other space-time elements. Therefore,
urban morphologies representations can be considered as space-time environments devoid of
tensor fields. Yet these representations are not satisfactory because a dynamic system is
considered inertial, so our analysis of problems will always consider their movements in neutral
space-time environments (Tafuri, 1988). But cities are excitations of conflicts! Sequences and
overlapping analysis at different levels could be attempts to solve shortcomings of this
approximation, but they do not solve the absence of space-time tensor fields in our
morphological representations. Consequently, the problem is identify the distortions of urban
space-time in order to produce proper studies of social and health questions within urban
realities. In order to do this, it is essential to represent the quality of tensor fields: their
localization and intensity. Job geographies (Malanima, 2003), and their evolutions (Moretti,
2012 and Sassen, 2010), are very useful and synthetic indicators of where tensor fields are
located and how do they move, but them dont provide the intensity of each tensor fields and
consequently we are not able to represent the curvature of urban space-time. Only with an
hybrid approach to urban morphology, deductive-inductive or inductive-deductive, able to
overcome the dispersion of contents of inductive methods and the approximation of information
of deductive ones, we can address this problem, and operationalize a correct representation of
urban realities. The future Urban Morphology should represent the fourth dimension of urban
spaces.
Key Words: dynamic system, urban space-time, fourth dimension, tensor field, job geography.
References
Malanima, P. (2003) Uomini, risorse, tecniche nelleconomia europea dal X al XIX secolo
(Mondadori, Milano).
Fantin, M., Morandi, M., Piazzini, M., Ranzato, L. (eds) (2012) La citt fuori dalla citt (INU
Edizioni, Roma).
Barbieri, P. (2003) Metropoli piccole (Meltemi, Roma).
Sassen, S. (2010) Le citt nelleconomia globale (Il Mulino, Bologna).
Tafuri, M. (1988) Lavvocato del diavolo, in Rivista di Architettura Utopica 1 (EASA,
Venezia).
Moretti, E. (2012) La nuova geografia del lavoro (Mondadori, Milano).

205

Open-minded public. Shaping urbanity on a wave of change

Luisa Bravo
Department of Architecture, University of Florence (Italy). E-mail: luisa.bravo@unifi.it

The concept of public has been defined by sociology and political sciences. Even if sometimes
ambiguos, it refers mainly to populations of individuals, sharing a common interest, involved in
civic affairs. In architecture and urban design, the idea of public, often used in the
plural/multiple form, publics, is related to new forms of human engagement in the public
realm, linked to commons, intended as public goods and urban resources. The relation
between actors and places, namely between publics and commons, has become particularly
intriguing in the last decades, when it started to shape a new kind of urbanity, based on
aspirations of equity and citizenship through participation, made with creative contents, shared
on a media-space network. Design activists are private groups and organizations determined to
advocate a better city and society, connecting innermost emotions of collective expectations to
the outward manifestation in the public domain: they play as powerful performers in the urban
game and are often able to establish a fruitful collaboration with property owners, developers,
planners and politicians. Thus, the consolidated design process has been enriched with a
multifaceted and comprehensive approach: urban transformations are more and more related to
aspirations of open-minded citizens and based on negotiation practices and sensory experiences.
Public spaces behave as places of multi-layered connections, sharing ideals and cultural
awareness: they can grant and gather all wishes becoming engine of a social rebirth for people
and neighborhoods, standing as attractive images of successful communities. The management
of the city appears today as a complex task, between physical space and public life, looking
forward on a wave of change.

Key Words: publics, private action, commons, design process, urbanity.

206

Change, utopia and the public: urban transformations and

agents of survival in Brasilia and Rio de Janeiro
Thereza Carvalho
Universidade Federal Fluminense, UFF. E-mail: thereza.urbanismouff@gmail.com

This paper addresses changes to the urban form in two different contexts: planned areas and
organically made urban fabrics. Two different processes of urban transformations are
examined. Large scale urban transformations, designed by a few in response to specific
purposes, and small scale urban transformation processes made of cumulative individual
changes and perspectives. Brasilia and Rio illustrate the argument. This paper argues that
vitality, and other interesting good-to-live-in qualities that distinguish a good city, requires a
dynamic balance between ruling and allowing changes of different scales, purposes and agents.
It comparatively examines processes of change in organically made urban areas - shaped by
multiple individual socio-economic-cultural-spatial practices - and in large scale planned areas.
It examines the ways and means that some agents of change, with different purposes, and
resources, have helped to make vital urban tissues survive for the collective benefit of the city
and the public, while others killed it. Survival strategies were associated with specific agents
and spatial patterns of change, driven by forces of attraction, expansion and consolidation. They
were found to intertwine with place and time related inherited attributes. Utopian space models
have both inspired and justified significant large-scale changes in city shape, associated to a
vision of the future with or without collective purposes. The question of how those utopian
modeled spaces respond to different forms, dynamics and scales of space appropriation is here
discussed. This paper finalizes highlighting ripple effects that different agents have triggered
through changes made to the urban fabric.
Key Words: urban transformations, agents of change, utopia, Brasilia satellite-towns, Rio de
Janeiro.

207

A tale of two London Squares: the place of morphology in

contemporary urban life
Howard Davis
Department of Architecture, Collaborative for Inclusive Urbanism, University of
Oregon. E-mail: hdavis@uoregon.edu

The paradigmatic London square provided a spatial framework for urban class distinctions by
separating middle- and upper-class dwellings from the noise and bustle of mixed-class
commercial streets. One example, Lonsdale Square, in Islington, built around 1850, is
morphologically removed from its surrounding neighborhood, has little traffic and a quiet green
space in its center. In an area that has recently been gentrified, and supported by the same urban
pattern that characterized it at its construction, the square again represents the division of the
gentry from commercial and public life. Over the last few decades, various local initiatives
have recognized London's increasing diversity. An example is the new Gillett Square, in
Dalston, one of London's most ethnically diverse neighborhoods. Developed on a former car
park by a collaboration led by a local NGO, Gillett Square includes shops for microentrepreneurs, a caf, jazz club, offices for local social and arts organizations, and a paved
central area with outdoor performances and occasional markets of all kinds. Located
immediately off a major commercial street, with several entrances, it is morphologically
connected to its community and provides a vibrant new locus for social and cultural life.
Lonsdale Square and Gillett Square represent different ideas of what urban squares can be. By
inverting the use and modifying the morphology of the Georgian and Victorian London square,
Gillett Square shows how traditional urban form may play a role in supporting ethnically
diverse and economically mixed urban lifeuniting rather than separating people of the
contemporary city.
Key Words: urban square, urban inclusion, London, social life, morphological depth.

208

Public involvement transformation for best future of cities in

Russia
Tatiana Gudz, Ekaterina Meltsova, Maria Zaharova
Perm National Research Polytechnic University, Russia
E-mail: zaharovami@gmail.com

At recent years, the distrust of the government has intensified in Russia. It showed up in the
criticism and denial decisions of the federal and local level authorities, including municipality
development issues. This fact makes strategic urban planning a complicated and unenforceable
challenge. Public discussion of the city strategic development is a mandatory part of the
document approval. This measure is set forth in federal and local legislation. However, despite
the enshrined laws, the quality of public debate still stays extremely low, and the results are not
credible. Partly due to the Russian mentality, partly to the procedure of public hearings the
event itself aims just to inform about upcoming urban life changes, but not to affect the
decision. World experience of public participation illustrates that this approach to decisionmaking practice is beneficial for all urban participants: increases the trust level for local
government and prevents future disputes, identify the real city resident interests for potential
investors and land owners.
Using the results of public hearings on General Plan
Amendments, we propose to amend the public hearings procedure for the urban development
projects in Russia. General Plan of the city of Perm is the main strategic document that regulates
the urban development for more than 20 years. These public hearings focused on land use of
significant city areas, such as the relocation of the Zoo into the urban forest, new outland district
development for 75 thousand people (10% of the city's population), shopping centre
development on the central city square - the Esplanade. Perm is an industrial city with a one
million inhabitants, one of the first cities in Russia conducting urban policies based on the new
urbanism ideology. Using the experience of public hearings in Perm, we identified the problems
and "bottlenecks" of public participation. This experience gives us the opportunity to make
recommendations for improvement of the decision-making procedure in urban development.
Key Words: public hearings, public participation, strategic documents, decision-making,
surveys, new urbanism.

209

Changing features of the urban structure in a transitional city

Julian Wkel, Polina Koriakina
Department of Urban design- and planning, Technical University of Darmstadt
E-mail: wekel@stadtplanung.tu-darmstadt.de , urbarea@gmail.com

Cities in transition go through the stages of depression, improvement, prosperity and recession.
Whenever the policies and external environment are changing fast and visibly, social processes
take much time to adapt to these changes. Public space acts as a catalyst of the social
conversions. This paper examines a unique situation of Berlin post-socialist transition. Before
the reunification of Germany the state acted as the main agent of changes on public spaces,
being responsible for the design and maintenance. After the reunification all these
responsibilities became the liability of the municipality, private owners and public initiatives.
When democratic values gained priority, a public space became an embodiment of collective
thinking and dreaming. Not built up open areas turned to be profitable place that connected
numerous interests of a new network of the stakeholders. To research these transformations of
public space in socio-economic, political and physical dimensions in the transitional city and
subsequent changes of urban structure five different neighbourhood squares were chosen in the
district of Eastern Berlin. To define the indicators and the mechanisms of the transformations
the research developed a public space examination model on the basis of the term publicness
(Carmona et al, 2010). The findings based on quantitative and qualitative data demonstrate how
a neighbourhood square turned to a place of belonging and a symbol of identification; how the
new demands of the citizens and their spatial expression have shaped urban environment.
Key Words: public spaces, a square, transitional city.
References
Carmona, M., Tiesdell, S. and Oc, T. (2010) Public places. Urban spaces. The dimensions of
urban design (Elsvier, Oxford).

210

Hongta Group and its city: Danwei and its evolved Group as an
agent of change in China
Dai Ying, Song Feng
College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University
E-mail: daiying77@pku.edu.cn

Danwei, the most important organization and construction unit in early periods of modern urban
China, is under rash change. Much of its landscape, especially that of industry, is rapidly erased,
however, some remains, expands and thus continues influencing the local or even wider scale
urban or rural landscape with the successful reform of the former danwei, as is exemplified by
Hongta Group, Yuxi City, Yunnan Province. Firstly established as Yuxi cigarette factory in
1950s, Hongta Group gradually expands its scale and became the most important enterprise in
Yuxi city, while the landscape of Yuxi city was continuously formed by it in ways of production
construction, welfare construction and real estate or other investment in different periods. In
danwei period, besides production it provides hospitals, schools and other welfare facilities,
which was transferred to specific local departments in the transformation process of danwei
system, while with the economic boom and the capital accumulation of Hongta Group, semiwelfare residence was still provided and real estate and other investments were made. The
formation and transformation of Hongta Group and its relationship with the city is typical for
the process of urban transformation since the establishment of Peoples Republic of China with
the ups and downs of danwei system and its transformation, so as the relevant landscape
changes.
Key Words: agent, Hongta Group of China, danwei.

211

Unidade Residencial da Reboleira Sul. Critical reading of the

optimist suburbia that Sa Rico designed and .Pimenta built
in the Lisbon suburb
Bruno Macedo Ferreira
Instituto Universitrio de Lisboa (ISCTE-IUL), DINMIACET-IUL
E-mail: bruno.macedo.ferreira@gmail.com

There is no denying the growing importance of that metropolitan areas going to take over these
days, hence the need to go back to the exact moment of its origin - when the phenomenon is
especially "director". This communication aims to present part of an investigation that, by
surveying 30 cases study unpublished sought to understand the phenomenon of residential
occupation of the northern suburb of Lisbon. Questions whether the evolution of the territory
built in the suburbs (architectural and urban planning) when, in the late 1960s, the ideals of
neoliberalism, the emergence of large property developers and a large demographic pressure
reshape the process of urban growth and the logic of metropolitan relations (the traditional
building lot to lot by the production of large urban packages) and urban area in the suburbs of
Lisbon acquires its contemporary shape. The suburban growth recorded in Amadora is the most
emblematic expression of the suburbanization process from 1950s reconfigured the territory of
the Lisbon Metropolitan Area. Specifically we intend to present the Urbanizao da Reboleira
for being a "pioneer" and paradigmatic case. This case identifies the ideals and logic that led to
the transformation of the rural village of Amadora (up to 1950s) in the most densely populated
municipality in the country. These large residential construction packages ex-novo found in
Modern tabula rasa and its social optimism a model of easy operability. Designed by architects
trained in the values of Modernity, this also enables us to identify the time when the Portuguese
architects were losing capacity to intervene, from primary responsibility for the design of the
territory (up to 50s) to figure technicians ensured that only approval of real estate projects. The
Urbanizao da Reboleira Sul is an initiative of a group of small landowners and their
masterplan is the responsibility of the architect Sa Rico. Once approved the masterplan, the
construction process proceeds to the liability of J.Pimenta (then the largest real estate developer
and builder in the country) who, with the connivance of local government, adulterous urban
principles originally defined. This was a usual strategy of this promoter - clearly speculative
process that obeyed only to the logic of the market.
Key Words: J.Pimenta, Lisbon Metropolitan Area, real estate developers, suburb, Urbanizao
da Reboleira Sul.

212

Tenure of urban land: structure, form and transformation of

the original urban space of the city of Ribeiro Preto - SP,
Brazil
Dirceu Piccinato Junior, Ivone Salgado
Center for Science, Technology and Environmental, Pontifical Catholic University of
Campinas - Brazil
E-mail: piccinato.jr@gmail.com , salgadoivone@uol.com.br

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the urban morphological aspects of cities governed by the
juridical regime of the emphyteusis, recurrent situation in northeastern So Paulo state - Brazil,
with special attention to the city of Ribeiro Preto. The land concession to the Catholic Church
was recurrent in Brazil during the colonial and imperial periods for the foundation of cities. As
these lands were destined to the formation of patrimonial goods of a devotion saint of the
residents, they couldn't be commercialized. As an economic alternative, the Catholic Church
used up the tenure to profit through the allotments of these soils. The terms tenure and
emphyteusis define as objects of this right uncultivated lands or lands for building. The tenure
reveals a relation in which there is an owner - landlord - who has the direct control of the urban
land, granting another - leaseholder - the useful domain of the land, giving the latter the right to
use the land, the obligation of an annual tax payment and a compromise of giving a percentage
of the property sale. In 1845 some farmers donated a tract of land for the formation of the land
assets of the saint So Sebastio, where is now the city of Ribeiro Preto. It was up the local
church to care about the allotments and management of the urban soil under the emphyteusis
regime. This conjuncture defined the structure, the form and the transformations of the original
urban space of the city.
Key Words: tenure or enphyteusis, urban land, catholic church, Ribeiro Preto-SP,
morphological urban aspects.

213

Agent and morphological process: the urban morphology

study of South Gong and Drum Lane District in Beijing after
1949
Chunhui Shi, Menghe WU, Feng Song
College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, China
E-mail: shich1991@163.com

This paper investigates the property owners and the morphological process of South Gong and
Drum Lane District, a historic area in old Peking city with the preserved town plan of the
Capital City of Yuan Dynasty. First, the research focuses on its transformation process after
1949 and the morphological regions are demarcated into two hierarchies. Then, with property
owners of the houses classified and the information of property attributes collected, both
quantitative and qualitative approaches are adopted to analyze the correlation between property
attributes and morphological characters. The correlation test indicates the important but various
roles property owners are playing in the conservation and development process in this district
under high pressure of redevelopment. Finally, in a micro level, typical regions and units are
chosen for detailed morphological analysis to study the activities of property owners in the
change of urban landscape.
Key Words: agent, morphological process, morphological region, South Gong and Drum Lane
District.

214

An introduction to the research on use pattern of Lushan

National Park based on its cultural landscape process: case
study of Kuling Town
Xiao Xiong1, Min Liu1, Feng Song1,2
College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University,
1
World Heritage Research Center of Peking University
2
Urban Morphology Research Group, Birmingham University
Beijing 100871, China.
E-mail: xxiong@pku.edu.cn , 1185780057@qq.com , songfeng@urban.pku.edu.cn
1

Cultural Landscape originally appeared in the 19th century in Germany as an academic

concept. As time went on, the comprehension of this concept had changed. When Cultural
Landscape was introduced into the field of World Heritage. Because of the neglect of its
academic tradition, it was defined as a sub-type of Cultural Heritage, adding confusion to
identifying the heritage value and conservative management of cultural landscape. In 2013,
UNESCO Beijing Office, Lushan Administration Bureau and World Heritage Research Centre
of PKU established a project to improve the understanding and management of WHCL in
China, presenting effective and promotable conservative utilization strategy in the case of
Lushan, especially in Kuling town. The research group of PKU adopted Conzenian approach of
urban morphology into Chinese practice. Research findings improved the understanding and
management of Cultrual Lanscspe in China and indicated new issues of Conzenian approach to
be discussed.
Key Words: World Heritage Cultural Landscape, Conzenian approach of urban morphology,
Lushan, Kuling.

215

From urban sprawl to a compact city policy: the primacy of

process over form
Cristina Soares Cavaco
CIAUD, Faculty of Architecture, University of Lisbon.
E-mail: ccavaco@fa.ulisboa.pt
It is of general consensus that last decades have brought deep transformations into the spatial
organization of cities. Beyond the changes in demographics and population density, critical
changes have happened in the form of cities, namely throughout phenomena such as the urban
sprawl - low density settlement patterns, leapfrog unplanned developments, spatial segregated
land uses, large outward incremental expansion, widespread commercial strips, disseminate land
ownership and land uses governance. Urban sprawl is therefore considered a challenging
demand for national urban policies and territorial development agents due to its high impacts on
energy, land and soil consumption. This is especially critical in Europe where cities have
traditionally been much more compact. Envisaging progress towards a sustainable urban
development, doctrinal thinking and literature on the benefits of a compact urban development
for the achievement of a sustainable urban form became a dominant doctrine on urban planning
theory, especially after the emergence of the agenda of sustainability, in 1987, with the
Brundtland Report. The compact city has become one of the most discussed concepts in
contemporary urban policies and much attention has been put into the relationship between
urban form and sustainability. Nonetheless, several criticisms came forward arguing against the
abusive position that considers the compact city as a sort of panacea for the ills and problems of
extensive urban developments. The paper aims at discussing the accuracy and timeliness of
compact city policies, reviewing the rationale behind the compact city and exploring the
relationship between urban form, urban processes and urban governance.
Key Words: compact city, urban sprawl, urbanization, urban policy, sustainability.

216

Interpret planning gap caused from accomplished roads by

identifying building forms
Chih-Hung Chen, Chiung-Wen Liang
Department or Urban Planning, National Cheng Kung University
E-mail: chihhungchen@mail.ncku.edu.tw

In the cities, street system offers the framework of building forms. In macroscopic, streets
define the pattern of blocks, and are the beginning of building behaviour (building line) in
microcosmic. Since lands had been restrained by planning, planned roads are laid and patterns
of original settlements had been covered (Conzen, 1960). Therefore, this brings out two layers
of urban fabric, the planned and non-planned roads, which are so called accomplished roads.
Because of cities rapidly develop post WWII, The accomplished roads conflict to the plan
pattern makes them restrict the renovation and development of building forms (Rossi, 1966).
The basic units of plans, blocks, are then present different appearance inner and outer (Litman,
2009). Due to both road layers are standards of building behaviours, can we interpret planning
gap (Pissourios, 2013) via identifying building forms caused from variant layers? According to
Acts, thousands of accomplished roads are identified in Taiwan. Yonghe, a city little settled
before WWII, has population explosion from politic, industrialization and proximity to Capital
city. The original patterns are ignored and building demand is unreached sustained, makes the
city owns large number of accomplished roads and intensive building forms to observe.
Therefore, according to the evolution of time, the influence of road layers to building forms can
be concluded below: i) building forms along disparate road layers are differ from change-period
and diversity; ii) social progress and urban plan vision reflect in different speed and obstruction
from assorted stratums of blocks. Consequently, the planning gap has different degrees in
diverse blocks with distinct road layers.
Key Words: planning gap, accomplished road, building form, urban fabric, Yonghe City.
References
Conzen, M.R.G (1960) Alnwick Northumberland: a study in town-plan analysis (Institute of
British Geographers, London).
Litman, T. (2009) Evaluating transportation land use impacts (Transport Policy Institute,
Victoria-Canada).
Pissourios, I. A. (2013) Whither the planning theorypractice gap? A case study on the
relationship between urban indicators and planning theories, Theoretical & Empirical
Researches in Urban Management 8, 80-92.
Rossi, A. (1966) L architettura della citt (Institute of British Geographers, Padova: Marsilio).

217

The influence of the sacred on the urban form of Brazilian

cities
Luciana Resende
Urban Departament, Architect School UFMG. E-mail: lulelis.arq@gmail.com

It is widely recognized that man has the need to organize space, and the sacred ones are
probably the oldest ones subject to planning (Eliade, 2010). Man reserve the space dedicated
and hallowed to gods as a holy place, which ought to be respected and treated in a special way.
Besides being a place that holds particularities regarding the land use and occupation, at the
same time it attracts people who want to stay close of it. Colonial Brazilian churches were
regulated by norms to control the occupation around the sacred place. It is thus important to
highlight the precepts regarding the formalization of sacred places and of the constructive forms
ruled by Constituies Primeiras do Arcebispado da Bahia (2010). Strict norms dictate the
necessary characteristics for the selection of a place in which a church would be erected. They
ought to be erected in highest spots of the place, be moisture free and large enough to hold a
procession. The houses, although built around the church should be in such way to keep
distance from the temple. In Brazil several cities present areas which result from the appliance
of these politics and the places around a catholic temple are still valorised. Belo Horizonte, the
capital of Minas Gerais state, is one of such cities. This city was designed and built in a former
village named Curral Del Rey, who developed around the church of Nossa Senhora da Boa
Viagem. The urban form was transformed; however the church location was preserved as an
important and representative place of history and faith of the citizens and of this city. A new
church was built in there and it is still a valorised place which receives public policies regarding
urban infrastructure, urban planning and traffic.
Key Words: Space sacralization, colonial Brazilian villages, evolution of urban form.
References
Eliade, Mircea (2010) O sagrado e o profano: a essncia das religies Martins Fontes, So
Paulo) 191.

218

Events-driven morphological process: a case study of

Auckland's Waterfront
Toby Shephard, Luke Gibson
E-mail: Tobyshephard@windowslive.com , lgib022@aucklanduni.ac.nz

In order to contribute to international literature concerning the process of morphological change,

this paper focuses on a study of the city centre waterfront in Auckland, New Zealand. A
Conzenian analysis of the space, with reference to historical economic and cultural contexts, is
used to derive a narrative explaining of urban modifications of the waterfront fringe belt.
Auckland waterfront has undergone redevelopment across a 200 year period. Beginning with
the morphologically invisible culture of aboriginal Mori occupation to the maritime industry of
the 20thcentury and to recent modern regeneration, the waterfront has changed from a lowdensity fringe belt to one pocketed with commercial and residential intensification. This is
particularly true of the western side of the city's waterfront. Our research finds that much of the
recent urban regeneration of the last 15-20 years is the result of preparation for the hosting of
major international events. These include the America's Cup 2000 and 2003 and the Rugby
World Cup 2011. We find that major events have accelerated urban form change on Auckland's
waterfront and thus might provide noticeable contrasts between planning units. Such building
form and layout might then been seen as a physical expression of a sporting culture and tourism
based economic necessity. A discussion of the impact of international events upon urban placemaking and planning is included with a view to establishing broad morphological periods of
development along the Auckland waterfront as well as informing the manner and typology of
urban reconfiguration that major international events require.

219

How big is my garden? The morphological impact of density

regulations upon garden size for speculative housing estates
Dominic Wilkinson
School of Art and Design, Liverpool John Moores University
E-mail: d.e.wilkinson@ljmu.ac.uk

In 1999 the United Kingdom government published Towards an Urban Renaissance (Rogers,
1999), this document set out how an estimated 4 million new homes could be accommodated
without substantial destruction of the Green Belt. This was part of a wider drive to achieve more
sustainable urban development, a drive which was backed up by legislation which included
amendments to Planning Policy Guidance 3: Housing. For the first time PPG3 established
minimum density standards for new build housing. This paper examines the spatial
consequences of these minimum density standards upon the morphology of speculative housing
estate layouts. The data is based upon map and field studies of 50 private sector housing estates
constructed between 2000 and 2006 (when PPG3 was replaced), and contrasts these with similar
estates built pre-2000. Did the changes in legislation increase development density? The
physical characteristic focussed upon in this paper is garden size, did this decrease as developers
were required to increase housing densities? If so then by how much? This paper will
demonstrate that average garden size, for lower priced new build housing in the sample area
decreased by a typical magnitude of 15% across all typologies during this period. This reduction
is consistent for a range of suburban and brownfield sites and would appear to be a
manifestation of the requirement to achieve higher housing density as part of the planning
process.
Key Words: housing, density, morphology, planning, gardens.
References:
Rogers, R. (1999) Towards an Urban Renaissance (Department of Environment Transport and
the Regions, London).

220

Assessing the effects of governing thoughts on the form of

cities. A comparison of Damascus, Cairo and Tehran from the
emergence of Islam to the contemporary period
Abdolhadi Daneshpour, Atefeh Soleimani, Nasibeh Charbgoo, Toktam Ashnaee
Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Iran University of Science and
Technology. E-mail: Daneshpour@iust.ac.ir , atefeh.soleimani.@gmail.com ,
charbgoo.n@gmail.com , Toktam.ashnaee@alumni.ut.ac.ir

The evolution of the urban form has always been affected by numerous factors. This article aims
to discern to what extent the governing schools of thought have determined the form of the
cities. From the emergence of Islam to the contemporary period and before the start of
information age, we have categorized three distinctive systems of thought: Islamic approach, the
colonial period often with a modernist essence and the contemporary period (mainly after the
independence of the country and bearing upon modernist and post-modernist views). Each of
these systems has affected the form of the city in general and also its components. Studies in
Tehran, Damascus and Cairo indicate that in the Islamic period the changes made to the form
are mostly limited to single buildings contributing to emphasizing the presence of Islam in the
city or as a manifest to the power of the caliph, however the general form of the city has mainly
stayed untouched in compliance with the local social and environmental requirements. In
contrast, the colonial period is coupled with vast changes and modification to both the general
form and its components due to the technological advances and the mass production trends. The
changes in the contemporary period are however built upon the challenges that the modernist
approach brought about and therefore take a more moderate route.
Key Words: urban form, governing schools of thought, Islam, modernism, post-modernism.

221

The evolution of neighborhood model as a manifestation of

political regime shift: the case of Cairo - Egypt
Islam Ghonimi Ibrahim
Lecturer at shoubra Faculty of Engineering - Benha University, PhD,
E-mail: islam.ghonimi@feng.bu.edu.eg

Through history, Cairo witnessed different political regimes that caused consequential different
neighborhoods models with varying socio-spatial characteristics. The research is to tackle the
effect of Political regime on cities first in terms of their impacts on development manifesto, the
role of development actors, and planning theory, then their impacts on the urban form of
Evolving and declining neighborhood models. The paper will track Cairo development through
history by Linking between the adopted political regime with development policy and their
analogous impacts on Evolving and Declining patterns of urban development. This will pave the
way to predict the future of neighborhood model form as manifestation of current and future
political regime paradigm shift, especially after 25 Jan. revolution. In order to achieve this goal,
the paper based on a case study of 6 different neighborhood models in different chronological
ages, an empirical analysis based on three steps: First, to document aspects of political regime
and their impacts on development actors and planning method. Secondly, to measure the
common socio-spatial patterns of evolving neighborhood model represented in land use
patterns, housing type patterns, street network patterns. Thirdly, to examine the correlation
between socio-spatial patterns of neighborhood models and Political regime aspects.
Key Words: political regime, neighborhood model.

222

Land use regulations in So Paulo: possible new paths

Joyce Reis da Silva
Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism, University of Sao Paulo. Secretary for Urban
Development, So Paulo City Hall
E-mail: joycerfs@gmail.com , jrfsilva@spurbanismo.sp.gov.br

In Brazil is still common use conventional urban ordinances, as zoning, with its occupancy
control mechanisms, as floor-area-ratio, codes and indexes, which are known not to control
urban form (Marshall, 2009). With the increase on real estate activity in the last decade (Fix,
2011), it seems crucial to rethink this urban regulation model, to provide new city-making
approach for contemporary urban environments. This paper intends to describe the review
process (has already been started) of the urban regulations of Sao Paulo containing the Citys
Master Plan, Land Use Laws and Building Code. It is the moment to deal with the challenges
regarding the urban form regulation in a participatory way (as Estatuto da Cidade requires). The
New Master Plan, to be approved in the City Council, was conceived as part of this process,
aiming to face some limitations of the land use regulation that this paper aims to address. This
paper intends to present some innovations were introduced about the urban form regulation in
the Sao Paulo New Master Plan, and focus on the main territorial strategy called Eixos de
Estruturao da Transformao Urbana. Basically, it is a strategy to guide the real estate
development along public transport line, with new kinds of projects which promote better
relations between public and private spaces and mixed uses typologies. It intends to contribute
to change the conventional kinds of land use regulation as a strategy of fulfilling the social
function of property, as well as, help with the next step to review the Sao Paulo zoning law.
Key Words: urban policy, zoning; urban form, contemporary urban environments, real state.
References
Fix, M. (2011) Financeiriza o e transformaes recentes no circuito imobilirio no Brasil,
Doctoral thesis, Instituto de Economia, UNICAMP.
Marshall, S. (2009) Urban coding and planning (Routledge, New York).

223

Long term urban transformations and tactical urbanism

short-term actions
Paulo Silva
University of Aveiro Department of Social, Political and Territorial Sciences
E-mail: paulosilva@ua.pt

Tactical Urbanism emerged from the convergence of a group of academics and practitioners
called the Next Generation of New Urbanists. It was founded after the movement that gained
expression and consolidated in the 1990s with the so-called New Urbanism Movement. Their
work has been mainly concentrated in the United States but it has been getting inspiration from
experiences from Latin American cities (So Paulo, Curitiba, and Bogota). Tactical Urbanism
has been focused on local scale (street, building, block), low budget interventions, involving
residents and mainly interested on promoting short-term and sometimes temporary action. This
paper will discuss the role of tactical urbanism on urban form, how this kind of interventions
can affect the pace of change in cities, can induce change on traditional approaches of urban
form elements (based on dichotomies like public / private, built / non-built) and how urban form
can evolve in a long-term, based on these short-term actions. We intend for that to do it on two
levels. On the first level we will look at urban form discourses, looking for the stable elements
that can promote continuity on urban form. On the second level we will look at tactical
urbanism actions as dynamic elements which can promote long-term change on urban form.
Key Words: tactical urbanism, evolution, urban form elements, new urbanism, Next Generation
of New Urbanists.

224

Power, ideology and space re-generation: Istanbul case

Pelin Pnar zden
Istanbul University, Faculty of Political Science, Departent of Public Polichuangy,
Urbanization and Environmental Problems Branch
E-mail: pinozden@istanbul.edu.tr

The role and desire of Power in shaping the urban space has always been existent throughout
history. The urban space is a plane that is generated parallel to the ideology of Power. It is also a
tool that transmits the existance and the ideology of Power to the society, and legitimizes the
Governments. Power realizes this via reconstruction activities. Urban space is a kind of stage
where these activities take place. Governments offer their ideology to the society in different
ways so that the society is forced to live in an urban space that is shaped by Powers wishes and
its rules. The situation in Turkey also is not different. During the urbanization process from the
Ottoman Empire to the present, what shapes the urban space is largely the Power and its
ideologies. Urban space has been regenerated with the symbols of Power, with the references to
the past or with the rejecting spatial policies the past. In this study, the relationship between
Power, ideology and space will be analyzed based on periods of Istanbul's urbanization process.
Especially in the process after 2000s, the background of the increasing capability of Power and
how it is constructed with through the European Court of Human Rights judgments, lawsuits,
council decisions will discussed.

225

Tourism and mega-events: the birth of a conflict culture in

Belo Horizonte, Brazil
Altamiro Srgio Bessa, Lcia Capanema lvares, Thiago Pinto Barbosa
Department of Urbanism, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais
Department of Urbanism, Universidade Federal Fluminense
Grupo de Estudos em Temticas Ambientais, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais
E-mail: altamirobessa@gmail.com , luciacapanema@gmail.com ,
thbarbosa@gmail.com

In the post-industrial era Capital claims the reconfiguration of more and more constructed
spaces for its own expansion (Harvey, 1982), through the creation of surplus value in the land
market and/or through structural and image changes related to the tourism industry. Cities
around the globe have been adopting urban renewal policies aiming at selling themselves in the
event, business and leisure global markets. Focus of this study, the attraction of mega-events is
one of the strategies most employed by cities which intend to enter the select international
touristic destinies circle. In Brazil, mega-events represent today the most adopted and powerful
strategy to impose the entrepreneurial city. This paper explores urban conflicts and their
relations to mega-events in the city of Belo Horizonte, Brazil, where, the possibility of raising
land use values and of making immense profits through the attraction of the mega-event FIFA
World Cup 2014 and of some training sites for the Olympic Games 2016 is now franticly
followed, to the detriment of quality of life and population wishes. In the aftermath, conflicting
communities and older, battered, social movements mutually reinforce themselves in a
dialogical construction of diversity, especially within those sectors related to housing; together,
the recently politicized groups and the oldies come to the public in order to expose the
governmental insidious behavior and to demand for their rights as citizens, conforming new
collectivities in their struggle.
Key Words: tourism and mega-events, urban conflicts, process of urban transformation, megaevents and urban form, Belo Horizonte.
Reference
Harvey, D. (1982) O trabalho, o capital e o conflito de classes em torno do ambiente construdo
nas sociedades capitalistas avanadas Espao & Debates 6, 6-35.

226

Within and outside virtual walls: spatial configuration,

touristic and immigrant co presence and routes in Rome (IT)
city core
Andrea Braga, Elio Trusiani, Dcio Rigatti, Claudio Ugalde, Fbio Zampieri,
Daniela Reckziegel
PROPUR, UFRGS - Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
DATA- La Sapienza Universit di Roma, Italy
UNIRITTER, Porto Alegre, Brazil
E-mail: andreabraga23@gmail.com , etrusiani@libero.it , driga2000@yahoo.com.br
Social and spatial complexity is the most outstanding feature of contemporary Rome /Italy
metropolitan core. It is a powerful attractor for tourists, being one of the main touristic
destinations in Europe. It is also an immigrant city, one of the main gateways to Western
Europe. Space Syntax methods and tools were applied to describe and analyze Rome (IT) core
spatial structure towards accessibility connectivity, integration segregation and to measure
movement, land use labels dispersion and co presence empirically within Trastevere, Esquilino
and Pigneto neighborhoods (riones), providing a morphological explanation to immigrants and
tourists locacional choices. The target was to depict the morphological properties which enable
immigrants and tourists to exercise spatial governance locally and its impacts on co presence
diversification and ethnic commerce concentration. Evidence collected correlate different
syntactic measures and morphological properties to these two foreigners categories spatial
choices. Our hypothesis is that urban grid morphological differences play a main role in
fulfilling these users expectations towards interaction with locals and can explain social
appropriation of space transformations in the selected neighborhoods, triggering gentrification
and spatial governance processes or the emergence of interethnic neighborhoods. Our purposes
are: i) to describe and analyze Rome core spatial structure and street network, applying
integration and segment analysis; ii) correlate route choice probability using different metric
radius to depict immigrant and tourists wandering routes and gathering places; iii) to identify
relations between spatial configuration and ethnic groups spatial agency; iv) to analyze users
groups strategies in Rome city core, correlated to their impact on neighborhoods spatial lives
and different territorialities.
Key Words: spatial configuration, Rome (IT) city core, spatial governance, neighborhoods
transformations, foreigners routes and co presence.

227

Analysis of urban morphology on festival space decorated on

urban space, focusing reviewing spaces and closed spaces in
the case of Chichibu Night Festival in Japan
Kenjiro Matsuura
Department of Architecture, Faculty of Engineering, Mie University, Japan
E-mail: email.matsuura@arch.mie-u.ac.jp

Urban spaces transform into festival spaces when urban spaces are decorated with various
ornaments and various events are held in urban spaces. In the case that audience over
permissible amount crowd of festival spaces, it is theme to control audience for safety and to
design good spaces to see at the same time. In Chichibu Night Festival in Chichibu city in
Japan,which is one of the three big float festivals in Japan, there are three hundreds of thousands
of audience in the last night of festival. Owners of the sites along the float route take two
different ways as follows, to open outside spaces to put pay reviewing seats (reviewing spaces)
or to close outside spaces by barricades (closed spaces). This paper aims to clarify
characteristics of reviewing spaces and closed spaces in the case of the Chichibu Night Festival
in behalf of float festival in Japan. Findings are three points as follows: i) reviewing spaces are
set to crossings, slopes and Otabisyo (the place where the sacred palanquin is lodged during a
festival) which are highlight scenes of float festival , and are able to be typed three patterns by
relationship between reviewing spaces and the ground; ii) the whole area where crossings,
slopes and Otabisyo are located changed closed space for safety because many audience crowd
to; iii) in closed spaces, barricades are set up by plywoods and iron plates along boundary line
of road so audience will not enter the sites.
Key Words: festival space, urban space, Chichibu Night Festival, reviewing spaces, closed
spaces.

228

From planned decentralization to unplanned urban

development: manipulation of 1990 Ankara Plan
zgl Acar zler
Department of city and Regional Planning, Gebze Institute of Technology
E-mail: ozgulacar@gyte.edu.tr
The formation of the periphery of Ankara has started with 1990 Ankara Plan. It was remained
in force for 24 years between 1983 and 2007. This plan was based on the decision to control the
urban development within a determined pattern (Gnay, 2006). The main objective of the plan
was the decentralization of the city towards the western corridor. While northern parts of the
west corridor passed into hand of public bodies to be reserved for residential areas, development
at south-west around was abandoned to market mechanism. However in the period after 1980s,
urban development was not resulted as expected. The city underwent a fast change with rapid
and unintended urban growth and the south-western periphery of the city became the most
speculative part of the city. The fundamental transformations introduced in the legislative and
administrative structures to cope with uncontrolled urbanization, ironically, weakened the
restrictions and obligatory measures of planning and caused special public provision at the
south-western periphery. Many of incremental and fragmented plans changed the decisions of
1990 Ankara Plan. Where these plans were made land use decisions were changed, population
increased drastically, some parts of the former green belt were transformed into high-income
housing settlements. The aim of this paper is to seek how and to what extent these incremental
plans manipulate the 1990 Ankara Plan and produce unintended urban development. The
spatiotemporal analyses of the plans shed light on the (trans)formation process of the urban
space in peripheral areas.
Key Words: Ankara, 1990, Ankara Plan, Unplanned Urban Development.
References
Gnay, B. (2006) Ankara ekirdek Alannn Oluumu ve 1990 Nazm Plan Hakknda Bir
Deerlendirme, in enyapl T. (ed.), Cumhuriyetin Ankaras, zcan Altabana Armaan
(ODT Yaynclk, Ankara) 60118.

229

Mi casa es tu casa: the creation of the Rambla del Raval in

Barcelona, between urban renewal and touristic branding
Alessandro Scarnato
Universitat Politcnica de Catalunya, Departament de Composici
E-mail: zeroalfa@gmail.com

In the last twenty years Barcelona has become a top touristic destination. An important part in
this achievement is due to the extensive effort in urban reshaping started in the 80s of the last
century. The interventions in the historic center have had a key role in the regeneration and the
promotion of the city on the global stage. The operations in the Old City (Ciutat Vella), led by
famous architects like Bohigas and Busquets, were based on Aldo Rossis theories on urban
shapes, and followed an unusual dialogue between existing and new architecture. The creation
of the whole new Rambla del Raval (1996-2001) throughout the demolition of almost 3000
houses in the historic tissue, has been the most consistent operation. The physical impact of the
Rambla had been vast and deep: the transformations have gone way beyond the expected effects
and one of the first consequences has been the creation of an ideal terrain vague where the
increasing communities of non-European immigrants filled both the physical and social voids
created by the interventions. The new Old City of Barcelona entered in a process of
gentrification, becoming a incredibly popular touristic destination, a result that was out of any
plan when the renovation started. Newcomers (tourists, visitors and immigrants) have, quite
obviously, adapted faster and better to the new morphology of the center and, differently from
the locals, they appreciate the original historic features of old urban tissue. The paper, based on
my PhD research, aims to describe how the urban process triggered by the Rambla del Raval
has generated both physical and social transformations which had a mutual influence, far
beyond the original intentions of planners, administrators and inhabitants.
Key Words: Barcelona, historic centres, immigration, tourism, public space.

230

Assessing the impacts of musealisation on urban form: the

Case of Sultanahmet Archaeological Park in Istanbuls
Historic Peninsula
Pnar Ayka
The Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL. E-mail: pinaraykac@gmail.com

Substantial structural changes in global economies and the demands of cultural tourism have
resulted with the expansion of museum notion from the boundaries of buildings to historic
urban areas leading extensive transformations. Identified as musealisation; the process ranges
from systematic reuse of historic buildings as museums to urban conservation projects
promoting culture based activities. By musealisation, some aspects of the urban areas are
signified, conserved and presented intentionally making certain characteristics visible; while
eliminating or even destructing others. In addition; the process frames everyday-life situations
by either utilising existing buildings or by reconstructing authentic-like buildings and produce
superficial historic settings. At present, almost every aspects of culture, both tangible and
intangible, are presented in museums; most of the abandoned historic buildings are converted to
museums and historic urban areas are transformed into museum quarters or open air museums.
Due to this common trend of musealisation of historic urban environments, it is essential to
discuss the impacts of transformation caused by musealisation on urban form and its cultural
associations. Considering Turkey as a context, Sultanahmet neighbourhood on the tip of the
peninsula has been the subject of various conservation projects mainly aiming musealisation
after its declaration as an archaeological park in 1953. Through the spatio-temporal analysis of
urban form, the paper outlines the effects of musealisation decisions on Sultanahmet
neighbourhood and discusses musealisation as a two-folded process including both signification
of certain characteristics, and negligence or intentional destruction of the others.
Key Words: regeneration, musealisation, urban form, impact assessment, Sultanahmet
neighbourhood

231

A site that has been rearranged and then rehabilitated and

then renewed: major urban interventions on Fener and Balat
Districts
Mesut Dinler, Neriman Sahin Guchan
Middle East Technical University, Department of Architecture, Department of
Conservation. E-mail: mesutdinler@gmail.com

Fener and Balat districts are two historic neighbouring districts in historic peninsula of Istanbul.
These two districts reach from the Golden Horn shore upwards the slopes of Istanbuls hills.
These sister districts share the same faith not only by contributing to definition of identity of
Istanbul but also having struggled with continuous urban conservation projects. Starting from
mid-1980s, each local authority has implemented a different project either launched particularly
for Fener and Balat or included them in the project area. Golden Horn Coastal Rearrangement
Project (1984-1992), Fener and Balat Districts Rehabilitation Programme (1998-2005) and
Fener Balat Ayvansaray Urban Renewal Project (2004-2013) are three projects launched by
local authorities, last two by the same body. Each project directed different and mostly
conflicting- methods for the same aim: conserving two significant historic urban sites, Fener and
Balat districts. What is the reason that Fener and Balat have constantly been redefined and
reshaped? This research seeks the answer by addressing the same four questions to each project
that are: What was the process that necessitated the project? How did the urban pattern change
before and after? How was authenticity defined and managed? How was social and physical
integrity managed? These questions bring upfront discussions on management of change in
Fener and Balat districts.
Key Words: urban conservation, cultural heritage, historic environments, Fener, Balat.

232

Public space and commons as the main resource for the

rehabilitation of social housing settlements in Italy
Luca Gull, Michele Zazzi
Department of civil engineering DICATeA, University of Parma
E-mail: luca.gulli3@unibo.it , michele.zazzi@unipr.it , luca.gull@gmail.com

Public housing settlements (Peep) in the Emilia-Romagna region represent a very significant
moment public authorities actions in urban government in the last fifty tears. In the context of
the regional planning, these experiences have been assumed as the main instrument to drive an
effective and wide urban policy, aimed at achieving a wide set of goals, dealing with different
urban issues. This fact has produced a very considerable mixture of effects, directed not only to
housing policies, but to produce wider results, better able to improve the entire quality of the
suburban environment. As land-use regulatory tools, as vehicles for the achievement of new
social equipments and as new settlement big enough to contain very large amounts of open and
public space for the community, these public projects were intended to restore a balanced urban
growth and, at the same time, to produce places with a clear and modern landscape identity.
This very ambitious program produced very different rates of effectiveness and some of these
settlements, especially those located in the extreme positions and distinguished by scattered and
rough design solutions, have suffered from very marginal and isolated conditions. During the
years, instead, the high amount of public spaces and social equipments (which is the main
quality that distinguish the Peep districts in this region), has become the main resource to
support the improvement of urban life quality and the rise of a mixture of social functions. So,
these settlements have witnessed a consistent evolutionary process, which has much changed
and tempered their isolation, developing and strengthening community and identity features.
This fact has been in deep contrast with the opposite process of recent urban growth that took
over in all the peripheral areas surrounding the Peep settlements, which has produced a low
quality environment with lack of social and public spaces. This is the reason why these areas are
now to be considered a precious resort and a starting point for any attempt to inaugurate a new
urban regeneration policy: the peculiar setting aspects and the historical inheritance contained in
these public areas, with their still whole amount of commons, can play a guidance role for any
renewal strategies able to extend their influence to the wider suburban environment. This
research is aimed at reporting this rich and various urban inheritance, gathered in the Peep
settlements. Such resources are made of material goods and equipments, as well as cultural and
behavioral shared commons and are supposed to be the reference for the set up of a multipurpose set of renewal tools. First target and mail example of this strategy is the San Donato
borough in Bologna, a peculiar part of the city which has witnessed a complex urban and social
history. With its extremely extensive and scattered configuration of open spaces, balanced by a
dense and various cultural and social landscape, all of this in front of a great variety of different
urban tissues (many layers of different planned public housing areas and some huge examples of
dwelling complex), this environment represents the best case for testing any urban renewal
strategy measured with a balanced mix of different strategies, better able to become a reference
for careful and sensible public decision-making.
Key Words: urban rehabilitation, social housing settlements, peripheral environment, public
space, regulatory instruments.

233

The role of municipality in urban regeneration: the case of

Lisbons Eastern waterfront
Ana Nevado
DINMIACET-IUL, ISCTE-Lisbon University Institute
E-mail: anacnevado@gmail.com

Urban regeneration is currently an essential component of public policies, which justifies its
research (Ferreira, 2013). As an integrated process, the changing role played by municipalities is
crucial through political, governance models and agents, where public participation is crucial
(Fidalgo, 2012). The Eastern waterfront of Lisbon is peculiar since it is a complex, postindustrial and declined area (Custdio and Folgado, 1999) in the city, requiring a critical look
on its urban management. We analyse it in order to understand the role of the municipality in
urban regeneration processes and the actors involved in partnerships - especially inserted in
Polis XXI and also in strategic, collaborative planning (Alves, 2001; Ribeiro, 2012). Within
this scope, we consider the transformation of public policies, urban plans and governance
models until now; the urban planning/management leaded by Lisbons municipality; the
evolution of urban morphology of the case study, its relation with the city and the metropolitan
area. Aware of the implied difficulties in urban regeneration, we intend to contribute to the
debate on the evolution of spatial planning and management through the analysis of
conceptualizing, monitoring and management practices of urban regeneration operations in the
territory as well as the main agents. Considering the contemporary context of scarcity of
resources, funds and the triggered challenges by globalisation (Ferreira, 2005), we conclude that
new ways of planning are emergent and an opportunity (Tyler, et al, 2013) throughout the
construction of networks of communication and cooperation among several social actors government, private sector and community (Alves, 2001) where Architects are elementary.
Key Words: urban regeneration, municipal planning/management, public participation, Lisbon,
collaborative planning.
References
Alves, S. (2001) Planeamento colaborativo em contextos de regenera o urbana, Master
dissertation, Universidade do Porto, Porto.
Custdio, J. and Folgado, D. (1999) Caminho do Oriente: guia do patrimnio industrial (Livros
Horizonte, Lisboa).
Ferreira, A. F. (2005) Gesto Estratgica de Cidades e Regies (Fundao Calouste
Gulbenkian, Lisboa).
Ferreira,
A.
F.
(2013)
Uma
nova
gera o
de
polticas
urbanas,
(www.fonsecaferreira.net/?p=474).
Fidalgo, A. V. (2012) As parcerias para a regenera o urbana Uma anlise comparativa,
Master dissertation, Instituto Superior Tcnico, Lisboa.
Ribeiro, P. (2012) A avalia o das polticas de regenera o urbana em contextos intraurbanos,
Master Dissertation, Universidade do Porto, Porto.
Tyler, P., Warnock, C., Provins, A. Lanz, B. (2013) Valuing the Benefits of Urban
Regeneration, Urban Studies 50, 169-190.

234

The re-appropriation of industrial sites in the urban form of the

post-communist city
Iulia Statica
Department of Architecture and Design - La Sapienza University of Rome
E-mail: iulia.statica@yahoo.com

The paper purposes to analyse the phenomenon of the re-appropriation of post-communist postindustrial urban sites in the city of Bucharest. The study aims to develop an interpretation of the
various conditions, from the technological to the ideological, that has contributed or could
contribute to determining the nature of the re-appropriation in terms of both urban memory and
functional re-use. Initially, the study will examine specific urban, industrial sites built between
the late 19th and early 20th centuries, as function of the industrialization of the Romanian
economy, seen in their development in the urban topography. From the middle of the 20th
century, these spaces were included in the communist project of growing Romanian industry.
Examining the extent of the embodiment of the communist ideologies in projecting a new urban
form, the second part of the paper will investigate which was the role of ideology in the process
of appropriation and re-appropriation of these industrial sites. In todays Bucharest a big part of
these spaces, lots of them already part of the industrial archaeological patrimony, constitute
huge un-used areas blocking the fluidity of the urban tissue. The paper thus asks, can the
contemporary re-appropriation of these sites result in an authentic rehabilitation of the urban
tissue, generating forms of political praxes that negotiate the various historical layers or
appropriation and re-appropriation which would mediate different understanding of urban
memory and different experiences?
Key Words: industrial sites, ideology, re-appropriation, urban memory, re-use.

235

Urban mobility - Urban mutations. Means transport and

morphological changes in the city of Belm
Fabiano Andrade, Inah Silveira
Faculdade de Arquitetura e Urbanismo UFPA, Secretaria de Planejamento Governo
do Estado do Par. E-mail: fabiano@ufpa.br ; inahsilveira@yahoo.com
Urban mobility is among the important agents that contribute to morphological changes of the
city, and as such is through its and the means of transport required by it, that new routes are
executed and or enlarged, large spaces transformed and resized, new technologies and
techniques tried and updated by quantity and quality of vehicles necessaries. In the end, they all
linked the intensity of demand of the population involved. The history of the city of Belm do
Par brings with it, in the form and in the initial nucleus (1616), the direct influences of design
mode of Portuguese Overseas Cities from the early 17th century: strategic location on margin of
a river, articulation with the place where it was implanted, and the regular trace of the urban
grid (Teixeira, 2012). In the 19th century, starting in 1869, with the significant increase of the
urban population, two companies of trams pulled by pairs of donkeys, installed their lines in
Belm, contributing with expansion of roads and the consequent increase in the existing grid.
However was with the inauguration of Estrada de Ferro de Bragana - EFB in 1883 and with the
survey-project (Duarte, 1997) of the 1st league of the City, started in the same year, by Nina
Ribeiro, polytechnic engineer, that Belm starts major changes in its morphology. Was when the
survey-project was transformed in reality, and two important lines extension of the EFB: the
So Braz public garden and Entroncamento Pinheiro were inaugurated. The study shows
the transformations arising from urban mobility (Vasconcellos, 2012) in two spaces of great
importance for the city of Belm: the Complexo Virio de S o Braz and the Complexo Virio
do Entroncamento.
Key Words: urban mobility, history, morphology, means of transport, mutations.
References
Duarte, C. F. (1997) Belm do Par, na virada do Sculo XIX: Modernidade no Plano
urbanstico de expanso da cidade (PROURB, UFRJ, Rio de Janeiro).
Teixeira, M. C. (2012) A forma da cidade de origem portuguesa (Editora Unesp: Imprensa
Oficial do Estado de So Paulo, So Paulo).

236

Urban road and street planning as part of urbanization:

integration or separation?
Daniel Casas Valle
Centro de Estudos de Arquitectura e Urbanismo (CEAU), Faculdade de Arquitectura da
Universidade do Porto (FAUP). E-mail: dcv@cityeu.eu

The evolution of networks and urban areas are complex processes depending on many different
factors. For urban networks, as well for street and road networks, adhesion is an important
factor in the network development (Dupuy, 2008). For roads and streets, accessibility is an
essential condition to make building and program adhesion possible. The availability to reach a
place along a street or road is determined by transport possibilities (car, public transport, bike,
pedestrians). In the Porto region, the mobility network is functional at a high and low level, but
at an intermediary level it is far from being completed (Babo and Oliveira, 2009). However, this
intermediary level, regional and inter-municipality roads, has a traffic functionality, it also
organizes build programs. Nevertheless, the strict separation between traffic flows and direct
accessible addresses (design regulation, sectional disciplines), in practise, many intermediary
roads serve both functions. This creates a new urban form, that is neither a urban street not a
regional road (Domingues, 2009), with a own spatial characteristic and urban morphology. To
understanding this phenomena, and the mismatch between a model and reality, we need to
understand how accessibility of build programs is organized. Key aspect, is the changing point
from fast transport into a pedestrian level, or from flow into staying (Mensink, 2013). As, these
kind of roads/streets are highly depending on individualized motorized transport, parking is a
key aspect in this. This article unfold, based on several roads/streets in the Porto region, a
characterisation of parking typologies as a condition for urban change and its form.
Key Words: streets, roads, urbanization, urban patterns, parking.
References
Babo, A., Oliveira, M. (2009) Plano de Aco 2008-2013 para a promoo da mobilidade,
transportes e logstica no Norte de Portugal (CCDR-N)
Domingues, . (2009) A Rua da estrada (Dafne Editora, Porto)
Dupuy, G. (2008) Urban networks Network Urbanism, collection of key articles (Techne
Press, Amsterdam).
Mensink, J. (2013) Stromen en verblijven, Naar een integrale ontwerpvisie op verkeer en
openbare ruimte, Rotterdam: nai010 uitgevers, in Casas Valle, D. (ed.) Urban road and
street planning as part of urbanization: integration or separation?

237

Accessibilities as an agent of change in urban form

Paulo Silva
University of Aveiro Department of Social, Political and Territorial Sciences
E-mail: paulosilva@ua.pt

Metropolitan Lisbon has experienced important territorial transformations in the last decades,
with a special impact on urban form. From compact to disperse and fragmented new expressions
of urban territories challenge politicians, practitioners and academics on how to deal with urban
form. One of the main responsible for this change of urban patterns is the construction of
accessibilities, following an agenda that is not always articulated with the one of spatial
planning. In the proposed paper the role of accessibilities will be discussed in terms of: what
have the different stake holders expected from them in terms of contribution to the urban form;
how are spaces evolving in their vicinity with accessibilities; how can a model be developed to
explain urban form in relations with them. In order to pursue these goals we will present: an
analysis of spatial tools for the Metropolitan Lisbon in order to identify expectations those
expectation; an analysis of the build occupation around four nodes of A2, the main southern
access to Lisbon; and finally a model relating accessibilities with urban tissue and urban grid.
The main conclusions from this paper will be related with the types of urban form generated by
accessibilities in metropolitan contexts.
Key-Words: urban structures, urban infra-structures, consolidated urban space, Lisbon
Metropolitan Area, accessibilities.

238

The dynamics of structures impacting Transit Oriented

Development in Noorderkwartier Area
Arnoud de Waaijer
Department of Architecture, Delft University of Technology
E-mail: D.A.deWaaijer@tudelft.nl
Post Second World War the Noorderkwartier Area, North of Amsterdam, functioned as
overflow for the city. Spatial policies in the Netherlands were aimed at reducing urban pressure
on the bigger cities of the Randstad. (Cammen, 2013) Partly due to the use of low density,
mostly car related, urban developments this has been accompanied by an enormous increase in
build-up area. Most striking is the dispersion of important functions over the territory.
Simultaneously mobility rose and the structures for the different forms of mobility were not well
interlinked. A social need arose to pursue an accessible city. Currently for the area policies on
Transit Oriented Development (TOD) are under construction. (Provincie, 2010) Central in the
concept of TOD is the clustering of spatial developments around nodes of public transport and
thus re-establishing proximity. (Priemus, 2007) The research methodology applied to develop
these policies mostly does not involve structural and spatial dynamics of the urban formation
processes (Aken, 2004) This research aims to identify structuring spatial elements impacting the
territorys performance for the assignment of TOD and considers it a spatial assignment. Which
are the structuring, guiding elements and what are their dynamics in the developments
processes? A closer look at the territory shows a patchwork of different typo morphological
structures which do not connect. Are those joints permanent or changeable? This will be studied
by mapping the territory historically and analysing the important structural changes in relation
to the positioning of elements important to the performance on proximity and analysing the
influence of structuring spatial elements on TOD.
Key Words: urban morphology, Transit Oriented Development, urban structures; Permanence,
landscape
References
Aken, J.E. van (2004) Management research based on the paradigm of design sciences: the
quest for field-tested and grounded technological rules, Journal of Management Studies 41,
219-246.
Cammen, H. van der et al (2013) The Selfmade Land, culture and evolution of urban and
regional planning in the Netherlands, 236-245.
Priemus, H. Urban dynamics and transport infrastructure: Towards greater synergy, Railway
development impacts on urban dynamics, F. Bruinsma et al (eds), 15-33.
Provincie Noord-Holland (2010) Structuurvisie Noord-Holland 2040, Kwaliteit door
veelzijdigheid, 9-10, 55-62, 75-78.
Provincie Noord-Holland (2009) Werkboek Bouwstenen 3/3, Noord-Holland 2040, Analyses
en Verkenningen, 9-59.

239

Tracing urban catalysts in Noorderkwartier area

Arnoud de Waaijer
Department of Architecture, Delft University of Technology
E-mail: D.A.deWaaijer@tudelft.nl
After the Second World War the Noorderkwartier Area, situated North of Amsterdam
functioned as overflow for the city. Spatial policies in the Netherlands at that time were aimed
at reducing urban pressure on the bigger cities of the Randstad. (Cammen, 2013) Costly
policies of redistribution of urban development towards the peripheries were developed, mainly
through direct intervention in housing production. (Healy, 2007) As a result in the area a
dispersed territory arose often linked to car mobility. Nowadays the policies are severely scaled
down (Healy, 2007) and the area is confronted with possible downfall in population,
employment, facilities and building production. To counter this for the area currently policies on
Transit Oriented Development (TOD) are under construction. (Provincie, 2010) Central in the
concept of TOD is the clustering of spatial developments around nodes of public transport and
thus re-establishing proximity. (Priemus, 2007) The research methodology applied to develop
these policies mostly does not involve societal dynamics of these spatial formation processes
(Aken, 2004) and still assumes a directing government. This research aims to identify the key
factors in urban change in relation to proximity to transit for understanding the steering and
decisive factors and processes involved in development processes to develop possible grip on
the matter. By mapping the area historically since the commencement of transit in the territory
and trough spatial analyses the critical changes will be identified for TOD. The processes
underlying these critical changes will studied and placed in their societal and political context.
With the documentation available the choices and decision making processes will be clarified.
Key Words: Urban morphology, transit oriented development, urban transformation processes,
mapping, Amsterdam Metropolitan Area.
References
Aken, J.E. van (2004) Management research based on the paradigm of design sciences: the
quest for field-tested and grounded technological rules Journal of Management Studies 41,
219-246.
Cammen, H. van der et al (2013) The selfmade land, culture and evolution of urban and
regional planning in the Netherlands, 236-245.
Healy, P. (2007) Urban Complexity and Spatial Strategies, towards a relational planning for
our times, 41-76.
Priemus, H. (2010) Urban dynamics and transport infrastructure: Towards greater synergy, in
F. Bruinsma et al (eds.) Railway development impacts on urban dynamics 15-33.
Provincie Noord-Holland (2010) Structuurvisie Noord-Holland 2040, Kwaliteit door
veelzijdigheid, 9-10, 55-62, 75-78.
Provincie Noord-Holland (2009) Werkboek Bouwstenen 3/3, Noord-Holland 2040, Analyses
en Verkenningen, 9-59.

240

Actors of formation in urban periphery: ayyolu case

Aybike Ceylan Kizilta
Department of City and Regional Planning, Gazi University.
E-mail: aybike.ceylan@gmail.com
The form of cities are no longer product of a single total design. Urban formation process is a
complex one that involves various actors with different motivations and with different levels of
power over urban form. The actors involved in this process and the formation patterns are
directly influenced by the contexts of urban formation; simply state-market relations. Post
1980s signify a particular period due to changes in these contexts, therefore both the actors and
the formation patterns of cities changed dramatically after this period. This is also valid for
Turkey. However peculiarities of Turkish cities coming from the social and property relations
have also led to its own peculiar problems in urban space. ayyolu in Ankara -the capital city of
Turkey- is a peripheral formation which displays the basic characteristics of urban formation in
Turkey after 1980s. Formation of ayyolu began in the beginning of 70ies, however this
formation process is not uniform in itself; it reveals different characteristics with respect to the
actors involved, planning approaches and the resulting urban form. The aim of this paper is to
reveal these periods of formation for ayyolu area and discuss the problems related with the
control of this formation process via planning.
Key Words: urban periphery, urban formation, contexts of urban formation, actors, ayyolu.

241

Development of a suburb, throught series of unfortunate

events
Sigrur Kristjnsdttir
Director of the Master program in Planning, Agricultural University of Iceland.
E-mail: sigridur@lbhi.is
Throught series of unfortunate events, the neighborhood lfarsfelssdalur in Reykjavk, Iceland,
has developed from an idea in economic boom to reality in an economic crash. This paper
discusses the development of the lfarsdalshverfi in Reykjavk, Iceland, from an idea to reality
throught series of unfortunate events. The changes are studied through the lens of Conzens
(1960) ideology, by looking at the evolution of the three distinct but integral town plan
elements, i.e. the streets, the plots and the buildings, starting with a review of the planning
competition. The winning solution was awarded for its novelty solutions in town planning,
improving the livelihood of the neighbourhood. Afterwards the plan was adapted and changed,
according to the legislation, as it went through the planning process. Important aspects of the
resulting legal plan were different from the plan presented in the planning competition,
particularly in light of its distinguishing attributes. For instance the emphasis on density and
livelihood of the neighbourhood was sacrificed. The construction of the neighbourhood and the
effects of the 2008 crisis on its development are also discussed. Finally the effects of the new
master plan and the changes in emphasis by the planning authorities on this particular
neighbourhood will be considered as the emphasis has shifted from building up new
neighbourhoods to increasing the density of the older central regions of the city.
Key Words: Conzen, planning competition, town plan elements, planning process, Reykjavk.
References_
Conzen, M.R.G. (1960) Alnwick Northumberland: a study in town-plan analysis (Institute of
British Geographers, London).

242

Metropolitan dialogues: Lisbons external and place specific

agents of change
Ins Moreira
CIAUD, Architecture Faculty, University of Lisbon,Rua S Nogueira, Plo
Universitrio, Alto da Ajuda, 1349-055 Lisboa, Portugal. E-mail:
ineslmoreira@fa.ulisboa.pt
The paper explores preliminary findings of the on-going PhD research, focusing specialized
landscapes resulting from research, production, distribution and consumption activities in
metropolitan Lisbon. The main objective is to explore to which extent the external and place
specific determinant agents (biophysical and anthropic), the policies and the plans have
contributed to shape the morphology of the urban areas related to the presence of these
economic activities. The current metropolitan area is the result of rapid urban expansion
processes and increasing functional complexity. From the 90s onwards, there was pressure to
adapt to the new economic and social demands of the emergent knowledge society, including
the supporting mobility network, the motorization of the population and changes in the way of
inhabiting the city. This resulted in a distended urban system with axes of great concentration of
economic activities related to the tertiary sector connected to the transport infrastructure. On the
other hand, the global changes in the industrial production processes and the restructuring of the
economic system had consequences for the vast peripheral industrial complexes which became
obsolete, resulting in a wasteland landscape. More recently, the economic and financial crisis
has further stimulated this trend, with medium and small enterprises in production clusters also
being abandoned. By resorting to relevant case study examples, the paper identifies the changes
over the last 50 years and discusses the challenges of the present scarcity context on Lisbons
metropolitan trends.
Key Words: metropolitan Lisbon, urban dynamics, specialized landscapes, external and place
specific agents of change.

243

Managing the mark of the memory: a case study on the North

Dublin Victorian fringe-belt
Mariana Moreira
MosArt Architects.
E-mail: mariana@mosart.ie

The urban fabric can be regarded as a repository of human life that records past culture and
includes historic-geographic changes that have physical manifestations, but that are also
underpinned by processes, whether social, economic or political (Whitehand, 1977).
Notwithstanding the fact that much of the urban fabric is worthy of conservation, research
indicates a general paucity in understanding among planning authorities of urban morphology
and the morphological nature of the city that results in weak or inadequate conservation
planning policy and systems more focused on buildings and plots than their integral role in
terms of urban form in larger urban tissues (Whitehand and Morton, 2004). As a pretext for
demonstrating the nature of urban form as an organic whole comprising parts that are
interrelated in form and historical process and the failure by decision makers to recognise and
appreciate this, the northern intermediate fringe belt in Dublin City is taken as a case study. The
study involved a morphological analysis of both the preceding Georgian city and the Victorian
fringe belt, examining both the historical processes over the two centuries concerned and the
resulting and contrasting urban form. To date, however, in the planning system in Dublin City
Council, there is no recognition or appreciation and, thus, management of the intermediate
fringe belt. Hence, this clearly identifiable urban tissue that bears witness to a significant period
in Irish history is open to insensitive development, especially with concerted urban policies
concerned with compaction and densification (Rudlin and Falk, 2009). The likely ensuing loss
of significant parts of the urban fabric surely poses a major threat to our future cultural heritage
as constituted by the city.
Key Words: conservation, fringe-belt, Dublin, Georgian Era, Victorian Era, planning policy.
Rudlin, D. and Falk, N. (2009) Sustainable urban neighbourhood building the 21st Century
Home (Architectural Press, Oxford).
Whitehand J. W. R. (1977) The basis for an historico-geographical theory of urban form
Transactions, Institute of British Geographers New Series, Vol. 2, No. 3 400-416.
Whitehand J. W. R. and Morton N. J. (2004) Urban morphology and planning: the case of
fringe belts Elsevier Vol 21, No. 4 275-289.

244

Heavier challenges fewer resources: lens for a new urban

reality in Lisbon
Sofia Morgado, Ins Moreira, Jos Vargas
CIAUD, Architecture Faculty, University of LisbonRua S Nogueira, Plo
Universitrio, Alto da Ajuda, 1349-055 Lisboa, Portugal.
E-mail: smorgado@fa.ulisboa.pt , ineslmoreira@fa.ulisboa.pt ,
josevargas@fa.ulisboa.pt
The paper addresses the impact of the dynamics associated with the economic and financial
crisis originated in the U.S.A., afterwards extended to the Eurozone, on the urban functional and
morphological structure and fabrics.It is a two-tiered exam on Lisbon Metropolitan Area: (1)
current transformations on agglomerations with economic interest, which reflect international
dependence and the impact of prior sectorial policies, especially when facing a sudden
disruption, in the urban development with consequences to the metropolitan quality of life; (2)
An opposing dynamic functional and population related between centres that are been emptied
and periurban areas, usually rural, that start to show a significant growth, driven by still recent
road accessibilities and the emergence of business centres related to the tertiary sector and to
industrial-logistical activities, which are often becoming besieged by the growing lack of
infrastructures, access to goods and data. Still exploratory, the approach seeks to present
preliminary results from an on-going research Minimal Resources -, with contributes from
PhD researches, at CIAUD/Murbs, Faculty of Architecture of the University of Lisbon.
Key Words: Lisbon metropolitan area; scarcity; metropolitan dynamics; sectorial policy impact;
housing mobility.

245

Similar processes, divergent outcomes: analyzing urban

redevelopment processes in three rapidly growing Turkish
cities
Tuna Kuyucu, Didem Dan
Sociology Department, Boazii University
Sociology Department, Galatasaray University.
E-mail: tuna.kuyucu@boun.edu.tr , didemdanis@yahoo.com
Since the "neoliberal turn," most of the literature on urban redevelopment and regeneration
follows a uniform structure whereby single cases are thoroughly analyzed to demonstrate how
they have been shaped by processes of neoliberalization that are simultaneously at work
throughout the globe. The few comparative studies mostly take two or more otherwise
dissimilar cities and/or regions within cities and show how they also have followed similar
paths of neoliberal transitions. In our view these studies conceal as much as they reveal by
presenting a causally simplistic and methodologically flawed analysis that detects a
homogenous process of social, economic, and spatial turn wherever they look. Such studies fail
to account for the important variations among similar cases, mostly caused by the different
constellation of local forces and different resource capacity and action orientation of local
actors. To overcome this fallacy in the field, we compare three divergent redevelopment
processes in formerly state-owned industrial zones in three rapidly-growing secondary cities in
Turkey. Based on in-depth interviews with key stake-holders, analysis of descriptive statistics
and close documentary analysis, our research shows that local actors (state, civil society, and
bourgeoisie) and their relationship with central state decision makers have direct impact on how
neoliberalism is instituted and how it actually works in particular geographies. As such our
study challenges the dominant monolithic accounts of urban change within the literature and
calls for further carefully constructed comparative analyses that strive for variation-finding
among otherwise similar cases.
Key Words: urban redevelopment, neoliberal urbanization, urban growth coalitions,
comparative analysis, urban theory.

246

The built form of technology campuses: an exploratory study

Flavia Curvelo Magdaniel
Real Estate & Housing Department, Delft University of Technology.
E-mail: f.t.j.curvelomagdaniel@tudelft.nl
The sites accommodating research activity -well known as science and technology parks,
research parks and/or university campuses- are increasingly seen by several stakeholders as one
of the investments targets when developing the physical infrastructure that supports
knowledge-based development. Therefore, these sites have been mainly investigated from
scientific disciplines such as economic geography, developmental policy, and more recently
spatial planning. Conversely, they have been little studied in the built environment sciences.
This paper seeks to characterise the built form of technology campuses in their contexts as part
of a wide research investigating the role of the built environment adding value to the goals of
stakeholders. With the purpose to fill a knowledge gap, this study explores the reality of
technology campuses by using an inductive approach. Due to its nature this exploration
combines different types of sources and methods for data collection and analysis. First, it uses
literature review to situate this topic in context with other contemporary issues. Second, it
collects important concepts from theories of built environment to define and analyse the built
form patterns of technology campuses. And third, it conducts a scan of thirty nine existing sites
by analysing documents, maps and site plans aimed to identify built form patterns. Therefore,
five main qualities of technology campuses in context are identified emphasizing the form
components, configurations and relationships. Overall, it can be said the built form of
technology campuses is a planned built form. Therefore their shape and structure are the result
of explicit intentions, which in some cases have been influenced by urban planning concepts but
not all of them can be attributed to planning principles. Thus, the explicit intentions that bring
about the built form of technology campuses cannot be generalised.
Key Words: technology campuses, built form, knowledge based-development, research sites.

247

New university complexes as a force of shaping the urban

form of the medium sized cities in contemporary Iran, a case
study of Najaf Abad

Ario Nasserian1, Valeriya Klets1, Sara Kalbasi2

Dipartimento DIAP, DRACO ,Universit di Roma "Sapienza", Italy.
2
Islamic Azad University of Najaf Abad (IAUN), Iran.
E-mail: ario.nasserian@gmail.com , valeriya.kles@gmail.com ,
sara.kalbasi@gmail.com

Aim of this paper is to study the effect of the newly emerged factors in shaping a city in Iran. In
recent years, with the huge increase in number of the students and the wave of building of new
universities across the country, in many medium-sized cities, the main element forming the city
changed drastically to the university complexes and other buildings related to them.
In this paper, initially, there would be a short comparative description of growth of the urban
tissue in Iran, and the factors, influencing it, and the way these factors act. Then effect of the
new university complexes is described using some examples. Then using some comparative
statistics, the effect of these complexes would be proved, and in the final step the effect of these
complexes on the city would be discussed in three levels, the whole city level, the Neighboring
level and the building level.A short summary of the results will prove that by building the
university a sudden increase in the rate of citys growth and area has been started, also due to
the price change in some neighborhoods of the city, this growth is much more than the others. It
would be shown that the general number of stories of the city buildings and the area of the
housing has also changed to make the buildings more profitable to rent, as a huge renting
population is added to the city. In general, the citys face has changed from a traditional
working-class residential city, to a so-called dormitory-city.
Key Words: factors of growth, change of the urban tissue, medium towns, accelerated growth,
dormitory city.

248

Urban black holes: the rural in the urban as liminal spaces

from where to build a new city
Paula Santos, Daniela Pena-Corvillon
Departmento de Cincia Poltica e do Comportamento, Univ Fernando Pessoa & Centro
de Polticas Pblicas Urbanas, Univ de Lisboa.
Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning, Univ of California at
Berkeley. E-mail: pmsantos@ufp.edu.pt , d.corvillon@berkeley.edu
The traditional narrative on citys growth is one of the urban form expanding while agricultural
practices are relegated to other spatial realms than not the city. The rural is not expected to be
an element of the urban (Gottdiener, 2014:19). As such the material to present is related to
what we could name urban black holes or the rural in the urban. We take an
anthropologically informed approach to urban form, in particular to a very specific terrain (ie, a
space and its social world): the so called hortas (vegetable patches) located in Porto, Northern
Portugal. These hortas are small sections of land always located along a water corridor that are
cultivated outside any legal frame by local neighbours thus producing informal working class
growers communities. These are places that are invisible to most of the city. They are liminal
places. Building a city depends on how people combine the traditional economic factors of land,
labor, and capital with the look and feel of cities reflecting concepts of order and disorder
(Zukin 1995:7). We bring into the morphology analysis the social agents related to these
specific forms of living the city, and argue that these hortas are not mere survivals of past
stages of the citys evolution and growth. They are in fact essential element of change in todays
city where the morphology of the place and the group of actors take power into the urban
landscape, starting a new paradigm of urban public spaces and urban community life.
Key words: rural-in-the-city, liminal-places, informal communities, water-corridors, foodproduction.
References:
Gottdiener, M. (2014) The New Form of Urban Space and its Architecture in Santos, P. and
Seixas, P. (eds.), Globalization and Metopolization perspectives from Europes West
Coast, (Berkeley Public Policy Press Institute of Governmental Studies, Berkeley) 15-26.
Zukin, S. (1995) The Cultures of Cities (Blackwell Publishing, Oxford).

249

Exploring university morphology

Lusa Cannas da Silva, Teresa Heitor
ICIST, Instituto Superior Tcnico.
E-mail: luisacanasdasilva@tecnico.ulisboa.pt , teresa.heitor@tecnico.ulisboa.pt
Universities have a preponderant role in todays societal models in the context of the knowledge
economy. They have been in the core of development economical, social, inter alia and
their role within urban context has changed in order to respond to the third strand of the
university mission that of civic engagement. Whether conceived as autonomous entities or
diffused within the urban fabric, universities are a key element in urban dynamics and policies
and they are progressively more included in strategic plans and development actions worldwide.
Therefore, it has become significant to understand the extent of university integration within
urban territories. This paper aims at exploring an analytical framework for university precincts
within urban fabrics, understanding the different types of urban insertion and connections
established with local and regional players. The differences between universities conceived as
autonomous entities in isolated locations and universities embedded in the urban territory are
emphasized. The focus is placed on the impact of the university precinct at the level of the
adjacent urban fabrics, on an attempt to understand the ways universities can relate to their
hosting cities, from a morphological point of view.
Key Words: university precinct, urban integration, campus, knowledge economy, university
morphology.

250

Aging as an agent of change in the way how we occupy our

territory
Ana Bordalo, Madalena Cunha Matos
Centro de Investigao em Arquitetura, Urbanismo e Design da Faculdade de
Arquitetura da Universidade de Lisboa CIAUD-FAUL.
E-mail:ana.bordalo@gmail.com , mcunhamatos@fa.utl.pt
The aging of population characterizes the contemporary societies and promotes changes in the
way how we are occupying our territory. Today, Portugal stands as one of the most aged
countries in Europe with an aging index of 127,8% (PORDATA, 2013) - which means that for
every 100 young people (0 to 14 years old) there are 127.8 citizens with 65 or more years old. In
parallel, there is a marked imbalance in the occupation of our territory: with a high
concentration of population in coastal regions (especially in the metropolitan areas of Lisbon
and Oporto) and depopulation in the inner - characterized by an elderly resident population.
In the inner regions, begins to be frequent to find a numerous unoccupied houses, or even entire
abandoned towns. This fact can be seen as an opportunity and not just as a problem. We propose
to analyze the potential that these territories may provide in the implementation of resident
systems dedicated to the needs of the elderly people, like Home-Villages, and the way of these
kind of structures can contribute to the revitalization of depopulation territories; concealed with
other structures (a motor for local development) which can potentiated the fixation of young
people and promote a intergeracional territory. Through a case study, that summarizes a
proposal for intervention, structured in a review of the territory, which aims to revitalize the
Pessegueiro town, in Alcoutim (Portugal) - unpopulated, with a significant unoccupied housing
structure and with an aging resident population.
Key Words: Assisted Living, Territory revitalization, Home-Villages, Spatial equity, Living in
old age
References:
PORDATA (2013) Aging indicators according with 2011 Censos in Portugal
(http://www.pordata.pt/Portugal/Indicadores+de+envelhecimento+segundo+os+censos-525).

251

Confederations Cup 2013 in Brazil and urban conflicts

manifest in Belo Horizonte / MG
Raquel Garcia Gonalves, Karina Machado Simo, Juliana Arajo, Ana Pedroso
Urbanism Department, Architecture School Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil.
E-mail: raquelgargon@hotmail.com , karinamdcs@yahoo.com.br ,
julianagodoy91@gmail.com , anaacpedroso@gmail.com
June of 2013 will be remembered in Brazilian history. The Confederations Cup organized by
FIFA and the Brazilian team victory in the games could be the main reason. However, between
the period June 15th to 30 of that year, the spotlight turned to popular manifestations that
occurred as protests to perverse segregation sociospatial processes that delimit the history of the
country. For realization of the event was necessary a major transformation of the structure and
image of the six host cities, including Belo Horizonte. Though these changes are part of a larger
process that indicates a conception of the city that reinforces the capitalist basis of the property
market and consolidates the historical process of social exclusion. In response to accumulated
dissatisfactions over several decades, there have been several urban conflicts during FIFA
Confederations Cup 2013 that glimpsed the city as object and arena, in order to expose
government mistakes and claiming rights. We emphasize here that Urban conflict is considered
any confrontation or dispute relating to infrastructure, services, or urban life conditions that
involves at least two collective actors and / or institutions (including the state) and is manifested
in public space. This topic is researched by Urban Conflicts Observatory. The main objective of
this article is analyze urban conflicts manifest in Belo Horizonte during Confederations Cup in
Brazil in 2013, according to data and studies of Urban Conflicts Observatory of Belo Horizonte.
Key Words: urban conflicts, confederations cup; Belo Horizonte.

252

Urban conflicts observatory of Belo Horizonte / MG:

sociospatial processes reading from conflicts
Raquel Garcia Gonalves, Karina Machado Simo, Juliana Arajo, Ana Pedroso
Urbanism Department , Architecture School Federal University of Minas Gerais,
Brazil.E-mail: raquelgargon@hotmail.com , karinamdcs@yahoo.com.br ,
julianagodoy91@gmail.com , anaacpedroso@gmail.com
The Identification, survey and systematization of urban conflicts are an important key to
understanding landscapes and sociospatial processes of contemporary cities.Based on this
understanding and denial of typically neoliberal thinking which identifies citizenship as
synonymous of no conflict and social peace, the discussion of urban conflicts recently acquire
academic researches, particularly in Brazil, where it was configured a network called Urban
Conflicts Observatory. One of this network element is the Urban Conflicts Observatory of Belo
Horizonte, created in 2006, which aims to record, organize, classify and provide information on
urban struggles, social movements and diverse manifestations of conflict in the city.One of the
challenges currently is deal with society complexity, valuing multiple possibilities that open
from the dissent, discussion and collective manifestations.Therefore, the present article aims to
introduce this Observatory, its concept, objectives and methodology bases. Also conduct a
critical evaluation of its academic production and analysis of data produced considering the
landscapes of the city of Belo Horizonte (MG).Furthermore, it intends to accomplish a
comparative analysis of urban conflicts between the studied years (2006-2013). This work
whose relevance goes beyond the mere academic discussion of a research project in order to
constitute an important benefit to the understanding of social relations in the urban area of the
state capital.
Key Words: urban conflict, social relations, Belo Horizonte, urban area.

253

Towards sustainable transformation in urban historical

quarters: a social capital integrated place management
approach
Han Jie
Department of Architecture, National University of Singapore.
E-mail: aki.hanjie@gmail.com.
In many Chinese cities under rapid urbanization, decayed historic quarters have been frequently
redeveloped toaccommodate the scale and speed of development. Physical and economic
revitalization have been widely used to attract investment, boost economic growth, and intensify
the land use of the historic areas. In China, mainstream practices favour the top-down approach,
which implements large scale demolition and high-rise redevelopment with small scale
preservation of a few selected buildings. In this transformation process, this growth-driven
redevelopment of historic quarters has caused conflicts to society. Social replacements and
gentrification diminish the social values attached to the physical fabric and damage the
openness and inclusion of a society. Sustainable development challenges this transformation
process: a decayed historic place should be revitalized and sustainably transformed not only in
terms of economic gains, but also in terms of cultural ecology and social well-being. This paper
argues that sustainable transformation should highlight a value- centered place management
process. Through managing the process of change and mitigating conflicts by negotiation and
cooperation in local-global levels, historic places as legacy of past could stimulate creative
use of historical place and trigger development path towards sustainable transitions, in which
heritage value will be rediscovered and reproduced collectively, especially the value on public
realm and social cohesion. Based on the study of social capital theory and its adaptations, this
paper proposes an alternative approach to transformation process, namely social capital
integrated place management approach. It highlights the functions of different forms of social
capital, their cooperation patterns as well as social interactions in the decision making network
and transformation process. A comparative study will be conducted between two cases in China.
Key Words: urban historical quarters, manage change, sustainable transformation, social capital.

254

Urban Morphologies of Alternative Spaces: A Case Study of

Tehran
Babak Soleimani, Alexandra Staub
Stuckeman School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, Penn State University.
E-mail: bxs386@psu.edu , acs11@psu.edu
For the past century, Iran has been characterized by an intense social polarization: on the one
hand, those who claim a traditional, Islamic lifestyle, on the other those who champion a
modernization akin to westernization. This paper examines how the two forces have played out
in shaping the physical spaces of the capital city, Tehran. The urban transformation of Tehran
initiated in 1934 aimed, among other things, to restrict the cultural activities and public life of a
traditional urban class in favor of a western-oriented elite. The Iranian revolution of 1979
attempted the reverse: with similar procedures but with different outlooks, the revolution
reinserted traditional culture into the public sphere and marginalized non-traditional subcultures.
Today, a wide gap can be observed in Iran between government-sponsored socio-cultural values
and those of more liberal social groups. Both after 1934 and again after 1979, particular urban
settings have played a key role in the form of alternative spaces that enabled the marginalized
social group to preserve the vitality of their lifestyle. Using a case-study approach, this paper
examines the ways specific aspects of urban morphology have contributed to the formation of
these alternative urban spaces. Through a parallel analysis of Tehrans morphological and social
transformations, this study posits that urban boundaries shaped by physical structures have been
a significant factor in the formation of these alternative social spaces. The paper focuses on the
Grand Bazaar of Tehran as the most significant alternative space for the traditional class in prerevolutionary Iran, and Ekbatan housing estate as a major example of alternative space in the
post-revolutionary era. The outcomes of this research shed light on the interrelationship of
physical and socio-cultural landscapes in socially contested cities.
Key Words: Iran, public spaces, social transformations, bazaar, Ekbatan.

255

256

5.
Revisiting urban morphological classics
The future has an ancient heart is the title of a book written in 1956 by the Italian
writer Carlo Levi. I mention it as inaugural metaphor of our session: the classics of
Urban Morphology can be considered as the foundations of a building under
construction, which will be much firmer and more cohesive than us (who are the
builders) we will be able to recognize and focus our cultural debts with the masters who
anticipated, with their studies, the complex problems of the urban form. In this respect
the language barriers are a severe limitation to the international circulation of the texts
of the pioneers of Urban Morphology, who as classics should be read, summarized,
commented and compared in a systematic way in their chronological sequence,
regardless of the language in which were written. It could think out to put in them in a
critical anthology, to be published in the future as a further step for the growth of our
discipline. Moreover Urban Morphology in his collection has already hosted a series of
articles aimed just to document the different national traditions of urban studies that
preceded the ISUF establishment. Vitor Oliveira in his summary article (Oliveira, 2013)
there has provided the references, which I here enclose as useful starting point for this
project (which could be called 'Critical Anthology of Urban Morphology') to bring to
completion in next few years.

Giancarlo Cataldi

References
Oliveira, V. (2013) The study of urban form: reflections on national reviews, Urban
Morphology 17, 85-92.

257

Morphology vs typology: notes on Saverio Muratori and

Ludovico Quaroni's urban projects
Anna Irene Del Monaco
Dipartimento di Architettura e Progetto, Sapienza Universit di Roma.
E-mail: anna.delmonaco@uniroma1.it
This paper aims to investigate Saverio Muratori's and Ludovico Quaroni's different approaches
to urban design, with special reference to the ways the two peer architects, both somehow
moving from the teachings of Marcello Piacentini School (Barbera, 2013), have been
interpreting the relationship between the ideas of morphology and typology. Ludovico
Quaroni's idea of typology has not to be confused with the idea of type conceived during
Enlightenment whose scientific investigations as claimed by Ludovico Quaroni are mainly
valid for the monuments, even if, typology, as Quaroni affirmed, was "assumed to replace the
ambiguous term 'type' (methonimy) perhaps for the scientific fascination that the word
emanates (Quaroni, 1996). On the other hand Saverio Muratori used to consider the concept of
type as a priori synthesis (Manghini and Palmieiri, 2009). According to Quaroni the word
"type" has to be referred to the concept of "building types"(Quaroni, 1996) and it is not
conceivable within the framework of a generative process, a "forming form" conceived a priori
as it is stated Saverio Muratori's thought (Muratori, 1963). Ludovico Quaroni generally speaks
in his writings of building type as the result of a spontaneous process in a given urban
civilization (Quaroni, 1996, p. 185). In Saverio Muratori's and Gianfranco Caniggia's Schools
the joint concept "type-morphology" is mentioned as a problem to be investigated "for a correct
formulation of a design process" (Petruccioli, 1998). The paper will comparatively analyse two
Saverio Muratori's projects, INA-Casa Loggetta in Neaples and Magliana II in Rome and
Ludovico Quaroni's project at Casilino neighbourhood in Rome.
Key Words: Saverio Muratori, Ludovico Quaroni, morphology, typology, Rome School of
Architecture.
References:
Barbera L.V. (2013) The radical city of Ludovico Quaroni (Gangemi, Roma) 217.
Quaroni L. (1996) Il progetto per la citt, Edizioni (Kappa, Roma), 200.
Menghini A. B., Palmieri V. (2009) Saverio Muratori Didattica della Composizione
architettonica nella Facolt di Architettura di Roma 1954 1973 (Poliba Press, Bari) 364.
Muratori S. (1963) Architettura e civilt in crisi (Centro Studi di Storia Urbanistica, Roma) 124.
Petruccioli A. (1998) 'Exoteric, Polytheistic, Funtamentalist Typology', In Typological Process
and Design Theory (Akpia, Boston).

258

The critical doubt in typological and morphological studies of

Italian school as an update to the general concept of urban
space
Matteo Ieva
Department dICAR - Course of degree in Architecture Polytechnic of Bari, 4 via
Orabona, 70125 Bari, Italy. E-mail: matteoieva@yahoo.it , mieva@poliba.it
The Italian school that attempted to build a structure of method based on interpretation of reality
through the use of analytical and practical parameters, find its leading theoretical exponents in
Saverio Muratori and Aldo Rossi. Already active for decades, both schools of thought are
showing interest in a hypothesis about the interpretation of the urban space, although the
instruments used are very different. The one theorized by A. Rossi offers the idea of split
town which examines the existing as a collection of witnesses located in time and space,
expressing a view opposite to the postulate of Muratori about the idea of process and
continuous transformation. The concept of unity of human events, enunciated by Muratori
through the idea of city-organism, appears revolutionary not only in relation to the many
theories proposed in those years, but especially to the thought of Rossi who reads the built based
on the concept of "form" where he tries to explain the morphological differences. On the
contrary, the idea of form structure will help lay the foundation, for the first time, for an
assumptions projected towards the interpretation of reality and of urban morphology, with a not
only synchronic but also diachronic meaning, as proposed by g. Caniggia and by the Muratori's
school. About fifty years of research, during which different methods have been developed, and
the constant updating of the theory in response to the evolving cultural and architectural
dynamics, brought to a deep divide between the two schools, especially in the design field.
Although both schools show, inside the structure of own thought, a vocation not to consider,
ever, what has been demonstrated as true, thereby showing interest towards the heuristics one
of the doubt which makes methods as far as possible scientific, a profound distinction
substantiates the theoretical view. According to Rossi the concept of architecture as an analogy
appears irreconcilable in relation to the one from Muratori based on the idea of continuity and
consistency with the linguistic nature of the built that varies in space and time.
Key Words: typological method, form structure, heuristics doubt.

259

Saverio Muratori. A legacy in urban design

Marco Maretto
Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile, dellAmbiente, del Territorio e Architettura.
Universit degli Studi di Parma, Parco Area delle Scienze, 181/A, 43124 Parma, Italy.
E-mail: marco.maretto@unipr.it
This paper is part of a wider research on Saverio Muratori and his legacy in Urban Design.
During the 1930s and 1940s Muratori laid the theoretical and practical foundations for a
morphological approach to urban design. The fundamentals of his contribution during these
years are considered in the first part of this paper, notably the concept of crisis, the key role of
operative history, the integration of theory and practice, and the use of morphology to translate
analysis into synthesis and interpretation into design. But Muratoris urban projects represent an
essential process of knowledge of the city and its formative logic. Beyond the normal episodic
nature of the various planning experiences, a growth and maturation are clearly noticeable
from the Piano Regolatore di Aprilia in 1936 to the Venetian projects for the Barene di San
Giuliano in 1959 which point to a cultural project, a project for life, which becomes a
cultural programme, and vice versa. From an awareness of crisis to the discovery of
morphology, from the convergence between theory and architecture (in which architecture is the
science of design) in the common quest for knowledge, to the invention of morphology as a
planning discipline, the boundaries of a pursuit, in which we can clearly see the basis for a
morphological school of urban design, are clearly delineated.
Key Words: urban design, urban morphology, architecture, Italy.

260

Re-thinking city. An exemple of Ilses multidisciplinary

approach to urban morphology questions
Corinna Nicosia
DAStU Dipartimento Architettura e Studi Urbani, Politecnico di Milano.
E-mail: corinnanicosia@gmail.com
As everyone knows, Architettura della citt written by Aldo Rossi is a classic in urban
morphology because it is a first attempt to formulate a theory on the shape of the city, bringing
together knowledge from different disciplines. It is a classic still relevant for anyone involved in
city planning because the book proposes the study of urban morphology as an important part of
the design process, starting from the assumption that there is a close relationship between
planning goals and urban form. But the aspect that makes it extremely relevant also for who
wants to talk again with who managing the transformations of the city and its territory who
imposes the issues on the public agenda should be the fact that for the first time who studies
urban morphology claims a specific skill, a knowledge able to communicate with other
disciplines about strategic issues for the management and planning of the territory.
This is clear if you look at the book in its original form: a field research carried out within the
broader research program planned by the Institute for Economics and Social Studies of
Lombardy (Ilses). Ilses was a research center created by the will of politicians, administrators,
technicians and academicians who shared the belief that the reflection on territorial management
could not regardless reasoning about the city, its form and its content. Through those research
they tried to take an overall view of the complexity of the territory. Today these issues objected
to entering in the public agenda and looking at that rich experience can help us to understand
how who studies urban morphology can go back to being an authoritative conversation partner.
Key Words: Ilses, Aldo Rossi, urban questions, urban planning.

261

Early ideas of urban morphology: a re-examination of

Leighlys The towns of Mlardalen in Sweden (1928)
Peter J. Larkham
Birmingham School of the Built Environment, Birmingham City University, UK.
E-mail: peter.larkham@bcu.ac.uk
The Oxford English Dictionary does not specifically discuss urban morphology: its nearest
approach is village morphology in a reference by Maurice Beresford (1954). But not only was
the idea of systematically studying urban form commonplace rather earlier, especially in
German-speaking geography (as Whitehand, 1981, shows), but perhaps the earliest publication
of the term in English is J.B. Leighlys The towns of Mlardalen in Sweden (1928). This paper
re-examines Leighlys paper in terms of its background in the Berkeley school of cultural
geography, heavily influenced by Carl Sauer; the ideas developed within the paper itself; and
suggests why this early publication has virtually vanished from the consciousness of academic
urban morphology today. The commonly-held generic move in academic research and writing
from descriptive to critical; the conceptual richness and dissemination of later works by Conzen,
Muratori, Caniggia and others; and the geographical focus on small Swedish settlements are all
significant factors; but reviewing the content of Leighlys work in detail shows a surprising
alignment to many ideas common in contemporary urban morphological writing. Leighlys
contribution should be more widely appreciated.
References:
Leighly, J.B. (1928) The towns of Mlardalen in Sweden (University of California Press,
Berkeley).
Oxford English Dictionary (2014) Morphology (online) accessed 30 January 2014.
Whitehand, J.W.R. (1981) Background to the urban morphogenetic tradition, in Whitehand,
J.W.R. (ed.) The urban landscape: historical development and management: papers by
M.R.G. Conzen (Academic Press, London).

262

Urban form of contemporary compact city- case of Oslo

Gordana Marjanovic, Anne-Karine Halvorsen Thorn
Deptartment of Landscape Architecture and Spatial Planning,
Norwegian University of Life Sciences.
E-mails: gordana.marjanovic@nmbu.no , kine.thoren@nmbu.no
Compact city is a widely recognized concept for sustainable urban development. This paper
presents research on typological implications of this policy on urban form. The built form of
compact city has been discussed insofar primarily from the aspect of future development, such
as strategies (e.g. Jabareen, 2006), modelling (e.g. Hee et al., 2010) or measurement tools (e.g.
Pont & Haupt, 2004). However, there are few studies of the newly built forms of compact cities
regarding the ideas that shaped them, which gives grounds to an attempt to define the position
of architectural types and programme in the compact city concept. The questions this study
addresses concern the formal analysis of the new types, the influence of previously known types
on the new forms, and the outdoor spaces they provide for. Theoretical approach lies within
Urban Morphology. The questions are discussed in the line of thought of classic typomorphological studies (e.g. Panerai, 2004) and architectural theory. The method is an embedded
case study. The main case is the city of Oslo, which adopted compact city policy in late
1980s, and is today one of the fastest growing cities in Europe. The sub-cases are newly built
residential areas within it, raised between 2003 and 2013, and planned for finalization in 2014.
Residential types have been selected as this is the most frequently constructed architectural
programme, which thus provides ample data sources. Preliminary results indicate that there is a
considerable variety in the plans of the new types, partly based on precedents.
Key words: urban form; compact city; contemporary types; typo-morphology
References:
Hee, L., Boontharm, D. and Viray, E. (2010) Urban Space Morphology for High Density
Environments, ISUF Conference: Formation and persistence of townscape, Hamburg.
Jabareen, Y. R. (2006) Sustainable Urban Forms Their Typologies, Models, and Concepts,
Journal of Planning Education and Research 26, 38-52.
Panerai, P., Castex, J.P., Depaule, J. and Samuels, I. (2004) Urban forms, (Routledge, London).
Pont, M. B. and Haupt, P. (2004) Spacemate, the spatial logic of urban density (Delft
University Press: DUP Science, Delft).

263

Five elements revisited: a morphological approach of SolMorales

Evandro Ziggiatti Monteiro, Daniel Teixeira Turczyn
Faculty of Civil Engeneering, Architecture and Urban Studies, UNICAMP,
Campinas, Brazil. E-mail: evandrozig@fec.unicamp.br
In the early 1960's, Kevin Lynch (1988) inaugurated a new way of investigating the urban
landscape. Based on cognitive mapping and on the concept of public image, his five elements
methodology became a milestone in the urban analysis of the growing 20th century cities.
Nearly forty years later, Sol-Morales (2002) published an article in which he proposes also five
"concepts", or "platforms", but focused on the explosive phenomenon of 21st century large
urban areas. Underneath the numerical coincidence of both theories, what this paper aims to
unveil is the universe of investigation possibilities triggered by Sol-Morales to the
comprehension of contemporary urban form. An in-depth reading of his "mutations", "fluxes",
"housing", "containers" and "terrain-vague" categories, revels useful lenses to an accurate and
updated morphological analysis of worldwide metropolises. Early investigations using those
categories to analyse the new growth frontiers in So Paulo state cities have shown that local
conditions tend to shape these areas in a very similar way and in tune with Sol-Morales
categories' descriptions. The comparison between the two authors indicates that both theories
are complementary, highlighted the fact that the later one seeks a more critical than instrumental
approach, as does Lynch's. Sol-Morales addition is also an invaluable path to deal with the
paradox of virtual environments or intangible dynamics that increasingly dominates tangible
urban space, and the struggle between the old and new that let many urban areas unsolved. This
paper concludes that Sol-Morales contribution leads to new methodologies of analysing urban
form.
Key Words: urban morphology, built environment, urban theory, metropolis form.
References:
Lynch, K. (1988) A imagem da cidade (Edies 70, Lisboa).
Sol-Morales, I. (2002) Presente y futuros. architectura en la ciudad. in Territorios (Editorial
Gustavo Gili, SA, Barcelona).

264

The influence of classics on contemporary thinking Louis

Kahn and Hestnes Ferreira
Alexandra Saraiva
Faculdade de Arquitectura e Artes. Universidade Lusada _ Porto,
Rua Dr. Lopo de Carvalho 4369-006 Porto, Portugal. E-mail: benaiche
alexandra@gmail.com
Architecture and the consequent urban form can be analysed and interpreted without reference
to classical influences? Or can we analyse the urban form dated to the time and devoid of any
previous bonding or influence? The purpose of this article is to show that two contemporary
architects, Louis Kahn and Hestnes Ferreira created their own language of interpretation and
implementation of formal relations at the same time they developed their buildings, transposing
the formal urban analysis for the formal development of each projected unit. The designation of
morphology results from the analysis of configuration and the exterior structure of an object, in
direct relation to the phenomena that arise. Despite all the classical thought, the architecture of
both architects closes a dimension beyond the essential nature of architecture as Michel Freitag
uttered (2004) in his book Architecture and Society. The architecture relies on a
phenomenological and sociological interpretation related then with History of Architecture,
aiming to understand the urban form. Louis Kahn and Hestnes Ferreira approach the process
and the materialization of urban form by following these guidelines. The main conclusion of
this article is to prevent that architecture, in contemporary thought, do not continue to be
associated with the paradox of the beautiful and the ugly.
Key Words: Louis Kahn, Hestnes Ferreira, classic influence, contemporary thinking.
References:
Freitag, M. (2004) Arquitectura e Sociedade (Dom Quixote, Casal de Cambra.)

265

Relevance study: relationship of morphological

characteristics between residential plot and building pattern
in Nanjing, China
Qin Zhao
School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Nanjing University.
E-mail: zhaoqinwyx@126.com
Residential plots dramatically contribute to urban form of Chinese modern cities for large
quantities. However, just a few studies following Conzenian tradition of urban morphology have
been undertaken in China, especially few in micromorphology at the scale of plot. And previous
researches about residential plot concentrate on living units or indicators of plot, lacking in
thoroughly morphological exploration of relationships between plot and buildings within.
Therefore, this paper pays attention to residential plots, which account for nearly 65 percent of
all residential and commercial plots in Nanjing city, describes geometrical characteristics of
these plots and building patterns and reveals their relationships. By investigating of all 3015
residential plots within urban area in Nanjing, this paper has categorized them in terms of
residential building types within plots. According to different shapes and sizes of residential
plots, how patterns of building arrangement change has been examined. It thus firmly proves
that residential building pattern has a relationship with shape and size of plot. And through
several typical building patterns, how they are affected by geometrical characteristics of plot is
demonstrated with external conditions as well. These discoveries on the relevance of residential
plot and building pattern lead to a complete summary of designing rules for residential plots,
and are valuable for urban design reference and policy-making.
Key Words: residential plot, building pattern, morphological characteristics, relevance.

266

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268

6.
Multidisciplinarity in urban morphology
Multidisciplinarity in urban morphology constitutes one of the ten thematic sessions of ISUF
2014 that wishes to reflect on Our Common Future in Urban Morphology.
The main goal of this session is to encourage new multidisciplinary teams to come together to
strength and depth the study of urban form fresh perspectives. Urban Morphology as already
recognized by some of ISUF founders and the editor of Urban Morphology journal is a field of
knowledge that exists for over than a century ago and that was built up throughout the
contributions of different disciplines, including, history, geography, architecture, among others.
It is precisely on the possibility that urban morphology offers as a potential bridge to bring
together knowledge provided by different disciplines that this thematic session has been
proposed and encourage reflection and debate upon three specific topics: i) The benefits from
the potential of cross-disciplinary knowledge, while bringing together separate disciplines to
better contribute to the study of urban form; ii) The need to encourage the formation of new
areas of knowledge, while encouraging new multidisciplinary teams to come together in a
timely manner in response to identified opportunities as places by Our Common Future; and iii)
Determine how can urban morphology better determine and evaluate the impacts of urban form
on the natural environment and therefore contribute to our common future through sustainability
at the ground. In order to reflect on the potential of these three main topics, a group of question
was placed by this session to encourage further discussions: Which are the contributions that the
different disciplines have imputed to the study of urban form? What advances can be identified
from such cross-disciplinary knowledge and what lines of thought are emerging? How and why
specific relationships between changes of lifestyle, population growth and urban form can be
identified? How can these be measured and evaluated? Which are the impacts of these factors
on the natural environment? How to evaluate the dynamics interactions between urban form,
water and green spaces? How can urban form better respond to the call for Sustainability?

Teresa Marat-Mendes

269

Human dynamics in the waters territory - the interaction of

urban spaces and natural spaces, in the region of Camburi
Janana Schmidel Baptista, Milton Esteves Junior, Rafael de Melo Passos
Universidade Federal do Esprito Santo, Brasil.
E-mail: schmidelbaptista@yahoo.com.br , m.estevesg3@gmail.com ,
rafa_passos84@yahoo.com.br
Derived from the process of urbanization from 1950, the region of Camburi, to the north
Vitrias island (ES), represents a privileged locus due to its physical characteristics conducive
both to urbanization as the industrial and logistical facilities, important to the economy of the
State. However, it highlights various negative impacts of the relationship society/nature, mainly
due to the denial of its natural elements: mangrove, sandbanks vegetation and water bodies. Its
landscape reflects the transformation processes influenced by a society that tended to show a
dichotomy between building the city and the presence of open spaces: in this context, the nature
has played a secondary role supporting role in determining urban form. This narrow and
retrograde vision over construction/drawing the city led to a fragmented approach of urban
environmental problems, particularly those related to the deterioration of life and natural spaces
quality. The studys objectives are: to gather knowledge about the parameters that govern the
processes of construction of the contemporary city, and process a multidisciplinary and critical
reading of the influence of the natural elements in territorial configuration, applied to the
specific case of the region of Camburi (Vitria/ Esprito Santo States capital); analyze in an
integrated manner the different units of natural and cultural landscapes; provide subsidies for
future environmental planning strategies, as well as for the integrated management of the
elements of the landscape and the urban requalification projects; promote interaction between
areas of scientific knowledge concerning the urban morphology, landscape ecology and green
infrastructure. This paper, developed in the Conexo Vix Research Group UFES, discusses the
relationship between city and natural space in a coastal region. Its articulated to other articles
also subjected to this event.
Key Words: landscape ecology, urban morphology, urbanization, society, nature.

270

The connection between city, river, and sea: urban planning

in coastal landfills
Guilherme Barea, Raquel Weiss, Erica Monteiro, Carlos Loch
Architecture and Urbanism Department, Federal University of Santa Catarina.
E-mail: arq_barea@hotmail.com , rwarqui@hotmail.com ,
ericapaulaarq@yahoo.com.br , carlos.loch@ufsc.br
Throughout the years, population growth and increasing interpersonal relationships have made
cities find new ways of adapting themselves. In coastal cities, the growing practice of building
landfills on the sea is an alternative to solve traffic issues, as well as lack of recreation and
leisure spaces. However, the presence of urban voids, disconnected from the urban fabric, is
common. Moreover, the lack of attention towards the integrity of urban riversimportant and
conditioning elements of the conformation and structuring of urban spacesaggravates this
scenario. Thus, this article aims at characterizing and analyzing the urban morphology and
structure of a spatial cutout in the city of So Jos/Santa Catarina/Brazil, focusing on the
restructuring of an urban axis of integration between the city, the river and the sea. At the core
of the proposed method lies the technique of photo interpretation, using temporal series of aerial
images to characterize and analyze the spatial-temporal evolution and the anthropic activities
that characterize the current urban structure and morphology. The method of photomontage of
the urban section has also been used in order to understand the entirety of the urban axis through
planes, rhythms, forms, identity, as well as verticality within the spatial cutout. From the
analyses here conducted it is possible to establish the proposition of general guidelines for the
restructuring of the urban axis in order to articulate and connect the city, the river, and the sea.
Key Words: planning, landfill, city, river, sea.

271

The lagoon line mutation in the urban evolution of

SantAntioco. An history of productive-natural landscape
Adriano Dess
DICAAR University of Cagliari. E-mail: adrianodessi@unica.it
The ancient town of Solki, todays Sant'Antioco, is the only centre on the south-west coast of
Sardinia that looks towards the east. Its ancient and, to some extent, mythological origins are
intrinsically bound to the resources but, above all, to the historical forms of the lagoon. This
lagoon, which originated from the closure of the stretch of sea between the mother island and
the island of Sant'Antioco and is linked by a slender isthmus on the south-side, has changed its
appearance throughout history several times. But it was especially in the twentieth century, with
the start of production activities related to fishing, coal and salt, that the lagoon line and the
town underwent the most drastic changes: the excavation of a waterway that flows around the
urban coast, has created a dynamic water system of the lagoon that changes its topography every
day. Similarly, the urban centre, originally perched on one of the hills of the immediate
hinterland around the ancient late Roman period cathedral, was first extended radially towards
the water line according to a first Piedmont expansion project at the end of 1700s, generating an
initial lagoon waterfront, and then, unfolding towards the south, it gradually occupied the
newly-deposited land strips brought by the lagoon currents until they joined with the industrial
infrastructure. The paper proposes the processes of urban formation of Sant'Antioco, focusing
on the interactions between the temporal variability of the lagoon-line, and changes in the urban
forms and on the perspectives that they nowadays generate in terms of multifunctionality and
urban mixit.
Key Words: waterfront, lagoon line, landscape, urban forms evolution.

272

The study of urban form versus water management: lessons

to a sustainable urban future
Teresa Marat-Mendes, oana Mouro, Patrcia Bento dAlmeida
DINMIACET-IUL, Instituto Universitrio de Lisboa ISCTE-IUL.
E-mail: marat.mendes@gmail.com
The strategic importance of Urban Morphology to understand the interaction of the natural and
humanized phenomena that occur on Earth, and create the environments within people live,
have been already remembered by Whitehand (2012) and Marat-Mendes (2013). This
presentation aims to expose the on-going results of a research project, financed by the
Portuguese Science Foundation - MEMO - that aims to relate urban form to the analysis of the
urban metabolism, and therefore exhibit a possible application of urban morphology to face Our
Common Future (WCED, 1987). The investigation broads the definition of urban form, while
including all the typological elements that do testify the man will to transform the territory and
respond to water management. The methodology approaches a multidisciplinary vision that
aims to understand the relationship between urban form and water management. Knowledge
provided by disciplines such as architecture, environmental engineering, geography, history, and
urbanism contributes to the development of the investigation. The presentation isolates,
identifies and characterizes for the Metropolitan Area of Lisbon (MAL), in 1900, all the
typological elements of urban and rural form. Finally, it assesses all these elements in terms of
urban metabolism, while revealing the morphological arrangements that do testify the
interaction between urban form and water management.
Key Words: urban morphology, typological elements, water management, methodology, Lisbon
Metropolitan Area.
References:
World Commission on Environment and Development (1987) Our Common Future (Oxford
University Press, Oxford).
Whitehand, J. W. R. (2012) Issues in Urban Morphology, Urban Morphology 16, 55-65.
Marat-Mendes, T. (2013) Sustainability and the study of urban form, Urban Morphology 17,
123-124.

273

City waterfront territories: urban morphology as a key factor

for sustainable development
Kseniia Mezenina
Architecture and Urban Planning Department, Perm National Research
Polytechnic University. E-mail: ks.mezenina@gmail.com
Historically the city of Perm has an important connection to the Kama River, as its waterfront
formed the main axis of development in 19th century. The 20th century decline of riverside
commerce, industry and transportation has made industrial riverfront land available for
nonindustrial use. Today the strip of land along the Kama river is one of the most attractive
areas of the city and has incredible development potential, but it is currently devalued and
mostly abandoned because of the poor connection between the city and the river. This paper
presents the research conducted on the over time interaction of urban tissue with recreational
areas within the city structure: green space and water. Kama waterfront territories with
surrounding green spaces combined with urban form were analyzed as a unique system with
altering correlations between its elements undergoing an evolutional process. Morphological
analysis was carried out at the 2 points of territory development: 1) at the historic state with
peak riverside industrial activities when industrial function was playing a key role on the
territory and 2) at the present state with a number of disorganized functions and chaotic
recreational load. The conceptual line of evident changes was formed and conclusions were
drawn. As a result of performed morphological analysis, the characteristics of these territories
were distinguished and compared to each other. Conducted research allowed to suggest a way
for further city development with balanced eco-system and differentiated waterfront activities
opened to citizens, with the focus on maintaining well-designed sustainable urban environment.
Key Words: morphological analysis, urban form, waterfront territories, sustainable
development, Perm.

274

Interaction between rivers and morphology of cities in

Sweden
Ehsan Abshirini
Division of Geodesy and Geoinformatics,
School of Architecture and Build Environment, KTH. E-mail: ehab@kth.se
Rivers as one of the most important topographic factor have played a strategic role not only on
the appearance of cities but they also affect the structure and morphology of cities. In this paper
I intend to find out the influence of rivers on the morphology of a cities and discuss that how a
city in its physical network interacts with a river flowing inside. My study area is river-cities in
Sweden in which they have not received much attention in this issue. To this purpose I use
space syntax method integrating with geospatial analysis and extract the properties of physical
form of cities in terms of global and local integration value, choice value and so on. Comparing
the states of presence and absence of rivers in these cities as well as evaluating the effect of
rivers on the morphology of areas located in different banks of rivers are also part of interest in
this paper. The primary result shows that although a river is not comparable to a city based on
size and the area occupied by, it has a significant effect on the form of a city in both global and
local properties. In addition, tracking the pattern of river-cities and their interaction to rivers
may lead us to interoperate the physical form of these cities in terms of structured and
distributed cities.
Key words: river-cities, physical form, space syntax properties, structured and distributed cities.

275

Morphology and functioning of the metropolitan urban areas

Anissa Benaiche
Institute of geography and regional planning, University of Nantes, France.
E-mail: anissa.benaiche@etu.univ-nantes.fr
The principal aim of this paper is to construct a new spatial typology of the Metropolitan Urban
Areas MUAcentralization and decentralization. It is at the same time, a theoretical and
multidisciplinary approach that rest on works of many Francophone and Anglo-Saxon
researchers. In this context, it is necessary at the first step, to determinate for each spatial type,
morphological localization/land use and functional mobility/transport networks characteristics
of MUA and to specify at the second step, their evolution according to the centrifugal mode.
Key Words: spatial typology, metropolitan urban areas, metropolitan processes, morphological
and functional characteristics.

276

Urban growth in Hanoi: a retrospective analysis based on

Landsat images and field survey
Thi-Thu-Huong Luong1, Yves Cornet2, Jacques Teller1
1
Local Environment Management and Analysis (LEMA), Dpartement ArGEnCo
Secteur A&U, Facult des Sciences Appliques, Universit de Lige.
2
Department of Geomatics, University of Lige.
E-mail: tthluong@doct.ulg.ac.be
Hanoi, the capital and the second biggest city of Vietnam, witnessed a dramatic change in its
urbanization process since the economic reform of 1986. According to UNHABITAT, the
population of the city passed from 2.8 million inhabitants in 1985 to 4.7 million inhabitants in
2010. This demographic growth is to be placed in parallel with an annual GDP of the city of
some 10%. The population of the city is expected to keep growing at a fast pace over the next
20 years: at the province level, the population is expected to pass from 7.5 million inhabitants in
2014 to 8.4 million inhabitants in 2034 (GSO, 2011). Such a transformation of the city brings
both opportunities and challenges. Despite achievements in economic growth and poverty
reduction, city authorities are now faced with considerable demands for urban infrastructure,
public service systems and land use. They should further consider likely impacts of such a fast
increasing urban population, given the observed motorization of displacements and its
associated environmental impacts. Local authorities are further aware of the considerable
uncertainties related to future growth predictions, which partly depend upon external factors like
global economic trends; the expected urban expansion is already faced with an unpredicted
economic crisis since 2008. Besides environmental and economic factors, the livelihood of local
inhabitants is also impacted by such intensive socio-spatial and urban transformations. This is
especially the case since a large share of housing supply in the fast growing urban areas of
Hanoi is explicitly targeting high-income groups. This trend is perfectly illustrated through two
flagship urban projects: a new urban complex in the south-west and another one at the north of
Hanoi (Douglass.M and Huang. L, 2007). It should still be considered that, while a series of
new urban projects are developed in Hanoi periurban areas along this approach, a lack of
housing development projects for less wealthy inhabitants can increasingly be observed. A
number of researchers, using satellite images or topographic maps, focused on understanding
the urban development and urban growth within the city boundary of 2008 (Thapa et al., 2006;
Surborg, 2006; Pham and Yamaguchi, 2007; Pham, 2008; Ho.D.D, 2009, Mamor and Ho, 2009;
Pham.M.H., et al., 2011; Pham. T.T.H., et al., 2013; Pham.V.C et al., 2014). Their results
showed that the city grew along the Red River, following 3 main transportation directions
connecting the city to southern, southwestern and western provinces. Still the significant
changes occurred within the city over the last 7 years have not yet been intensively studied. Our
contribution consists in measuring the structure and intensity of urban growth over the last 25
years. We used Landsat images, sampled on a 7-years period between 1990 and 2014. Our
analysis highlights that the pace of change of Hanoi dramatically increased over the last 10
years when compared to the previous period. It further reveals the main corridors governing
present urban extension of Hanoi. We then focus on understanding and analysing specific urban
patterns at the local level, showing interaction of soil, water and vegetation in different urban
forms through time. This was performed though a photo/socio survey conducted within
periurban areas of Hanoi. Two different types of urban patterns have been distinguished so far:
planned development operations, operated by large real estate developers, scattered in periurban
areas on the one hand and spontaneous development, operated by local inhabitants, located
around existing rural villages on the other hand.

277

Key Words: urban growth, peri-urban development, Hanoi, Landsat 8.

References:
Douglass. M and Huang. L. (2007) Globalizing the city in southesast asia; utopia on the urban
edge - the case of Phu My Hung, Saigon. UAPS 3.
GSO, (2011). Annual Statistical, city of Hanoi 2010 (General Statistic Office Publisher, Hanoi).
Ho. D. D, Mamor, S., (2009). Studies on Hanoi Urban Transition in the Late 20th Century
Based on GIS/R. Southeast Asian Studies.
Mamor., S., (2009) Hanoi's Urban Transformation in the 19th and 20th Centuries: An Area
Informatics Approach. Southeast Asian Studies 4.
Nguyen. Q., Kammeier. D.H., (2002). Changes in the political economy of Vietnam and their
impacts on the built environment of Hanoi. Cities 6, 373388.
Pham, M. H., Yamaguchi, Y., (2011) A case study on the relation between city planning and
urban growth using remote sensing and spatial metrics. Landscape and urban planning 100,
223-230.
Pham, M. H., Yamaguchi, Y., (2007). Monitoring land cover change of the Hanoi city centre
under impacts of urbanization by using remote sensing. Int. J. Geoinform 3, 5561.
Pham, T. T. H., Tong, T. H. A., and Pham, V. C., (2013) Becoming Urban: How Urbanization
Influences the Loss of Arable Land in Peri-urban Hanoi., Computational Science and Its
ApplicationsICCSA 2013.
Pham, V. C., Pham T. T. H., Tong T. H. A., Nguyen T. T. H., Pham N.H., (2014) The
conversion of agricultural land in the peri-urban areas of Hanoi:(Vietnam): Patterns in space
and time. Journal of Land Use Science just-accepted.
Pham. D. U., (2008). Application of land suitability analysis and landscape ecology to urban
greenspace planning in Hanoi, Vietnam., Urban Forestry & Urban Growth.
Surborg., B, (2006) Advanced services, the New Economy and the built environment in Hanoi
Cities 4, 239249.
Thapa, B. R. and Murayama, Y. (2008) Land evaluation for peri-urban agriculture using
analytical hierarchical process and geographic information system techniques: A case study
of Hanoi. Land Use Policy 25, 225-239.
United Nations. (2009) World Urbanization Prospects: The 2009 Revision. New York: United
Nations Population Division, Department of Economic and Social Affairs.
(http://esa.un.org/)

278

The city, the river and mangroves: a case study in San Jos,
Santa Catarina, Brazil
rica Monteiro, Raquel Weiss, Guilherme Barea
Federal University of Santa Catarina.
E-mail: ericapaulaarq@yahoo.com.br , rwarqui@hotmail.com ,
arq_barea@hotmail.com
Brazil is among the countries with more mangrove areas, with approximately 25,000 km2,
representing approximately 12% of mangroves worldwide. For this article, is taken as the study
mangrove located in San Jos in Santa Catarina, Brazil, whose influence growth and urban
interventions for improvement in this area, without considering the importance and dynamics of
mangrove witness significant environmental impacts and accelerated process of disappearing
arising from these changes in recent decades. Thereby, the work seeks to diagnose and analyze
the impacts of these dynamic processes, considering physical, environmental, economic and
social aspects. Through employee photointerpretation techniques, creation of SIG (Geographic
Information System), time series and geoprocessing techniques. Firstly, it takes advantage of a
more global scale, which aims to highlight the potential that the area has with its surroundings,
using principles of landscape ecology as a means of integrating the systems that make up the
area. In a second step, it works in a larger and more detailed scale photographic surveys along
with the implementation of municipal courts, in order to understand the dynamics and urban
structure. Thus itll be possible to diagnose and extract important information that underpin
strategies to conserving or restoring this mangrove.
Key Words: city, river, mangrove, impacts, conservation.

279

Urban growth and hydrography: convergences on landscape

morphology
Otvio Peres, Mauricio Polidori, Marcus Saraiva, Alexandre Santos,
Fernanda Tomiello, Alisson Santos
Laboratory of Urbanism, Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism
of the Federal University of Pelotas, Brazil. E-mail: otmperes@gmail.com
This work identifies the relationships between urban morphology and natural landscape as a
result of urban growth articulated to the spatial scale of hydrography based on the assumption
that in the long-term and in macro spatial scales city and environment could reduce spatial
conflicts. The main focus is to outline an urban growth dynamic articulated to natural landscape
in which water resources are understood as tipping point to phase transitions in urban growth
morphologies. This theoretical statement is applied in the urban growth simulation framework
CityCell through the potential-centrality model in a dynamic cellular automaton. The urban
modeling mechanism captures the "edge effect" on water resources buffers, parametrically
distributing urban growth in axial and diffuse tensions. Associated with urban modeling, the
theoretical statement was empirically tested in simulations, replicating the urban growth reality
of the city of Pelotas, RS, Brasil for the period from 1815 to 1965. In the framework of systems
theory empirical, theoretical and methodological approaches, the urban modelling results can be
replicated in future urban growth simulations, especially to study the relations between urban
form and natural landscape.
Key Words: urban growth, hydrography, cellular automata, city edges, urban systems.

280

The natural elements on urban form: a critical analysis on the

landscape construction
Janana Schmidel Baptista, Milton Esteves Junior, Rafael de Melo Passos
Universidade Federal do Esprito Santo UFES, Brasil.
E-mail: schmidelbaptista@yahoo.com.br , m.estevesg3@gmail.com ,
rafa_passos84@yahoo.com.br
The consolidation of industrialization and consequent increased consumption of durable goods
and raw materials, in conjunction with the rapid growth of cities and the exclusion and/or
transformation of natural dynamics are factors, among others, that outlined the construction of
the contemporary landscape. The consequences of interactions between these factors pervade
the daily lives of cities showing a series of conflicts between the natural dynamics and urban
form.
This article brings together contributions from authors who study the influences and
relationships of the natural and cultural elements in the urban setting, involving geographic,
urbanistic, architectural and landscape points of view, seeking to understand the complexity of
the landscape by means of various authors, theoretical fields, methodologies and concepts.
Vicens (2012) and Mateo and Silva (2007), for example, identify that the conceptions of
landscape vary according to the specific field, and that sometimes they refer to the external
aspect of an area and territory, or to the natural formation, or to the cultural background. They
also present a multidisciplinary conception called anthropo-natural, where the landscape is
understood as a system composed of natural elements and man-made socially conditioned ones.
Thus, the dialectic methodology of systemic approach of landscape ecology is highlighted in
this anthropo-natural conception because it has a broad gathering vision of contributions from
other fields, giving a holistic analysis by the articulation of the natural and cultural processes in
the physical space. This paper, developed in the Conexo Vix Research Group UFES,
synthesizes the theoretical/conceptual framework that articulates other works of empirical
nature also subjected to this event.
Key Words: landscape ecology, urban form, contemporary landscape, natural dynamics,
urbanization.
References:
Vicens, R.S. (2012) Geografia da Paisagem e ordenamento ambiental in Barbosa, J.L. and
Limonad (eds.) Ordenamento territorial e ambiental, Editora da UFF, Niteroi/Brazil:193214.
Mateo, J. and Silva, E.V. (2007) La geoecologia del paisaje, como fundamento para el analisis
ambiental, REDE Revista Eletrnica do Prodema, 1, 77-98.
Guerra, A.J.T. and Maral, M.S. (2012) Geomorfologia ambiental (Betrand Brasil, Rio de
Janeiro).

281

Experiencing the nature of the city

Saneta deVuono-Powell
College of Environmental Design, University of California, Berkeley and Fulbright
Researcher, University of Granada. E-mail: sanetadp@gmail.com
This paper will argue that we are in a mutually constitutive relationship with our environment
while deconstructing the idea that humans are separate from nature (Cronan, 2006). In public
health, neuroscience and the social sciences, we are coming to recognize the important roles that
the built environment and explicitly human derived factors such as air pollution and stress,
have on our bodies and minds (Massey et al, 2006: Morello-Frosch et al., 2010). I think that the
landscape of place has an equally powerful impact. One of the major elements in urban
morphology and urban landscape is water. A history of major industrial cities is rarely written
without noting the role of water in facilitating industrial growth and transportation. However,
unless the role of the natural environment is clearly connected to the extraction or movement
of resources, it is often overlooked. I want to explore the idea that a) this man/nature dichotomy
is false, and b) that places and landscapes have specific characters and histories that humans
both play a role in producing and responding to (Harvey, 1996; De Certeau, 1984). Part of our
collective memory is place based (Halbwachs, 1992; Connerton 2009) and our failure to
recognize this can partially explain failings in urban planning. Using research on urban
waterways and infrastructure, I theorize that the nature of cities cannot be understood apart from
the landscape. Landscape influences spatial practices and development of collective memory,
which leaves marks we respond to even after the landscape has been altered or erased.
Key Words: urban-planning, cities, water, landscape, memory.
References:
Connerton, Paul (2009) How Modernity Forgets, Cambridge (University Press, Cambridge).
Cronan, William (1996) Uncommon Ground: Rethinking the Human Place in Nature (W.W.
Norton and Co., New York).
De Certeau, Michel (1984) The Practice of Everyday Life, (University of California Press,
Berkeley)
Halbwachs, Maurice. (1992) On Collective Memory (University of Chicago Press, Chicago).
Harvey, David. (1996) Justice, Nature & the Geography of Difference (Wiley-Blackwell,
Malden).
Massey, D., Harris, Lasana T., and Fiske, S. (2006) Dehumanizing the Lowest of the Low:
Neuroimaging Responses to Extreme Out-Groups, Psychological Science 17, 847-53.
Morello-Frosch, R., Jesdale, B., Sadd J., and Pastor, M. (2010) Ambient Air Pollution
Exposure and Risk of Low Birth Weight in California, Environmental Health. 9.

282

Jucutuquara Stream: understanding the dialogue between the

city and its water bodies
Rafael de Melo Passos, Janana Schmidel Baptista, Milton Esteves Junior
Universidade Federal do Esprito Santo UFES, Brasil.
E-mail: rafa_passos84@yahoo.com.br , schmidelbaptista@yahoo.com.br ,
m.estevesg3@gmail.com
Although the city occupies and transforms a certain site, the natural elements of the landscape
and the dynamics that are inherent to it remain dormant in the urban fabric. Thus, these features
of the site maintain constant interaction with the city, contributing to its construction as much as
its transformation. One of the striking presences of the site includes the water bodies, which
largely pervade the urban fabric and that, in the process of accelerated growth of the Brazilian
cities, many have not been incorporated into the urban design. This article aims to establish a
critical reading of the relationship between city and the hydrographic network of the
Jucutuquara Streams basin, located in Vitoria, State of Espirito Santos capital, Brazil,
highlighting the marks and its influence over the city setting and the factors that determine the
interaction between the city and its water bodies. In this way, it is presented a brief history about
the transformations of the local physical site (carried out by landfills and takedowns of hills),
identifying the arising main problems such as environmental impacts; the urban setting
opposing the countryside prerogatives; and landscape fragmentation. The critical reading is
based on the analysis of the urban structure with a focus of urban morphology, associated with
an analysis of landscapes water dynamics and elements by means of landscape ecology. This
paper, developed in the Conexo Vix Research Group UFES, discusses the relationship
between city and site in a consolidated urban environment, where the watercourse has been
completely modified. Its articulated to other articles also subjected to this event.
Key Words: landscape dynamics, landscape ecology, urban watershed, relationship between city
and site, urban form.

283

Urban form, spatial planning and the European landscape

convention
Paulo Silva, Carla Gonalves
University of Aveiro Department of Social, Political and Territorial Sciences.
E-mail: paulosilva@ua.pt , ap.carla.goncalves@gmail.com
The aim of the proposed paper is to address the role of landscape architecture and spatial
planning to the definition of urban form. Since the publication in the early years of this century
of the European Landscape Convention that European countries are invited to apply a new
insight to landscape issues. Community participation on the definition of landscape units, the
integration of these with the spatial planning process and the appliance of landscape values not
only on rural or exceptional landscapes but to the diversity that characterizes a certain territory
(municipality, region, country) are the main challenges proposed by this document. While in
other countries landscape has been approached at national level or regional level, in Portugal the
main scope has been the local scale in which land use plans play a crucial role on territorial
management. Adding the fact that presently a significant number of land use are being revised.
Based on a previous research which aimed to integrated European Landscape Convention into
land use plan procedures, it will be discussed the role that urban morphology can play in the
definition of landscape units. The core of the research is based on the confrontation of urban
landscape units and urban form units in order to understand overlaps, borders and vacant spaces
between the two concepts.
Key Words: urban form, landscape, spatial planning, European landscape convention.

284

A multidisciplinary approach to explore urban public spaces

Lucia Capanema Alvares
Department of Urbanism, School of Archetecture and Urban Planning,
Universidade Federal Fluminense. E-mail: luciacapanema@gmail.com
Urban Planners in general still seem to miss a methodology for understanding urban landscapes
as places of vita activa (Arendt, 1981) and as producers and products of our unequal society, as
has been pointed by Milton Santos (2002) in his social-spatial contents approach. Under this
perspective, this essay aims at analyzing how citizens conform urban public spaces (UPS) and
how these latter conform spatial inequalities, possibilities and behaviors. The concept of urban
public spaces is still open and is structured in between landscape studies, social sciences,
environmental and land use practices, social practice and a wishful transdisciplinarity. In the
intersection of these studies and practices the operating concept emerges: urban public spaces
mean, at first, spaces accessible to the people that lie, most times, in open areas free of
buildings, but are not restricted to them; they will be more environmentally relevant when
forested (mainly or residually), more economically relevant when they superpose infrastructure
lines or are situated at prime real estate plots, more culturally relevant when associated to
citizens identities, and more socially relevant when they help to create or to maintain a public
sphere. This study proposes a new reading of representations, imaginaries, appropriations, and
conflicts in UPS, adopting three non-exhausting dimensions for understanding urban landscapes
and their relations with the political and external aspects: socio-environmental, socio-economic,
and socio-cultural. It then applies these dimensions to a comparative case study, analyzing two
neighborhoods in Rio de Janeiro: the Central business district and the nearby So Cristvo
neighborhood.
Key Words: urban public spaces, transdisciplinarity, popular appropriations, conflicts.
References:
Arendt, H. (1981) A condio humana. (Vozes, Rio de Janeiro).
Santos, M. (2002) A Natureza do Espao (Edusp, So Paulo).

285

Epistemology of public spaces - a cultural approach

Magorzata Hanzl
Institute of Architecture and Town Planning, Lodz University of Technology.
E-mail: mhanzl@p.lodz.pl
Cultural aspects of urban settings require developing methods of description of public spaces.
The current paper addresses the problem of a theoretical exploration of the analysis of public
space from a dual perspective: morphological and anthropological. It claims that the void
constituting a physical manifestation of the public realm is a common element which is in the
scope of interest of both disciplines. For public life to occur in urban areas necessary conditions
are required. Anthropologists endow forms of urbanscapes with meaning, treating them as a
form of communication. Inversely, claim may be made that a lack of formal definition of urban
situations results in a decrease of meaningful communication itself, thus, as a consequence,
public life withers in outdoor spaces. The quest for methodology for description of public
spaces, including their physical form, becomes crucial in this perspective. The description of
culture based differences of appearance of various outdoor spaces requires detailed analyses of
cues pertaining to the notion of atmosphere perceived in distinguishable settings. Gauthier and
Gilliland (2006, p.44 after Levy, 1999, p. 79) suggest that comprehension of the urban fabric in
terms of urban form should assume treating elements of urban structure as linked together and
creating a whole, governed by an internal logic. This postulate recalls the structuralist position
within anthropological research, namely the concept of 'the order of orders' discussed by LviStrauss (p.332). The current paper conveys some entry points to a more systematic exploration
of public spaces in the cultural approach.
Key Words: urban design, public spaces, urban morphology, eclosure, cultural distinctions.
References:
Gauthier, P. and Gilliland, J. (2006) 'Mapping urban morphology: a classification scheme for
interpreting contributions to the study of urban form', Urban Morphology 10, 4150.
Levi-Strauss, C. (2009) Antropologia strukturalna (Wydawnictwo Aletheia, Warsaw).
Levy, A. (1999) Urban morphology and the problem of the modern urban fabric: some
questions for research, Urban Morphology 3, 79-85.

286

Public spaces and behavioral patterns: the case of

Liljeholmstorget in Stockholm
Elahe Karimnia
KTHRoyal Institute of Technology, School of Architecture and the Built
Environment, Department of Urban Planning and Environment,
DKV 30, Plan 1, 114 28 Stockholm, Sweden. E-mail: elahe.karimnia@abe.kth.se
Life on public spaces in micro scale is facing threats of shrinking due to transformation of social
values. Our future public spaces are shaped by trends such as privatization and communication
revolution. The integration of urban form and social values are concerns for contemporary urban
design in creating livable and safe places that promote further interactions. Meanwhile, for most
of modern public spaces, the concern is environmental perception and sense of lost amenities as
well as fear. Drawing from an empirical research in Stockholm, this paper explores one of the
newly implemented squares, Liljeholmstorget, which has been rewarded for good public
environment in 2011. In working to build a vibrant environment, the public space is celebrated
for a good urban form through collaboration between traffic planning, urban development and
land-use. On the other hand, looking close into behavioral patterns through users perspective
shows the signs of conflicts in the urban realm: rise of crime and continuing police presence. It
highlights how the environment is responsive to its both local and regular users need. Studying
the square and existing behavioral patterns has been conducted through qualitative methods with
analysis of the design goals and the ideas for the project. The findings address some unexpected
responses from users on the square, and also not enough either interaction between people or
integration with the context. The paper finally draws attention to complexity of scale and semipublic spaces when it comes to study the interrelationship of behavioral patterns and physical
form and suggests seeing design in a wider process.
Key Words: public space, urban form, behavioral pattern, social value, Liljeholmstorget.

287

Public space and morphology of neighborhoods. Case study:

Tehran
Narcisse M. Sohrabi
Universit Paris Ouest - Nanterre - La Dfense, Laboratoire LADYSS.
E-mail: sohabi58@yahoo.com
Over the past 460 years, Tehran has increased from 4 square kilometers to over 750, and the
number of its neighborhoods has increased from 5 to 374 (In the comprehensive plan of 1992
the proposed number of neighborhoods was set at 524). With the explosive growth of Tehran
especially in the last three decades after the Islamic revolution 1978-79, there are many
degradation, changement
in form of the neighborhoods which, due to their historical
background, remind many of Tehrans older citizens of social and political events, and fond
memories of leisure times in the past. Contemporary Tehran was formed by the fusion of three
distinct cores- Shemiranat, old Tehran and ancient Rey. Geographically they form an inverted
triangle on a North-South axis, with Shemiranat at the foothills of the Alborz mountain as its
base in the North, and Rey as its apex in the South. Along with the three core areas, they have
also become incorporated into the development of contemporary Tehran, thus creating a very
high potential for the retention of geographical and historical identities for contemporary
Tehran.This paper uses analysis of types of the neighborhood in Teheran, capital of Iran to
examine how physical form produces or reproduces various social forms. This review presents
an analysis of current sociology and human ecology dealing with neighborhood morphology.
The review is organized in four major sections. The first deals with the concept of
neighborhood. The second discusses the classic models of neighborhood change-invasion,
succession and life cycle.The third deals with the current perspectives on neighborhood model:
demographic/ecological, socio cultural /organizational, political economy, and social
movements.The paper argues that the form of the public space in different types of
neighborhood. Also, the settlements offer valuable insights into the interaction of human
behavior and the built form.
Key Words: neighborhood, Tehran, public space,

288

The urban wasteland as a stage for biogeochemical

afforestation processes
Rubens do Amaral, Stal Pereira Costa
Escola de Arquitetura UFMG.
E-mail: amaral_arqbr@yahoo.com.br , staelalvarenga@gmail.com
This paper seeks to study wastelands - residual fractions of the unbuilt urban landscape - and
their role in the proposition for a more sustainable urban environment. It is the objective of the
study to highlight the importance of the adaptation of cities to the environment so that lost
ecosystems can be restored and new and desired systems introduced. The quality of life of users
can be improved and the proposal for an urban design which is more appropriate to the
bioclimatic demands of the planet may be fulfilled. As such, the paper seeks to report on the
existing literature and the necessary biogeochemical processes for a tree to function as close as
possible to its maximum photosynthetic capacity, so as to enable the best performance in the
sequestration and accumulation of carbon dioxide. In other words, processes that meet the
guidelines established by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change: mitigation of
atmospheric CO2 levels, by increasing the absorption of natural organic carbon stocks on the
planet. Thus, through the study of such processes, a useful range of determinants, essential for
performing an analysis of the urban fabric in the provision of ecosystem services, is observed,
as well as the layout of new urban open spaces, the reconfiguration of the existing morphology
and a better use of city wastelands, in order to, improve the urban environment. It should be
emphasized that this study provided a brief analysis of a block within Funcionrios
neighborhood in the City of Belo Horizonte.
Key Words: urban morphology, carbon sequestration. urban afforestation. restoration ecology,
biogeochemical processes.

289

Sustainable mobility: the morphological planning

contribution
Franois Dufaux, Martial Labarthe
cole darchitecture de lUniversit Laval, Qubec, Department or Centre, Institution
Direction de la planification et du dveloppement. Socit de transport de Lvis.
E-mail: francois.dufaux@arc.ulaval.ca , mlabarthe@stlevis.ca
Quebec City municipal administration published a sustainable transportation policy paper in
2010. Among the main objectives, the paper targeted a public transit share increase from 10% to
20% in the next 15 years. A key feature proposed the opening of a light rail transit service to
improve the service and image of collective transportation. An article published in July 2013,
using space syntax methods, underlined the impact of the current streets and road network
which support car oriented trips. One key conclusion was that the current urban morphology
makes pedestrians based movements walk, cycling, transit uncompetitive and poorly
connected locally and globally beyond the 19th century urban fabric. This communication
explores the morphological alteration of the current metropolitan area at three historical
moments the rural setting (1900), the pre suburban network (1948), and the present condition
(2014). It explores the potential impact of the light rail system initially promoted. It compares
the alternative network of railways right of ways for a regional transit oriented network. It tests
a set of small interventions on the streets connectivity and integration in selected urban cores,
within the urban fabric, the suburban sprawl and surrounding villages. The morphological
analysis, including the more traditional representations, suggests how to change the urban form,
but it also reveals why the evolution of the built environment raises political issues and interests
undisclosed by conventional mapping or discourse.
Key words: transportation; space syntax; sustainable mobility; North America.
References:
Dufaux, F., Labarthe, M., Lalibert, M. (July 2103) The deadlock of technocratic planning:
Quebec Citys urban form and transportation dilemmas in Urban challenges: Space and
society in the contemporary urban world, Journal of Space Syntax 1, 38-73.
Morissette, J.-B. (2011) La friche autoroutire; Une lecture morphologique et sensible dun
paysage intermdiaire. Master Thesis. Ecole darchitecture, Universit Laval

290

The interaction between urban form and public art. Two

examples on Lisbons waterfront
Rita Ochoa
CIES.UBI/Cr Polis.UB. E-mail: rita.ochoa@ubi.pt
In our contemporary cities, public art plays an important role, in urban regeneration processes
and in the construction of social identities. Its placement on the public space raises several
questions:
Which spaces are elected for the implementation of public art? In those spaces, what kind of
relations are established between its morphologic characteristics and the new interventions? Is it
possible to identify models of placement? Finally, is it possible to relate different historical
moments with certain paradigms of monumentalization? Despite the lack of systematization of
these themes, authors such as C. Sitte, Stbben, Jaussely, Hegemann & Peets and more recently
Kostof, focuses on the interaction between urban form and the placement of monuments, in a
framework that positions public art across different disciplines. In Lisbon, the criteria for the
placement of public art are not always evident. In some cases, there are thematic
correspondences between the works and the respective places, but most of the times there is not
a true spatial integration. In this sense, this presentation proposes an analysis of two
interventions on Lisbons waterfront: The Intervention in a Viaduct, by Eduardo Nery (2003);
The work Lisbon (a tribute to the builders of the city), by Jos de Guimares (1999). By the way
as they dialogue with its context, both interventions are in the opposite attitude of an
understanding of public art as decorative objects on the public space. In fact, both contribute not
only to the physical, visual and symbolic enhancement of the place, but also to the
monumentalization of the waterfront.
Key Words: public space, public art, urban form, Lisbon, waterfront.

291

Cities in the intersection of environment and public arts

Gl imek
Atatrk University Faculty of Architecture and Design,
Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Erzurum, Turkey.
E-mail: gulsims@hotmail.com
Todays cities are on the intersection of many trends and improvements. This research is based
on the experiences of linking the environment and arts in cities. The aim of this study is to show
the ways of this linkage through some examples together with their visual references. This study
is conducted by use of comparative studies from these various places in major cities around the
world. Public spaces have an accessible and effective element to perceive deeply the
environment they occupy and create active places which reflects to attractiveness of cities
having those. Arts in public spaces, namely public arts, is among the most common different
connection points between arts and the city. Public art makes valuable contributions to urban
environments, and inspires citizens to beware about the city they live. Environment-sensitive
approaches in many disciplines have been gaining importance while the population growth and
its defects particularly in urban areas are increasing. One of the facets of this approach is fed by
the intersection of environments and public arts. It is underlined with this research that
environmentally aware public art celebrate nature in cities, and make people pay attention to
their impacts on urban environment.
Key Words: city, environmentally sensitive public arts, public arts, public space.

292

Cities of aquifers and wind-catchers: eco-morphology of

dwelling in the Persian plateau
Pegah Zamani
Department of Architecture, Southern Polytechnic State University, USA.
E-mail: pegah@morphostudio.net
This study addresses the ways in which the ecological characteristics of the Persian Plateau have
influenced the morphology of urban habitats in the region. For centuries, the plateaus
inhabitants have integrated the construction of their settlements and domestic space with natural
forces and resources including wind catchers and underground irrigation waterways. The study
inquires the dynamic impact of innovative ancient passive environmental systems of an t
(Aquifers) and Bdgir (Wind-catchers) on the formulation of human inhabitation. The design of
these environmentally responsible systems has had dynamic influence on the plateau urban
morphology including the location and organic shape of settlements; the density, patterns and
compactness of urban layouts; the infrastructure networks of the cities; and the structure of the
street and alley networks. The study, thus, seeks to understand the complex and
multidimensional impact of synchronizing with micro-climatic conditions of the Persian Plateau
on minimizing environmentally destructive elements of urban built space.
Key Words: urban ecology, urban morphology, qan t (aquifers); bdgir (wind-catchers);
persian plateau.

293

The urban cool islands project, a case study crossing research

and practice
Frdric Bonneaud, Marion Bonhomme, Luc Adolphe
Laboratoire de Recherche en Architecture (LRA),
Ecole Nationale Suprieure dArchitecture de Toulouse (ENSA).
E-mail: frederic.bonneaud@toulouse.archi.fr , marion.bonhomme@toulouse.archi.fr ,
luc.adolphe@insa-toulouse.fr
The scientific literature on the urban heat island (UHIs) effect is wide and the synthesis of this
literature is a delicate and difficult challenge. However, the application of scientific knowledge
in the architectural and urban decision is even more difficult (Colombert et al., 2012; Musy,
2012; Potvin et al., 2012). In this context, this paper presents a research project that attempts an
explicit and demonstrative application to an urban project. The research project "urban cool
island" was initiated by researchers and operational actors. That project is multidisciplinary
since it involves architecture, urban planning, study of physical phenomenon such as the urban
microclimate and energy consumptions but also some socio-economic concerns of the project
owners and prime contractors. The case study is an iconic urban project: the new Montaudran
Aerospace neighbourhood is a major urban project in the city of Toulouse (the fourth French
city by number of inhabitants). It mixes homes, offices, businesses and university buildings. In
this paper we will describe, step by step and based on the specific context of Montaudran
Aerospace neighbourhood: i) the issue of urban heat island effect, ii) different architectural and
urban features that can reduce feeling of warmth in the city during the hot season (KounkouArnaud et al., 2011; Masson et al., 2013; Oke, 1988) and iii) the chosen strategy: a microwastewater treatment plant partly intended for the irrigation of the vegetation of the future
neighbourhood, in order to avoid hydric stress (de Munck, 2013). Finally, the paper will present
how operational actors and researchers will interact on the issue of urban microclimate during
the design stage of the urban project. For instance, the main levers to reduce urban heat island
will be summarized in the form of synthetic schemes in order to be understandable by nonexperts of the urban microclimate.
Key Words: UHIs, urban cool islands (UCIs), urban cooling, micro-wastewater treatment plant,
vegetation irrigation.
References:
Colombert, M., Salagnac, J.-L., Morand, D., and Diab, Y. (2012) Le climat et la ville294: la
ncessit dune recherche croisant les disciplines (Climate and the city: the need for
research crossing the disciplines), VertigO 12.
De Munck, C. (2013) Modlisation de la vgtation urbaine et des stratgies dadaptation au
changement climatique pour lamlioration du confort climatique et de la demande
nergtique en ville (Modeling of urban vegetation and adaptation strategies to climate
change for the improvement of climate comfort and energy demand in city).
Kounkou-Arnaud, R., Lemonsu, A., and Desplat, J. (2011) Evolution du climat urbain de Paris
dans la perspective du changement climatique (Evolution of urban climate of Paris in the
context of climate change), Proceedings of 2R2CV, Universit Paul Verlaine - Metz, France.
Masson, V., Marchadier, C., Bretagne, G., Moine, M.-P., Houet, T., and Bonhomme, M. (2013)
Rapport final du projet ACCLIMAT - Modelisation, Ville & Changement climatique (Final
Report of the project ACCLIMAT - Modeling, City & Climate Change).

294

Musy, M. (2012). Ltude des microclimats urbains295: champ de recherche linterface entre
climatologie, urbanisme et gnie-civil (The study of urban microclimates: research at the
interface between climate, urban planning and civil engineering). VertigO, 12.
Oke, T. R. (1988) Street design and urban canopy layer climate, Energy and buildings 1, 103
113.
Potvin, A., Demers, D., DuMontier, C., and Gigu re-Duval, H. (2012) Assessing seasonal
microclimatic performance of urban environments, ICUC8 Dublin, Dublin.

295

GENIUS, a tool to generate multi-scalar databases for urban

energy studies
Marion Bonhomme
Laboratoire de Recherche en Architecture (LRA),
Ecole Nationale Suprieure dArchitecture de Toulouse (ENSA).
E-mail: marion.bonhomme@toulouse.archi.fr
Many research programs have assess sustainable neighbourhoods and most agreed on the need
for urban density: a compact urban form is more efficient in terms of heating consumption
(Ratti et al, 2005) and transportation energy is lowered in dense agglomerations (Newman and
Kenworthy, 1989). However, those conclusions are less obvious when one takes into account
the multiple disciplines involved in urban energy: lighting and ventilation, renewable energies,
urban heat island (Pigeon et al, 2008), sociocultural factors (Guerra Santin et al, 2009 and
Holden and Norland, 2005), etc. To sum-up, sustainable cities require pluridisciplinarity.
However, few studies deal with this complexity. This lack of integration is partly due to the
different scales between disciplines (Martilli, 2007; Oliveira and Silva, 2013). For instance, the
assessment of building energy balance and the study of urban microclimate require very
different scales and data. Moreover, the temporal scale of urban development and climate
change forces urban planners to reconsider the impact of their decisions in a far future. Urban
databases must address these different spatial and temporal scales. In this paper, we will present
some current research programs that aim to address this databases issue. There are three main
approaches: precise inventory data (DallO et al, 2012); existing urban databases (such as
satellite images) (Kounkou-Arnaud et al., 2011) and simplified typologies (Christen et al, 2012;
Marique and Reiter, 2012). Finally, we will present the development and applications of
GENIUS, a new tool to build high definition and evolutionary maps from available databases
(Bonhomme, 2013).
Key Words: urban modelling, energy, urban databases, prospective, pluridisciplinarity.
References:
Bonhomme, M. (2013) Contribution la gnration de bases de donnes multi-scalaires et
volutives pour une approche pluridisciplinaire de lnergtique urbaine (Contribution to the
generation of multiscalar and evolutionary databases for a multidisciplinary approach to
urban energy). Universit de Toulouse.
Christen, A., van der Laan, M., Kellett, R., and Tooke, T. R. (2012) Context sensitive scaling
of energy use simulations, ICUC8 Dublin, Dublin.
DallO, G., Galante, A., and Pasetti, G. (2012) A methodology for evaluating the potential
energy savings of retrofitting residential building stocks., Sustainable Cities and Society,1221.
Guerra Santin, O., Itard, L., and Visscher, H. (2009) The effect of occupancy and building
characteristics on energy use for space and water heating in Dutch residential stock., Energy
and buildings 11, 1223 1232.
Holden, E., and Norland, I. T. (2005). Three challenges for the compact city as a sustainable
urban form: household consumption of energy and transport in eight residential areas in the
greater Oslo region., Urban Studies 12, 21452166.
Kounkou-Arnaud, R., Lemonsu, A., and Desplat, J. (2011) Evolution du climat urbain de Paris
dans la perspective du changement climatique (Evolution of urban climate of Paris in the
context of climate change), Proceedings of 2R2CV. Universit Paul Verlaine - Metz, France.

296

Long, N., and Kergomard, C. (2005) Classification morphologique du tissu urbain pour des
applications climatologiques (Morphological classification of the urban fabric for climate
applications), Revue Internationale de Gomatique 15, 487512.
Marique, A. F., and Reiter, S. (2012) A method for evaluating transport energy consumption in
suburban areas., Environmental Impact Assessment Review 1, 16.
Martilli, A. (2007) Current research and future challenges in urban mesoscale modelling.,
International journal of climatology 14, 19091918.
Newman, P. W. G., and Kenworthy, J. R. (1989) Gasoline consumption and cities. Journal of
the American Planning Association 1, 2437.
Oliveira, V. and Silva, M. (2013) Urban form and energy, Urban Morphology, 1.
Pigeon, G., Lemonsu, A., Masson, V., and Hidalgo, J. (2008) De lobservation du microclimat
urbain la modlisation intgre de la ville (From the observation of urban microclimate to
an integrated modeling of the city), La Mtorologie, 62.
Ratti, C., Baker, N., and Steemers, K. (2005) Energy consumption and urban texture., Energy
and buildings 7, 762776.

297

Energy planning from the zero level

Rita Catarino
E-mail: ritacata@gmail.com
The development and well-being of contemporary societies indicates a growing energy
consumption. The dependence of EU countries imported energy, the scarcity of energy
resources and the need to limit climate change, has led the European council of 17 June 2010 to
define energy efficiency as a major goal of the new strategy for sustainable growth (Directive
2012/27/EU, European Parliament and Council, 2012). Energy planning from the zero level
studies the morphogenesis of the Lisbon Metropolitan Area by identifying typologies of urban
tissues over time and different urban metabolisms, that are associated with these patterns of
organization. In them circulates complex networks of flows of energy and matter, that over
time, during urban development has increased the output of toxic waste, pollutants gas
emissions and intensifies the climate change. The magnitude and nature of these flows
represents the impact of urban development in the environment (Bettini, 1998). The
morphogenesis of the Lisbon metropolis shows: In primary levels of evolution, it appears that
the metabolism of the tissue types have lower energy consumption. This is due to the urban
ecological processes which happens similarly much like in a natural way as the territory.
Currently, urban scattered and isolated tissues arise from large changes in environmental preexisting conditions. They appear as isolated and monofunctional pieces in a fragmented puzzle,
where the main means of connection are the major road infrastructures that privilege the use of
the private car. The urban metabolism of these forms has been associated with high
consumption of polluting energies . This work studies the energy balance between urban growth
and preservation of the natural infrastructure, seeking to respond how the morphology of lots,
buildings, and roads can plan energy efficiency.
Key Words: urban fabrics, metabolism, Lisboa, Morphogenesis, energy.
References:
Bettini (1998) Elementos da ecologia urbana (Trota, Madrid).
European Parliament and Council of EU (2012) Directive 2012/27/EU.

298

The impact of urban form on wind energy potential

Biao Wang, Luc Adolphe, L A Cot
Laboratory LMDC, Institut National des Sciences Appliqu de Toulouse.
E-mail: bwang@insa-toulouse.fr
Developing wind energy in building environment is an old topic for sustainable city dwellers.
With improvement of computer science, CFD simulation with complex building configuration
or city models becomes accessible. This paper tries to analyse urban wind energy potential by
urban form research. Six typical urban form types in community scale are chosen and a set of
morphological indicators are defined. Later a cross comparison on wind energy efficiency and
feasibility for each urban form types was taken. At last some constructive suggestions will be
given for integration of wind energy development in future urban planning.
Key Words: urban morphology, CFD, urban wind energy.

299

Analysis of the correlated relations between ancient Chinese

urban morphology and social culture
Jinghua Dai, Zhu Wang
College of civil engineering and architecture, Zhejiang University.
E-mail: jinghuadq@gmail.com
Cities gestate culture. Different cultural backgrounds and ideological concept promote diverse
city planning thoughts, as well as various forms of cities. Nowadays, the development status of
Chinese city, such as the high speed of construction along with the resulting "one side thousand
cities" pattern, urges the designers to turn over to think the guiding ideology and practice way of
future city construction. However, when looking back upon ancient Chinese urban morphology,
its distinct features of the age and spatial attributes are worthy of deep consideration. Based on
spatial distribution of ancient cities, this paper takes ancient Chinese culture as an entry point
from three cultural levels including the system, material and spirit. Furthermore, the effect and
influence of culture on constructing urban form are explored and analysed, and then cultural
connotation of ancient Chinese urban morphology is summarized aimed at leading the future
urban to be constructed with distinctive character and sense of belonging.
Key Words: ancient Chinese, urban morphology, system, ancient culture.

300

An associated study of urban form analysis and urban

morphology: small cities in Zona da Mata Mineira, MG
Regina Lustoza
Departamento de Arquitetura e Urbanismo, Universidade Federal de Viosa.
E-mail: relustoza@gmail.com
The study of urban form has presented an important reference for understanding the processes
and phenomena connected with the transformations in the urban space. There are studies that
take the analysis of the urban form as an investigation that leads us to the study of landscape,
taking as focus cultural, social and political content, which manifest themselves in spatial forms,
as well as representations from them built and based on historical elements, economic, social
and cultural rights. In this paper we consider the study of form, relevant to understanding the
dynamics of spatial transformations, with that we seek a reflection on the different theoretical
approaches that include aspects that involve the production of urban space and the structuring of
the city. The term urban morphology was associated with the analysis of the form, whereas its
meaning was not limited to this dimension. We believe that the study of urban forms is
complemented with elements of an analysis of the structure of a set of small cities, being they:
S o Miguel do Anta, Araponga and Cana , located in the Zona da Mata Mineira, in the State of
Minas Gerais. We have developed a set of methodological procedures that complemented the
survey data, which enabled an analysis of forms and processes and contents that constitute the
morphology. The analysis showed us the importance of addressing the different historical and
spatial contexts within the urban morphology, reinforcing it as an important way to understand
the transformations in the urban space, which combined the study of urban structure, we can
observe the processes that act on the spatial and temporal dynamics.
Key Words: production of urban space, urban morphology, urban form, small towns,
transformation of urban space.

301

Heritage, urban morphology and infrastructure. Challenges

for Brazilian historic cities and/ or colonial matrix
Adriana Nascimento, Marcelo Silva
Departamento de Arquitetura Urbanismo e Artes Aplicadas, Universidade Federal de
S o Jo o del-Rei. E-mail: adrianan@ufsj.edu.br , sil_marcelo@yahoo.com.br
In this paper we propose to glimpse potentialities and challenges to be faced as a process and
acquiring meanings for the transformation and the construction of others and news practices
related with what you can name as common. Taking considerations about the relationship
between infrastructure and the presence of collective educational equipments in the urban form
with heritage places, considering their preservation and transformation, we propose to inquire
about the ways that the urban investments can and should happen to subsidize the sense of the
common. How conceptual delimitations and/or definitions of the territory, as heritage area, can
limit and/or expand the fields of action? As we understand the historic question dont restrict the
shape of the city, but imbricates by practices that, appelants, can transform and rebuild the
cities. If we think about distinctive and different parameters in which way can we understand for
a common future? Which future and common in terms of urban morphology we can put as
necessary and unpredictable? On the Brazilian case and the historic cities we understand that the
challenges are related with the infra and the urban structure on the measure that it would be the
elements which can allow cohesiveness as urban quality. It isnt about quantity, but about
qualities, in a lathing between action, time and space. We are trying to indicate parameters that
add action, time and space, that means to give an orientation to take decisions and, finally, of
practices that can be in the direction for the common future.
Key Words: urban morphology, heritage, infrastructure, urban planning.

302

Urban morphology and social geography, in the midnineteenth century, in Porto

Jorge Pinto
CHIP-ISCET, CEGOT. E-mail: mirpinto@netcabo.pt
Porto experienced, in 1864, a period of intense change. Public works promoted the construction
of symbolic buildings (Crystal Palace or the new Customs) and numerous streets were opened,
thus expanding the city beyond its former boundaries. Transports were profoundly changed with
the arrival of the Northern railway line, the multiplication of stagecoaches both with internal but
also regional routes, the building of roads and the preparation of studies on a new sea port. Two
new industrial structures were incorporated, the Companhia de Fiao Portuense (1864) in
Campo 24 de Agosto and the Companhia Aurifcia (1865), at the Rua dos Bragas, true icons of
the transformation of a Porto structured from artisanal factories scattered a little across the entire
city into a Porto populated with several large production units, thus occupying vast areas of land
outside the old city centre, however in well-irrigated areas and close to the railway line or with
fine road accessibility, while dragging with themselves residential clusters for workers. In trade,
much was also changing. After the creation of the hygienist and liberal markets, the central
streets were embellished with clean and decorated pavements, glamorous store windows and gas
nocturnal lighting, since 1855, while the separation between residence and commerce was
taking its first steps. As the urban expansion of Porto progressed, in mid-nineteenth century, and
created restrictive areas where people with common or approximate birth places would gather,
the same also applies to the socio-spatial structure of the city, in which social and/or
professional classes would come together, thus allowing the association between social areas
and morphological areas.
Key Words: Porto, XIXth century, urban social geography, urban history, urban morphology.

303

Impact of sectoral urban development of Muritala

Muhammed International Airport, Lagos on traffic flow
Oladipupo Fashina, F. Agamah
Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Yaba College of Technology, Yaba,
Lagos.
E-mail: fashlad@yahoo.com , unekwuagamah@yahoo.com
Relationship exists between land use and transport. This is important to effectively guide both
transport and land use aspect of urban growth. Urban growth provides urban structures that
create interface for land uses, transport systems and mobility pattern. Sectoral urban
development encourage corridor development along transport route which is good when the
developments span over wide kilometre distance coupled with high density development. The
development of Muritala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos started in 1979 with the
development of the International Airport thereafter the Domestic Airport and Muritala
Mohammed 2 respectively; along the same road transport system corridor. The various airport
related activities are served solely by road transport system due to non-implementation of the
initially proposed light rail transport system. This has resulted to sprawl development with low
density development and road traffic congestion. This paper examines land use and transport
aspects of urban growth of the Airport Acquisition area; extent of leapfrog development and
volume of traffic flow into the Airport acquisition area. The methodology adopts extensive land
use survey along urban development corridors and 12 hours (7:00am-7:00pm) traffic survey
during one day of the week and at weekend. The paper recommends compact and high density
development, introduction of bus transport system and light rail transport system along the
corridor.
Key Words:

304

land use, mobility, road transport system, traffic flow & urban growth.

Morphological structure and system community facilities

Karine Lise Schfer, Lisete Assen de Oliveira
Universidade do Vale de Itaja, SC, Brasil.
E-mail: karine_lise@yahoo.com.br , lisete_ao@terra.com.br
This paper focuses on the relationship between the morphological structure with the system of
community facilities at various scales of urban form, seeking the understanding of the possible
links and interdependence between the two systems. Starting from the concepts of Urban
Morphology and System of Community Facilities discusses the case of the city of Navegantes,
the coast of Santa Catarina state, southern coast of Brasil. Considering the urban morphology as
physical-spatial interrelationships between site, urban layout, macro and micro fragmentation of
land and architectural typologies, the article relies on the concepts enunciated by Panerai and
Mangin (2002), Munizaga Vigil (1993) and Argan (1963) which highlights the city as "well of
material culture" and elaborates on the role of architectural typologies. The Community
Facilities for Aymonino(1975) are buildings designed to meet human needs and population.
Thus, the location in the city, may be responsible for the strategic and social affirmation of
public space and, as stated by Secchi (2003) by promoting sociability. The methodology of
morphological basis, - characteristics and relationships between place, full and empty, urban
layout, scales, recognition of architectural typologies - allows trace the structure of the urban
form of the city and correlate it to the Community Facilities at different scales.In the case of
the city of Navegantes, one can identify that the understanding of its formal structure related to
the system of community facilities leads to improved knowledge of its present urban form and
future possibilities. Provides both the verification of their spatial patterns in various scales like
to list situations and locations where new community facilities and spatial patterns would
potentially be able to establish new and qualified relationships between different scales. On one
side would be better able to care for the basic needs of the population, in which the equipment is
essential providing possibly an increase in the quality and vitality of urban life. Another, would
strengthen structure urban, able to enhance the permanence of meaning and identity of the city.
Key Words: community facilities, urban morphology, city of Navegantes.
References:

Argan, G.C. (1963) On the Tipology of Architecture, Architectural Design in Nesbitt,

K. (ed.) Uma Nova Agenda para a Arquitetura (Editora Cosacnaify)33, 564-65.
Aymonino, C. (1975) El significado de las ciudades (Presena, Lisboa).
Munizaga Vigil, G. (1998) Macroarquitectura: Tipologas y Estrategias de Desarrolo
Urbano (Ediciones Universidad Catlica de Chile, Santiago de Chilie).
Panerai, P. e Mangin, D. (2002) Proyectar la Ciuda (Celeste Ediciones, Madrid).
Secchi, B. (2003) Ciudad Contempornea y su Proyecto, in Font. Antonio (ed.) Planeamiento
Urbanstico de la Controvrsia a la Renovacin. (Editora Diputaci, Barcelona).

305

Housing development transformations: political directives

and post-occupation life
Maria Cristina Villefort Teixeira, Marieta Cardoso Maciel, Paulo Alonso
Project Department, Architecture School, Federal University of Minas Gerais.
E-mail: mcrisvt@gmail.com
The housing policy adopted by the Belo Horizonte City Hall in the last 20 years has been
producing housing parameters which result in standardized buildings grouped into housing
developments. Although elaborated by architects, the implementation of these buildings are not
following the premises of policy and project. The process does not take into consideration the
differences in land characteristics of both shape and topography, often accentuated, resulting in
large differences between the edified areas and the open spaces. Despite free spaces being large
because of declivity, they are not primarly destined to collective use, but rather to adjust the
buildings onto the land through slopes and green areas. As these housing developments are
occupied, the open spaces are transformed: buildings are isolated by fences and walls,
compromising permeability, circulation and internal landscape. In addition, a few spaces
attached to the housings are used privately by ground floor residents who close them
completely. These manifestations underline the lack of articulation between the parameters set
by the policy and the desired use by residents. This article intends to investigate the coherence
between the adopted housing policy and the project of the housing developments analyzed
considering the transformations that have been taking place in the post-occupation process.
Key Words: housing policy, project, transformation, housing.

306

2014 World Cup in Brazil: what about urban mobility in

Metro Porto Alegre?
Claudio Mainieri de Ugalde1, Andrea da Costa Braga1,
Dcio Rigatti1, Fbio Lcio Zampieri2
1
PROPUR / Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
2
UFFS / Universidade Federal da Fronteira Sul.
E-mail: ugaldeclaudio@yahoo.com.br
Porto Alegre, Brazil, is one of the cities where the World Soccer Championship will take place
in 2014. Like in the other ones, authorities listed a number of decisions to be taken in order to
better host thousands of tourists that will be in town not only to watch the games but also to
enjoy the city and regional attractions. One of the main aspects to be improved is urban
mobility. It is intended that all journeys, not only within the metropolitan area but also to and
from other regions nearby, should be easy for residents and tourists. Solutions towards straighter
paths linking hotspots and attractors, like the airport, bus stations, soccer stadium, restaurants
and pubs, hotels, parks and historical areas shall be searched by urban planners. Not only cities
in the mountains and beaches at the coast shall be attractive for the visitors, but also trips to
Uruguay and Argentina might be interesting for them. Thus, the road system conditions are
being evaluated regarding to quickness, safeness and comfort for drivers and passengers. A
basic aspect on mobility in cities issue is the urban grid accessibility. The purpose of the present
research was to discuss the Metro Porto Alegre present situation and the probable effects on
movement caused by the modifications and increments on the grid prescribed by planners and
authorities for the sports event. A group of places, which tend to concentrate tourists, was
selected to have their accessibility syntactically analyzed embedded in two different spatial
configurations of the metropolis: the present one and a simmulated one to which proposed
avenues, roads and bus terminals will be added. Space Syntax measures like global and local
integration, choice, step depth and synergy were applied not only to evaluate the accessibility in
different radius but also to identify the potential main routes chosen by tourists and citizens to
move from one attractor to another. A comparison between them regarding to topological
closeness and influential areas, specially among passenger terminals, was done as well. Results
allowed the researchers to evaluate potential improvements on direct connections with the
soccer stadium and with the southern neighborhoods where the landscape is a very known
touristic attraction, and also on metropolitan infrastructures, to prevent traffic congestion and
users waste of time. Potential co-presence among local population and tourists could also be
discussed in order to increase social opportunities and cultural exchange also expected at the
event moment.
Key Words: urban planning, urban design, configurative analysis, space syntax.

307

The urban morphology around elevated station of urban rail

transit in China
Minfeng Yao
Huaqiao University. E-mail: archi_yi@163.com
Rail construction has been developed in a previously unprecedented high speed in China in the
past few years. But city development surround station delayed. The Government worried that
the station had a greater influence on surrounding resulting in popular opposition, thus the
extensive use of the underground line construction mode, resulting in a huge building
investment and operating costs. State-owned land system, which is different from land
ownership systems in most developed countries such as United States, Japan, etc. It caused that
China cannot copy foreign models and experiences. This paper is talking about the research of
the rational urban form surround elevated station under China's building legislation. It is also an
exploration for probability of TOD Urban morphology in Chinas cities who are low density
and high FAR(Floor Area Ratio)different from Hong Kong who is high density and low FAR .
Key Words: urban morphology, elevated station, rail transit, China.

308

Unsustainable empty for inadequate use of urban space

Monica de Carvalho
University Veiga de Almeida, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil. Email: mlcarvalho@br.inter.net
Studies of the Middle Ages tells of deforestation, since man saw the forest as barbarism, and
reduced as a benefit to civilization for crops and rearing of herds. (Dorst, 1973). But, also, there
is evidence of respect and admiration for nature the forms of buildings, urban landscape,
vegetation and agricultural production in other cultures, as the Incas. (Bingham, 1911).
Different paradigms, who built the various stages of human civilizations, explain the current
situation that leads many urban centers in a significant deficit in environmental sustainability, a
lack of resources for planning the shape of the urban landscape. Urbanism is to provide
sustainable built man in his habitat, with comfort and environmental infrastructure to supply
water, food, shelter, heat and light. This proves that man is capable of transforming the natural
environment without destroying their livelihood condition, because the planned space is the best
solution in the growing demand for food, housing, jobs and mobility of families, congregations,
markets and armies. Governments around the world create managements to ensure sustainable
human life on the planet, with the maintenance of corporations and lucrative markets in the
global system. But the vulnerability is evident in various forms, such as natural phenomena and
accidents in built space with large numbers of human casualties and loss of economic output.
Experts say that the planet is finite, and does not support the artificial transformations, by an
infinite lifetime warranty and urban production on Earth.
Key Words: urbanism, environment, landscaping, sustainability, urban mobility.

309

Interactions between agricoltural-systems and urban forms in

Sardinian villages
Adriano Dess
DICAAR, University of Cagliari. E-mail: adrianodessi@unica.it
The rural landscape is historically based on mutual interaction between the bi a and sartu, the
village (villa) and the countryside (saltus). The forms of the Sardinian countryside, the openfield
in the plains and hills with cereal crops, the closures in the inland basalt slopes and highlands
used for sheep grazing, are deeply connected with the form and structure of minor towns. The
contribution focuses on the historical reasons and the contemporary developments of three
specific relationships between Sardinian villages and their agricultural systems: (i) Villages
situated in the plains are placed in a central position in relation to the openfield and they are
characterized by strictly closed blocks which have large interstitial inner spaces between them,
that constitute the sites of accumulation and primary processing of cereal resources;(ii)
Margin villages between environmental and agricultural specialized systems, or between
different agricultural systems, show mixed structures and forms that are generally compact and
adherent to the topography. The fringes of these centres are highly dependent on soil conditions,
on crop specializations and different topographical forms. The porous space of the block gives
greater precedence to the peri-urban hortus conclusus; (iii) The pastoral villages of the great
tancas (enclosures) are composed of narrow elongated spindle blocks located on the terraces
of the inland hills. The adjacent agricultural systems are a few kilometres away, in a pattern of
total autonomy and division among the cultivated fields and urban forms. The contribution aims
to focus on the effects that these historical relations have today on the creation of new forms of
contemporary habitat.
Key Words: rural landscape, villages, urban forms, agricoltural systems, enclosures.

310

Resilience thinking and urban form: a contribution to the

spatial analysis of the territory
Ana Martins, Sara Santos Cruz, Paulo Pinho
CITTA Research Centre for Territory, Transports and Environment, Faculty of
Engineering, University of Oporto, Rua Roberto Frias 4200-465 Porto, Portugal.
E-mail: ana.jorge.martins@gmail.com , scruz@fe.up.pt , pcpinho@fe.up.pt
The issue of global economic crisis and its impacts on territories have been deserving
the attention of the scientific community. Indeed, it is necessary to understand in an
integrated manner the changes and disruptions that occur over time and leave traces
over the territory. Analysing a territory through these traces can lead to the
understanding of the built environment as a socio-ecological system. This paper
proposes the introduction of the concept of resilience as defined from an ecological
perspective, recognizing the mechanisms of the territory as a complex ecological
system. The concept of resilience is then defined as an ability of a system to adjust to
shocks and external changes, while keeping the interactions between its subsystems. It
is intended to highlight the importance of this concept, considering it as a key
instrument to operationalize the processes of adaptation and innovation in complex
adaptive systems, taking an urban system as an example. The attributes of resilience in
its spatial dimension - diversity, connectivity and redundancy are presented in order to
better understand the mechanisms of the urban system. The panarchy model and
adaptive cycle are introduced to interpret the operation of the system in its different
stages of adaptation and change, in different temporal and spatial scales, as well as in
the maintenance of its structural and functional identity. It is recognized that changes
and unchanges, continuities and discontinuities in urban form can be identified
throughout an adaptive cycle and in the path to another one, enabling the understanding
of the trajectory of the urban system. This way, it is possible to evaluate and measure
the level of resilience of the urban system.
Key Words: built environment, resilience, urban systems, urban form.

311

Study on the sustainable development of urban fringe at the

background of urban and rural co-ordination in China
Wu YingYing
Department of Architecture, Zhejiang University, 310013, Hangzhou, China.
E-mail: shelia33@126.com
Since last century of the 90's, with the continuously expanding scales of modernization and the
high-speed development of urbanization, as well as a long-term practising on the structure of
urban-rural binary economy, urban fringe, as a transitional area derives on the urban-rural
region system, is facing great challenges of sustainable development, and a series of
contradiction of expansion and protection is becoming more and more obvious. At the
background of the urban and rural co-ordination, urban fringe has become a critical point of
sustainable development realization in integrating urban and rural areas, on the basis of whole
above, this paper selects three different urban fringe of Hangzhou in Zhejiang Province as case
study areas, by analysing the non-single factors influencing on the mainly subject, and focusing
on the development process of urban fringe and its evolution mechanism, attempting to find an
effective approaches on optimizing the distribution of land resources in urban fringe, and
establishing a development strategy evaluation system, to promote relevant measures and
recommendations for the future development of urban fringe areas.
Key Words: urban and rural co-ordination, urban fringe, smart growth, spatial conformity, strategy
guidance.

312

Contributions to the study of urban morphology:

morphological, typological and landscape interrelationships in
Brazilian Jesuit architecture
Fabiano Vieira Dias, Martha Machado Campos
Faculdades Integradas de Aracruz (FAACZ-ES)
Universidade Federal do Esprito Santo (UFES).
E-mail: fabiano@urbearquitetonica.com.br , marthamcampos@hotmail.com
The hypothesis put forward in this article is based on the possibility of Jesuit architecture, in
particular, located in Brazilian territory (16th century), and brokering dialogue built on the same
body, and interrelated manner, aspects of urban morphology, typology and landscape. Lamas
explains that, as a discipline, urban morphology adds to itself not only the built environment,
but the means by which this was built in its interaction with urban form, ie "social phenomena,
economic and other engines of urbanization" (Lamas, 1992). Understanding the urban form is to
understand its elements, "both in order to read or space analysis both in order to design or
production" (Lamas, 1992). Studying urban form means understanding where it enters the city
and its constituents, its spaces and the interrelation between them and their context in a
comprehensive spectrum of what is called the city and urban. The architectural typology and
urban morphology are connected at the heart of their analyzes, whereas both, according to
Pereira, studying "two orders of homogeneous facts" (Pereira, 2012), studying the components
of the city - architectural and spatial - that overlap or complement according to the scale of
analysis used. The Jesuit colonial architecture models Brazil, in a decisive way, the construction
of distinct urban cores originating in the Brazilian coast in the sixteenth century. This by
deploying edilicia typology accompanying the Jesuit doctrine of location and site selection for
its buildings, recommending security, visibility and ease of access around rivers or the sea.
These constructions carried out on elevated areas marked in time and space the landscape of the
first Brazilian urban core. The work explores Jesuit building located in Vitria (ES - Brazil) as a
demonstration of his hypothesis.
Key Words: urban morphology, typology, landscape, Architecture Jesuit; Brazil.
References:
Lamas, J. M. R. G. (1992) Morfologia Urbana e Desenho da Cidade (Fundao Calouste
Gulbenkian/Junta Nacional de Investigao Cientfica e Tecnolgica, Lisboa).

313

Densification process of Copacabana neighbourhood over

1930, 1950 and 2010 decades: comfort indexes
Patricia Drach, Gisele Barbosa, Oscar Corbella
School of Engineering and Built Environment, Centre Glasgow Caledonian University
Escola Politecnica, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro
School of Architecture and Urbanism, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.
E-mail: patricia.drach@gmail.com

Researchers in various fields related to environmental issues are looking for strategies to control
or minimize the human interference in the dynamic of the environment. As consequence of this
emergent task, new concepts are emerging, among them, the concept of compact cities.
Developed in a European and North American context, this concept is based on the idea of
planning cities with higher density per square meter and a more efficient connectivity of their
structures. Taking into account that the climatic characteristics are one of the basic factors for
locating a town, importing models from different climates demands an intense reflection and
analysis about its adequacy and effectiveness. Previous studies had pointed out the inadequacy
of the compact city model for tropical countries, such as Brazil. In this paper, an area of
Copacabana neighbourhood, Rio de Janeiro city, currently compact, was assessed with the help
of computational tools to observe the temperature dynamics and sky view factor (SVF)
alterations during three moments of its occupation history: 1930, 1950 and 2010. For the
computational simulations the software ENVI-met was used, developed for climate simulations
in urban areas. To determine the interference of morphology changes in thermal sensation two
outdoor comfort indexes were calculated: Physiological Equivalent Temperature (PET) and
Universal Thermal Climate (UTCI). From the obtained results, relating urban morphology, air
temperature and thermal comfort, are expected to enrich the debate about urban models and
specifically on the concept of compact cities in the formation of new cities and neighbourhoods
in the tropics.
Key Words: densification, compact cities, environmental comfort, comfort indexes, tropical
climate.

314

Dynamics interactions between urban form, green spaces and

environmental quality in two metropolitan areas in Brazil
Rita Montezuma, Cludia Pezzuto, Camila Albuquerque
GGE/Universidade Federal Fluminense
CEATEC, Pontifcia Universidade Catlica de Campinas
Departamento de Geografia, Pontifcia Universidade Catlica do Rio de Janeiro.
E-mail: ritamontezuma@yahoo.com.br , claudiapezzuto@puc-campinas.edu.br ,
camila.thome10@hotmail.com
Considering the intra urban scale, this article aims to apply a set of procedures of microclimate
analysis in order to investigate the interactions among urban form, green areas, bottom valley
and water bodies and their environmental performance in a changing landscape. The article is
the result of the research project Climate change and urban forms: comparative studies of
occupation types and environmental indicators for adaptation to vulnerability and risk in the
metropolitan areas of Rio de Janeiro and Campinas, involving multidisciplinary approaches in
Urban Ecology, Geography, Architecture and Urbanism in the metropolis of Rio de Janeiro/RJ
and Campinas/SP, Brazil. Both areas have undergone intensive urban transformation processes.
Two watershed sub basin were selected and characterized in the cities, based on urban form,
relief, topography and characteristics of cover soil surface. For climate data collection we used 4
temperature and relative humidity data loggers per area, fixed in between 2m and 3m above the
ground, with a sampling frequency of 15 minutes (RJ) and 10minutes (SP) during the 2013
winter. Each sample unit was characterized and monitored after Oke. The results confirmed the
importance of the geometry and morphology of the urban fabric and the soil permeability for the
dynamic interactions between green areas, bottom valleys and environmental conditions. We
concluded that the viability of green areas as a producer of amenities and urban health is closely
influenced by the conditions of the environment and, therefore, their management is dependent
on an integrated planning approach that considers the integrity and interrelation of the urban
landscape elements.
Key Words: urban microclimate, green areas, hydrology, use and occupation of soil surface,
urban infrastructure system.

315

A construction perspective of urban morphology study in

Shanghai Alleyway House
Jiangtao Ni, Gang Liu
College of Architecture and Urban Planning Tongji University.
E-mail: njt719@hotmail.com
The Shanghai Alleyway House which was 57.4 percent of the gross residential area in the
modern Shanghai based on the statistic in 1949 is the major object in this paper. And
construction is the main research perspective. It is discussed in two ways: construction
technology and construction organization, and is focused on the historical development and its
characteristics from the 1840s to the 1940s of the Shanghai Alleyway house as a physical
object. i) Construction Technology: 5 individual Shanghai alleyway houses are chosen as the
case-study objects and typical types based on the existing research output and the differences in
their location, completed time, the shape of their plans, etc. And the case-study is mainly by
accurate construction mapping and is divided into three angles: structural system; tectonic style;
material. Then by contrastive analysis from these drawings, the variation of construction
technology from the traditional timber-frame style to the brick-wood hybrid style would be
acquired. ii) Construction Organization: By summing up the information about the alley houses
construction organization among the archives, this paper finds out the features during the
progress from the craftsman system to the contractor-architect system.Thus, the research
significances come out. Firstly, the historical course of how the Shanghai alleyway house
developed till traditional Chinese house to the Western-Chinese house could be unscrambled in
a more microcosmic way. Secondly, it is also a sort of supplement of the urban morphology
study on the modern Shanghai besides the spatial geographic form and the Social cultural form.
Key Words: urban morphology study on the modern Shanghai, the Shanghai alleyway house,
construction technology, construction organization, historical development.

316

Assessment of the local climate zones in area residential with

low-rise buildings. The case of Campinas, Brazil
Cludia Pezzuto, Vernica Monteiro
Exact, Environmental and Technological Sciences Center,
Civil Engineering Faculty, Pontifical Catholic University of Campinas.
E-mail: claudiapezzuto@puc-campinas.edu.br , veronica.sm@puccampinas.edu.br
This paper describes a research about urban thermal environment in the city of Campinas,
southeast region of Brazil. The aim of this work is to identify temperature observations and their
relation with residential areas with low-rise buildings. The territorial area studied is bounded by
a sub-basin of Anhumas river. The area is characterized by its consolidation and infrastructure.
The study area was defined through field research, compilation of maps and aerial photographs,
so that the different urban occupation patterns could be identified. Data collection was carried
out through temperature measurements in fixed points in a central area of the city with different
configurations: residential area with low-rise building with little vegetation, without vegetation
and near bottom valley. Data of air temperature and relative humidity were collected using data
loggers installed in open spaces at 3.0 m height. The positioning of the points was established
after detailed cartographic analyses of the area and field verification by the methodology of Oke
(2006). By comparing those temperatures with the characteristics of land use pattern it was
adopted the method proposed by Stewart and Oke (2012) wich establishes classes by local
climate zones. All classes emerge from logical division of the landscape universe. Results show
a relation to site characteristics, morphology, presence of vegetation, water bodies. It is
observed that the simultaneous application of concepts local climate zones and temperature
observations can guide planning and management actions over the use and occupancy models
that consider the landscape and climate.
Key Words: urban climate, use and occupation of soil surface, urban infrastructure system.
References:
Oke, T. R., (2006) Instruments and observing methods: World Meteorological Organization
Report No. 81.
Stewart, I. D., Oke, T. R. (2012) Local Climate Zones for Urban Temperature Studies., Bull.
Amer. Meteor. Soc. 93, 18791900.

317

Impact of spatial structure on womens travel in urban areas

in Pakistan
Waheed Ahmed , Muhammad Imran, Regina Scheyvens
School of People, Environment and Planning, Massey University, New Zealand.
The present paper explains that womens travel is influenced by the spatial structure of urban
form. The paper builds on the everyday experiences of women in Islamabad and Rawalpindi
and highlights that their travel depends on a range of factors, such as availability and access to
walkways, bus stops and public transport, quality and affordability of public transport, safety
and security concerns, and their location in the city. The paper also finds out that the travel
pattern of women is different from men. This is because women make shorter but more trips
based on their overburdened responsibilities of productive and reproductive nature in Pakistan.
Islamabad and Rawalpindi has been selected to see the differences in womens transport choices
based on varied urban form and spatial structures of these cities. While Islamabad was built on
modern town planning principles of low density urban population and mixed land use,
Rawalpindi is a historical city, which was built along the lines of strong social networks and
higher urban density. These differences make these cities good places for gender analysis with
regards to urban form and spatial structures. The theoretical framework combines the rightbased and empowerment approaches to identify constraints and opportunities for change to
womens mobility. The design of the research is qualitative in nature and methods such as indepth interviews, life stories, and mobility maps have been used. Besides interviewing women
as the users of transport system, the viewpoints of males including the drivers and conductors of
the public transport have been taken. The present research attempts to develop new insights into
women, gender and transport literature with regards to developing countries.
Key Words: sustainable urban transport, urban form, women social exclusion, Pakistan.

318

Evolution of sociometric layout as a reflection of cultural

changes: the case study of the former Jewish quarter in Gra
Kalwaria, Poland
Magorzata Hanzl
Institute of Architecture and Town Planning, Lodz University of Technology.
E-mail: mhanzl@p.lodz.pl
The paper identifies the evolution of the network of pathways and pedestrian passages through
urban blocks that were historically characteristic of the districts inhabited by Jews in Gra
Kalwaria, Poland. The distinctive character of these settings was greatly affected by the
emergence in the town of a Hasidic dynasty founded by the tsaddik Rabbi Alter. His numerous
followers settled near his court significantly fostering the town's development. Their presence
resulted in the establishment of the associated physical infrastructure, such as: houses of prayers
and synagogues, ritual baths, schools and other learning institutions (Bergman, 1991). The
specific arrangement of the buildings associated with religion was, as is usual in Jewish towns,
connected with the presence of a large internal square. The spatial layout of sociometric
connections inside urban blocks is analysed on the background of religious practise within
Judaism and specific spatial concepts thoroughly embedded in Jewish thinking, which was the
one of marking the Sabbath private domain with chain of symbols, most notably the eruvs
(Herz, 2008). As a result of this practice the traditional notion and meaning of the private and
the public in the urban landscape shifted, resulting in the more intensive connectivity inside the
urban blocks themselves. It is argued here that the correlation between the face-to-face character
of this community (Dyner, 2006) and the spatial layout of internal connections existed. The
paper concludes with an examination of the few remaining traces of the former pedestrian
connections, and a discussion of the factors accounting for its gradual demise.
Key Words: Jewish districts, sociometric layout, historical development, cultural distinctions,
religion.
References:
Bergman, E. (1991) 'Gra Kalwaria: the Impact of Hasidic Cult on the Urban Landscape of a
Small Polish Town', in Polonsky, A. (ed.) Polin A Journal of Polish-Jewish Studies (Wiley
Blackwell, Oxford) 3-23.
Dyner, G. (2006) Men of Silk: The Hasidic Conquest of Polish Jewish Society (Oxford
University Press, Oxford and New York).
Goldberg-Mulkiewicz, O. (2003) Stara i nowa ojczyzna. lady kultury ydw polskich
dzkie Studia Etnograficzne Tom XLII, Polskie Towarzystwo Ludoznawcze, d.
Herz, M. (2008) 'Eruv Urbanizm. Towards an Alternative Jewish Architecture in Germany',
in Brauch, J. Lipphardt, A., Nocke, A. (eds.) Jewish topographies: visions of space,
traditions of place (Ashgate Publishing Limited, Hampshire) 43-61.

319

The effects of urban form on levels of integration of housing

schemes and social interaction among residents
Maria Cristina Lay, Mrcia Lima
Faculty of Architecture/PROPUR, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
E-mail: cristina.lay@ufrgs.br
The paper investigates how levels of integration of housing schemes can affect social interaction
among residents within the scheme and with its urban context, further affecting resident social
and emotional health. The study incorporates global configuration aspects and their cognitive
dimensions within a single framework in investigating the relationships between man and built
environment (Peponis and Wineman, 2002), more specifically those involving the analysis of
relationships between the configuration characteristics of accessibility, legibility and perception
of environmental performance ( Lynch, 1960). Methodological procedures consisted of postoccupancy evaluation of four low income housing schemes comprised of different layout, size
and location in the city of Montenegro, southern region of Brazil. Data were collected by
complementary techniques, such as mental maps (Downs and Stea, 1973), interviews,
observations of behaviour (Golledge and Stimson, 1997), physical measurements and
questionnaires (Cooper, 1975; Gambim, 2007). Quantitative data were analyzed through nonparametric statistics and qualitative data by meaning and frequency. Following the perceptive
approach adopted, user satisfaction and environmental behaviour were employed as indicators
of environmental performance and social interaction. Space syntax measures ( Hillier and
Hanson, 1984) were used in order to analyze spatial configuration as measured by the axial
map of local and global integration and analysis of street connections with the immediate
surroundings and with different locations in relation to the consolidated urban area. Results
indicate that successful integration of the housing scheme in its urban context helps residents
integrate into the neighbourhood and the city, increase satisfaction with their place of residence
and promote sense of belonging and citizenship, all of which support residents well-being.
Keywords: social housing; spatial configuration; environmental performance; social interaction;
resident well-being.
References:
Cooper, C. (1975) Easter Hill Village: some social implications of design (Free Press, New
York).
Gambim, P. (2007) A influncia de atributos espaciais na intera o entre grupos heterogneos
em ambientes residenciais. Master dissertation. Faculty of Architecture. Universidade
Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre.
Downs, M. and Stea, D. (1973) Cognitive maps and spatial behavior, in Image and
Environment (Aldine) 8-26.
Golledge, R and Stimson, R., (1997) Spatial Behavior (The Guild Press).
Hillier, B. and Hanson, J. (1984). The Social Logic of Space (Cambridge University,
Cambridge).
Lynch, K. (1960) The Image of the City (MIT Press).
Peponis, J. and Wineman, J. (2002) Spatial Structure of Environment and Behavior in Bechtel,
R. and Churchman, A. (eds.). Handbook of Environmental Psychology (John Wiley & Sons
Inc.) 271-291.

320

Residential vilas in Rio de Janeiro: sustainability of a historic

housing type
Vicente del Rio1, Denise de Alcantara2, Rogrio Cardeman2
1
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
2
Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro.
E-mail: vdelrion@calpoly.edu , denisedealcantara@gmail.com ,
r.cardeman@gmail.com
This paper regards residential vilas in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil as a historic morphological type
and examines its validity given todays ideals of sustainability and good urbanism. The vila as a
type can be traced back to the early 1800s when proprietors of urban houses generally sited at
the front of long and narrow colonial lots started to build rental residential units in their
backyards. These houses were small, attached or semi-attached, practically devoid of private
yards, and shared small collective spacesusually limited to the access driveway. The vilas
became one of the only viable housing alternatives for the poor in the central districts (Abreu
1987; Santos 1986). However by the 1970s they had become an unattractive development
operation due to the intensity of land speculation and to the citys modernist land-use legislation
that encouraged high buildings with set backs on larger reassembled lots and required a great
amount of parking (Cardeman and Cardeman 2004). By then the vila had become a housing
type cherished by the public at large due to the strong feeling of identity and community it
entices, its defensible space, and its historical architecture (Fonseca 2002). We will examine
three vilas in the district of Botafogo and compare them to the type of development encouraged
by the city and to variables related to sustainable design and good urbanism (density,
walkability, social contact, identity, control, ecological footprint and energy consumption). The
research will include historical, morphological and social analyses, computer simulations, and
interviews with residents and city officials experienced in dealing with Rio de Janeiros
development control process.
Key Words: high-density horizontal housing, infill development, sustainable design, good
urbanism, Rio de Janeiro.
References:
Abreu, M. (1987) Evoluo Urbana do Rio de Janeiro (Maua/IPLAN-Rio, Rio de Janeiro).
Cardeman, D. and Cardeman R. (2004) O Rio de Janeiro nas Alturas (Mauad, Rio de Janeiro).
Fonseca, S. B. (2002) Vilas residenciais no municpio do Rio de Janeiro: propostas para o
desenvolvimento de projetos. Masters Thesis. Faculdade de Arquitetura e Urbanismo,
Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro.
Santos, S. L. (1986) Expans o urbana e estrutura o de bairros do Rio de Janeiro: O caso de
Botafogo. Masters Thesis. Departamento de Geografia, Universidade Federal do Rio de
Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro.

321

A discussion on a qualitative method in understanding the

built form through the female service workers experience of
urban space: the case of Istanbul
Ceyda Sungur, Ayse Sema Kubat, Elvan Guloksuz
Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Istanbul Technical University.
E-mail: sungur@itu.edu.tr , kubat@itu.edu.tr , guloksuz@itu.edu.tr
The French school of typo-morphology analyzes the built form within its dialectical relationship
with social forces, which are both a precondition and a product of space. Influenced by Henri
Lefebvre, the French School recognizes the position of the urbanist with their critical view
from above and below and proposes an understanding of the social phenomena of the built
environment. On the other hand influential social theorists like Simmel, Lefebvre and Harvey
and others have theorized the features of the capitalist city which dissolve the community,
transform the public space and the public person, prioritize exchange value over use value, and
exacerbate socio-spatial injustices; albeit at the expense of the quality of human life as well as
other life forms. Considering these diverse approaches to understand urban space, this study
attempts to discuss an interdisciplinary method of analyzing the built form through the
trialectical attributes of the built environment, which are lived, perceived and conceived spaces
of Lefebvres production of space. Therefore, based on a qualitative research, the study
focuses on everyday life and spatial practices of a selected group of female service workers in
Istanbul to analyse the implications of a set of spatial forms, from the macro form (i.e. place of
work, place of residence, forms of transport and the like) to urban design elements at the
community and street level on the daily life experiences of the selected group. It seeks to find
out the elements of contemporary urban space which help or impede individuals in their strive
to make a living, and those which improve or degrade their quality of life
Key Words: everyday life, interdisciplinary urban design research, urban morphology, female
service workers, socio-spatial practices.

322

Characterization of the relationship between commercial

plots and building patterns: a general survey in urban area of
Nanjing, China
Jingjing Jiang
School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Nanjing University.
E-mail: jingjingjiang0919@gmail.com
Public buildings in commercial plots play an important role for urban tissues. Following
Conzenian tradition of urban morphology, several studies have explored characteristics of
commercial plots in China in a framework identifying the fundamental elements of urban form:
blocks, plots and buildings. However, previous researches lack exploration on the relationship
between building patterns and plots, without taking the complex controlling factors of
commercial plots into account. Therefore, interdisciplinary approach must be applied to explain
the formation rules of building patterns. Four perspectives on commercial plots are added into
discussion: function, design discipline, fire code, and user behavior. Based on a general survey
over all the 649 commercial plots along the main roads in Nanjing urban area, this paper groups
them into a hierarchically structured category in terms of morphological characteristics such as
plot shape, plot area, plot coverage, and geometrical shape of building pattern. It examines the
positional relationship between buildings and plots; identifies several rules of the building
arrangement within commercial plots; and demonstrates how these correlates to the shapes and
sizes of plots. It also proves that underlying plot conditions such as fire code have a dramatic
impact on the building patterns within commercial plots. Such knowledge of rules can support
subsequent urban analysis, planning, and guide future design of commercial plots.
Key Words: commercial plot, building pattern, morphological characteristics, correlation.

323

The commercial-residential building: an architectural process

to understand the socio-economics of urban morphology
Laura Narvaez
Bartlett School of Graduate Studies, University College London.
E-mail: l.zertuche@ucl.ac.uk
People use buildings in many different ways, which reflects a degree of architectural and
morphological flexibility affected by any given economic situation, such as renting a house,
renting a retail space, use of ones own dwelling to make a shop or business. The combination
of commercial and residential uses is argued to be also an architectural process that allows a
myriad of architectural and social relationships between dwelling and workplace or shop (Davis
2012), which also makes it a matter of cultural diversity. The mixing of urban uses living and
working is always possible and at times increasingly necessary. However, such architectural
process also impacts on a larger scale of the city, which provides a need to address a wider
interrelation of urban morphology with other fields, such as the socio-economics of the built
form. The paper presents a study of the commercial-residential building from the building scale
design to the morphological attributes of its urban location. The approach is to study this
particular common type of building within the context of the city of Cardiff. Conzenian and
space syntax approaches are combined with urban economic models, addressing two main
questions: What are the effects, if any, in which the combination of commercial and residential
uses, as an architectural mechanism of building use and design flexibility, on the morphology of
the city? And, how does the commercial-residential building relate to the local urban economy?
The paper particularly focuses on the issues of how the commercial-residential building, as a
collective urban phenomenon, can potentially generate local centres and it concludes by
reflecting on some of the implications in urban design and planning practices.
Key Words: commercial-residential building, space syntax, architecture, urban morphology,
urban economics.
References:
Davis, Howard (2012) Living over the store, architecture and local urban life (Routledge,
London and New York).

324

Municipal average building capacity: a strategic instrument

for economic and financial sustainability of urban
developments
Emlia Malcata Rebelo
CITTA - Research Centre for Territory, Transports and Environment, University of
Porto, Faculty of Engineering. E-mail: emalcata@fe.up.pt
The main goal of this research consists in the development of a methodology based on
territorial plans and urban morphologies - that supports the computation of how much average
gross built surface is allowed in each municipality. It fits into the overall scope of the revision of
the juridical regime of Territorial Management Instruments currently taking place, in the wake
of the approval (last November) of the new Portuguese Basis Law of Land Policy, Territorial
Ordinance and Urbanism. The assessment of building capacity herein proposed supports the
application of current territorial management instruments such as the Municipal Urbanization
Tax (Almeida et al, 2013; Leit o, 2011; Silva, Deus and Tenedrio, 2012) or new territorial
management tools (based on a fiscal monitoring over urban developments), in a clear, accurate
and objective way. It, thus, enables the implementation of the most innovative goals of this new
Basis Law: raising equity and social cohesion, and ensuring that urban development processes
are sustainable from an economic and financial perspective. The methodology to compute the
average municipal building capacity is applied, as a case study, no the municipality of Ourm,
considering the classification of spaces and the urbanistic indexes settled in Ourm s Municipal
Master Plan, in Ftima s Urbanization Plan, and in the currently in force Detail Plans (Correia et
al., 2002; PDM de Ourm, 2002; PU de Ftima, 1995; P. P. da Avenida Papa Jo o XXIII, 2009;
P. P. da Caridade, 1999; P. P. da Quinta do Ribeirinho, 2000; P. P. da zona industrial de Casal
dos Frades, 1991; P. P. da Zona do Centro de Sade de Ourm, 1997; P. P. para o Quarteir o
formado pela Rua Francisco Marto, Estrada da Lomba de gua e Rua do Mercado, 1999). It can
be concluded that urban morphologies that derive from territorial plans support the design of
new territorial management instruments in order to: Strengthen municipal finance, ensuring
municipalities economic and financial sustainability; Assess, in a clear and objective way, the
concrete building capacity of certain urban, operations as compared with the municipal average
building capacity; Quantify the concrete values that can possibly be collected through current or
innovative urban management tools; Warrant a better equity in the distribution of benefits and
charges that accrue from urban development processes.
Key Words: economic and financial sustainability, territorial management instruments, equity,
building capacity, urbanistic indexes.
References:
Almeida, J., Condessa, B., Pinto, P. and Ferreira, J.A. (2013) Municipal Urbanization Tax and
land-use management The case of Tomar, Portugal, Land Use Policy 31, 336-346.
Leit o, D. (2011) Taxas e Procedimentos Sustentveis em Operaes Urbansticas, Tese de
Doutoramento, Universidade do Minho, Escola de Engenharia.
Silva, J.B., Deus, R.F. and Tenedrio, J.A. (2012) Paying as the urban reas grow
implementing and managing urban development charges using a GIS application,
International Journal of Geographical Information Science 26, 1689-1705.
Correia, P., Sousa, R., Lobo. I.C., Alves, R.A., Alves, F.B., Oliveira, V., Monteiro, F., de S ves,
A., Matos, I.3, Costa, P., Martins, P. and Duarte, I. (2002) Relatrio do Plano Director
Municipal de Ourm Proposta Final, Volume I, Cmara Municipal de Ourm.

325

Plano Diretor Municipal de Ourm, Resolu o de Conselho de Ministros n.o 148-A/2002.

Regulamento do Plano de Urbaniza o de Ftima, Portaria no 633/95, de 21 de Junho.
Plano de Pormenor da Avenida Papa Jo o XXIII, Aviso no 15622/2009, de 4 de Setembro.
Plano de Pormenor da Caridade, Portaria no 496/93, de 10 de maio, alterado pela Portaria no
445/97, de 7 de julho, e pela Declara o no 376/99, de 17 de novembro.
Plano de Pormenor da Quinta do Ribeirinho, Resolu o do Conselho de Ministros no 159/2000,
de 20 de novembro.
Plano de Pormenor da zona industrial de Casal dos Frades, Despacho no 195/91 do Ministrio
do Planeamento e Administra o do Territrio, publicado em Dirio da Repblica, em 3 de
Dezembro de 1991. Plano de Pormenor da Zona do Centro de Sade de Ourm, Portaria no
190/97, de 20 de maro.
Plano de Pormenor para o Quarteir o formado pela Rua Francisco Marto, Estrada da Lomba de
gua e Rua do Mercado, Portaria no 67/99, de 28 de janeiro.

326

The morphological sense of commerce: symbioses between

commercial activity and the form and structure of Portuguese
medium-sized cities
Miguel Saraiva, Paulo Pinho
CITTA - Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto. Centro de Investiga o em
Arquitectura, Urbanismo e Design (CIAUD), Faculty of Architecture of the University
of Lisbon. E-mail: dec08020@fe.up.pt , pcpinho@fe.up.pt
The act of buying and selling has evolved from being considered a simple need to being
regarded as one of the principal wealth generators of post-modern societies. Yet two elements
continually elude current theories and practices about commerces role in the city. Rarely is
commerce considered a cause, and an active, rather than a reactive, agent in the structuring of
the urban realm. Furthermore most commercial studies have focused solely on the geographical,
economic and social fields, neglecting the morphological sense. Only in the last 10 years have
authors addressed this perspective, although sporadically, presenting focused views that
nonetheless do not zoom on the micro-scale, and lacking interdisciplinary approaches, resulting
in the lack of data and knowledge available and, ultimately, in the lack of proper public policies.
This paper aims to question the structuring nature of commerce and the influence of the
morphological component. For that it introduces various fields of research and a large array of
variables at various resolution levels. A conceptual model is devised and tested in four
Portuguese medium-sized cities. Four GIS-models, containing commercial, morphological,
structural and temporal variables are then produced, explored and compared. Findings include
the definition of commercial/morphological indicators, that can constitute values of reference or
comparison for commercial policies and other studies; the evidence that morphological (rather
than statistical) similarities generate, on the micro-scale, more commercial similarities; and six
main aspects that effectively link commercial activity with the form and structure of cities.
Key Words: commerce, medium-sized cities, urban morphology, Space Syntax, urban planning.

327

Modern tendencies of the location of office functions in

European cities
Katherine awada-P giel
Tadeusz Kosciuszko Cracow University of Technology, Faculty of Architecture.
E-mail: kzawada@pk.edu.pl
In the article the author describes the specificity and character of office function, frames
contemporary developmental tendencies, shows some trends concerning the location of office
functions in European cities and extracts two directions of strategic operations of office
buildings and office complexes' locations in a city structure. The first is described as
deglomeration of office functions outside the city centre area, the second as the reconstruction
of portions of inner-city areas in the zone of contact with the city centre, in the degraded areas
taken as components' of wide urban planning operations. Author shows three directions within
deglomeration operations and defines as: new big administrative-office centres, location of
offices in the centres of satellite cities, location of office units in city suburbs or outside a city.
As the other direction of action the author indicates two types of action: multifunctional
redevelopment of districts including the rebuilding of degraded areas and of fragments of the
urban structure. Then author traces the evolution of spatial and compositional relations office
buildings and complexes and the urban structure, especially the historic centre. The analyses
include some examples, in specific types of activities. Finally, the author summarizes out its
observations and draws conclusions about the development of office buildings in the context of
development of cities with the preservation of existing cultural values and the possibility of
contributing by the function of office of new values in the structure of the city.
Key Words: office function, location, deglomeration, rebuilding of spatial and compositional
relations, degraded areas.

328

The systemic focus on walkability and urban form

Ana Paula Barros
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Brasilia, Brazil, and
Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Superior Technical Institute,
Portugal. E-mail: anapaulabgb@gmail.com
This paper aims at analyzing walkability most commonly approached in the studies of
Transport Engineering and the urban form traditionally applied to research in the field of
Architecture in order to discuss the interdependence between both perspectives. The research
is based on systemic thinking (relational) (cf. Capra, 2003. Morin, 2010; Bertalanffy, 2012;
Vasconcellos, 2013), in order to articulate different areas of knowledge for a more coherent
reading of urban dynamics. In order to accomplish that, a thorough review and analysis of the
literature about walkability and urban form was performed, encompassing different areas of
knowledge: geography, history, sociology, philosophy, literature, anthropology, architecture,
engineering, medicine, etc.. It was possible to verify that although each one of those fields reach
the same diagnosis there is a need for prioritizing pedestrian space , the different fields
hardly ever exchange information, which produces fragmented interpretations. Thus, we suggest
that the qualitative and quantitative approaches are merged, in order to effectively enhance the
analysis, making it more sound and befitting to the reality of the object under study.
Key Words: systemic theory, multidisciplinarity, urban form, walkability.
References:
Bertalanffy, L. V. (2012) Teoria geral dos sistemas: fundamentos, desenvolvimento e aplica es
(Vozes, Petrpolis).
Capra, F. (2003) A teia da vida: uma nova compreens o cientfica dos sistemas vivos. (Editora
Cultrix, S o Paulo).
Morin, E. (2010) Ci ncia com consci ncia (Bertrand Brasil, Rio de Janeiro).
Vasconcellos, M. J. E. d. (2013). Pensamento sist mico: o novo paradigma da ci ncia (Papirus
Editora, Campinas).

329

Safety in relation to the urban form

Melinda Benko
Department of Urban Planning and Design,
Budapest University of Technology and Economics. E-mail: benko@urb.bme.hu
Urban safety is one of the most relevant multidisciplinary questions of the contemporary city
integrating urban and architectural design, planning, sociology, criminology, psychology etc.
The paper uncovers a new approach to the environmental crime prevention using the method of
analysis based on the closed/open duality, the most important qualitative dimension of urban
form, where space use and space experience come to the fore. In the city, two overlapping levels
exist: the visual, as the result of constructed reality (e.g. the range or degree of enclosure); and
the physical, as a framework for space use possibilities (e.g. the range or degree of public use).
Their differences demonstrate the changing urban situations for security reasons: the historic
closed blocks become open by public use, or the modern openness continues to prevail in the
contemporary urban scenery, while physically the dynamics of closure and control characterise
the use of their open space more and more. To recognise, understand and represent this safety
phenomenon, and to find new design typology for the transitional spaces corresponding todays
social challenges, urban morphology could be used as an excellent conceptual and practical tool.
Key Words: urban form, space use, safety, crime prevention, transitional space.

330

Impact of walkable urban form on social security. A study of

naragh in Iran
Abdolhadi Daneshpour, Maryam Sabokkhiz, Samaneh Jalili, Hoorieh Taghidokht
Iran University of Science & Technology (IUST), School of Architecture and
Environmental Design. E-mail: daneshpour@iust.ac.ir , sabokkhiz@iust.ac.ir ,
s_jalili@iust.ac.ir , h_taghidokht@iust.ac.ir
Safety was always a need for human even for the primary one. Human started to make society to
create the safety and soon realised that this safety can be in danger somehow. But surveys show
that urban structure can make direct impact on the safety, therefor this article try to find how to
improve safety by forming the urban structure. Cities with huge pavement area impact on the
safety because of more social and communication interaction with other people that effect on
life happiness. Therefore it's necessary to make multipurpose places where pavements and road
neutralised every shape of transports. In fact by widening pavements and reducing road's traffics
life happiness can increase. Iran's ancient cities had pavement style such as Naragh where safety
was high. Methodology of this article is descriptive - analytical and by using observation and
deep interview. Interviewing 20 people of Babel city show that huge pavement and high level of
interaction increase safety.
Key Words: walkable urban form, social security, social interaction, Naragh, Iran.

331

By So Paulo sidewalks: urban form and walkability

Helena Degreas, Paula Katakura, Caio Rubens Gonalves Santos
Centro Universitrio FIAMFAAM
E-mail: hdegreas@uol.com.br, pkatakura@fmu.br, caiorubens@terra.com.br

Streets, avenues, boulevards, lanes ... innumerable are the public spaces designated to the
circulations of cars and pedestrians; in fact, the opens spaces work as a system and are
represented by many typologies that gave form to the city. Brazilian cities, as a rule, have being
building open public spaces as if they were residual spaces of private properties. Public policies
promote facilities to car owners, so pedestrian circulation was reduced to spaces with little
functionality (locomotion, access conditions, shape, dimensions and other morphological
attributes), that resulted in places of public life that do not guarantee the quality or safety of the
users. S o Paulos mater plan has been suffering numerous amendments to promote a better
mobility without the presentation of studies pertaining to pedestrian spaces sidewalks. The
actions of the public authorities to the issues about urban mobility have been reduced to the
deployment of public transport with a focus on buses. Issues such as quality of driveways (onethird of the trips in the city are made on foot), safety against the set of barriers (equipment,
public securities and urban infrastructures) randomly distributed in space, private management
(the responsibility of management of sidewalks is of the owner of the immediate area property)
associated with the intense movement of the land, generate the need for indicators to cooperate
not only on qualification of existing spaces as well as in organizing projects guidelines to cities
in expansion process. This work is part of the Masters Program in Design, Production and
Management of Urban Space of FIAM-FAAM University Center.
Key Words: urban form, urban mobility, walkability, open spaces system, landscape
architecture

332

Urban morphology: a prescription for healthy built

environments?
Jason Gilliland
Department of Geography, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario,
Canada. E-mail: urbanprof@gmail.com
Does urban sprawl make you fat? The weight of evidence suggesting a relationship between the
current shape of our cities and the increasing bodyweights of our populations is certainly
compelling. The inspiration for this presentation evolved out of systematic literature reviews we
have conducted on the relationship between the built environment and health. Numerous
studies by planners, geographers, epidemiologists, psychologists, and other public health
researchers over the past decade have suggested that modern forms of development may be
"obesogenic" in that they deter walking and cycling, while promoting automobile usage and fast
food consumption. Unfortunately, most studies are based on research designs that are
inadequate to prove that living in sprawling suburbs actually causes laziness or gluttony.
Furthermore, much of this work seems to begin with an incomplete understanding of urban form
and how it should be measured, as indicated by an inappropriate use of substitute variables to
represent certain characteristics of the built environment. It is this latter problem that should be
of greatest interest to urban morphologists. In this presentation I will weigh the state of
evidence on the relationship between the built environment and obesity and obesity-related
behaviours, highlight some of the critical methodological issues, identify potential areas of
research that require more attention, and suggest how urban morphologists can contribute more
effectively to this important line of inquiry. Indeed, as experts on urban form, morphologists
may hold the prescription for improving research on the built environment, which may
ultimately lead to improving public health.
Key Words: built environment, obesity, walkability, public health.

333

The elements of urban morphology which influence residents

leisure walking activities: case study of Shanghai
Jie Mao, Yong Chen
College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Tongji University, China.
E-mail: ch_yong2011@tongji.edu.cn , 231269952@qq.com
With the rapid development of motorization in modern cities, urban morphology is threatened
seriously which gave priority to walking transportation before. It also leads to the changes of
residents walking characteristics. Leisure activities such as stroll, fitness and walk the dog
increase significantly, but the essential commuter walking activities reduce gradually. In this
research, 21 neighbourhoods were taken as cases to make questionnaires survey, observation on
site and multiple regression analysis. Effectively statistic model was made to seek the key
variables of urban morphology which influence leisure walking activities. It was found by the
research that, objective variables of urban morphology affect the frequency of leisure walking
more than subjective perceptions do, while the subjective perceptions of environment affect the
duration of leisure walking more than objective variables do. Six variables of urban morphology
have critical influence on the frequency of leisure walking. They are penetrability of sidewalk
network, mixed land use, proportion of commercial interface in the street, density of the
storefronts in commercial interface, wide space with hard pavements, safe and neat community
environment. In addition, residents individuality such as societal attributes and subjective
demands have intrinsic influence on choices of leisure walking activities as well.
Key Words: leisure walking activity, urban morphology, built environment, neighbourhood.

334

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336

7.
Comparative studies of urban form
There is a long tradition of comparative studies of urban form. In the early years of
development of urban morphology as a field of knowledge, German-speaking researchers in
particular were active in making both inter- and intra-urban comparisons of the physical forms
of cities. Indeed comparisons over time became inherent in the concept of the morphological
period, which has figured explicitly or implicitly in much morphogenetic research. In a twentyfirst century environment in which the scope for international research has become so much
greater, a wider compass of comparisons of many types has become increasingly realistic.
Perhaps most obvious is the opportunity for cross-cultural comparisons. However, the success
of both these and more local comparative studies will relate importantly to progress in research,
including comparative research, relating to concepts, theories, methods and different
disciplinary perspectives. In these respects the scope for shedding fresh light on urban form by
comparative studies is great indeed. This is not to argue that research on individual cities and
parts of cities should become of lesser importance. The key point is to ensure that research at
whatever geographical scale is placed within a comparative framework. As perceptive
researchers were aware long ago, research is not just about particular places. It is about the light
that work on a particular place can shed on places more generally, and vice versa. To achieve
this, other needs must be addressed: not least it is important to work more actively towards
common definitions of the terms being employed. This is a major challenge in a field
characterized by a wide range of perspectives, including those emanating from different
disciplines and language areas. However, we should take strength from the fact that it was
particularly to meet this challenge that ISUF was formed!

J. W. R. Whitehand

337

The syntax role: differences among urban fabrics in Lisbon

Ana Paula Barros
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Brasilia
(UnB Brasilia/Brazil) and of Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture,
Superior Technical Institute (IST Lisbon/Portugal). E-mail: anapaulabgb@gmail.com
The present paper aims to explore the differences and similarities between morphological and
syntactic aspects of three neighborhoods - Graa, Campo de Ourique and Telheiras in the city
of Lisbon. It is our intention to identify how the local features affect urban mobility, with a
focus on walkability, evaluating the use of Space Syntax for the studies of traffic. In terms of
methodology, axial maps and pedestrian visibility maps were used, drawn from the Theory of
Social Logic of Space, in addition to pedestrian countings carried out in each neighborhood
according to the Gate Method. Graa presents a more organic street network, characterized by
extreme irregularity; Campo de Ourique is structured in a chessboard pattern which tends to an
increased regularity; and Telheiras has as its most distinguished feature buildings that are
isolated in space that does not border the streets, and this configuration was called
contemporary street network. The results point to a meaningful relation between the modeling
from Space Syntax (cf. Hillier and Hanson, 1984) and the counting, indicating there is a
correspondence between the movement on the streets and the integration indexes. The findings
clarify that the syntactic analysis is relevant not only for traffic studies (Barros, 2006), but also
for walkability studies, in which the pedestrian is the focus.
References:
Barros, A. P. (2006) Estudo exploratrio da Sintaxe Espacial como ferramenta de aloca o de
trfego. Disserta o de Mestrado.
Hillier, B. and Hanson, J. (1984) The Social Logic of Space (Cambridge Press: Cambridge).

338

Urban transformation in meeting places: the cases of Bursa &

Yazd
Sima Vaez Eslami, Ayse Sema Kubat
Department or Urban Design, Istanbul Technical University.
E-mail: simavaez@gmail.com , kubat@itu.edu.tr
In 19th century, due to modernization programs, historical cities faced powerful socio-spatial
conversion. New and different urban pattern system was imposed on the historic fabric of the
city, while traditional urban structure was created over centuries through cumulative growth. By
the appearance of modern motorized means of transportation in the old fabric of cities, many
physical and spatial changes started to take place in the core of the traditional cities. This fact is
also obvious in urban transformation of cities with Islamic culture. This research attempts to
find the effect of urban modernization transformations on the fabric of historic cores in cities
with Islamic culture; how the modern changes affected the old system specially the structure of
meeting places and why is it necessary to preserve the old structure of historical cores in Islamic
cities? Is it possible to preserve this structure after urban modernization process? To answer the
mentioned questions, two Islamic cities in two different countries (Iran and Turkey) have been
investigated; this investigation is made by using Space syntax methodology to compare spatial
structure of these cities in before and after urban modernization transformation. According to
the result of this comparative syntactic study, in comparison to city of Yazd, the historic core of
Islamic city of Bursa is preserved in a better way even after urban modernization changes.
Key Words: urban modernization transformation, Islamic city, space syntax; Bursa, Yazd.

339

Environmental evaluation method of urban spaces. Case

Study: South Wing of Plano Piloto, Braslia Distrito Federal
Ederson Teixeira, Marta Romero
Faculty of Architecture University of Brasilia
E-mail: edersonot@gmail.com , bustosromero@gmail.com
The urbanization process tends to create several problems in the environmental condition of the
urban space, however not it a generalized way. Nowadays, there are several examples of cities
that reached an urban organization that improves the habitat condition of the public space.
These solutions could be in the initial stage of city occupation, or a territorial reoccupation,
when a city is already consolidated. Based on this, the present paper was prepared from studies
conducted in the course Sustainable Urbanism, of the Graduate School of Architecture and
Urbanism of the University of Brasilia, where it was developed a method of the Sustainable
Urban Morphology Analysis in administrative regions of the Distrito Federal (DF), classifying
these regions according to the best sustainable urban passive design. Seeking an analysis of
several authors that are concerned with urban morphology aspects and environmental quality of
urban space aspects, it was developed a vital research based on specific concepts, grouping then
in chart of indicators and attributes, defining values, for when examined under a specific method
, it is possible to define the degree of sustainability of the analyzed region.
Thus, this paper seeks to enhance the concepts and attributes acquired in the aforementioned
course, developing a new implementation methodology, reducing the results subjectivity by
using in situ measurements equipment, computational instruments and urban forms studies,
using as study case the Administrative Region I - South Wing of Plano Piloto of Brasilia
Distrito Federal (DF).
Key Words: Urban morphology, comfort, environmental evaluation, urban spaces, South Wing.

340

Comparing urban forms and rules of the Pearl River delta

cities: Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Macau, and Shenzhen
Hendrik Tieben, Doreen Liu
School of Architecure, The Chinese University of Hong Kong.
E-mail: hktieben@cuhk.edu.hk
Since the introduction of the Open Door Policy in 1978, the transformation of Chinese cities has
attracted attention of scholars, first focusing on general aspects of Chinese urbanism and
individual case studies (e.g. Whitehand and Gu, 2006). According to the goal of urban
morphological research in comparative studies of urban forms (Conzen, Gu, Whitehand, 2012),
this paper embarks on the comparison of the four Pearl River Delta cities: Guangzhou, Hong
Kong, Macau, and Shenzhen. While located in one region, they were shaped by the different
planning cultures of China, Portugal and Britain. Due to Chinas one country, two systems
policy differences persist, despite a fast-pace integration process driven by large-scale
infrastructure projects. This comparison of the urban forms of the four cities aims to facilitate a
more meaningful integration process, learning from different experiences. In this context, the
study investigates particularly the urban rules, which shaped each of these cities. The interest in
rules resonates with recent urban studies (Lehnerer, 2010; Tieben, 2011) and responds to
developments in parametric design simulating urban processes, however, often without
consideration the specifics of place. Through the focus on rules, the paper seeks to connect
urban morphological research better to contemporary design practice. Presenting results of first
case studies, the paper also discusses the challenges encountered: the fundamental differences of
terminologies, planning frameworks, and building practices in the four cities. The paper is part
of a General Research Fund project (GRF4440740) awarded by the Hong Kong University
Grants Committee.
Key Words: comparative studies in urban form, urban rules, Chinese urbanism.
References:
Conzen, MP, Gu, K. and Whitehand, JWR. (2012) Comparing traditional urban form in China
and Europe: A fringe-belt approach, Urban Geography 1, 22-45.
Lehnerer, A. (2010) Grand Urban Rules (010 Publishers, Rotterdam).
Punter, J. (1999) Design Guidelines in American Cities, A Review Of Design Policies And
Guidance In Five West-Coast Cities (Liverpool University Press, Liverpool).
Tieben, H. (2011) Cities and design rules: an architect's approach, Urban Morphology 2, 163167.
Whitehand, J. W. R. and Gu, K. (2006) Research on Chinese urban form: retrospect and
prospect, Progress in Human Geography 3, 337-355.

341

Research on urban spatial form in provincial areas with

different levels of economic development: a case study of
Jiangsu Province
Guoping Xiong
Department of urban planning, Southeast University, Nanjing, China.
E-mail: xionggp@vip.sina.com
Different regions take different urban development models according to different levels of
economic development to realize the regional overall development has already become main
concern of provinces. In this paper, southern, central, and northern areas of Jiangsu Province as
an example, to study the differences in urban morphological characteristics and the levels of
economic development: pointlike concentration led by large cities, such as Xuzhou, Huaian,
Yancheng, Lianyungang in northern Jiangsu; ribbon concentration led by Nanjing-Nantong
traffic axis in central Jiangsu; mesh concentration led by Nanjing metropolitan and Su-XiChang metropolitan in southern Jiangsu; southern, central to the Yangtze River, central, north to
the coastal ports as a link to form new city zones. Analyze the dynamic mechanism, propose
distinguishing urban space optimization measures and policy recommendations to regions in
different economic development levels to realize the regional overall development: the focus of
the south is to promote regional integration; the focus of the centre is to construct the urban
development belts along the Yangtze River and the coast; the focus of the north is to strengthen
the central cities.
Key Words: urban spatial form, economic development level, Jiangsu Province.

342

The urban morphology concept in Brazil

Denise Antonucci
Faculdade de Arquitetura e Urbanismo Mackenzie; Presbyterian University, So
Paulo, Brazil. E-mail: antonucci.denise@gmail.com
The urban morphological analysis, despite its important use in European countries, had few
followers in Brazil. Perhaps this lack of interest can be explained by the fact that Urban
Morphology emerged in Europe in the context of criticism of the functionalist Modern
Movement in the 1950s and 1960s. At this moment we lived enchantment Lucio Costas design
to Brasilia, synthesis of the urban principles of the Charter of Athens, defended by Le
Corbusier. Another hypothesis is the close link of Urban Morphology with studies of historical,
architectural and urban preservation - as present in European culture and little referenced in
Brazil - especially when related to the preservation of urban fabrics. We intend to recover, even
if briefly, the route of the Urban Morphology concept through recognition of some researchers
who used it during the second half of the twentieth century in different contexts. We seek to
recover some theorists thoughts that used the concept in their productions or academic
practices. We note that some authors and critics of architecture and urbanism are particularly
attentive to certain formulations that architects developed on Urban Morphology. Often a single
agent plays as researcher, architect and historian. The work of Michael R. G. Conzen (England),
Muratori, Aymonino (Italy), Panerai, Castex (France), Bohigas, Sol-Morales (Barcelona),
among others, were instrumental in the development of concepts and methodologies and they
have influenced Brazilian researchers in the analysis of urban form as evolutionary logic of
social forces. We can mention, among others Brazilian architects and researchers Cndido Malta
Campos, Vicente Del Rio, Nestor Goulart Reis and Carlos Nelson Ferreira dos Santos.
Key Words: urban morphology concept, Brazilian researches, modern movement.

343

Gilberto reyres work: between urban morphology and

building typology first approaches
Solange de Arago, Andr Mar ues
Universidade Nove de Julho
Universidade S o Judas Tadeu. E-mail: solangedearagao@gmail.com ,
afrm1979@gmail.com
There are many possible ways of reading Gilberto Freyres work. One can read Freyres texts in
order to know about Brazilian society from colonial times; other can read them to understand
the process of mixing races from which resulted Brazilian people; yet some other can do that to
get to know the History of Brazil from a sociological point of view. But there is also another
possibility which is to find morphological and typological approaches throughout Freyres
work. Since the sociologist adopted the house as the centre of interest of a great part of his
works, and analyzed the house and its environs to comprehend, and explain Brazilian society,
there is a lot of information in his texts regarding certain types of buildings particularly those
from colonial times and from the first half of the 19th century as well as information
concerning the cities where these buildings were placed. In fact, Gilberto Freyre was one of the
first Brazilian researchers who gave attention to the study of the traditional house in relation to
the urban landscape it composed. We aim here to present some morphological and typological
approaches in Gilberto Freyres work, considering the trilogy composed by The masters and the
slaves (1933), The mansions and the shanties (1936), and Order and Progress (1959), as well as
some other important works in which he deals with the theme of the Brazilian house.
Key Words: Gilberto Freyres work, urban morphology, building typology, the Brazilian
house,19th century.

344

Meeting of minds: investigation on the common concepts and

different approaches of the major schools of urban
morphology
Stael Pereira Costa, Maria Manoela Netto, Laura Coelho de Moraes.
School of Architecture, UFMG.
E-mail: staelalvarenga@gmail.com , manoelanetto@yahoo.com.br ,
laura_cristina15@yahoo.com.br
The purpose of this paper is to present the results found in research conducted in the years 20112013, entitled: "Meeting of Minds": which investigates the common concepts and different
approaches of the major schools of urban morphology. The research focused on the survey work
undertaken by the founders of the schools in order to make an urban analysis in England and
Italy, establishing different methods. Other sources of documentary reference were found in
books, publications in professional journals, as well as testimonials of pupils who participated in
the formation of these methods. Examples of convergence can be found in these approaches,
which consider the form as a product constructed throughout time, through the investigation of
the form transformations and continuities in the urban landscape. However, the methods differ
regarding the scale of analysis. The English school in their investigations tends to examine the
form from the general to the particular, while; in contrast, the Italian school opts for taking the
building as the starting point and widens its focus to include the whole territory. In this sense,
the concepts adopted by schools show both similarities and differences; however they also
reflect the specific goals of each approach. For the English school, the geographical approach is
the guideline for a tripartite division of urban form. Conversely, for the Italian school, the
architectural approach is the leading point, with reference to the basic built type and the
typological process that transforms it over time. The knowledge acquired from the structure of
both schools, may contribute to the development of a wider interdisciplinary approach to
research on contemporary cities.
Key Words: schools of urban morphology, research, approaches, similarities, differences.

345

Decipher the Babel Tower: a discourse analysis of urban

morphology in China
Andong Lu
School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Nanjing University.
E-mail: alu@nju.edu.cn
The accelerating waves of urbanization in China have aroused a boom of scholarly studies on
urban form. Urban morphology based studies appeared in the late 1990s and represents only a
small fraction of the whole body of research on urban form and has been strongly intermingled
with and deeply influenced by the existing discourse on urban form at the time. This paper will
take a historical approach and try to decode this hybrid intellectual landscape by relating the
ideas and terminology of urban morphology to the established system of methodologies and
network of concepts in the field that could trace back to the early 1980s. This paper will survey
and analyse some three thousand plus journal articles in the last thirty years. It is argued that the
Chinese study on urban form has various sources of origins and hence separate traditions, and
its process of development is a combination of adaptation of old ideas and translation of new
concepts, which generates as many understandings as misunderstandings. It is through this
process that urban morphology was related and appropriated to the Chinese context and its
topics and concerns. This discourse analysis is also intended to reveal the underlying issues and
themes distinctive to Chinese urban morphology.
Key Words: discourse analysis, urban morphology, methodology, concept network.

346

A Portuguese typo-morphological line of though: from

geography to architecture
Teresa Marat-Mendes, Maria Amlia Cabrita
DINMIACET-IUL, Instituto Universitrio De Lisboa ISCTE-IUL.
E-mail: teresa.marat-mendes@gmail.com
This presentation exposes a typo-morphological line of thought, anchored in a Geography of
Settlements that reveals an obvious relationship between urban morphology and geography,
contemporary to the German Human Geography led by M. R. G. Conzen (1907-2000).
The presentation assesses the impact that a French typo-morphological approach had during the
twentieth century in Portugal, through the disciplines of Geography and Architecture, in
particular through the study of the Rural Habitat. To do so this presentation identifies, isolates
and characterizes the Portuguese typo-morphological line of though, as enunciated by Orlando
Ribeiro (1911-1997), a Portuguese geographer that during his formation in Paris (1937-1940)
established contact with Albert Demangeon (1872-1940) whom constituted an authority for the
French School of Human Geography, while promoting the development of enquiries grounded
on a specific scientific and methodological approach. A comparative analysis between the
Portuguese and the French methodologies developed at that time, namely related to the
enquiries of the rural habitats, is also presented. Finally, this paper promotes a critical analysis
of how, in Portugal, this same typo-morphological line of thought, initially established by the
geographers, was assimilated by the architects, while being complemented with knowledge
provided by other scientific disciplines, including anthropology. Furthermore, it confirms that
the concept of type in architecture, in Portugal, in the context under analysis, was built through
the contributions of Geography.
Key Words: typo-morphology, architecture, geography, rural habitat, Portugal.

347

A comparison between different urban analysis methods: the

case study of Rubattino-Ortica district in Milan
Ioanni Delsante, Nadia Bertolino, Emanuele Giorgi, You Yinan
DICAR Department, University of Pavia. E-mail: delsante@unipv.it
The paper deals with urban studies focused on historical districts named Rubattino and Ortica
set in the east part of Milan. It represents a focus on urban morphologys analysis and it deals
with the comparison of different urban analysis methods. The given site of Rubattino and
Ortica districts in Milan is characterized by very different urban morphologies and building
typologies, even if it represents a kind of big urban cluster in between railways and highways:
the historical settlements with their monuments, the industrial era with productive spaces, the
post-war expansion with housing districts, the post-industrial era with large dismissing and new
speculations, the recent developments due to cultural events and activities. It is very difficult to
find out just one architectural theory that fits this hybrid of urban morphologies, but more
than one theory can partially describe its features. The aim of the study is to deal with urban
analysis accordingly to pre-assigned morphological approaches, showing that they are
complementary and not alternative. The approaches have been chosen accordingly to a deep
preliminary urban analysis, finding out feasible ways of describing the site with clear urban
indicators. Two of the chosen approaches seem more appropriate to describe sites morphology:
one is based on the idea of urban islands or clusters that describes cities as a unity of
different and independent parts. The other one is based on the idea of city as layers, showing
also the interference of different functions and systems. Describing the same site through
different theory-based urban analysis approaches represents the chance for a comparative study
of theories themselves.
Key Words: alternative urban analysis, islands as cities in the city, reading the city by layers.

348

Past and present: an architectural survey of Birnin Lafiya, a

Dendi village
Jean-Franois Pinet
Centre HABITER, Faculty of architecture, Free University of Brussels (ULB).
E-mail: jefpinet@gmail.com
In collaboration with the project Crossroads of Empires led by Anne Haour (University of East
Anglia) we conducted a research on the contemporary Dendi villages (North Benin). The
mutations of dendi villages were few documented since the first European explorations. One of
the starting points of the study was to examine possible links between pre-colonial ruins
discovered by archaeologists of the project Crossroads of Empires and existing villages in the
region. A second important point was to test the typo - morphological method of analysis,
developed in Europe during the 1960s, whether it could be exported or not to the African rural
context. Following this methodology, we analyzed Birnin Lafiyas urban shape, road network,
the development of the village, technical customs and construction methods. As a result, we
developed a typological classification of spatial situations. In addition to the survey, interviews
with the inhabitants were conducted to understand the current situation of the village. Starting
with architecture, we open the study to others disciplines as sociology and history. By applying
the typo-morphological method as starting point, we were able to question issues related to the
local history, practices, and customs of the inhabitants of Birnin Lafiya. Based upon the high
amount of information gathered during the onsite survey, the study developed a first series of
conclusions. First of all, in the selected case study, Birnin Lafiya, the study emphasizes the
impact at a very large scale of French colonization on the citys urban structure and architectural
techniques. Beside this, the mutations in the urban pattern and architecture are indeed playing
the role of material evidence of social and political changes in the region. This phenomenon can
be observed also in other Dendi villages.
Key Words: North-Benin, rurality, morphology, types , anthropology of space.

349

Urban form and its implication for the use of urban spaces
Antnio Reis
Faculty of Architecture/PROPUR, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul.
E-mail: tarcisio@orion.ufrgs.br
The objective of this paper is to discuss urban form and some of its implication for the use of
urban spaces. The relationship between urban form characteristics, such as those related to type
of building use and amount of visual and functional connections with the public open spaces,
and presence of people are considered (Gehl, 2010, 2011; Jacobs, 1984). A comparison is made
between traditional urban form and modernist urban form. Whereas the first is characterized
by a direct relationship between buildings and public open spaces, the second is characterized
by a loose relationship, with public open spaces merely resulting from the layout of blocks of
flats. In a traditional urban form, as in Ouro Preto (Brazil) or in the historic areas of Prague
(Czech Republic) and Porto (Portugal), buildings have front doors and windows facing the
public streets, whereas in a modernist urban form, as in Braslia (Brazil), buildings tend have
doors and windows far away from the public streets and/or facing inward open spaces with no
distinction between front and back windows and doors. Therefore, examples from cities in
different countries are used for the comparisons and reflections involving these issues. The
main outcomes from these discussions emphasize the need for a better understanding regarding
the implications of urban form for the use of urban spaces. Additionally, type of building use
and amount of visual and functional connections with the public open spaces tend to have
significant consequences for the vitality of urban space.
Key Words: urban form, use of urban spaces, traditional urban form, modernist urban form.
References:
Gehl, J. (2011) Life between buildings: using public space (Island Press, Washington).
Gehl, J. (2010) Cities for People (Island Press, Washington).
Jacobs, J. (1984) The Death and Life of Great American Cities - The failure of Town Planning
(Penguin Books, Harmondsworth, Middlesex).

350

Morphogenetic analysis of Bahelievler Housing Cooperative,

Ankara: exploring the Turkish case
azl Songlen
City and Regional Planning Department, Middle East Technical University.
E-mail: nsongulen@gmail.com
Ankara, after its announcement as the capital city of the newly established Turkish Republic,
has been planned starting in 1920s. Reflecting the modern western city planning principles, the
Jansen Plan, at this regard, introduced a new morphological repertoire for the housing
development areas. However, massive migrations to the city led to rapid urbanisation process
after 1950s that the Plan failed to supervise. Following planning attempts proposed increased
density in inner city and resulted in the loss of spatial variety introduced with the new
morphological repertoire, where diverse housing types are replaced with similar apartment
blocks. At this regard, Bahelievler Housing Cooperative, as a self-sufficient neighbourhood
model designed by Jansen based on Garden City principles in 1930s, has been affected from this
process to a great extent. Thus, this study analyses the morphological transformation of this
neighbourhood between 1930s until today regarding the changing street, plot and building
patterns. For this purpose, Conzens morphogenetic approach developed based on Medieval
European Cities will be applied in the Turkish context. Hence, the transformation experienced
within 80 years will be discussed under three period in Conzenian terms as, the accumulation of
forms, the adaptation of forms and the replacement of forms in Bahelievler Context based on
changing street, plot and building relations. This study will provide insights about the
morphological transformation experienced in the Bahelievler Case based on a historical
framework. Such an analysis will reveal the relation between this rapid urbanisation process and
relatively reduced morphological repertoire. In addition, the applicability of Conzens method in
different geographies of the world, specifically in the Turkish Case, might play a key role for
further morphogenetic analyses as well.
Key Words: morphogenetic approach, Conzen, Bahelievler, Ankara.

351

Combining different morphological approaches in the study

of Maputo
David Viana, Vtor Oliveira
Centro de Investigao Escola Superior Gallaecia, Largo das Oliveiras, 4920-275 Vila
Nova de Cerveira, Portugal.
Centro de Investigao do Territrio, Transportes e Ambiente, Faculdade de Engenharia
Universidade do Porto, Rua Roberto Frias, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal.
E-mail: david.leite.viana@esg.pt , vitorm@fe.up.pt
The paper will describe the application of different approaches in the study of the urban form of
the capital of Mozambique, Maputo. This city exhibits an exceptional variety in terms of urban
forms, from Portuguese colonial urban tissues drawn on an orthogonal layout, defining sets of
regular plot series comprising a number of buildings, generally, with high architectural quality,
to informal fabrics with an irregular layout of streets supporting a scattered and complex
organization of plots and of buildings, sometimes with reduced dimensions and often built with
what is usually considered as poor materials. The paper has three main goals: i) to understand
the different types of urban tissues of Maputo, with a particular emphasis on the informal tissues
and on the prevailing dichotomy between the concrete city and the once called cidade canio
(nowadays known as bairros); ii) to debate the main characteristics of the urban forms (streets,
plots and buildings) of Maputo framed by our knowledge of other capital cities of Portuguesespeaking countries; and, finally, iii) to compare the different morphological approaches
(including qualitative and quantitative methodologies) that are utilized in this analysis, defining
a number of guidelines for their combined use in other contexts.
Key Words: urban morphology, urban form, space syntax, informal settlements, Maputo.

352

Revaluing urban morphology as Urban Heritage: case studies

on Barcelona and Kyoto
Daisuke Abe
Faculty of Policy Science, Ryukoku University, Kyoto, Japan.
E.mail: abe@policy.ryukoku.ac.jp
This article discusses how to expand a concept of urban morphology as urban heritage. For
cities and regiones, every urban form and activities must be observed as possible urban heritage
for next generation. However, the urban spaces formed mainly after 1960s including housing
estates, the deprived areas in urban periphery and civil engineering structure, have not been
appropriately evaluated due to a lack of methodology for conservation. Especially for cities
which seemingly are not abundant in urban and architectural heritage, it is essential to expand a
concept of heritage itself. The historic centers are considered to represent cities identity thus
the urban facade has been more or less well preserved. However, in order to conserve old
quarters as a living area, the attentions should be focused on the urban fabric that is guided by
diversity of plots and blocks, and the importance of public space. In this regard, two cases are
examined; Barcelona and Kyoto. Both cases treat two important areas in terms of morphology,
that are (1) the historic centers that have been recovering its comercial dynamism but at the
same time loosing the authentic atmosphere as a result of gentrification, and (2) the urban places
in deprived area that include working class housing estates built during the post-war years and
more recent suburban neighbourhoods.
Key Words: Urban Heritage; historic centre, deprived areas, Barcelona, Kyoto.

353

Application of morphological concepts to characterize

German immigrations nucleus in Brazil
Bruno Andrade, Elisa Taveira, Renata de Almeida
Heritage and Developments Laboratory, Architectures Department, Universidade
Federal do Esprito Santo. E-mail: patrilabufes@gmail.com
This article seeks to analyze comparatively morphological structures as a result from german
immigrations occupation in Esprito Santo, from middle XIX century. For this investigation,
Gunter Weimers advanced studies its assumed as reference, concentrated in the decades of
1970 and 1980, about german architecture in Brazils southern region. Weimer is elected
because hes a Brazils central reference about the approached theme. The intention is to
recognize and present by mappings some morphological configurations particularities of urban
sites located in espirito- santenses central mountain region; occupation structured by
hydrographic basin from Santa Maria da Vitorias and Jucus river. It is recognized, at the
territorys physical-geographic dimension, both the adoption of river courses as structuring
elements of land division and the urban settlements location at high and cold lands. In the
urbanistic dimension, there are two types of nucleus: Strassendorf, urban form structured by a
central and commercial road; and Angerdorf, urban form when the central road widens open to a
square.
Key Words: urban form; German immigration; Esprito Santo/Brazil.

354

Spontaneous and induced form: comparing Sao Paulo,

Jakarta, Hanoi and Belo Horizonte
Eliana Barbosa, Patrcia Capanema, Nguyen T
Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie So Paulo,
Faculty of Architecture Universiteit Katholieke Leuven
The Urban planning and Architectural Institute (UAI) and University of Civil
Engineering (NUCE), Hanoi, Vietnam.
E-mail: queirozeliana@hotmail.com
The paper intends to summarize a research, carried out between 2012 and 2013, financed by
BID and GDN in which the urban morphology was used as a tool to investigate the relations
between urbanization and development. It is a comparative study of the economic development,
planning processes and the resulting urban morphology of four different cities: So Paulo,
Jakarta, Hanoi and Belo Horizonte, aiming to disclosure the spatial outcomes of peripheral
development. Planning policies and urban morphology were compared between the cities in
different scales, according to methodology proposed by Llamas (1994). So Paulo and Jakarta
were chosen due to their importance and economic relevance on their specific contexts, Latin
America and South East Asia, respectively. Their size and characteristics mega cities or cityregions offers a possibility of comparison aiming to find similarities. Hanoi and Belo
Horizonte have similar positions regarding their context South Asia and Brazil, respectively.
Both are administrative cities Capital of Vietnam and Capital of Minas Gerais Province with
similar population sizes and currently under economic development and fast urbanization.
Despite these similarities, the cities present distinct processes of growth and urbanization, which
through this comparison should be highlighted. Therefore, the proposed study investigated So
Paulo, Belo Horizonte, Jakarta and Hanois patterns of urban form, expose some of their tissues
and typologies, reaching a better understanding of how these cities have historically coped with
economic processes and how do they work today, opening the possibility of a broader
discussion consisted on how do these four cities might learn from the experiences observed in
the others and how do these lessons could be beneficial to other cities in general.
Key Words: urban morphology in the South, Southern theory, typology.
References:
Lamas, J. M. R. G. (1993) Morfologia Urbana e o desenho da cidade (Fundao Calouste
Gulbenkian. Junta Nacional de Investigao Cienttica e tecnolgica, Lisboa).

355

Exhibition of city: Whats next? The case of Lisbon 1940 vs

Rome 1942
Elisa Pegorin
CEAU Centro de Estudos de Arquitectura e Urbanismo / FAUP Faculdade de
Arquitectura da Universidade do Porto.
E-mail: eli.pegorin@hotmail.it , epegorin@arq.up.pt
In order to exhibit their own dominance, during fascism in Italy and the authoritarian regime of
Salazar in Portugal, the respective capital cities, Rome and Lisbon, were to plan an International
Exhibition. At a different scale of analysis, the responses of both States to the public space
present analogous elements as well as differences, links of continuity however, can be found.
Rome and Lisbon have not been arbitrarily cited as example, but chosen because they are
directly related through their planned exhibitions. If we do a comparison between the scales of
the two cities (Roman occupied an area of about 400 hectares, Portuguese and a much small
area), there are similarities between the two like the choice of the place and manner of their
integration (or not) in the existing city. Like in Lisbon wanted to bring the city to the Tagus, in
Rome Mussolini wanted to bring it to the sea and, in both cases, the urban redevelopment
included a change in the road network, as well as the creation of new connections.
The aim of this essay is to analyze and understand how both these countries responded to urban
issues, summarized in three points: the territorial scale, in this case the degree of connection
with the historical city; the organization and exhibition of a new city, and: what was the future
of these areas? Whats left today in XXI century?
Key Words: exhibition, estado novo, fascism, urban planning.

356

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358

8.
Integrated approaches
Although the conference proposals and research papers organised under the theme - Integrated
approaches include a wide range of theoretical and practical interests and purposes, they are
primarily concerned with urban form analyses and their planning and design implications. The
study of urban form relies on the identification and analysis of structural elements or a
combination of structural elements of the urban landscape. Different disciplines and
professional groups have developed their respective research ideas and concepts for describing
and interpreting urban form. For example, architects use building type areas and urban tissue to
understand the configuration of urban form; planners and urban designers are concerned with
land-use zones, ecological areas and historical precincts. There have been efforts to develop an
integrated approach to urban form. In particular, geographical urban morphologists, argued that
the urban landscape comprises three morphological elements: the ground plan (comprising
streets, plots, and the block plans of buildings); the building fabric; and land and building
utilization. The idea of urban morphological regions is a key tool for distinguishing and
characterizing urban landscape divisions and the relations between them. Morphological
regionalisation can be used as a basis for prescriptions in which future changes are incorporated
harmoniously into the existing landscape. Recent research on an integrated approach to urban
form includes Swedish researchers Place Syntax and Vitor Oliveiras Morpho. The use of
computer tools and integrating physical and socio-economic elements are increasingly important
for spatial data analysis and synthesis. Research papers under this theme are expected to
contribute to the exploration of urban form analyses which are fundamental for creating and
managing urban landscapes.

Kai Gu

359

Study on regeneration of downtown area through riverfront

development as urban catalyst. Case Study of Tokushima
Citys regional resource: Shin-machi rivers frontage
development
Koichiro Aitani, Takafumi Arima
Department of Architecture, College of Architecture, Texas A&M University, USA.
Department of Architecture and Urban Design, Faculty of Human-Environment Studies,
Kyushu University, Japan. E-mail: kaitani@arch.tamu.edu
Catalyst is originally a chemical term which activates chemical actions and reactions. In terms
of Urbanism, the term, Urban Catalyst stimulates the built environment for the improvement
of an existing city. The elements to act as a catalyst are defined physical elements such as
buildings, open spaces, and the temporary buildings in various scales, and broadly non-physical
elements such as festivals, events and even community developments could be considered to
make a significant influence to a transformation on the built environments. The essence of
Urban Catalyst is to create a new space within a city while maintaining an existing context.
This method is quite different from the ordinarily redevelopment such as Scrap & Build
approach while economy is also booming. In this paper, the downtown area of Tokushima city
was chosen as a case study and discussed about the Shin-machi board walk along the River, and
its effect to the city. Various communities have been developed for participation to utilize and
improve open spaces along the river. These public involvements were summarized sequentially,
and chained effect of Catalyst is analyzed. The benefit of Urban Catalyst is the initial cost of
development is rather small, yet, chained effect is greater; promote further developments by
new comers. The purpose of this research is to find out the theory of Urban Catalyst for urban
regeneration in a shrinking society.
Key Words: urban catalyst, urban transition, water front, event, community development.

360

Taking a metabolic perspective in urban morphological

analysis: the case of Isfahan
Karl Kropf, Yones Changalvaiee
Department of Planning, Oxford Brookes University; Urban Morphology Research
Group, University of Birmingham.
Department of Art and Architecture, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad
University, Tehran, Iran.
E-mail: kkropf@brookes.ac.uk , Johna.urbanism@gmail.com
The idea of urban metabolism is being used increasingly in seeking to identify and promote
sustainable forms of urban development. At the same time, a number of authors have been
investigating ways to integrate metabolic and morphological approaches (see for example Salat
2009 and Osmond 2010). While this work rightly focuses on the stocks and flows of materials
and energy to construct particular forms and their environmental performance, it is also
important to understand the phenomenon of transformation and adaptation from a metabolic
perspective. With the existing building stock responsible for a significant proportion of energy
use and carbon emissions, how we transform that stock is vitally important. Of particular
significance is understanding the dynamics of different kinds of transformation from gradual
modification to large scale intervention. The paper will address these issues by first establishing
a morphological framework for analysing the transformation of urban form from a metabolic
perspective. The city of Isfahan will then be used as a case study to highlight issues at different
scales. Issues considered include economic context and industrial change, the adaptability of
forms, heritage values and economic vitality.
Key Words: morphology, transformation, adaptation, metabolism, Isfahan.
References:
Osmond, P. (2010) The urban structural unit: towards a descriptive framework to support urban
analysis and planning, Urban morphology 1, 5-20.
Salat, S. (2009) Energy loads, CO2 emissions and building stocks: morphologies, typologies
energy systems and behavior, Building research and information 5-6, 598-609.

361

Sous le pav la plage: squares of Lisbon

Madalena Matos
CIAUD, Faculty of Architecture University of Lisbon.
E-mail: mcunhamatos@fa.ulisboa.pt
In the vast territory of the metropolitan area of Lisbon persist a number of open areas which are
decisively rural in character; what is less ordinary is that in the city itself, inside the
administrative limits of its central concelho or municipality, continues to exist several squares
that are predominantly irregular or present a disposition more influenced by geography and
history than by self-conscious design. A striking feature in this group is that they include a few
of the most important public areas in the Portuguese capital. They are an outcome of history
the superposing of layers that roughly defined a perimeter but also of geography, in a city
originated in a few settlements on a hilly setting that kept densifying and transforming to form
an urban tissue. They are also the product of a millenary relationship between rural occupation
and agriculture usages with the proximity of military and political power, in close vicinity.
Campo das Amoreiras, Campo Grande, Campo Pequeno, Campo de Santa Clara and Campo de
Santana are such open air areas that combine in different manners urbanity with an atmosphere
of semi-rurality, of which their toponymy is evidence. The paper is set to observe their physical
outline, their distinctive quality and their commonalities and differences. In so doing, it aims to
define their morphology and find the traits that would help pinpoint the architectural and urban
distinctness of the city in relation to other European capitals.
Key Words: plan, public spaces, Lisbon, urban morphology.

362

Urban morphology and the ecological paradigm

Karin Schwabe Meneguetti, Stael Pereira Costa
Department of Architecture and Urbanism, Universidade Estadual de Maring, Brazil.
E-mail: ksmeneguetti@uem.br
Urban morphology seems to be ever more configuring a convergence zone for researchers from
distinct areas; despite particular methods and concepts, the debate around urban morphology has
leading to common grounds and similar interests. However, a new paradigm for town planning
and urban studies strives to formulate methods and propositions that respond positively to the
challenges of urban sustainability and the insertion of natural processes into the urban
environment. By establishing a new role to ecology as the primary requirement of development,
this paradigm compels architecture and urban and landscape design to rethink planning
processes in order to guarantee the permanence over time. Sustainable urban development
means the minimization of negative impacts on the territory and the pursuit of balance between
natural settings and urbanization. Thus, the association of urban morphology approaches and
this thought can improve methodological studies about the town and its transformations.
Likewise, the juxtaposition of morphological studies and the Landscape Ecology could be given
by the identification of open spaces that configure fringe belts as potential places for leisure and
recreational activities but, above all, for nature inside the town as a way to ensure the ecological
quality of urban areas, as suggested by Hopkins recent paper (2012). Bearing that in mind, this
paper aims to carry out a discussion about the applicability of the urban fringe belt concept onto
Brazilian cities and its possible contribution to the ecological planning and the landscape
ecology.
Key Words: urban morphology; landscape ecology; fringe belt; new towns.
References:
Hopkins, M.I.W. (2012) The ecological significance of urban fringe belts., Urban Morphology
1, 41-54.

363

The population spatial evolution impacts on urban

morphology in urbanization process of China
Chang Chen, Wei Zhou
Tianjin Urban Planning & Design Institute. E-mail: rachel_letter@163.com
With the rapid urbanization of China, violent changes in the urban economic, social and
cultural, affected the development of urban form development. And it showed high correlation
between the population spatial evolution and urban form development. The study on the
characteristics of population density, spatial autocorrelation and multi scale analysis of the
spatial pattern, fully demonstrate that the urban morphology and population density has a strong
dependence. Chinas Tianjin as an example, from 2000 to 2010, urban population increased by
23%. Meanwhile urban form develop form one core to multi cores, and the scales of streets,
residence zones, blocks changed greatly. Combined with population spatial characteristics, the
paper systematically analyses the influence of population distribution, population density,
population structure on urban form, based on population, spatial and land use data. In
combination with the development of economy and society, the paper explores the dynamic
mechanism and development mode of urban morphology, from the perspective of population
distribution guidance. Finally, the paper provides planning strategies for land use,
transportation, public facilities arranged.
Key Words: urbanization, population spatial distribution, urban morphology.

364

Effects of migration processes on urban form

Antonio Carlos Guimares, Pedro Moreira Neto
Universidade do Vale do Paraba UNIVAP.
E-mail: guimaraes@univap.br , perdoribeiro@univap.br
Changes in the urban forms are also included among the effects of migration processes. New
groups sharing the territory with old dwellers - spaces of cultural negociation, as pointed by
Homi Bhabha (2004), engender new places of sociability, new manners of perceiving the
townscape and new kinds of using the territory. All of it becomes more evident in neighborhood
scale. Anyhow, the backdrop of these changes is the meeting of different cultures in the city and
the specific relations among the groups gathered there. Thus, studies on Urban Morphology
should consider, in coordination, different approaches, originating from different fields of
knowledge - Geography, Urban Planning, Anthropology, among others -, in order to
contextualize the transformation of urban design and the changes in its use. Keeping the focus
on the impact of migration on urban form, this paper seeks to contribute to the discussion by the
example of an old area of the city of S o Jos dos Campos, located near S o Paulo (Brazil). In
recent decades, this city became an important industrial and technological hub, with migrants,
Brazilians and foreigners, adding more than 50% of its population. We selected an old area of
the city, where we could identify two major groups. One of them consists of families that
inhabit that neighborhood for several generations. Other, less stable, brings together those that
were attracted by industrialization. Somehow, it repeats the situation which was studied by
Norbert Elias and John Scotson (1994): the tense relationship between the two groups that
inhabit the same area. This is also reflected in how each group perceives and takes up the space,
also being possible to see different patterns of housing related to the two groups. In our
approach we make use of photos, maps, paths and statements in order to show the changes in
urban form arising from a strong migratory movement and with the sharing of the territory by
established and outsiders.
Key Words: urban form, migration, cultural diversity, townscape.
References:
Bhabha, H. K. (2004) The Location Of Culture (Routledge, New York).
Elias, N., Scotson, J. L. (1994) The Established And The Outsiders (Sage, London).

365

Diaspora typo-morphology analysis: a study of post-colonial

city in critical approaches
Po-ju Huang, Chaolee Kuo
E-mail: pajuhuang@gmail.com
Diaspora is a spatial representation of colonialism, that is also prime phenomenon of urban is
constantly duplicating and reproducing urban form. Colonial city's planning often by the
advanced standards of Western countries equitable distribution of the overall planning in order
to erase the gap between the local and construct the hypothesis of a homogeneous city by
ignoring the people's "sense of place''. In fact, during the process of spatial practice, standardize
modification would be impossible to complete, and only highlight the complexity that
populations and societies possess in colonial cities. In recent years, development in Taipei is
dictated by the economics of space, creating competition between builders and politicians.
Many new plans for the redevelopment of industrial sites show how global capitalism has
resulted in a homogeneity of architectural types. Such implementation often contradicts local
traditions, resulting in a discrete landscape, a grafting of modern and traditional urban forms.
Its not only show the "practice of social behavior" and "spatial practice" to simultaneously, but
also combine with each other or resistance to each other. In order to analyze the diaspora
phenomenon, we attempt to explore the historical changes that took place along the citys
borders and explore Taipei through morphological analysis and narrative scenes in order to
understand the Diasporas typo-morphology. The study combines urban form weaving together a
complex web of relationships, analysis and dialectic relationship between buildings, open space
and social practices in order to critical the local traditions meaning and contradictions of modern
city, that as a reference for future development of urban space.
Key Words: de-construction, post-colonialism, typo-morphology, diaspora, hybridity.

366

Morphological analysis of the informal city. The Villa 31 in

Buenos Aires, Argentina
Marco Maretto1, Anna Rita Amato2, Nicol Boggio1,
Gabriele Catanzano1, Antonio Corvigno1
1
Department of Civil Engineering, Environment, Land and Architecture. Universit
degli Studi di Parma, Parco Area delle Scienze, 181/A, 43124 Parma, Italy.
2
Department of Architecture and Design. Sapienza Universit di Roma,
Via Antonio Gramsci 53, 00197 Rome, Italy.
E-mail: marco.maretto@unipr.it , anna.rita.amato@alice.it , nickboggio@yahoo.it ,
gabriele.catanzano@libero.it , corvigno.a@gmail.com
This research comes from the idea that the tools of urban morphology can be applied on
informal contemporary city. Informal fabrics are basically spontaneous fabrics, but
spontaneous are a large part of the pre-modern urban fabrics on which urban morphology
developed as a discipline, let us recall the studies of MRG Conzen on Alnwick and those of S.
Muratori on medieval Venice. It is possible then to find some interesting morphological
analogies between the urban processes of pre-modern historical cities with those of the major
slums in many contemporary metropolis. Starting from this assumption it was taken the case
study of the Villa 31 in Buenos Aires. This fabric is of great interest for the purposes of our
work. It is located in a strategic position with respect to the historical and economic centre of
the Argentine capital, between the harbour, the railway station and the compact fabrics of the
consolidated city. It is crossed by a main motorway overpass, the Autopista 25 de Mayo. It has
already a first social and building stratification that makes it a very useful example to extend to
other similar cases. The application of the urban morphological tools to contemporary slums
should, in our opinion, make it possible to critically understand the transformation processes of
these kind of neighbourhoods (often considered chaotic, illogical and so unreadable), either
from the urban point of view and from the social-economic aspects, in order to consciously
design the regeneration of its fabrics. This is the direction of our research on Villa 31 and the
approach taken on other similar situations on which we are still working.
Key Words: informal city, urban morphology, social and urban transformation, urban design.

367

Urbanization in the Ave Valley region: more than a sum of

building projects?
Nuno Travasso, Daniel Casas Valle
Centro de Estudos de Arquitectura e Urbanismo (CEAU), Faculdade de Arquitectura da
Universidade do Porto (FAUP). E-mail: dcv@cityeu.eu
In the diffuse urbanized pattern of the Ave Valley region (NW Portugal), a dominant urban
morphology is absent. The fragmented and discontinuous urban form is a result of a layered
urban landscape with a big variety of urban patterns. In contrast to compact urban settlements,
this region has a very dispersed urban image. Not only have the physical and social conditions
determined a relative small development grain, but also the planning system. In VN Famalic o
despite the availability of urban or project planning instruments (PU, PP) which have been the
exception the urbanization process has been highly determined by the sum of small
loteamentos (since 1994, when the overall spatial municipality plan PDM was approved:
one PU and one PP global and detailed urban plan types - and 510 loteamentos). These are
private urban developments regulated by a simple procedural regime almost without a specific
urban regulation. The autonomous character of this urbanization mechanism has led to an
uncontrolled or unplanned urban pattern for the whole, without a leading role from public
administration. Central question is what is the result of the total of all individual building
projects, which patterns and structure can be mapped? What is the spatial contribution to the
public space structure (streets and roads) and public facilities (schools, sport, etc.), which design
rules or urban regulation are applied? What kind of instruments are used to guide building
projects, within the framework of the loteamentos? And what kind of instruments are included
into the licence process of building projects for future use and maintenance?
Key Words: loteamentos, private urban development, planning system, urban pattern, street.

368

The implementation of urban plan strategies in Sintra:

integration, identity and development
Joo Cardim, Tiago Bragana Borges, Filipa Fiza
DINMIA'CET, ISCTE-IUL. E-mail: caardim@gmail.com
The Sintra County integrated in the AML (Lisbon Metropolitan Area) it is specially known
by its historical core, classified by UNESCO as a World Heritage site in 1995. However, its
landscape has many different territorial expressions that are characterized by dissimilar kinds of
settlement. Part of this territory has traditional cores, with a rural reality, spreading in the
northern and west parts of the county. In opposition, the most urban ones are located near the
railway and freeway that connects the county to Lisbons centre. In the beginning of these
realities, urban planning was inexistent and many mistakes were made, especially in what
concerns with sustainable growth logics, ignoring the pre-existent characteristics. In the last 30
years the first administrative urban plans were designed, and some growth and preservation
strategies were developed to improve the relations between these different realities. Almost
none of them were actually implemented in this territory and, in the recent past many old errors
were made again. Local tourism is still one of the most lucrative factors of development, but
especially at the UNESCO classification core, which boasts over one million visitors per year
mostly foreign. This essay intends to make an evaluation not only of the planed strategies that
are in todays governing programs but also of its influence in the territory. Furthermore, we
intend to understand the possibilities of use local pre-existent characteristics as a model of
sustainable growing for the future, taking in question the economical issues of local
development and the best integration of different social and even cultural realities.
Key Words: Sintra, urban plan strategies, heritage sites, identity, economical development.

369

Integration of public spaces into the urban environment in

case of Perm
Anastasia Kuznetsova, Svetlana Maximova
Department of architecture and urban design, Perm National Research Polytechnic
University. E-mail: nastyakyz@mail.ru , svetlana-maximova@yandex.ru
The quality of urban environment is constructed not only with help of certain elements of it but
with help of interaction between them. Historical buildings, nature elements (the river, the lake,
the forest) should be integrated into public spaces of the city for the best perception of them. In
this case public spaces have one more social function. The tool for planning is a graphical
method of a placement building mass (filled spaces) and open spaces. The open spaces are
streets, parks, embankments, the yards inside the blocks, etc. Such morphological elements
directly influence on the quality and comfort of urban environment and create the impression
about the city as well. Interaction between open spaces and buildings takes place with help of
facades of buildings. It is necessary to take into consideration the morphotype, condition of the
facade, relation between the facade area and open space area, etc. Perm is the Ural city which
partly has historical buildings of XVII-XIX centuries. The events of XX century contribute to
lose historical shape and authenticity of the city. Seven rivers valley in the city are existing in
bad condition and have no social and recreation functions anymore. The analysis of existing
situation of Perm is occurring by the method of placement open spaces and research of facades
condition for different morphotypes. It allows to find the ways of improvement of urban
environment quality.
Key Words: public space, morphotype, interaction, perception of the landscape, historical
heritage.

370

Urban form in a system view

Anastssios Perdico lis
CITTA Centro de Investiga o do Territrio, Transportes e Ambiente, Faculdade de
Engenharia, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal; ECT Escola de Cincias e
Tecnologia, Universidade de Trs-os-Montes e Alto Douro, Vila Real, Portugal.
E-mail: tasso@utad.pt
What is in a system and, in particular, an urban system? What is to be seen of that system,
and what is not? Are the unseen, abstract facets of the system, such as motives and
relationships, also part of its form? Or perhaps the unseen system elements influence how the
system looks like, besides how it is built and works i.e. its structure and function? It is
argued and visually demonstrated that while form refers to the visible parts of an urban system,
it is mostly the unseen elements of the system and their equally invisible links or relationships
that shape the form of that system. And, vice versa, the form of the system impacts on those
unseen, abstract, or soft parts in other words, practically anything that has to do with
humans and their state of being. Although this argument and its value are possibly recognised
throughout urbanism, the unseen facets of urban systems are seldom displayed next to their
visible form i.e. the abstract system elements and relationships remain as exclusively mental
property. What if this meta-level of planning (for) the urban system, which resides in the
domain of conceptualisation, could be as visible and shared as the urban form? The ensuing
proposal entails drafts of complete or integrated system views, giving visual status to the
otherwise unseen or soft system elements, and the relationships between all system elements.
The value of this explicit communication is in opening up, displaying, and sharing mental
models about urban systems, so the urban system view becomes larger than the form and more
debatable and workable. Hopefully, all this should still fit within the working bounds of
urbanism.

371

In between public and private space: the role of cul-de-sacs in

the historic urban form of Antakya
Mert ezih Rifaiolu, eriman ahin Ghan
Department of Architecture, Mustafa Kemal University, Turkey.
Department of Architecture, Middle East Technical University, Turkey.
E-mail: mertnezih@gmail.com , neriman@metu.edu.tr
Cul-de-sacs are important structural elements of Middle Eastern historic urban forms. Their way
of formation in time and the usage by the inhabitants is one of the main research areas in urban
form studies. Different from streets, cul-de-sacs create a space in between public and private
which is dominant throughout the historic urban cores. The aim of this paper is to analyze the
formation of cul-de-sacs in historic urban core of Antakya which is organic in form reflecting
the main characteristics of the Ottoman city street systems in the south-eastern part of Turkey.
In this way, the paper seeks to understand the formation and the usage of the cul-de-sacs by
utilizing property rights and their physical reflections in Antakya historic urban core. Besides,
the paper will define the unique grammar and un-known parameters that play a key role for
shaping the urban form of Antakya which will provide new insights for urban form studies.
Key Words: cul-de-sacs, urban form, Antakya.

372

A method for planning viewing spots and cityscape control to

contribute the perspective of spectators visiting a Japanese
traditional festival
Daichi Yamamoto, Susumu Kawahara
Department of Tourism Science, Faculity of Urban Environmental Sciences, Tokyo
Metropolitan University, Japan. E-mail: yfmr1104@yahoo.co.jp
This thesis focused on the developing methods of planning viewing spots and control of
cityscape from the perspective of spectators visiting a traditional festival of Japan, especially the
fishing village of Manazuru in Japan. To do so, photographs of a portable shrine, which is the
most important element of the Japanese traditional festival, including background landscape,
were analyzed in a case study of Kibune Festival in Manazuru, a kind of portable shrine that
carries a god over the sea by ship. Two surveys were conducted to get the aims of this research.
At first, as a photograph collecting survey, 113 festival photographs that were displayed a
photograph contest held in Manazuru were collected which shows spectators interests. At
second, as a video camera survey, three video cameras were set up at three fixed points in
Manazuru to get the density data of the some place that tells how many spectators were stayed
at each viewing spot. Findings are two results as follow. First, several important viewing spots
were extracted by analyzing the landscape elements in the central axis of the photographs, and
calculating the density of place that shows how many spectators stay at each site. Also, some
important cityscapes that should be preserved, because it identifies the specialties of Manazuru
were clarified that appeared frequently in the photographs. These results of two new approaches
emphasize both important viewing spots and cityscape should be preserved to contribute the
perspective of spectators at the Japanese traditional festival.
Key Words: Japanese traditional festival, landscape, planning viewing spots, cityscape control,
photograph.

373

How to find spatial patterns for criminality in urban areas

Helena Almeida1, Francisco Serdoura1, Hugo Guinote2
CIAUD Centro de Investiga o em Arquitectura, Urbanismo e Design, Faculdade de
Arquitectura, Universidade Tcnica de Lisboa, Rua S Nogueira, Plo Universitrio,
Alto da Ajuda, 1349-055 Lisboa.
2
ISCPOL Centro de Investiga o do ISCPSI, Instituto Superior de Cincias Policiais e
Segurana Interna Rua 1 de Maio, n 3, 1349-040 Lisboa.
E-mail: halmeida@fa.ulisboa.pt , fs@fa.ulisboa.pt , hdguinote@psp.pt
1

A key priority of urban planning is to ensure safe environments (Hillier and Sahbaz, 2008).
Because fear of crime isnt always coincident with priority crime falls, communities often
prioritise police visibility instead lower crime. Since fighting against petty crime has greater
effect on population than fighting against organized crime, balancing safety and security is a
hard task. On the other hand, urban fabric often results of informal transformation processes,
with little or no intention of providing safe public spaces. Portuguese rural exodus had as its
main consequence a massive urbanization, leading to unbalanced transformation processes
(Serdoura and Almeida, 2012; 2010). The research question is: Is it possible to make cities
safer? This study explores spatial properties in relation to the occurrence of criminality, with the
aim at analyzing correlations between urban morphology and safety of public spaces. Through
spatial analysis of areas which have been chosen for criminal acts, this study intends to find
spatial patterns for criminality, as well as hotspots for crime, by analyzing clustering patterns.
The methodology used for this study is the spatial analysis of two Lisbons neighbourhoods,
namely Santa Maria Maior, in the inner city, and Olivais, a modern district at the north
periphery of Lisbon, and the comparative analysis between the resulting properties of the urban
system and the respective criminal acts mapping for the last five years (2008-2013). The
research aims at informing urban planning and management how to design urban spaces that can
be more effective against crime (Friedrich, et al, 2009).
Key Words: urban morphology; space syntax; spatial patterns; criminality; safety.
References:
Friedrich, E.; Hillier, B. and Chiaradia, A. (2009) Anti-social Behaviour and Urban
Configuration. Using Space Syntax to Understand Spatial Patterns of Socio-environmental
Disorder, in Koch, D.; Marcus, L. and Steen, J. (Eds.) Proceedings of the 7th International
Space Syntax Symposium, Stockholm, 8 11 June.
Hillier, B. and Sahbaz, O. (2008) An evidence based approach to crime and urban design. Or,
can we have vitality, sustainability and security all at once? )Bartlett School of Graduate
Studies, London).
Serdoura, F. and Almeida, H. (2012) Geographic morphology in informal settlements.
Influences on urban liveability and segregation., Proceedings of the Confer ncia
Internacional PNUM 2012 - Portuguese Network of Urban Morphology, ISCTE Instituto
Universitrio de Lisboa, Lisboa, 5 6 July.
Serdoura, F. and Almeida, H. (2010) Urban Centralities. Places of liveability, Proceedings of
the 3rd Annual Conference on Planning Research Bringing City Form Back Into Planning
(CITTA), Faculdade de Engenharia, Universidade do Porto, The research centre for territory,
transports and environment, Porto, 14 May.

374

Assessing the impacts of urban barriers on the arterial system

of the city: a case study in Montral, Canada
Juan Buzzetti, Pierre Gauthier
Department of Geography, Planning and Environment, Concordia University.
E-mail: jbuzzetti@gmail.com , pierre.gauthier@gmail.com
Natural and human-made barriers constitute a morphological matrix, as they organize space, in
particular by delineating zones that can accommodate residential and other associated urban
functions. Drawing from urban morphological studies, space syntax as well as landscape
fragmentation methods, this paper explores how intrinsic characteristics as well as topographical
and geometrical attributes of barriers impact on some qualities of the urban form. It focuses
more specifically on the relations between urban barriers and the arterial system of the city.
Urban morphology provides the theoretical foundation for the understanding of the city as a
complex system, comprised of interrelated elements. This project looks particularly at three
categories of objects and their spatial dynamics: the urban barriers, the neighbourhoods (i.e.
patches), and the arterial system. It seeks to evaluate the influence that urban barriers and
connections, or lack thereof, have on the properties of the arterial system such as connectivity
and integration at both citywide and neighbourhood levels. At the citywide scale, the geometry
of the barriers network is assessed using landscape fragmentation techniques whereas space
syntax metrics are used to characterize the arterial system. The analysis seeks to reveal if there
exists any relationship between the level of fragmentation of the landscape and the extent to
which roads are integrated or segregated within the arterial system. At the neighbourhood level,
the analysis intends firstly to evaluate how the dimensions and configuration of patches impact
on the arterial system; and secondly, to measure how the level of integration of the local arterial
system varies in regards to the type and nature of barriers that delineate the patch.
Key Words: urban barriers, space syntax, landscape fragmentation, urban form.

375

Urban form and orientation in urban space

Anna Kantarek
Faculty of Architecture, Cracow University of Technology.
E-mail: akanta@poczta.onet.pl
The question is about developing research disciplines based on human abilities of perception in
the spatial reality of a city and refer them to urban morphology and typology. This means also
posing a question about human orientation abilities in nowadays urban space. Urban structure
and spatial legibility relation is extremely important. It is possible to formulate an orientation
codes of the urban form (the own codes of a form, signaling codes, mass transmission codes and
others codes incorporated in culture) and find determinants which could define the notion of
orientation of the balance in the urban space as an criterion of Urban Form.
Key Words: urban space, space orientation, codes in urban space, urban meaning, urban signs.

376

Urban form and social output

Romulo Krafta
Department of Urbanism, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
E-mail: krafta@ufrgs.br
Assuming that the ultimate purpose of the city is to provide support to human interaction, and
that opportunities to social interaction are unevenly distributed across the urban fabric (Batty,
2013), this paper reports some attempts to describe such a distribution, as well as to infer the
role of urban form in it. In order to do that, it is proposed, firstly, a method to describe urban
form from its smallest components up to the different urban fabric patches, to the entire spatial
system, and second, a model to represent social interaction as a process associated to the urban
morphology. Early results suggest that urban places performance are dependent upon their
actual form in two ways, both local but strongly related to the city overall spatial configuration:
a) degree of convergence between public spaces size and relative position. Central public
spaces are more demanded for traffic and pedestrian circulation, and their size (capacity) should
follow suit in order to keep performance; b) built form characteristics, related to buildings
functions. Public buildings are expected to attract people from other places, increasing their
places performance and affecting other places ones. Both the spatial description and the
analytical model are discussed through the examination of some results, obtained through
simulation. Descriptive and analytic model is developed through graph theory and
configurational analysis, combining morphologic and functional attributes of urban form
(Krafta, 1994, 1997). Quantitative measures of social output are provided, assuming that social
output involves various types of social interaction, differentiated by relevance (Bettencourt,
2013).
Key Words: spatial interaction, urban spatial configuration, urban form performance.
References:
Batty, M. (2013) The new Science of Cities (Cambridge Mass, MIT Press).
Bettencourt, L. (2013) The Origin fo Scaling in Cities, Science 340, 1438.
Krafta, R. (1994) Modelling Intra-Urban Configurational Development, Environment &
Planning B 21, 67-82.
Krafta, R. (1996) Urban Convergence: Morphology and Attraction, Environment & Planning
B 23, 37-48.

377

Mapping and morpho-typological inferences in low-lying

coastal Tianjin
Linchao Wang1, Li Li 1,2, Qingyu Gong1
1
Tianjin University, School of Architecture, P.R. China.
2
BIAD & JAMA Co., Ltd., Beijing, P.R. China.
E-mail: gong@tju.edu.cn
Nowadays, a large number of Chinese small towns and villages are undergoing an
unprecedented transformation. The redevelopment normally favours a one-off urban design
method and replaces the traditional fabrics with identical new faces. Although morphotypological analysis are widely used to inform the characteristics of urban structures, not many
studies focus on the role of environmental elements in pattern formation and infer the
underlying forces of the structuring in coastal low-lying areas. In this paper, we first mapped 32
coastal towns and villages in Tianjin and extracted some key elements such as street networks,
parcels and buildings. We classified the levels of structural complexity based on the underlying
mathematical structures according to Salingaros. We then deduced the possible driving forces
by using the historical and current satellite imagery. Finally, we derived shape grammars for
courtyard buildings and adaptive rules under the environmental pressure. The grammars can be
applied to future urban design practices, by which the grammars can be tested and help
understand how water features interact with the built environment.
Key Words: pattern formation, morpho-typological analysis, shape grammar, mapping; coastal
low-lying.

378

Industrial-housing ensembles at Lisbon morphology and

specialization
Gonalo Antunes, Jos Lcio, Nuno Pires Soares, Rui Pedro Julio
e-GEO, Research Centre for Geography and Regional Planning, Faculdade de
Cincias Sociais e Humanas, Universidade Nova de Lisboa. Avenida de Berna, 26-C,
1069-061, Lisboa, Portugal. E-mail: goncalo.ant@fcsh.unl.pt , jmrl@fcsh.unl.pt ,
nhpsoares@fcsh.unl.pt , rpj@fcsh.unl.pt
This communication aims to analyse the consequences of demographic and urban explosion
particularly the spread of the houses where the proletarians dwelt at Lisbon.The importance
of the 19th century in the development and expansion of Lisbon prompted the main objective
of this communication. It is intended to describe and analyse the small urban ensembles
associated with the industries, in which thousands of workers dwelt from the end of the 19 th
century to the beginning of the 20th century.We intend to analyse the internal colonization of
courtyardsEN-ptiosPT - and subsequently the emergence of hundreds of workforcehousingsEN-vilas-operriasPT. These industrial small urban ensembles are an important
industrial heritage, especially due the typology varieties, singular architecture and spatial
distribution. Scientifically we are contributing with: i) a urban morphological approach,
trying to intent the different typologies of ptios and vilas-operrias at Lisbon. This urban
ensembles have various socio-urban typologies that we want to analyse and describe; ii)
understand the relation between urban morphology and toponyms. This analyse especially
focus in these small industrial ensembles, where the Portuguese substantives ptio, vila,
rua, travessa, beco intermingle in complex ways; iii) analyse the spatial distribution and
density of points for these phenomena, using Geographic Information Science (GIS)
potentialities; iv) due to the urban importance of these ensembles it is also our intension to
discuss and analyse what has been done in Lisbon for the conservation and adaptation of this
singular and complex heritage.
Key Words: urban morphology, specialization, industrial-housing heritage, patios, vilas
operrias.

379

An urban taboo
Marco Falsetti
Departement Diap, Doctorate Draco, University of Rome Sapienza, Italy.
Email: levonraisen@libero.it
Defined through monumental perspectives, dimensionally related to historical roman avenues,
and philologically connected to the Mausoleum of Alexander Severus, the Don Bosco district
in Rome has both the characters of a lithic wing and the obsessive seriality of its housing
blocks. It was mostly planned by Gaetano Rapisardi in the early fifties, by further
development of the Plan of Rome made in 1931, and represents the only discontinuity in
the Italian panorama of low-cost housing districts, More related to the foreign contexts than
its coeval experiences. While almost completely ignored by Italian architectural debate,the
Don Bosco district denotes a refined spatial stronghold thanks to: the monumental dimension
of the courtyards and the scenic continuity of Viale Don Bosco (one of the largest axis in
Italy); all those elements define a highly discernible morphological area, enclosed by two
poles: the Mausoleum and Cinecitt. A perceived figurative relation with the fascist model of
urban planning-which is one of the reasons that this district has mostly been considered as a
taboo in the Italian architectural debate- is a a source of avoiding to solve this problem in a
rational way.(The urban problematics posed by a, highly populated peripheral area.) District
of Don Bosco offers an original opportunity to investigate the only operational methodology
of those days that acted in counter trend to its coeval experiences. The district nowadays still
keeps a unifying and recognisable design keeping a dialogue with the existing city, while the
modernist districts near to it , built in the sixties, share the difficulties of a rude interruption in
the surrounding urban fabric.
Key Words: monumental districts, countertrend methodology, Don Bosco, urban-integrity.

380

Classical ideas, progressive aspirations: academicist

urbanism designing northern Paran new towns
Renato Leo Rego, Taissa S. Ribeiro, Jaqueline Taube
Department of Architecture and Urbanism, State University of Maring, Brazil.
E-mail: rlrego@uem.br
Articulating town planning history and morphological studies, the paper aims to show the
effect of academicist urbanism in the layout of three Brazilian mid-twentieth-century new
towns planned from scratch by civil engineers graduated from the Faculty of Engineering, in
Curitiba. Academicist urbanism is understood as the planning in the grand manner, a set of
formal ideas drawn from traditional European planning practice that were usually referred to
in North America as the City Beautiful movement. The Urbanization Plan for Curitiba coauthored by Alfred Agache in 1943 was an important local reference, particularly for the civil
engineers regarded in this paper. Thus, morphological elements such as diagonal avenues,
tree-lined boulevards, and the grouping of main public buildings, and their ordered,
symmetrical organization convey an artistic approach amid regular, gridiron urban forms,
typical of land-speculation enterprises.
Key Words: planning diffusion, new towns, Tamboara, Paranacity, Cidade Gacha.

381

Graphing history: the example of early American studies of

Japanese settlements forms
Tyana Santini, Takahiro Taji
Kyoto University, Graduate School of Engineering, Architecture department.
E-mail: tyanasantini@gmail.com , taji@archi.kyoto-u.ac.jp
In the first decades of the 20th century the American geographers were producing their first
studies of settlement forms. The approach and methods that should be adopted in these new
studies were then intensely discussed, being the role of history a recurrent subject of debate.
The present study will first examine the conditions that encouraged the inclusion of historical
data in the study of settlements, to then discuss how this historical data was managed and
interpreted, paying special attention to its graphical use. For this purpose the work of the
American geographer Robert B. Hall will be analysed. During the 1920s and 30s Hall
performed pioneering studies of rural and urban settlement forms in Japan1. In these studies
Hall made use of graphic tools for the analysis of form and structure of settlements, including
previous morphological stages as well as information of the relevant political historical
events. But, the purpose of integrating history in any of its forms, or the way to use it, was not
yet clear. Besides the collection of actual historical data, geographers drew upon the
discipline of History in the search for an appropriate way to use and interpret such data, either
to recognize patterns of growth2, to find causes3, or to look for origins. Through the
discussion of these subjects this study hopes to contribute to the better understanding of the
early link between the study of settlements, the use of historical data, and its graphic
representation.
Key Words: Japanese settlements, settlement morphology, graphic representation, Robert B.
Hall.

382

European spatial paradigms. Urban infrastructural

morphologies
Manuela Triggianese, Fabrizia Berlingieri
Department of Architecture, Faculty of Architecture, Delft University of Technology.
E-mail: m.triggianese-1@tudelft.nl , info@berlingieriarchitetti.it
Because of their impact on urban fabric and economy, infrastructural changes, are key
components of complex urban transformations. These large scale interventions are shaping
major European (EU) cities for the forthcoming years, mostly related to the Trans-European
Network Program (Berlingieri and Triggianes, 2013). The nature of this development results
in an the increasing evolution of urban hybrids and multi dimensional realities in the territory
infrastructures cross. The multi use system, formed by aggregations, juxtaposition and super
positions of different modality of transport, and the fragmented urban and architectural
interventions around it, constitute new interconnected morphological-types, linked to a larger
urban frame (Huck et al., 2011). This paper aims to explore how EU territorial changes can be
supported by research and methods of analysing urban form and its structural elements. In
that sense it intends to develop an integrated approach in terms of: (a) Coding Urban
Morphological Types in the analysis of infra-architectural elements that are changing the
character of EU cities. (b) Investigating the interactions between multiple agents (economy,
architecture and territory) that transform contemporary urban realities, driven by privatepublic sectors (Terrin, 2011). The empirical approach is based on the examination of large
scale interventions associated to the role of infrastructure (i.e. high speed line) in the EU
context through the last decades. From theory (a) to practice (b) the paper attempts to
enlighten the meaning of new spatial paradigms within a design and analytic approach.
Key Words: infrastructure, morpho-type, multi dimension, Europe.
References:
Berlingieri, F. and Triggianese, M. (2013). From Utopia to real world: Construction of a
unique metropolitan space of Europe., MONU: magazine on urbanism 19, 18-23.
Huck, T., Keller, R. and Kleinekort, V. (2011) Infrastructural Urbanism Addressing the InBetween (DOM, Berlin).
Terrin, J.J. (2011) Gares et dynamiques urbaines Les enjeux de la grande vitesse
(Parenth ses, Paris).

383

384

9.
Teaching urban form
Considering how aspects of urban form are taught is of increasing importance as the
subject becomes more international and more interdisciplinary. Further, some key
figures in the field are retiring, and a new generation of researchers and practitioners
needs to be recruited and educated. Finally, the challenges posed by technological
advances in data collection and analysis need to be explored. This is a big agenda, and
this session can only make a start. We have sought contributions from academic and
professional courses, and from different national contexts. We have deliberately
sought comparisons, with local innovations being set in wider contexts. But this
session does not provide a how to manual for teaching urban form: it questions
approaches and demonstrates good practices. Many issues will remain unexplored;
but the profile of teaching urban form will be raised for future conferences.

Peter J. Larkham

385

A constructivist approach to urban morphology: engaging

students in the study of urban form
Mirko Guaralda
Centre for Subtropical Design, School of Design, Queensland University of
Technology. E-mail: m.guaralda@qut.edu.au
Queensland University of Technology architecture students are mainly exposed to the design
and understanding of buildings, their structures and systems. In this syllabus Architecture
and the City, a third year unit, is quite a unique experience for students to engage with urban
form and gather an understanding of urban studies. This subject used to be delivered mainly
as an overview of theoretical positions; although students appreciation was average and the
outcomes satisfactory, there was no direct link between the theories exposed and how an
understanding of urban form could be applied in the design studios. After completing the unit
students had no idea of what to do with the content acquired in this curriculum. This paper
illustrates a constructivist approach (Biggs et al, 2007) to the teaching of urban form stressing
also the importance of the implementation of a teaching-research nexus (Healey, 2005).
Architecture and the City is currently delivered in a blended mode (Anderson, 2008) through
a series of face-to-face lectures and online learning activities, articulated in self-directed
workshops and asynchronous studios. Students are engaged in the unit exploring the practical
application of tools and theories of urban form through 3 assessment items that stimulate
critical thinking and creativity (Race, 2007). Data collected so far support the idea students
understanding of the topic and its relevance within the curriculum has increased, as well as
their ability to transfer the skill acquired to other units and also in their work environment.
Key Words: morpho-typological research; education; constructivism; teaching-research
nexus.
References:
Anderson, T. (2008). The theory and practice of online learning (Athabasca University Press,
Edmonton).
Biggs, J. B. and Tang, C. (2007). Teaching for quality learning at university: what the student
does (McGraw-Hill/Society for Research into Higher Education & Open University Press,
Maidenhead).
Healey, M. (2005). Linking Research and Teaching to Benefit Student Learning, Journal of
Geography in Higher Education, 2, 183-201.
Race, P. (2007) The lecturer's toolkit: a resource for developing assessment, learning and
teaching. (Routledge, London).

386

Exploring pedagogical intersections between urban design

and morphological methods
Wendy McClure
Architecture, University of Idaho. E-mail: wmcclure@uidaho.edu
Most urban design and architecture program curricula in the United States do not currently
include course content in urban morphology. ISUFs emerging manifesto, which seeks to
enlighten design and planning practitioners as to the value of urban morphology, suggests a
need to educate future design practitioners in relevant theory and methods. This paper will
discuss pedagogy used in a graduate seminar to engage architecture students in applying
morphological methods for context documentation, analysis and interpretation and to
formulate urban design recommendations. Discussion is based on an applied research project
designed to help inform changes in planning and urban design policy for the small city of
Moscow, Idaho. Local decision-makers aspire to transform incongruous and suburbanizing
sections of the citys main commercial street into a positive urban corridor by establishing
visual continuity between Main Streets eroded blocks and those located within the heart of
the citys downtown National Historic District. Project goals, as choreographed in partnership
with city officials, provided fertile ground for participating students to apply and compare
relative contributions of methodologies for urban context analysis and interpretation. Student
teams adapted methods familiar to architects and urban designers, such as Kevin Lynchs
imageability analysis and form-based transect analysis, as well as morphological methods
to identify key spatial elements that define Main Streets spatial structure, scale and character.
Additionally students created hybrid approaches to help evaluate changes in scale and urban
grain along the corridor through integration of morphological approaches with concepts
championed by Danish architect/urban designer Jan Gehl.
Key Words: pedagogy, practice, applied research, service-learning.

387

Urban form in diagrams

Evandro Ziggiatti Monteiro
Faculty of Civil Engeneering, Architecture and Urban Studies, UNICAMP,
Campinas, Brazil. E-mail: evandrozig@fec.unicamp.br
Teaching urban morphology is a task based on scattered ideas, physical examples of past and
present cities but very few methods of analysis and evaluation. The classic authors must be
summoned in the classroom to guide architecture student's first steps on the path of
understanding and dealing with the complex physical nature and dynamics of our cities. This
article describes an effort made on constructing diagrams based on classical texts of Cullen
(1971), Lacaze (1993), and Kostof (1991), aiming to provide the students basic tools for
reading the urban form through Conzen's (1960) three dimensions. The diagrams were
presented summarizing urban morphology basic principles, followed by exercises and site
activities. The exercises consisted of common drawing over map activities, outlining and
hatching recurring features, like the grid, organic, picturesque and monumental style streetsystems; or pointing out possible situations for Gordon Cullen's qualities. The site activities
were based on visits to Campinas-SP region cities, where students were challenged to use a
"see through the classic authors' eyes" approach. Aside for the urgent need of developing
more methodological tools for teaching urban morphology or translating the classics into
more classroom-friendly procedures, this teaching experiment highlights not only the value of
the diagrams as easy learning and effective reinforcing study material, but also as daring
investigation tools of urban form.
Key Words: urban morphology teaching, built environment, urban studies diagrams.
References
Cullen, G. (2004) Paisagem urbana (Edies 70, Lisboa).
Conzen, M.R.G. (1960) Alnwick Northumberland: a study in town-plan analysis (Institute of
British Geographers, London).
Lacaze, J.P. (1993) Os mtodos do urbanismo (Papirus, Campinas).
Kostof, S. (1991) The City Shaped - Urban patterns and meanings through History (Thames
and Hudson Ltd., London).

388

Learning about urban form in Spain. A comparative study

of urbanmorphological curricula in Spanish Schools of
Architecture
Borja Ruiz-Apilanez, Eloy Solis, os Ure a, uan Ram n Alfaro
Urban Design and Planning, School of Architecture, Universidad de
Castilla-La Mancha, Toledo, Spain. E-mail: borja.ruizapilanez@uclm.es
According to The Bologna Declaration of 1999, the first objective of creating and developing
The European Higher Education Area (EHEA) was to adopt a system of easily readable and
comparable degrees among the countries involved by 2010. For various reasons, this goal
has revealed quite hard to achieve. In the particular case of urban morphology, the task is not
easier since it is a body of knowledge that belongs to a wide range of different faculties,
schools and departments, which actually differ from one country to another. Historically, the
study of urban form in Spain has been developed by geographers, architects and civil
engineers, since there has not been specific schools or faculties for other professionals
involved in the design of the built environment such as landscape architects, urban designers
or planners. Because of this, Schools of Architecture in Spain are actually responsible for the
education of most designers of the urban environment. Taking this into account and taking
advantage of the unique opportunity given by the upcoming International Seminar of Urban
Form 2014, we propose to study, analyse and present the case of the Schools of Architecture
in Spain in order to contribute to generate a wider picture. It will allow us to better know
about the reality of urban morphological curricula in Higher Education Institutions. The
research method analyses all the different undergraduate and postgraduate programs offered
in every School of Architecture of the country, which constitute a group of more than thirty
institutions both private and public. The study will reveal similarities and differences in urban
morphology curricula among undergraduate and postgraduate programs in Spain, but, perhaps
more importantly, could be performed in different countries. In the case of those in the
EHEA, these studies could play an important role to further modify the programs in order to
make them truly comparable and to get a better understanding of possible relations among
European professionals and educational institutions.
Key Words: urban morphological curricula, Spanish Schools of Architecture, European
higher education area, undergraduate and postgraduate programs.

389

Teaching and seminar of urban morphology in Peking

University, China
Xinkai Xiong 1,2, Feng Song 1,2,,3
College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University
2
Urban Morphology Research Group, CHINA, Peking University
3
Urban Morphology Research Group, Birmingham University.
E-mail: email.xxk8005@126.com

There are three teaching and seminar activities on Urban Morphology in Peking University,
whose academic background is urban geography and urban planning, under the charge of
Prof. Feng SONG, from UMRG.CN. The first one is the undergraduate course, Introduction
of Urban Morphology. The second is the graduate course, Senior Lectures of Urban Form
and Culture. The third is the seminar about theory and practice of Urban Morphology in the
research group for both undergraduate and graduate students. Through the design of
curriculum, the research group focuses on 5 important issues: (1) Multidisciplinary
Background of Urban Morphology; (2) Disciplinary History: Conzenian School, Italian
School and Chinese School; (3) Method and Tips of Field Work Survey; (4) Integrated
Research with Practice; (5) Multi-cultural Comparison and International Communication. On
the other hand, there are also some difficulties during the urban morphology teaching, like
language, filed work survey, multi-cultural comparison etc. The paper also gives the future
plan of urban morphology teaching in Peking University.
Key Words: urban morphology; teaching and seminar; Peking University.

390

Building-type and permanence of layout-plan: a study on the

densification of Los Mochis urban fabric (Mexico)
Luis Armi o, Ignacio Reig, Vicente Colomer, Gonzalo Vicente - Almazn
E-mail: luis@arminoarquitectos.com , ibosch@pra.upv.es, vcolomer@urb.upv.es ,
gvalmazan@arquired.es

For some time, Mexican authorities have aimed at controlling the sprawl of urban land, until
now based in single family housing-developments and real estate sector initiative, with little
coordination nor attention to other aspects of urban planning and design. Future urban growth
should be approached through the densification of existing urban land and increasing
provision of urban equipment and services. A recent Architecture and Urbanism Workshop
held in the city of Los Mochis (Sinaloa), allowed us to analyse the characteristics of the
structure and form of residential urban fabric: among others, low residentinal densities
(around 30 dwellings per hectare), abuse of single-family dwelling-unit, lack of miscibility
between residential uses and other urban activities (tertiary uses, commercial, offices, etc.),
inefficiency in terms of urban mobility, underutilization of urban equipment. Simultaneously,
and in an urban area designated by the municipality, a number of solutions were tested,
employing denser urban structures, multifamily buildings, mixed-uses, hierarchy in
establishing a local 'system of places' and integration of urban transport, which could serve as
a reference or counterpoint for future decisions in sustainable urban planning.
Key Words: urban morphology, building typologies, urban densification, sustainable urban
models, mixed-use urban areas, multi-family housing types.

391

Teaching urban form in urban design program: experiences

from South Korean context
Kwang-Joong Kim
Department of Environmental Planning, Seoul National University.
E-mail: kjkim@snu.ac.kr
The presentation intends to share the authors seven-year experience of teaching urban form
in the graduate urban design program at Seoul National University, South Korea. To educate
the future urban designers, the class (Theory of Urban Form) deals both with
practical/normative dimensions of urban form as well as theoretical perspectives of urban
change. Though not required, many of students have taken the course as one of essential
classes in their graduate study. The presentation will syllabically introduce the authors urban
form class and discusses its achievement and limitation in general terms. Particular focus will
be on the value of Seoul-Tokyo comparative study project that served well in invigorating the
descriptive morphological analysis and drawing urban design implications of urban form. The
following points will be highlighted: To provide the theoretical foundation of urban form
study, the class employed three perspectives: urban morphology, cultural landscape study,
and history of urban form. Each provided the complementary perspectives for fuller
understanding of urban built form. The conceptual framework of European urban morphology
was useful to help the students understand how cities are made and change overtime,
especially at urban tissue and district levels. Given the weak historical legacy of Korean urban
form, however, the applicability of urban morphology tended to be limited to conservation
issues. Yet, Seoul-Tokyo comparative study at subarea level showed that the morphological
approach can be vital to the contemporary urban form study. It enlivened the students
interest, helping them to understand urban form as cultural product with each own identities
and practical urban design implications.
Key Words: urban form, urban morphology, urban design, pedagogy, South Korea.

392

Imagining Ranha, Porto, from the subtropics

Peter Richards
Queensland University of Technology.
E-mail: p.richards@qut.edu.au
Imagining Ranha, Porto, from the subtropics is a Master of Architecture studio project being
undertaken by students from the Queensland University of Technology, (QUT) in subtropical
Brisbane, Australia. Brisbane hosted ISUF 2013 and Porto is hosting ISUF 2014. Tutors
assisting the studio are PHD students from Lisbon and Porto and provided insights into the
people and the architecture of Porto and Portugal. One has been a practicing architect in
Lisbon for 20 years. Ranha is on the edge of the Porto municipal area and is largely derelict
land. However, it is well located in the broader urban settlement on the major street network
and has a university, a large shopping centre, employment and a school nearby. New
connecting streets have been constructed through the area and a new light rail stop on the site,
Nau Vitoria, provides excellent public transport connections to the historic city centre. These
infrastructure investments are catalysts for redevelopment of high quality, transit -oriented
urbanism. The municipality has 0.8 floor space requirement in an isolated building
configuration for this area. This density seemed to undervalue the opportunity of the site, so
students were required to design at this density as well as double and triple this density,
hence, 0.8, 1.6 and 2.4. An imperative of the project was to understand the resultant building
types and urban form of each density. The design process was highly structured and was
informed by research into the building types, block patterns, street types and open spaces of
the city with readings about urban form from both Lisbon and Porto. Designing in a far away
location that is not familiar challenges preconceptions about design. When the project is
familiar, it is too easy to rely on intuition, old habits and overly personal responses to design.
Unfamiliarity sharpens analysis and requires a considered effort understand the site, the place,
the urban context, the culture and people. This process also allows the designer to reflect on
how the design may be different if it was in Brisbane and apply the skills learnt through
unfamiliarity to more familiar situations.
Key Words: transit-oriented urbanism, Porto, education.

393

Teaching urban form in public administration context: aims

and challenges
Paulo Silva
University of Aveiro Department of Social, Political and Territorial Sciences.
E-mail: paulosilva@ua.pt
The University of Aveiro celebrated last year 30 years of the first bachelor program dedicated
exclusively to Regional and Urban Planning, which with the Bologna process was replaced by a
master program. Within this program of studies, urban form gained a relevant place, with a
curricular unit exclusively dedicated to its study. In the meantime the context in which Regional
and Urban Planning is taught changed significantly. Keeping their multidisciplinary profile the
structure of the plan of studies was adapted to the change of weight of different disciplines and
to a departmental move. In the present and near future a new society demand is being
questioned. The aim of the proposed paper is to discuss the way urban form is | can be taught in
a context where social and political sciences became dominant and in a master program on
Regional and Urban Planning with a deep connection with a bachelor program on Public
Administration. The results to be discussed will be based on: the comparison between students
background in different Regional and Urban Planning related master programs; the comparison
of students Urban Form curricular unit perception in comparison with other curricular units;
and finally the teaching staff perception of the role of urban forms within the context of the
master program and also of the Department of Social, Political and Territorial Sciences
mission.
Key Words: public administration, urban form, Bologna process, civic university, urban and
regional planning.

394

Serious urban play a digital game for teaching urban spatial

design
Nicholas Stevens1, Johanna Rosier2, Ben Rolfe2, Uwe Terton3, Christian Jones2
1
Regional and Urban Planning Program.
2
ENGAGE Research Lab.
3
Computer Based Design Program, University of the Sunshine Coast, Maroochydore,
Australia.
E-mail: nstevens@usc.edu.au
Urban planning is a multi-faceted and collaborative discipline. Consequently, the articulation of
the roles and complexities of spatial planning to prospective and first year higher education built
environment students can be challenging for learning and teaching. This paper outlines the
research and development of a serious game (Prensky, 2006; Gee, 2007) which enables
students to explore the relationships between and within complex urban systems. An interactive,
multi-touch table PC allows teams of students to simultaneously collaborate on the spatial
planning and design of an urban district. Two major types of game have emerged which are of
pedagogical interest to planning educators: simulation games and virtual worlds. While these
digital games use urban planning and development as their premise, many rely on a singular
user interface and the establishment of financially or environmentally successful communities.
Few consider planning education as their primary purpose. Furthermore this game allows the
development of multi-stakeholder collaborative and negotiated outcomes which seek to balance
the social, environmental, economic, and mobility needs of a community. Design-based
research (DBR) is the principal methodology and theoretical basis for implementing and
evaluating this teaching and learning intervention (Anderson and Shattuck, 2012). DBR is
valuable here as an established education based research framework which seeks to ensure the
transfer of research into improved practice. The development of the game advances the
pedagogy of the studio for the teaching and learning of urban spatial design. This is the first
fit for purpose teaching and learning tool for urban planning, which is a simultaneous multi
player serious game, played cooperatively on a horizontal plane, with planning education as its
primary purpose.
Key Words: serious games, urban spatial design, urban planning education.
References:
Anderson, T. and Shattuck, J. (2012) Design Based Approach Research: A Decade of Progress
in Education Research., Educational Researcher 41, 16-25.
Gee, J. P. (2007) What video games have to teach us about learning and literacy (Palgrave
Macmillan, Hampshire, England).
Prensky, M. (2006) Don't bother me mom, I'm learning: How computer and video games are
preparing your kids for 21st century success, and how you can help! (Paragon House, St
Paul MN).

395

396

10.
The relations between research and practice
In January 2013 Michael Conzen, then president of ISUF, launched a task force to
strengthen the relation between urban morphological research and planning practice.
Subsequent responses to accounts of progress of the work, published on the ISUF
website and in Urban Morphology, including an exceptional number of Viewpoints,
confirmed that there was a latent body of opinion and experience which seemed to be
waiting for a vehicle for its diffusion. The papers in these parallel sessions confirm the
extent to which urban morphology has been applied in practice in wide variety of
countries and through a diversity of practice instruments which range far beyond those
few western countries which have hitherto dominated the field. This broadening of the
context also responses to a major intention of the embryonic Porto Charter and it is
hoped that it is a start to a new and fretful chapter in ISUFs endeavours.
Ivor Samuels

397

The impediments for small-scale development in Miami-Dade

County
Eric Firley, Andrew Frey
School of Architecture, University of Miami. E-mail: efirley@miami.edu
Following Moudons work on the history and philosophy of the ISUF (International Seminar on
Urban Form) movement, urban morphology can be described as a way of studying the physical
form of cities and the process of city-making. Particular emphasis is given to the notion of time
and the importance of the single lot as the fundamental unit of evolutive analysis. As a
professional and foremost academic set of methods, urban morphology functions empirically
and descriptively, even though the complexity of city-making, its multi-disciplinary character
and behaviorist interdependencies do not facilitate the scientific proof of causalities. This paper
further explores the disciplines normative challenges, particularly on the base of the abovementioned positivist limitations. To what extent, and for whom, can or should common goals be
defined? Which ones are crucial for the creation or retention of an urban environment that does
not mock the fundamentals of what we call urban grain? How can we have an impact on cityand policy-making without losing the freedom of a neutral academic discipline? As a very
tangible example of one of the disciplines allegedly most important issues, the one of scale, the
paper discusses regulative and economical impediments for small-scale development in MiamiDade County. Deeply marked by the definition of the city as the accumulation and integration
of many individual and small group actions (Moudon, 1997, p. 3), the author would like to
address todays frequent impossibility to implement this principle as a result of systemic and
political pressures towards large-scale development. The paper includes an economical
appraisal, underlying the claim that the large-scale approach does not produce more value for
the community.
Key Words: normative challenges, small-scale development, Miami-Dade County, policy
implications, academic freedom.
References:
Moudon, A. V. (1997) Urban morphology as an emerging interdisciplinary field, Urban
Morphology, 3-10.

398

Towards a flexible definition of limits in urban planning:

controlling urban form under uncertainty
Bruno Moreira
Centro de Estudos de Arquitectura e Urbanismo, Faculdade de Arquitectura da
Universidade do Porto. E-mail: bmoreira@arq.up.pt
The Portuguese formal planning system was born in the 1930s along with a dictatorship more
concerned with individual interests than with collective progress, promoting the development of
an opaque, centralized, hierarchical and ineffective planning system. In the 1970s democracy
was restored and modern concepts of planning began to be applied, yet still limited to
consolidated urban areas and their surroundings. The reality was that the territory beyond those
limits was growing with little to no control, pushed by industrialization, increased mobility and
peoples expectations towards better work and life conditions. When the first plans that
considered the municipality as a whole were born in 1982, and the strategy towards a more
strategic planning approach gained momentum in the 1990s, the territory was already faced with
disorder and conflicts. Plans and regulations created to limit and control the individuals
increased capability to transform the territory took part on a reactive and prohibitive system
instead of on one based on pro-activity and responsibility: the inflexible nature of these plans
led to delays in their definition and approval as a response to uncertainty, when other countries
were making regulations more flexible (Portas, N., 1995). The concept and expressions of limits
are structural and deeply embedded in plans and regulations, as they influence and control urban
form, which is gaining significant relevance within urban planning since the 1980s (Oliveira,
V., 2006). Our goal, as part of a research focused on the flexibility of planning instruments and
their efficacy on regulating contemporary urban space, is to identify how these limits have been
defined and represented in key moments of the urban planning theory and expressed in their
plans and regulations. We will pay a special interest to the municipality of Santo Tirso, showing
how a flexible definition of limits can lead to a more efficient planning system, more adjusted to
the uncertainty of our contemporary territory.
Key Words: flexibility, limits, municipal planning, uncertainty, urban form.
References:
Oliveira, V. (2006) The morphological dimension of municipal plans., Urban Morphology 10,
101-113.
Portas, N. (1995) Os planos directores como instrumentos de regula o., Sociedade e
Territrio, 22, 22-32.

399

The role of morphology in redesigning old downtown in The

Dalles, Oregon
Hajo Neis
Department of Architecture, Portland Urban Architecture Research Laboratory
PUARL, University of Oregon, USA. E-mail: hajoneis@uoregon.edu
The Portland Urban Architecture Research Laboratory, or PUARL, was approached by
representatives of the Port of The Dalles to investigate their traditional, economically less
sustainable, downtown with the objectives of attracting new growth and development while
bringing it into the 21st century in terms of architecture and urban design. Key questions
include how to make the old downtown attractive and viable enough so that people want to
spend time there, live and work there, and how to make it a comfortable place for inhabitants
and visitors alike. In addition, the citizens of The Dalles are concerned with an overall
developmental perspective that includes economic prosperity, sustainability, urban landscape
and urban issues such as street facades, signage, connection to the riverfront, citizen
participation, and pattern development. In terms of urban morphology, an initial urban
structure analysis was made and a Form Language and a Pattern Language were developed
that may help to make the old downtown attractive and help to find its physical identity again
as well as new economic and social viability. Based on a single urban plan, we selected
different sites and made actual urban architecture and urban design proposals in response to
the needs of particular urban sections. Using urban principles and generative rules based on A
New Theory of Urban Design, sequential individual building projects together create urban
clusters in which each project helps and communicates with other projects that together
contribute to the larger urban structure of old downtown as a whole (Alexander et al., 1987).
Key Words: Oregon, rural towns, old downtown, a new theory of urban design, morphology.
References:
Alexander, C., Neis, H., Anninou, A. and King I. (1987) A New Theory of Urban Design
Oxford (University Press, N.Y.).

400

Interpretation of morphological data to inform design

Bridge to Bridge: Ridge to Ridge urban design workshop
Paul Sanders
School of Design, Queensland University of Technology. E-mail:
ps.sanders@qut.edu.au
The importance of design practice informed by urban morphology has led to an intensification
in interest, signaled by the formation of the ISUF Research and Practice Task Force and
voiced through several recent academic publications Cognisant of this current debate, this
paper reports on a recent urban design workshop at which morphology was set as one of the
key themes. Initially planned to be programmed as a augmented concurrent event to the 2013
20th ISUF Conference held in Brisbane, the 2 day Bride to Bridge: Ridge to Ridge urban
design workshop nevertheless took place the following month, and involved over 100 design
professionals and academics. The workshop sought to develop several key urban design
principles and recommendations addressing a major government development proposal sited
in the most important heritage precinct of the city. The paper will focus specifically on one of
the nine groups, in which the design proposal was purposefully guided by morphological
input. The discussion will examine the design outcomes and illicit review and feedback from
participants, shedding critical light on the issues that arise from such a design approach.
Key Words: urban morphology, urban design, design workshop.

401

Recovery Machizukuri through the creation of a network

community for amie, kushima
Rieko Shiraki
Creative Science and Engineering, Waseda University.
E-mail: rieko.shiraki@aoni.waseda.jp
In this paper, research on recovery machizukuri the use of bottom-up local community
development techniques to help communities affected by the combined disaster of
earthquake, tsunami and nuclear meltdown in the Tohoku region of Japan in 2011. The paper
aims to consider the concept of a network community, which aims to respond to the future
needs of the people of Namie, in Fukushima prefecture, a community that is in a state of flux
and uncertainty following the nuclear disaster. The term network community in this piece
refers to the situation where different stakeholders collaborate closely together to sustain and
reconstruct the community. We clarified the evacuation status of the Namie refugees and
social collaborative activities in host local municipalities. Namie residents 21,172 were
evacuated in various areas of Japan. For the local municipality, the equal provision of housing
and social services for all Namie community members is very difficult due to the complex
processes of negotiation and agreement with those other local municipalities. For communitybased recovery machizukuri process, NPO Namie gathered local community leaders and
sponsored the Study Group. With technical support 6 from specialists and Waseda University,
the Study Group began to develop a recovery scenario for the people of Namie and has been
engaging in activities to bring this about. This network community needs to be supported by a
wider collaborative mechanism between their original local municipality, the other local
municipalities to which they were evacuated, the various supporting agencies, the private
sector and the refugees themselves.
Key Words: recovery Machizukuri, network community, Great East Japan Earthquake,
Fukushima

402

Urban form study for better future of the city

Anna Kantarek
Faculty of Architecture, Cracow University of Technology.
E-mail: akanta@poczta.onet.pl
A look at the problems of urban forms from the point of view of the practice of architecture,
urban planning and urban design is especially needed today. Contemporary sprawling cities
and metropolitan areas need a holistic perspective from the point of view of synthesizing
Urban Form while maintaining respect for historical tradition and cultural meanings of the
place. The research problem boils down to the question of how, through research on urban
form in its historical and spatial complexity we can find or formulate models for good
solutions for the coherent and harmonious development of the city. Basis of such a specific
approach is: understanding Urban Form Study as crucial for better urban design and spatial
planning; recognition a level of Urban Form as a base level of synthesis; understanding
locality as a main determinant of the overall Form of the City; finding basic relations between
contemporary Urban Form and possibility of its perception.
Key Words: spatial planning; urban form design; urban structure; contemporary urban form.

403

The relation between research on urban morphology and

planning
Eleni Maistrou
National Technical University of Athens. E-mail: email.elmais@central.ntua.gr
The analysis of urban morphology, the understanding of the spatial structure in conjuction to
the physical layout and the examination of street patterns and urban tissue in historic cities
and settlements is a prerequisite for every planning process. More interesting is the study of
the unplanned environments that have been organically developed, as well as the study of
some cases where a new regular modern planning system is superimposed on older medieval
structures. The identification of urban morphology should be performed through a historical
analysis explaining the formation of urban form, through the recording and analysis of the
geometrical features of the urban tissue as well as through the image analysis and the
identification of its three-dimensional organization. Such a research includes the identification
of major buildings landmarks that constitute the unique features of the city or settlement.
Cities patterns can help to establish the necessary background for urban conservation and
preservation by pointing to the principal elements of its formation. Some case studies
highlighting the relation between urban morphology, urban design and urban conservation
will be presented to the conference.
Key Words: urban morphology, urban conservation, urban design.

404

The morphological dimension of planning documents: case

study Belgrade, capital of Serbia
Ana ikovi, Vladan oki, Boidar Mani
Institute of Architecture and Urban&Spatial Planning of Serbia, Belgrade, Serbia
University of Belgrade Faculty of Architecture.
E-mail: anan@iaus.ac.rs , vdjokic@arh.bg.ac.rs , bozam@iaus.ac.rs
The aim of this paper is to present one of the main issues and tasks of the ISUF the
importance of introducing concepts of urban morphology to professional practice, in a
systematic and coherent way, to achieve a better built environment - in the specific context of
Belgrades designing and planning practice. review of relevant up-to-date research topics
and developed concepts found in the current theoretical discourse presented in the Urban
Morphology Journal and ISUF, such as: morphological dimension of municipal plans
(Oliveira, 2006, 2013), the issue of boundaries (Whitehand, 2007, 2013; Larkham, 2011;
Morton), the question of scale and key concept block or tissue (Kropf, 2006, 2011; Samuels,
2008; Hall, 2008a, 2008b) will be conducted. A number of major themes in the agenda of the
morphological debate, will be examined to establish how existing morphological criteria in
the Master plan of Belgrade and related planning documents correspond. It was determined
that the morphological dimension of those criteria is questionable and that the real form-based
approach in Belgrades planning documents and procedures were absent which had a
detrimental impact on the quality of physical and urban structure. It can be stated that there is
a need, firstly, for a detailed theoretical elaboration of relevant concepts of urban morphology
and then integrating them into planning documents and procedures in Belgrade and Serbia.
The principal conclusion reached is that urban morphologists should have a key role in the
prescription of future changes through coordination of design guidance, codes and plans at
different scales.
Key words: Belgrade, urban morphology, urban form, planning, designing.
References:
Hall, T. (2008a) Bridging the gap: applying urban morphology to successful planning
practice, Urban Morphology 1, 54-57.
Hall, T. (2008b) The form-based development plan: bridging the gap between theory and
practice in urban morphology, Urban Morphology 2, 77-95.
Kropf, K. (2006) Crisis in the typological process and the language of innovation and
tradition, Urban Morphology 1, 70-73.
Kropf, K. (2011) Urbanism, politics and language: the role of urban morphology, Urban
Morphology 2, 157-162.
Larkham, P. J. and Morton, N. (2011) Drawing lines on maps: morphological regions and
planning practices, Urban Morphology 2, 133-151.
Samuels, I. (2008) Typomorphology and urban design practice, Urban Morphology 1,58-62.
Oliveira, V. (2013) Morpho: a methodology for assessing urban form, Urban Morphology 1,
21-33.
Oliveira, V. (2006) The morphological dimension of municipal plans, Urban Morphology 2,
79-89.
Urban Planning Institute of Belgrade (2003) Master Plan of Belgrade 2021 (Official Gazette
of the City of Belgrade, Belgrade).
Whitehand,J.(2013)Urban morphological research and practice,Urban Morphology 1,79-85.
Whitehand, J.W.R. (2007) Conzenian Urban Morphology and Urban Landscapes. 6th
International Space Syntax Symposium. Istanbul, Turkey 12-15 June
405

Future urban changes through design guidance: new

principles
Marichela Sepe
Irat-CNR, DiARC University of Naples Federico II. E-mail: marisepe@unina.i
The urban condition we are experiencing today shows many changes in terms of the rhythms
and exploitation of the city, the modalities of living, working, moving around, and the
opportunities for enjoying leisure (Banerjee, Loukaitou-Sideris, 2010; Carmona et al, 2010).
The emergence of new typologies of place and changes in the patterns of usage for the
existing typologies have given rise to whole new cityscapes: striking juxtapositions and
fragmentariness seem to predominate in the wholesale dispersion with which subjects, things
and habits coexist, characterised by boundaries which are transparent and yet at times
unbreachable. The identity of a place, often at risk due to globalization process and rapid
urban changes, expresses a harmonious balance between variant and invariant components,
people and urban events, which are intrinsically linked by a reciprocal relationship that makes
a specific place unique and recognizable (Hague, Jenkins, 2005; Lynch, 1960). Based on
these considerations, this work aims to illustrate the "12 principles for place identity
enhancement", which were created from a reasoned set of blueprints for the various
experiments carried out using the PlaceMaker method (Sepe, 2103) of urban analysis and
design. The method has been created in the context of a broader research project under an
agreement between the Italian National Research Council (CNR) and the Urban Design and
Planning Department of the University of Naples Federico II and for specific IRAT-CNR
projects. The paper describes those principles, designed as checklists for urban projects with
place identity at the core and the evolution of some of these principles in the Charter of Public
Space which was adopted during the II Biennal of Public Space, which was held in Rome in
May 2013 (www.biennalespaziopubblico.it). The Charter, composed by 6 parts devoted to
public space - definition, typologies, creation, obstacles, maintenance, management, and
enjoyment - includes both specific principles for place identity safeguarding and enhancement
and for public space creation. Following the Charter adoption, practical codes are in
development in order to realize a toolkit for public space.
Key Words: place identity, urban landscape, urban changes, contemporary fragmentariness,
urban principles, urban codes.
References:
Banerjee T., Loukaitou-Sideris, A. (eds.) (2010) Companion to Urban Design (Routledge:
London-New York).
Carmona, M., Heath, T., Oc, T., Tiesdell, S., (2010) Public places-Urban spaces
(Architectural Press: Oxford).
Charter of Public Space (2013) (www.biennalespaziopubblico.it).
Hague C., Jenkins P., (eds.) (2005) Place Identity, Participation and Planning (Routledge:
Abingdon).
Lynch, K., (1960) The image of the city (MIT Press: Cambridge Massachusetts).
Madanipur, A. (2010) Whose public space (Routledge: London-New York).
Sepe, M. (2013). Planning and Place in the City. Mapping Place Identity (Routledge:
London-New York).

406

Changing patterns of urban development in Turkish cities:

an investigation into planning practice
Tolga nl
Department or City and Regional Planning, Mersin University, Turkey.
E-mail: tolgaunlu@gmail.com
Many Turkish cities have undergone rapid development since the Second World War as a
result of migration from the countryside to urban areas. In this period, the population living in
urban areas increased threefold, with numbers increasing particularly rapidly after the 1980s.
New unplanned settlement patterns developed on the outskirts of cities so-called squatter
developments. They were created in response to the immediate sheltering needs of people
migrating to the cities and became parts of urban fringe belts. There were also augmentative
and adaptive redevelopment processes. Some fringe-belt sites were absorbed by commercial
uses, especially shopping centres. The paper is concerned with several questions. Are master
plans capable of coping with urban change at the city-wide scale? Can local plans guide the
shaping of urban form in Turkish cities? And, not least, in what ways can urban morphology
contribute to Turkish planning practice by helping to formulate tools for shaping the built
environment at both city-wide and local scales?
Key Words: urban fringe belts, planning practice, Turkish cities.

407

Density, urban form and quality of life

Charlotte Baurin, Guillaume Raymondon, Igor Andersen, Sara Dias
Rgion Morges, townships association (Switzerland, Vaud)/ Urbaplan (Private
office). E-mail: charlotte.baurin@regionmorges.ch ,
guillaume.raymondon@regionmorges.ch
Within the political context of Switzerland, the contemporary debate on urban morphology
has to become central to the implantation of state-wide policy that focuses on the limitation of
urban sprawl. This is particularly emphasised because the legal framework focuses primarily
on landscape protection rather than on urban development strategy. In fact, if urban sprawl
has been a real threat for Switzerlands small territory and attractive natural landscape since
the 80s (DFI, 2009), the corollary urban densification within already urbanised areas is
threatened by a rejection by the citizens, through legal referendums, primarily triggered by an
misunderstanding of the morphological consequences of density targets. In particular, citizens
frequently overlap densification with towers. A central challenge to the public planners of
the townships association of Morges is then to establish a public communication strategy on
the importance of the densification of urban cores, focusing in particular on the relation
between density, urban morphology and urban quality. In collaboration with a private
consultant office, a comparative analysis on density, urban form and quality of life relying on
local case studies has been made, completed with numerous participatory actions aimed at
shifting the focus from legal density targets to a shared discussion and debate on the
qualitative attributes of neighbourhoods. Local workshops, exhibitions, a website, a booklet
and local newspapers publications are among the supports of this communication campaign
for decoding the quality and versatility of swiss urban forms. Once the foundation has been
laid, we expect to achieve a horizontal dialogue with citizens and developers about the quality
of their neighbourhoods in a day-to-day basis and avoiding density numbers and
misperceptions. Our practical experience, methodology and results achieved so far with this
process will be presented as well as our ambitions on how the project can evolve and
constitute a bridge between theoretical and participatory urban morphology research.
Key Words: density, public participation, quality of life, urban form, urban practice.
References:
Dpartement fdral de lintrieur DFI (2009) Statistique suisse de la superficie, Etat et
evolution du paysage en Suisse, Office fdral de la statistique OFS - Espace et
environnement 898-1100.

408

Study on relationship between urban morphology and policy

in China
Caixia Gao, Wowo Ding
School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Nanjing University,
Hankou Road 22, Nanjing 210093, China.
E-mail: ggcx1977@gmail.com , dww@nju.edu.cn
Abstracts: Urban form might be described as the result of numerous shaping processes in
varying social layers at a given place through time, especially from the power of internal and
external economic development and urban policy control. Moreover, urban policy plays very
important role particular in China in terms the proprietorship of the land. Therefor, the
morphological description is indicative of the different academic disciplines that engage in
urban morphology, surely should include the urban policy. Focusing on urban policy in China
our project has investigated in urban policy in the State level, provincial level, city
management and the coding of the site. At the same time the research explore the policies and
regulations which impact of urban form generating process and clarify the correlation of
policies and urban forms. Three classifications were made according to the intervention of
urban form: directly affect, indirect impact and no impact. Finally, through cases study this
paper demonstrated how urban policy intervention the physical urban form and the process,
which has shown that study reveals the impact of policies on the specific physical structure of
the form, the results has significance for specification revision of urban policy and urban
design.
Key Words: urban policy, urban morphology, correlation, intervention.

409

Re-trial the role urban morphology in Taiwans modern

planning mechanism
Yan-Wen Huang
Department of Landscape Architecture, Chung-Yuan Christian University.
The urban morphology is important in many aspects (Whitehand, 1997), and it is connect to
the local cultural identity, living qualities and geo-historical context in Taiwan. Especially,
the earlier morphological patterns in Taiwan were closed linked to people daily life (Huang,
2002b). The improving building technologies provide possibilities for planners and designers
to create built forms without the geographical and local socioeconomic limitations (McGlynn
& Samuels, 2000), which broken the relationships between socioeconomic and morphological
patterns. In Taiwan most current years (~2014) these are many unpleasant projects which
often mislead the public in beginning but came out with disappointed planning results
(Huang, 2002a). The traditional morphological tissues are seriously impacted by them and
local living style and socioeconomic structures are also interrupted (Huang, 2003b). Even
urban design was introduced and intended to improve original Taiwans planning system
(Lin, 1995), but the built forms and morphological approaches are never in never be
considered seriously (Huang, 2003a). In authors earlier studies, the Taiwans spatial
developments are identified into several key stages, and the key factors linked to
morphological patterns are identified (Huang, 2002b). Those conflicts and chaos between
planning and developments are interpreted the continuity of morphological tissue and the
relationship between urban tissues and socioeconomic context (Huang, 2004). It is need to
review current developing mechanism and introduce morphological approaches into planning
system. Those earlier finding could establish a foundations for a potential morphological
guidance to maintain the continuity of local socioeconomic context and environmental
qualities (Samuels, 2008). Four major issues in this paper: i) The forming of traditional
morphological tissues and there factors; ii) The conflicts and chaos between modern
developments and traditional urban tissues; iii) To discover the reasons and context behind
those conflicts and chaotic phenomenon; iv) To review current planning system and find out a
penitential approach to improve operating framework and planning guidance, which could
lead to desirable morphological patterns and the appropriate quality of built environment.
Key Words: urban morphology, Taiwan, traditional urban tissue, planning impact, planning
guidance.
References:
McGlynn, S and Samuels, I (2000) The funnel, the sieve and template: towards an operational
unban morphology, Urban Morphology 2, 79-89.
Samuels, I. (2008) Typomorphology and urban design practice, Urban Morphology 1, 5861.
Whitehand, J.W.R (1997) Why urban morphology? Urban Morphology, 1-2.
Huang, W.-D. (1998) A research in Taiwans modern Urban planning Japanese Governing
Period (1895-1945) (Nan-Tein Book, Taipei).
Huang, W.-Y., Samuels, I. (2004) A Retrial of Public Information, Resource and Private
Development in Taiwans Spatial Production Processes, The 9th Asian Real Estate
Society (AsRES) International Conference.
Huang, W.-Y. (2003a) A Potential of Morphological Design Control in Taiwan - New
Instruments, and New Morphology in New Socioeconomic Context, Planning Joint
conference.

410

Huang, W.-Y. (2003b) Socio-Economic Sustainability, Game Theory, and New Order in an
Integrated Spatial Productive Institution in Taiwan, International Conference on Planning
and Design, November, Tainan, Taiwan.
(Dec. 2002a), An Economic Interpretation of The Urban Planning and Private Development
Procedure and Inter-Action - A Case Study in Taiwan, United Annual Conference Of
Chinese Institute Of Urban Planning, Taipei, Taiwan.
(Nov. 2002b), A Review of the Continuity in Taiwans Spatial Development Processes,
From A Socio-Economic Perspective, Urban Economic Association (3RD 2002) Annual
Conference, Taipei, Taiwan.
Lin C-L (1995) Urban design in Taiwan (Chuang-Sin Books, Taipei).

411

A subtropical urban taxonomy: the tension of research

informing practice
Peter Richards
Queens University of Technology. E-mail: p.richards@qut.edu.au
Urban Morphology provides an important framework of analysis for understanding growth
and change in cities. For the urban design and architecture practitioner however, urban
morphology research only provides part of an approach. The task is often to plan for, or
design much larger, taller and coarser grained buildings. The demands in new projects with
planning efficiencies for lifts, larger floor plates for working and retail make footprints much
larger. Accommodating car parking and service vehicles, often above ground, adds
complexity to the lower levels of buildings, urban interfaces and public realm. The urban
challenge is to fit these projects into existing, usually finer grained blocks, places and
buildings. These factors combine to make traditional building types inappropriate for new
projects and the sole repetition of traditional urban patterns is not possible. These issues are of
a particular challenge for Brisbane, which is a city in search of a subtropical urbanism as a
new world city, two aspirations of government visioning for the city. But new buildings can
contribute to the city and have good urban manners. Using Brisbane as a case study, this
paper proposes a method of creating an urban taxonomy of new urban building and places
types that respect the existing city. This work reflects upon recent practice and also draws
inspiration from the Form Based Codes movement in the USA, which has a strong emphasis
on the essential building types needed to create good urban places. The taxonomy is ongoing
research that would benefit form the scrutiny of urban morphology researchers.
Key Words: subtropical, taxonomy, new urban building types.

412

Current urban regulation and its limits regarding urban

form in Brazilian cities
Joyce Ferreira da Silva
Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism, University of Sao Paulo: Master student of
Urban and Regional Planning. So Paulo City Hall.
E-mail: joycerfs@gmail.com , jrfsilva@spurbanismo.sp.gov.br
This paper as result of a masters research - intends to point out the deficiencies regarding
urban regulation in controlling the urban form, in legal instruments as zoning. It will be
shown that, in spite new legal framework has introduced many innovations, since the
Constitution (1988) and Estatuto da Cidade (2001) to control and plan the urban
development the use of conventional land use regulations persist, especially zoning. It is
vast in Brazil, the social, ideological, economic and political reflections regarding zoning
(Villaa, 2001; Feldman, 2005; Rolnik, 1997). However it is also important the international
reflection regarding the limitations of zoning as an instrument to regulate urban form
(Barnett, 1982; Del Rio, 1990; Marshall, 2009). Yet, this debate regarding the regulation of
urban form is not present among policy makers, especially those which discuss the right to the
city and social function of private property. By means of the selection of common urban
morphologies and typologies in Brazilian cities as Osasco, Praia Grande, Jacare, So Paulo,
the paper aims to expose in which way zoning regulates urban form, demonstrating its
limitations regarding the quality of urban environment. Therefore, the research will tackle not
only urban codes proposed by zoning, but also the absence of considerations regarding other
dimensions as production, dwelling, environment, historical and the better use of urbanized
land. It intends to contribute to possible improvements on the urban regulation framework, as
a strategy of fulfilling the social function of property against problems of the contemporary
urban environments.
Key Words: urban policy, zoning; urban codes, urban form, contemporary urban
environments.
References:
Barnett, J. (1982) An Introduction to Urban Design (Harper & Row, New York).
Del Rio, V. (1990) Introduo ao Desenho Urbano no Processo de Planejamento (Pini,So
Paulo).
Feldman, S (2005) Planejamento e Zoneamento. So Paulo: 1947-1972 (Edusp, So Paulo).
Marshall, S. (2009) Urban coding and planning (Routledge, New York)
Rolnik, R. (1997) A cidade e a Lei: legislao e territrios em So Paulo (Studio Nobel, So
Paulo)
Villaa, F. (2001) Espao intra-urbano no Brasil. (Estdio Nobel, FAPESP and Lincoln
Institute, So Paulo).

413

Shaping the city. Public space in the (re)construction of

Portuguese contemporary city
Rodrigo Coelho
CEAU (Centro de Estudos de Arquitectura e Urbanismo), Faculdade de Arquitectura
da Universidade do Porto,Via Panormica S/N, 4150-755 Porto Portugal.
E-mail: rodrigo.coelho@arq.up.pt
Due to the fragmented and discontinuous spread of urbanization, the Portuguese and
European cities have seen over the past four decades their urban condition profoundly
changed, resulting in the mangling and mutation of the urban landscape around the main
urban centres, and in the weakening of the role of public space in structuring new urban
expansions. Considering this background, and given the lack of consistent models or
paradigms to intervene and design (or plan) the city today, will seek to question if, and how,
is it possible continue to confer a shape to contemporary City from public space,
particularly in its more recent and less consolidated parts (questioning also the nature of that
hypothetic shape). We will seek to highlight the role that the project of public space can
(still) play in building the shape of the contemporary city, recognizing it as a system of
spaces with urbanisitic, formal and functional qualities, able to provide meaning and identity
to the urban space, and able to restructure and support the growth of the city. Based on this
understanding, we will defend (as an hypothesis), the need to consider the project of public
space from the concept of urban fragment (recovering the importance of the urban project as
the most consistent and appropriate way to approach an intervene in the city), seeking to
recognize and systematize (using as case-study recent portuguese public space interventions),
the purposes, the methodological principles, and the key architectural and urbanistic criteria
which may recover the strategic importance of public space project in defining the shape of
the Contemporary city.
Key words: contemporary city, public space, urban shape, urban design, urban regeneration.

414

An urban analysis method for the historic city the Castelo

and Alfama hill in Lisbon
Ant nio Ricardo da Costa, Ana Crespo, orge Gonalves
University of Lisbon, IST, CESUR Center for Urban and Regional Systems,
Research Group on Urban Planning and Environment.
E-mail: arcosta@civil.ist.utl.pt , jorgeg@civil.ist.utl.pt , ana.raquel.rc@gmail.com
Proceeding from the recognised need to improve the relationship between urban planning and
conservation in the historic city, a morphological analysis methodology was developed for the
historic centre of Lisbon, specifically for the Castelos hill and Alfama neighbourhoods. The
methodology is a response to the lack of guiding principles for interventions in buildings and
public spaces in historic centres and allows for cohesive regeneration of these areas. The
conceptual basis used was the urban form classification hierarchy devised by Kropf (1993), as
well as the Municipal Master Plan assessment method developed by Oliveira et al (2012). A
morphological analysis was carried out, applying the Kropf hierarchical model (Kropf, 1993)
to the elements that make up the urban structure. The area occupied by the Castelo and
Alfama districts corresponds to the Sedes class. An analysis of the site and the local plan
made it possible to identify the USUs, which correspond to the Textus class. Of the
demarcated USUs we opted for a more detailed analysis of three that reveal different
building periods. Subsequently, the elements that correspond to the Sertum, Fines and Aedes
classes and those that correspond to the Tectum, Statio and Materia classes were identified.
An analysis of the regulations for the Lisbon Municipal Master Plan (PDML) allowed for
identification of the regulatory parameters that are not being applied to the historic centre and
can be objectified through the morphological analysis described.
Key Words: urban morphology, analysis, urban planning, urban conservation, historical
centers.
References:
Kropf, K. (1993) The Definition of Built Form in Urban Morphology, Doctoral Tesis,
Department of Geography, University of Birmingham.
Oliveira, V. and Sousa, S. (2012) Urban Morphology in Planning Practice, Urban
Morphology 16, 80-81.

415

Empty vacant redefining interiors block voids in

Guimares
oo Martins Dias, Rita Ochoa, Mara Candela Suar z
UBI, CIES.UBI, CITCEM.UP
E-mail: diaojoas@gmail.com
The proposed communication aims to analyze how urban form can influence the
configuration of a project, based on the thesis Vazios devolutos reinterpretaes
arquitectnicas em quarteires do centro da cidade de Guimar es, held at the Master Degree
in Architecture from the University of Beira Interior. From a methodology based strongly on
the contact with the territory, through both insightful observation in situ of space for
intervention and their respective experiences, as a rigorous analysis of urban morphology,
later graphically systematized, were carried into space: dubbed the central block. We also
investigated the current needs of the space, upon which was developed a subversion draft of
the interior structure thereof. After parallel analysis of current shortcomings in the city, an
interventional program based on two fundamental assumptions was built: i) increased parking
lot space and; ii) the introduction of public green space in the urban environment. The urban
analysis will determine the resolution of the project, whether by the underground floor
(parking), that after a cleaning of vacant buildings inside the block, it presents itself as a
negative of the new configuration limit, transposed to a new level; either by the ground floor
(public green space), which sees in all its new extension a green flooring, occasionally
marked by carpets of different materials originated in the new areas of trade perimeter of
existing buildings on the block, as conjugates the memory of old servitude pathways.
Key Words: Guimares, historic center, block, empty vacant, architectural reinterpretation.

416

Urban design and transition morphologies. Prospects for

intervention in Lisbon Alc ntara
Carlos Henriques Ferreira
CIAUD, FAUL. E-mail: cferr@fa.utl.pt
Urban growth forms revealed the interactions of social and economic contexts with
geomorphological nature of the territory. Some parts of the city became a successive
challenger on the ability to adjust and response between its morphological and architectural
nature. In this sense, Alcntara is one of these paradigms processing in Lisbon, assuming as a
defensive barrier and as the motor area of great transformations, as the limit of urban growth
and opportunity to further accessibility test. The areas of historical transition in the cities
represent a permanent challenge to review the process of urban expansion and also new ways
to approach the project. Transition areas call for a process of reflection and intervention
where opportunities are as appealing as constraints encountered, especially at the level of the
infrastructure commitments. The work presents a set of guidelines for the areas of transition
as Alcntara considering the historical and cultural context of these areas and the strategies /
opportunities for urban projects in a sustainable development. The results presented include a
set of guidelines, which includes a critical perspective on the various instruments of territorial
management in place, as well as the interaction of these with the conceptualization
mechanisms of the project.
Key Words: urban design, intervention in Alcntara, urban morphology, projects for Lisbon,
rehabilitation of the city fringes.

417

Morphological analysis as support for interventions in

public spaces in historic cities
Maria Berthilde ilha, Maria Helena Azevedo, Anne C sar Silva
Laboratrio de Pesquisa Projeto e Memria, Departamento de Arquitetura,
Universidade Federal da Paraba. E-mail: berthilde_ufpb@yahoo.com.br
This article aims to use morphological analysis as support for proposed interventions in urban
cores preserved. The object of study is the city of Jo o Pessoa, capital of Paraba State Brazil. This has delimited its historic center, since the year 1982, through the state agency
conservation (IPHAEP), being contained within this area urban tracings that report various
moments of the formation of the city, since its founding in 1585, until the first decades of the
twentieth century. In recent interventions in this area are observed misconceptions that
interfere with the correct understanding of the city history. For example, the old Rua Direita,
reminiscent of early urban layout of the city, is currently characterized as a public place of
stay as a result of an intervention performed by the municipal government in Vidal de
Negreiros Square, bordering the said street, whose redevelopment project transformed it into
a place of passage, emptying the function of permanence, own a square. Given these various
mistakes interventions, and having support in the methods of morphological analysis of Capel
(2002) and Lamas (2004), the aim of this paper is to sketch an analysis, in historical
perspective, of the urban form of this city area, allowing a critical review of some projects
recently implemented, in order to contribute with this knowledge for future interventions that
respect the history and form of the historic city.
Key Words: morphological analysis, interventions, public spaces, historic city.
References:
Capel, H. (2002) La morfologia de las ciudades (Ediciones del Serbal, Barcelona).
Lamas, J.M.R.G. (2004) Morfologia urbana e desenho da cidade) Funda o Caloust
Gulbenkian, Junta Nacional de Investiga o Cientfica e Tecnolgica, Lisboa).

418

Reviving the heart of a historical metropolis: comparative

study between different urban forms in downtown Cairo,
Egypt
Kareem Adel Ismail
School of Architecture and Planning, National Institute of Creative Arts and
Industries University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
E-mail: kism817@aucklanduni.ac.nz
In a historical Metropolis like Cairo, where 20 million people live in a city with more than
1000 years of history, many social, economic and environmental problems arise, threatening
the historical heritage and the unique urban form that the city have. Downtown Cairo area
including Tahrir, Attaba and Opera squares as well garden city area are clear example of this
dilemma; these squares and surrounding areas located in the heart of Cairo have suffered from
continuous deterioration through the last three decades, with a wide range of complex
problems ranging from spread of informal markets, traffic congestion, and most significantly
loss of cultural historical values. Through this paper, researcher investigates the existing
challenges and issues facing these areas, comparing between its urban form patterns, usage
and its affect on the heart of the historical city. The collected data about the current conditions
and residents problems were partly gathered through survey, site visits, and visits to
responsible authorities. Data analysis showed that the difference between urban forms
between areas is also related to socio-economic and function aspects. Those aspects raise the
need for an integrated urban design proposal which connect between these different urban
patterns to solve the congested downtown area problems, with consideration to the continuous
radical changes to the function of these areas due to socio-political circumstances. In
conclusion, the researcher relate between these areas through integrated urban design trying
partly to solve part of the main problems facing downtown area and preserving its rich
cultural and historical heritage.
Key Words: urban form, downtown Cairo, Tahrir square, integrated urban design, historical
conservation.

419

Urban design guideline for upgrading environmental quality

of Niayasar; emphasis on morphological dimension
Sara Amini Lari, Nima Kabiri Dehkordi
E-mail: sara.amini1983@gmail.com
Urban design is a kind of process to meliorate environmental quality and it is trying to make
desirable place for people. Considering that environmental factors are not measurable
directly; so, finding the quality of dimensions, it is necessary to introduce this. Therefore, in
this paper firstly, using descriptive-analytical approach and documentary studies, it will
provide a framework for investigating of environmental quality with their dimensions. Then,
regarding to the morphological aspect is the most tangible and enduring aspect to review
other dimensions such as visual, social, temporal, functional and etc, has been paid to
exploring the historic city Niyasar (one of the historic city of Iran) with gathering data
through using observations. Thus, recognizing and extracting the unique features of the city
texture and applying knowledge of urban design, it will be presented some guidelines to
improve the environmental quality and create better place for Residents.
Key Words: urban design guideline, environmental quality, morphology, Niyasar.

420

Employing typomorphology to restore collective city

memory through urban design in Taiwan
Michael Lin, Chia-Lin Tsao
Department of Landscape Architecture, Chung-Yuan Christian University.
E-mail: mlinarch@btinternet.com
Taiwans planning system was ill-equipped to meet the major changes during Taiwans rapid
post- war urbanization. Since the economic take-off of the 70s, new developments in
bulldozer style have destroyed much historic urban fabric and lead to irreplaceable losses in
the urban landscape. In the twenty-first century, concern with urban sprawl has been replaced
by the need for the regeneration of decayed built-up areas. Meanwhile, the concern of city
without memories has become an emerging issue in Taiwanese society. The purpose of this
research is to explore how much the employment of typomorphology in urban design practice
can help restore citizens collective memory in Taiwanese context. The approach is to first,
examine the schemes of six post-graduate students design works which are centred to a
renewal plan of a military housing slum sat on an area where multi-layer of historic fabrics
have been accumulated. Students are asked using morphological analysis to identify the
physical elements with architectural and urban design approaches which can possibly blend
the collective memory with the urban landscape (Moudon, 1994; Ringas et al., 2011). Second,
is to set up indicators of urban tissues ranging from architectural to urban scale for use in
identifying the effective factors that can better convey citizens collective memory to
Taiwanese urban landscape based largely on citizens perception of the image of city (Lynch,
1960; Urban Design Associates, 2003). This research demonstrates the operational urban
morphology that enables cities to grow yet simultaneously maintain urban memory for those
who live in. It provokes broader senses of urban morphology for linking urban design,
ordinary cultural heritage and the importance of the historic urban fabrics in shaping place
identity (Paraizo and Kos, 2011; Samuels, 2008). This application of neighborhood-scale
morphological method would also provide a chance to examine the workability of some
changing ideologies in urban morphological research (Samuels, 2013; Scheer, 2008).
Key Words: collective memory, typomorphology, urban morphology, urban landscape, urban
design.
References:
Lynch, K. (1960) The Image of the City (MIT Press, Cambridge).
Moudon, A. V. (1994) Getting to know the built landscape: typomorphology in K. A.
Franck & L. H. Schneekloth (eds.) Ordering Space: types in architecture and design (Van
Nostrand Reinhold, London) 289-312.
Paraizo, R. C., and Kos, J. R. (2011) Heritage, place and interactivity: rethinking space
representation as interface design, in Styliaras, K.D., Lazarinis, G. F. (eds.) Handbook of
Research on Technologies and Cultural Heritage: Applications and Environments, (IGI
Global) 188-206.
Ringas, D., Christopoulou, E. andStefanidakis, M. (2011) Urban Memory in Space and
Time in Styliaras, K. D., Lazarinis, G. F. (eds.) Handbook of Research on Technologies
and Cultural Heritage: Applications.
Samuels, I. (2008) Typomorphology and urban design practice, Urban Morphology 1,58-61.
Samuels, I. (2013) ISUF task force on research and practice in urban morphology: an interim
report. Urban Morphology 1, 40-43.
Scheer, B. C. (2008) Urban morphology and urban design. Urban Morphology 2, 140-142.
Urban Design Associates (2003) The Urban Design Handbook (W. W. N& C, New York).
421

Project MEAVS / Mapping East Asian vernacular

settlements
Leigh Shutter
Griffith School of Environment, Griffith University.
E-mail: l.shutter@griffith.edu.au
This paper will report on the framing of Project MEAVS and the developing geospatial
analysis and simulation technology to be employed in the survey work. Project MEAVS will
undertake detailed measured surveys, using Zebedee technology, of vernacular settlements in
the East Asia region. Zebedee is a handheld 3D mapping system, built around a lightweight
LiDAR scanner with a maximum range of approximately 30m developed by the CSIRO in
Australia. It is distinct from other currently employed laser scanning systems in that the
scanner is mobile during operation; constantly in motion as the user walks through the
environment. This enables the scanner to simply and quickly be deployed in a variety of
circumstances and locations not easily accessed by alternative laser scanning devices and
technologies. This emergent laser mapping technology will be used to create dimensionally
accurate detailed three dimensional models, maps and measured drawings of selected
settlements in east Asia. The program will provide a comprehensive 'snapshot' of the physical
circumstance of each settlement at a defined point in time. It will target settlements under
threat from change or destruction caused by phenomena such as: urban expansion; changing
social conditions and community needs; changing economic conditions; and, climate change
effects. The program will establish an open source on-line archive of the documentary data
generated. These virtual models of the regions vernacular settlements will provide the
recorded base survey data for ongoing morphological and architectural analysis and study.
Initially settlements in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and China will be surveyed
and studied.
Key Words: Zebedee; laser scanning; East Asian vernacular settlements.

422

Urban morphology of historic fabrics and contemporary

architectural design. The case study of Lazio
Giuseppe Strappa
Dipartimento di Architettura e Progetto, Laboratorio di lettura e progetto
dellarchitettura, Sapienza, Universit di Roma. E-mail: gstrappa@yahoo.com
The problem of the revitalization of small historical centers in the Lazio region is highly
topical and requires urgent interventions. These new centers are undergoing a rapid
transformation due to the change of functions in buildings and to a new social composition of
the population. We should read carefully their urban fabric and built structures to actively
protect their historical heritage and to design the indispensable architectural transformation.
We need a method to read and design historical fabric trasformation, ensuring across time
transformations "congruent" with their formative process, also accepting the incontrovertible
fact that an urban organism, like any living organism, is subject to continuous modifications.
In Lazio these changes have, within certain limits, common characters in different centers that
allow an intervention method for some aspects generalizable. Action is needed to update the
existing built landscape in order to continue it in a historically coherent form. The proposed
paper deals with the study and application of a method of reading and designing the historical
built landscape based on the notions of urban organism and on the typological process applied
to the historical centers of small towns in Lazio.
Key Words: urban-morphology, architecture, urban-design, historical fabric.

423

424

11.
Special Parallel Sessions

11.1
Urban food and urban form: An underexplored
intersection
Organizer and moderator: Joe Nasr
Centre for Studies in Food Security, Ryerson University, E-mail: jnasr@ryerson.ca
Contributors
Jason Gilliland
Departments of Geography, Health Sciences & Paediatrics, University of Western Ontario,
E-mail: jgillila@uwo.ca
Michael Hardman
School of Environment and Life Sciences, University of Salford,
E-mail: m.hardman@salford.ac.uk,
June Komisar
Department of Architectural Science, Ryerson University, E-mail: jkomisar@ryerson.ca
Carolin Mees
GreenThumb, NYC Department of Parks and Recreation, E-mail: mees.carolin@gmail.com

Over the past decade or so, urban food issues have risen dramatically as a subject of public
concern and debate, as well as scholarly research and teaching, as terms such as urban
agriculture, food deserts, and locavore have become commonly used and understood across
continents. This emergence has shone a new light on the historically deep-rooted connections
between the physical environment in cities and the workings of the urban food system
(including challenges and opportunities associated with these connections). This attention to
the materiality of urban food systems and the impacts of specific built and unbuilt urban
patterns on these systems ought to represent an opening for those researchers interested in
urban form to contribute knowledge about urban food. Such an opening has largely remained
unexplored. This roundtable seeks to contribute to the exploration of this intersection
between urban food and urban form. It builds on two prior sessions at previous ISUF
conferences (in 2007 and in 2011) around such a theme. This years roundtable brings
together geographers, architects and urbanists from Europe and North America who have
been working on food-system questions by focusing on the urban physical environment. Joe
Nasr will open the session by looking back at how some influential publications (including
Smit et al, 1996, Viljoen et al., 2005, and de la Salle and Holland, 2010) have adopted
typological and morphological analysis without explicitly using some of the approaches
offered by urban form researchers. June Komisar will use one such initiative (Carrot City),
which identified dozens of cases where urban agriculture has been designed (Gorgolewski
et al., 2011) to offer lessons about the impact of built patterns on the capacity for urban
residents to produce food in the city. Carolin Mees then focuses on one particular form of
urban space the community garden to show how it is a space that is designed by its users
according to different demands and locations in the city (Mees and Stone, 2012). Michael
Hardman will shift focus to the stakeholders who act on and appropriate urban spaces, using
425

guerrilla gardening as a lens for spatial analysis of the public realm (Adams and Hardman,
2013). Finally, Jason Gilliland will add another layer to this exploration by showing how a
better understanding of the intersection of urban food and urban form, and the role of city
planners, can be key to understanding (and possibly addressing) urban health issues.
Key Words: Urban food systems; urban agriculture; typological analysis; morphological
analysis.
References
Adams, D. and Hardman, M. (2013) Observing Guerrillas in the Wild: Reinterpreting
Practices of Urban Guerrilla Gardening, Urban Studies.
de la Salle, J., and Holland, M. (eds) (2010) Agricultural urbanism : Handbook for building
sustainable food & agriculture systems in 21st Century cities, Green Frigate Books,
Winnipeg (Manitoba).
Gorgolewski, M., Komisar, J., and Nasr, J. (2011) Carrot City: Creating places for urban
agriculture, Monacelli Press, New York.
Mees, C. and Stone, E. (2012) Food, homes and gardens: public community gardens potential
for contributing to a more sustainable city, in: Viljoen A., and Wiskerke, J. S. C. (eds.)
(2012) Sustainable food planning: evolving theory and practice, Wageningen Academic
Publishers, Wageningen (the Neth.).
Smit, J., Nasr, J. and Ratta, A. (2001) Urban Agriculture: Food Jobs and Sustainable Cities,
United Nations Development Programme, New York.
Viljoen, A., Bohn, K. and Howe, J. (2005) Continuous productive urban landscapes:
Designing urban agriculture for sustainable cities, Architectural Press, Oxford.

426

11.2 Chinese Network of Urban Morphology

The typological process and the morphological period: a
cross-cultural assessment
Kai Gu
Planning, School of Architecture and Planning, University of Auckland, Auckland, New
Zealand. E-mail: k.gu@auckland.ac.nz
The concepts typological process and morphological period have received little
empirical substantiation despite their familiarity to many urban morphologists. They are
examined in three contrasting cultural areas England, New Zealand and the Shanghai
area, China over the period from the mid-nineteenth century to the late-twentieth
century. Sequences of ordinary residential building types are recognized in these areas.
Periods characterized by different types and connections between those types are
identified. The areas are different in both their building types and their periodizations
but commonalities in their processes of change, including those related to the spread of
Western fashions, are found. The difficulty of uncovering the mechanism of the
typological process whereby one form type is succeeded by another reflects major
problems of assembling the requisite data. Many more comparative studies, including
between contrasting cultural areas, are needed.
Key Words: building types, historical change, cross-cultural comparisons, data
problems.

427

An application of urban morphology to a structural

preservation urban design project
Youpei Hu, Wowo Ding
School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Nanjing University.
E-mail: youpei.hu@gmail.com , dingwowo@gamil.com
Preserving existing urban structures is meaningful to the history, culture and future of cities,
which is one of the tasks of urban design project. In the context of Chinese cities, the work of
urban structural preservation has a special issue about developing to be addressed. The urban
structures of lots of historical cities sustain heavy pressures from urbanization and economical
developing process. The relation between preservation and developing is strained. The local
municipals are urging to find a balance point between them. The developing issue challenges
the traditional preservation methods of urban design. This paper presents an overall structural
preservation urban deign project. By introducing the theory and method of urban morphology
into this project, urban designers are able to deal with the challenge from the economy
developing, and to explore new ideas and methods in field of structural preservation.
Key Words: urban structure; urban preservation; urban fabric; urban design.

428

The mode of landscape and village pattern in Changzhou

Xiaoning Hua
School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Nanjing University
Jinling Institute of Technology. E-mail: huaxn@nju.edu.cn

The pattern of village is mainly determined by the form and structure of landscape. In
Changzhou, a typical middle city of Yangtze River Delta, there are different modes of
village patterns around the periphery of city. The liner village patterns develop on the
waterfront wetland along the Yangtze River with the reclaiming of agricultural land.
The strip-like village patterns develop in the net of river system. The patch-like village
patterns mainly develop on the plain without obvious reference. The irregular village
patterns are common in the hilly area. All these different modes of village patterns
respond the different prototypes of landscape and land use, which should be carefully
treated in the expansion and renovation of the city edge.
Key Words: village pattern, landscape, China.

429

Spatial patterns of urban growth in Xian, China: a fringebelt approach

Yunying Ren
of Architecture, Xian University of Architecture and Technology, 13 Yanta Road,
Xian 710055, Shaanxi Province, China. E-mail: renyunying@hotmail.com

The fringe-belt concept, though widely investigated in Western cities, has hitherto
attracted little attention within Asia. Building on a recent investigation of the fringe belt
associated with the wall constructed around the small, compact Chinese city of Pingyao
in the Ming dynasty, this paper explores fringe-belt development in one of Chinas
major urban areas the former capital city of Xian. Like Pingyao, Xian has a fringe
belt associated with its Ming wall but, unlike in Pingyao, this fringe belt is deeply
embedded within a metropolitan area and has been subjected to major pressures for
change, especially since 1980. The development of its inner fringe belt, especially in the
course of the first half twentieth century, is examined. Its significance is considered
both as a heritage feature and, in very broad terms, in relation to the citys growth
farther out. Brief comparisons are made with the conclusions of fringe-belt studies of
Western cities.
Key Words: Xian; city form; city wall; fringe-belt; Period of Republic of China.

430

An exploration of complementary utilization of Space Syntax

and Spacemate methods in urban design. A case study of a
neighbourhood in Nanjing, China
Xiaoxi Li, Ye Zhang
Department of Architecture, School of Design and Environment, National University of
Singapore. E-mail: 1 a0109379@nus.edu.sg , 2 akizy@nus.edu.sg

Space Syntax method (Hillier and Hanson, 1984) is among the most popular approaches
that have been widely used to study the composition of the physical city. An extensive
body of researches have argued that there exists a strong correlation between spatial
configuration, i.e. simultaneous relations between the parts of the built form, and
pedestrians movement patterns (Hillier, Penn et al. 1993), which also underscores a
number of economic and social urban phenomena (Hillier 1996, 1999, 2002).
Nevertheless, density as one of the key features of the built form has received relatively
limited interests in Space Syntax researches. In particular, there is a lack of
investigation into the relations between urban space as a configurational entity and
different aspects of density. Spacemate, developed recently by Pont and Haupt (2004),
provides a comprehensive description of density of the built form that incorporates four
different variables, namely FSI (Floor Space Index), GSI (Ground Floor Index), OSR
(Open Space Ratio) and L (Layers), and casts new light on the understanding of the
linkage between density and building typologies as well as the degree of urbanization.
Despite enabling an analytical insight into the built form of specific locations, this
method fails to take into account the relations between different urban areas and their
impact upon density patterns of the entire city. This seems to suggest that Space Syntax
and Spacemate methods could potentially complement each other, allowing for more indepth analyses of the complexity of the built form both in part and as a whole. Some
preliminary studies have shown that complementary utilization of these two approaches
is likely to contribute to urban design and planning at city or regional scales (Pont et al,
2012). However, there has been so far no similar exploration conducted at
neighbourhood level. This research attempts to bridge this gap based on a detailed case
study of the built form of one neighbourhood in Nanjing, - a historic city in southeast
China. It also aims to investigate how Space Syntax and Spacemate methods, utilised in
a complementary manner, can contribute to the more fine-grained neighbourhood
regeneration in the context of historic Chinese cities.
Key Words: urban form; spatial configuration; density; Space Syntax; Spacemate.
References
Alexander, E. R. (1993). Density measures: A review and analysis, Journal of
Architectural and Planning Research, 10(3), 181-202.
Berghauser-Pont, M. Y., and Haupt, P. (2010). Spacematrix: space, density and urban
form. Rotterdam: NAi Publishers.
Hillier, B. (1996). Cities as Movement Economies, Urban Design, 1(1), 41-41.

431

Hillier, B. (1999). Centrality as a process: Accounting for attraction inequalities in

deformed grids, Urban Design International, 4(3-4), 107-127.
Hillier, B. (2002). A theory of the city as object: or, how spatial laws mediate the social
construction of urban space, Urban Design International, 7(3-4), 153-179.
Hillier, B., and Hanson, J. (1984). The social logic of space. New York: Cambridge
University Press.
Hillier, B., Penn, A., Hanson, J., Grajewski, T., and Xu, J. (1993). Natural movement:
or, configuration and attraction in urban pedestrian movement, Environment and
Planning B: Planning and Design, 20(1), 29-66.
Karimi, K. (2012). A configurational approach to analytical urban design: Space
syntax methodology, Urban Design International, 17(4), 297-318.
Nes Akkelies Van, P. M. B., Mashhoodi Bardia. (2012). Combination of space syntax
with spacematrix and the mixed use index. The Rotterdam South test case, Eighth
International Space Syntax Symposium, Santiago de Chile.
Pont, M. B., and Haupt, P. (2004). Spacemate: the spatial logic of urban density. Delft:
Delft University Press.

432

11.3 Turkish Network of Urban Morphology

A look at the past, present and future: an overview of urban
morphology research in Turkey
Ayse Sema Kubat
Istambul Technical University
kubat@itu.edu.tr

Contributions to the study of urban form in Turkey are both numerous and varied in
their approaches. Although urban form has, in recent years, received adequate attention
by Turkish academics, when these studies are compared to those conducted in Europe
and North America, urban form has been studied in Turkey under various disciplines;
such as architecture, urban planning, urban design, archeology, geography, landscape
design and urban history. However today these studies have extended towards
sociology, politics and economics bringing a more diversified view to this area. The
creation of TNUM would bring these diverse studies under a single lense and strengthen
the dialogue amongst researchers. Furthermore TNUM would act as a repository of
works both current and historic that would enable future researchers easy access to the
field. The three schools of urban morphology, in England, Italy and France came
together during 1990s. The bringing together of these schools provided the basis of
interdisciplinary field and created the opportunity to establish common theoretical
foundations for the growing number of urban morphologists in many parts of the world.
A review of the literature reveals that the most significant contributions to the study of
urban form in Turkey have come from architects and planners, who have adopted a
typo-morphological approach, and urban geographers and historians, who have tended
to examine urban form in relation to the factors underlying its evolution. The mission of
TNUM would be to expand the focus of morphology studies in Turkey, to support their
international dissemination and to enable cross-cultural exchanges with the main
schools of morphology. The understanding of TNUM is that the inclusion of studies
reflecting the rich historic culture of Anatolia & Thrace would add new viewpoints to
studies conducted elsewhere. Application of GIS or quantitative tools can help to move
the centre of urban morphological research from its foundation in the study of small
historic towns to todays large urbanized regions, and from applications in urban
conservation to the management of future urban development. TNUM would also
promote exchanges amongst educational institutions both nationally and internationally
to further the education of urban morphology in higher education.

433

The role of T UM in furthering urban morphology

research in Turkey
Tolga nl
Department of City and Regional Planning, Mergin University
E-mail: tolgaunlu@gmail.com

ISUF is the organization of researchers and practitioners who are dealing with the study
of urban form. It brings together the researchers worldwide since its inauguration in
1994. Besides being a worldwide organization, four regional organizations were
founded in order to focus on characteristics of urban form at a local scale. These are
settled in Italy (ISUF Italy), in Portugal (Portuguese Network of Urban Morphology), in
North Europe (Nordic Network of Urban Morphology) and in China (Chinese Network
of Urban Morphology). In addition to these network, a new has been emerging in
Turkey through the first meeting of Turkish Network of Urban Morphology (TNUM),
hosted by the Center for Mediterranean Urban Studies at Mersin University took place
on 11 April 2014 in Mersin, Turkey. The main motive of the meeting was to form a
shared medium in order to share separate studies related with urban morphology; to
discuss the possibilities to develop collaborative studies on urban form among
researchers in different fields of knowledge and institutions at the national level; and to
widen the studies at the international level through cooperation with other regional
networks and ISUF. Since it was the first meeting of the Network, it was called
Foundation Workshop. Many fruitful discussions took place during the workshop.
The researchers share their studies, and discussed the future of TNUM and its possible
course of actions was discussed. In this presentation, the results of first TNUM
workshop will be opened to be discussion among other regional networks and it is
aimed to examine the possible contributions of Turkish researchers on the study of
urban form.

434

11.4 The Middle Eastern Cities and Isfahan

School of Urban Morfology
Discussion about the similarity of the forms of the cities of
Porto (Portugal) and Qazvin (Iran)
Rui Rodrigues Ramos, Mona Jabbari
Department of Civil Engineering of the University of Minho, Portugal
E-mail: rui.ramos@civil.uminho.pt , monajabbari@yahoo.com

At present, in major cities, the lack of urban structure cohesion and connectivity promoted by
the expansion of street network dominated by cars has increased dramatically. Hence, social life
and citizen rights considering anthropocentric and human scale have been put at risk in many
cities. As referred by Nyseth and Sognnaes Old Towns are perceived as urban structures of
the past that are revitalized and given new significance in contemporary cities. The geometrical
order of the cities structure shapes diverse urban tissue and promote the development in several
direction. However, the main activities of the cities occur in the places with the most social
interactions.
In this context, this paper will present an ongoing research that aims to compare the main areas
of Porto (Portugal) and Qazvin (Iran), based on growth of the cities ar ound its historic center,
i.e. Old Town. The urban form of the cities will be analyzed and assessed by a methodology
based on street pattern identification and will discuss the urban design and environmental
quality. Research findings shows that the main areas of the both cities require new planning
solutions in order to promote connectivity thru pedestrian network.
Key Words: form, structure, pattern and old town

435

11.5.1 Open spaces and the new Brazilian urban

Form
The open spaces systems and the Brazilian urban form a
national research network first results
Eugenio Fernandes Queiroga, Silvio Soares Macedo
Laboratrio QUAP Departamento de Projeto FAUUSP. E-mail: ssmduck@usp.br
In 2012 the researches of QUAPs laboratory of Faculdade de Arquitetura e Urbanismo da
USP, in association with a national network of researches started new studies about the open
spaces system and the urban form in the Brazilian cities and as a defined as a case of study the
36 main cities of the country. At first they defined the conceptual references and decided to
adopt a systems point of view to permit to establish the relationship between the producers, the
open spaces and the urban form. To develop the research they started to do in 2013 a series of
workshops in these cities. The first results are: the definition of the main morphological patterns
of the Brazilian cities; the definition of the representations standards; the comprehension of the
dynamics of the distribution of these types in the urban tissus; the patterns of distribution and
the main patterns of the urban protection areas; the characterization of the verticalization areas;
the production of the first thematic maps; a creation of papers of reference. This paperll present
the main developed concepts and the first results of the research and their capacity to represent
the realty of the Brazilian urban form and opens space systems.

Key Words: open spaces/urban form/systems/patterns/workshops.

436

Open spaces and urban form: a systemic relation

Ana Ceclia Campos, Eugenio Queiroga, Vanderli Custdio
Lab-QUAP, FAUUSP, So Paulo, Brazil
E-mail: anacecilia@arrudacampos.com , queiroga@usp.br , vanderli@usp.br
The research project named The open spaces systems in the Brazilian urban form constitution:
production and appropriation (2012-2016) held by the Architecture and Urban Planning School
of So Paulo University (FAUUSP) aims to analyze thirty-five cities in order to characterize and
diagnose the relationship between open spaces and urban form, by an multidisciplinary
approach. Workshops realized in each city are part of the activities. Campina Grande, Uberaba
and Uberlndia were the first three: medium sized cities, with a population varying from
300.000 up to 645.000, they present similar processes together with important differences.
Distinct biophysical environment, social, economical and cultural characteristics generated
unique cities in terms of urban form and open spaces distribution, mainly public ones. Despite
an origin as a railway center, or a growth based on agricultural production, or even a
commercial core, some similarities can be pointed out. With good square distribution in
historical city centers, recent economical development was not followed by the same accurate
care with public spaces. There are parks, intensively used, but concentrated in certain urban
zones. The environmental legislation since the 90s protected natural structures such as rivers,
reservoirs and urban native forests, but many areas are still not appropriated by the people. Real
state entrepreneurships are concentrated in closed residential areas and tall buildings, mostly for
high-income population, and residential areas for low-income people. Therefore, urban
legislation does not control the resultant urban form, and does not understand the relation
between buildings and open spaces as a systemic one.
Key Words: open spaces; urban form; morphological patterns; public policies; appropriation.

437

Landscape units as territorial analysis procedure: integration

of geo-biophysical and urbanistic-architectural dimensions

Rita C. Montezuma1, Vera R. Tngari1, Ins A. Isidoro2

Programa de Ps-Graduao em Geografia, GGE/Universidade Federal Fluminense.
2
Programa de Ps-Graduao em Arquitetura FAU/UFRJ.
E-mail: ritamontezuma@yahoo.com.br , vtangari@uol.com.br ,
inesisidoro82@gmail.com

The study area is located in the city of Rio de Janeiro, capital of Brazil's second largest
metropolitan area, with 6,323,037 inhabitants (IBGE, 2010). Located entirely in the intertropical belt of southeast Brazil (22o45'05"N, 2304'10"S,43o06'30"W and 43o47'40" W ), the
geographical position favors the dominance of wet/semi-wet tropical climate with average
annual temperature of 23.7oC and annual rainfall between 1000-1500 mm with large seasonal
variability in climate (wet summer, dry winter) and landscape. The influence of relief in urban
occupation was prevalent in recent centuries, favoring the coastal plains. Based on previous
research (Name et al, 2011; Montezuma and Oliveira, 2010; Tangari et al, 2007; Schlee and
Tangari, 2008; Schlee et al, 2009), we adopted the channels watershed as our studied area. The
proposed methodology of defining landscape units (Forman 1995, 2008 and Metzger, 2001) was
applied as a tool for urban spatial analysis and for an environmental diagnosis combining geobiophysical and urban-architectural features. As variables, we applied: the characteristics of
relief, hydrology, cover surface soil types; land use and occupation aspects; urban form settings.
Based on this multidisciplinary approach, four landscape units were defined. Due to its
significant heterogeneity associated with geographical location, relief conditions were
instrumental in the spatial distribution of hydrological flows and, consequently, in the territorial
occupation shapes and the quality of urban life, being nowadays one of the main determining
factors for existing urban patterns. The article presents the intersection of geo- biophysical and
urban-architectural dimensions, the comparative study of landscape units and their typemorphological characteristics, developed according to Lamas (1992) and Campos et al. (2011,
2012), by considering the occupation density, the structural physical elements of the urban
tissue and the incidence of open spaces.
Key Words: landscape ecology, urban form, geo-biophysical constraints, territorial planning,
environmental risk.
References
Campos, A.C.A., Queiroga, E., Galender, F., Degreas, H., Akamine, R., Macedo, S.S.,
Custdio, V. (eds.) (2011) Sistemas de Espaos Livres conceitos, conflitos e paradigmas
(FAUUSP, So Paulo).
Forman, R.T.T. (1995) Land Mosaics (Cambridge University Press, Great Britain).
Forman, R.T.T. (2008) Urban Regions ecology and planning beyond the city (Cambridge
University Press).
IBGE (2010) Censo estatstico 2010 (IBGE, Braslia).
Lamas, J. M. R. G. (1992). Morfologia urbana e o desenho da cidade (Fundao Calouste
Gulbekian, Lisboa).
Metzger, Jean Paul. (2001) O que ecologia de paisagens? (www.biotaneotropica.org.br).

438

Montezuma, R.C.M, Oliveira, R.R. (2010) Os ecossistemas da Baixada de Jacarepagu e o

PEU das Vargens, Arquitextos, 116.3.
Name, L.P.M., Montezuma, R. C. M., Sesana, E.G. (2011) Legisla o urbanstica e produ o
de riscos: o caso do Peu Das Vargens (Rio de Janeiro, Brasil). Territorium 18, 201-218.
Schlee, M. B., Souza, M. J. N, Rego, A. Q., Rheingantz, P. A., Dias, M. A., Tngari, V. R.
(2009) Sistema de espaos livres nas cidades brasileiras um debate conceitual, Revista
Paisagem e Ambiente 26, 225-247.
Schlee, M. B. and Tngari, V. R. (2008) As montanhas e suas guas: a paisagem carioca na
legislao municipal (1937-2000). Cadernos Metrpole, 19, 271-291.
Tngari, V. R., Schlee, M. B., Andrade, R., Dias, M. A. (eds.). (2007). guas urbanas: uma
contribuio para a regenerao ambiental como campo disciplinar integrado (PROARQFAU/UFRJ, Rio de Janeiro).

439

The sprawl landscape: relationship between urban and

environmental dynamics in the West Sector of the
Metropolitan Area of So Paulo
Leonardo Loyolla Coelho; Silvio Soares Macedo
Laboratrio Quap, Faculdade de Arquitetura e Urbanismo, Universidade de So Paulo
E-mail: lloyolla@gmail.com , ssmduck@usp.br

An increasing part of the urban development of the Metropolitan Area of So Paulo (with its
population of nearly 20.1 million people in 2013), as so many others in Brazil, is structured on
urban sprawling, conforming a variety of urban fabrics with different morphologic attributes
horizontal housing, gated communities, industrial areas, vertical towers, and so on sometimes
not related, and presenting a huge social disparity. Its West Vector exemplifies these attributes,
once it presents an urban development structured along the three main road axes, especially
since the 1970s. This process took place partly due to the search for job opportunities after the
industries migration to surrounding towns, and thanks to motor vehicles usage structured ways
of life. These actions have a great impact on environmental dynamics and on its urban
conformation. On the other hand, the urban sprawl contributes, in an unplanned manner, to the
proliferation of environmentally significant open spaces in this Vector. The approach under a
landscape-planning point of view is imperative for the portrayal of these urban development
process effects within the environmental dynamics, and for elaborating urban projects and
public policies for the area. The urban sprawl, in this case, does not necessarily represent a
threat to the environmental dynamics, and may even contribute to these significant areas
preservation, as referred to in the work of Czamanski, and Peres and Polidori. However, we
shall guarantee a proper connection between the remaining environmental areas, using
principles as those mentioned in the work of Forman, and adding urban value in a way that
honors the populations public right of use/enjoyment to these spaces so as to actually build an
urban landscape.
Key Words: open spaces; urban sprawl; environmental legislation, Metropolitan Area of So
Paulo.

440

Urban form and land value: morphological types and patterns

from spatial segregation in Campinas, SP, Brazil
Jonathas Pereira da Silva, Fernanda Caroline de Lima
Pontifical Catholic University of Campinas
School of Architecture and Urbanism at PUC-Campinas.
E-mail: jonathas.silva@puc-campinas.edu.br , fernandalima.fcl@gmail.com
The urban forms resulting from the phenomenon of urban fragmentation and dispersion, need
further investigation. The study aims to present a method of analysis that relates different
knowledge: the landscape, ecology and morphological studies. It takes as a case study the
Campinas Metropolitan Region located in the most populated area and enhanced economic
dynamics of Brazil. The concepts, techniques and methods presented here are the result of years
of discussion with the researchers from the search network called QUAPA-SEL that is
developing a national survey on the relationship between the system of open spaces and the
form urban. As a result the study shows the different techniques of analysis related on urban
form on different scales. The article present the procedures used in three scales: a) region:
consists of 20 cities, b) neighborhoods: formed by different tissues and urban functions and c)
urban block: where the open spaces and building type are the protagonists. The results show that
the method of analysis used aids in comprehension of the phenomenon of urban dispersion and
fragmentation. The method aims to approach the issues from different sectors of knowledge,
integrating morphological concerns of researchers who study the landscape and urban
environment studies.
Key Words: morphology, urban fashion, landscape, ecology, urban environment.

441

Integrated approaches in Vitria workshop: a study on open

space system and the urban form in Brazil
Eneida Mendona
Architecture and Urbanism Department, Arts Center, Esprito Santo Federal University.
E-mail: eneidamendonca@gmail.com
This paper presents the experience regarding the workshop in the study about Open Spaces
Systems in the Formation of Contemporary Urban Form in Brazil: Vitrias Case. The activity
is part of a national research coordinated by So Paulo University, which links a broad range of
researchers from several Brazilian universities (Campos et al., 2012). The concept of open
spaces originated in Magnolis study (1982) as the space free from construction, streets, squares,
parks, areas remaining from plots occupation etc.. Urban form involves the relationship and
characteristics including size, shape, articulation of open and built spaces, as in Lamas (s/d) and
Panerai studies (1986), among others. The workshop was coordinated by the national and local
team, Vitria Nucleus of Espirito Santo Federal University. The region studied covered the state
capital, Vitoria, in Brazils southeast, and its urban contiguity on the vicinity cities. The
workshop dealt with the relationship between Open Spaces and Urban form in Great Vitria and
possible trends from integrated approaches involving representatives from the Government,
Academics, and real estate market, addressing different scales and thematic areas. The activities
were carried out in three days and had overflight and land route, lectures, group activities in
themes: landscape units, morphologic patterns, legislation and the role of agents. The success of
the activity was reached due to the quality and diversity of the participants, allowing achieving
complex knowledge in a short time, identifying conflicts, potentialities and trends.
Key words: Urban morphology; open spaces; workshop; integrated approaches.
References:
Campos, A. C. A., Queiroga, E. F., Galender, F., Degreas, H. N., Akamine, R., Macedo, S. S.
and Custdio, V. (eds.) (2012) Quadro dos sistemas de espaos livres nas cidades
brasileiras (FAUUSP, So Paulo).
Lamas, J.M.R.G. (s/d) Morfologia urbana e desenho da cidade (Fundao Calouste Gulbenkian
e Junta Nacional de Investigao Cientfica e Tecnolgica).
Magnoli, M. M. E. M. (1982) Espaos livres e urbanizao: uma introduo a aspectos da
paisagem metropolitan, Tese, Faculdade de Arquitetura e Urbanismo, Universidade de So
Paulo, So Paulo.
Panerai, P., Castex, J. and Depaule, J.-C. (1986) Formas urbanas: de la manzana al bloque
(Editorial Gustavo Gili, Barcelona).

442

11.5.2 Brazilian morphology

Simulation techniques to analyze transformations of urban
form, landscape and micro climate in Vargem Grande, Rio de
Janeiro/RJ, Brazil
Vera R. Tngari, Rogerio G. Cardeman
FAU/UFRJ. E-mail: vtangari@uol.com.br , r.cardeman@gmail.com
This study is part of a comprehensive and interdisciplinary research being developed since 2012
about landscape transformation and urban form (Bueno et al, 2012). In this paper, we present
the analysis of urban design patters being applied on an environmentally sensible region, which
is undergoing rapid urban sprawl, due to urban legislation new code, land value increase,
implementation of new investments in urban transportation and existence of large surfaces of
open spaces. The study area is located in the west zone of the city of Rio de Janeiro, along the
coastal plain with wet surfaces and fragile soil which stand between the Rainforest and the
Atlantic Ocean (Montezuma and Oliveira, 2010; Schlee and Tangari, 2008; Macedo, 1993).
Presently, the studied area has around 15.000 inhabitants. In order to understand the urban
patterns, the future occupation and the prevailing urban forms and to foresee the impacts on the
landscape and on the micro-climate environment, we proposed a methodology with the
following steps: division into zones/landscape units (Forman 1995, 2008 and Metzger, 2001);
selection of measuring points for survey; identification of empty land parcels along the main
roads; study of the urban legislation code; identification of current patterns of occupancy and
construction types adopted by the real estate market; 2D simulation of the occupancy identified
in the plots; 3D simulation of the existing and the future constructions; simulations of microclimatic changes (Pezzuto and Silva, 2013). We will present the premises adopted to develop
the simulations, including building types, urban design patterns, population and housing units
estimates, as well as the impacts on landscape and open spaces systems.
Key Words: building types, urban form, landscape units, micro-climate, Rio de Janeiro.
References
Bueno, L. M. M.; Tangari, V. R.; Silva, Jonathas M. P.; Tangari, V. R.; Pezzuto, C. C.;
Montezuma, R.; Rego, A. Q. (2012) Mudanas climticas e as formas de ocupa o urbana:
processo de criao de cenrios socioambientais, Paisagem e Ambiente 30, 123 136.
Forman, R.T.T. (1995) Land mosaics (Cambridge University Press, Great Britain).
Forman, R.T.T. (2008) Urban Regions ecology and planning beyond the city (Cambridge
University Press).
Macedo, S.S. (1993) Paisagem, urbanizao e litoral (FAUUSP, So Paulo).
Metzger, J. P. (2001) O que ecologia de paisagens? (www.biotaneotropica.org.br)
Montezuma, R.C.M and Oliveira, R.R. (2010) Os ecossistemas da Baixada de Jacarepagu e o
PEU das Vargens, Arquitextos, 116.3.
Pezzuto, C.C. and Silva, J. M. P. (2013) Mtodo de Anlise do Recorte Territorial por meio da
Zona Climtica e Unidade de Paisagem: Estudo de Caso no Municpio de Campinas, Anais
do XII Encontro Nacional e VIII Encontro Latino Americano de Conforto no Ambiente
Construdo (ENCAC e ELACAC 2013) (UNB, Braslia), 1-16.
Schlee, M. B. and Tngari, V. R. (2008) As montanhas e suas guas: a paisagem carioca na
legislao municipal (1937-2000), Cadernos Metrpole 19, 271-291.

443

The urban form of the housing policy Minha Casa Minha

Vida in the Metropolitan Area of So Paulo
Veronica Garca Donoso, Eugenio Fernandes Queiroga
Lab-QUAP, FAUUSP, So Paulo, Brazil. E-mail: veronica.donoso@usp.br
This work intends to discuss some results of the recent Brazilian housing policy Minha Casa
Minha Vida (PMCMV), created in 2008 to attends housing needs in several economical fronts.
It is part of a doctorate research developed in So Paulo University, participating in the research
Project named The open spaces systems in the Brazilian urban form constitution: production
and appropriation (2012-2016) held by the Architecture and Urban Planning School of So
Paulo University (FAUUSP). The PMCMV sets, for the first time in Brazilian housing policy,
the participation of the private sector for the construction of social housing. That production
logic brought for the urban space a formal result based on the decrease of the cost of the
construction and increase of the profitability for the builder, whose urban form is thought in
agreement with financial criteria, assisting minimally the demands of the Program and the daily
needs of the population. Due to the economical, social and physical differences in the Brazilian
territory, the results of the Program are varied in the different urban realities. In great urban
centers, like S o Paulo, its difficult to make possible social housing products, due mostly for
the cost of the urban soil in those areas. With that, builders are producing social housing in
cities of the Metropolitan Area of So Paulo, where there are urban soils with accessible prices.
Even so, the formal result is homogeneous, not propitiating identity relation, besides a
precarious distribution of open spaces and communitarian areas.
Key Words: housing policy Minha Casa Minha Vida, open spaces, urban form, urban space
production.

444

Open spaces system: describing the urban morphology of Vila

Marianas district
Helena Degreas, Silvio Macedo.
Faculdade de Arquitetura e Urbanismo, Universidade de So Paulo.
E-mail: hdegreas@uol.com.br , ssmduck@usp.br
Many analysis of urban morphology have been done and generally, they emphasize the
relationship between the architecture of the buildings, urban land subdivisions and street
patterns. The paper proposes another fresh perspective: to consider open spaces as a system, or
better, as one of the urban infrastructures responsible of the urban morphology of human
settlements. In Brazil in many cases during the XX century, the places where the rich and
medium class citizens and sometimes poor people live their public life have been projected,
organized, located and distributed from the obedience of public plans by real estate developers
and state agencies. Although this adjustment provided developers to accommodate recreation
areas, sidewalks and many other places to people, it also created a city with open spaces that
seem to be fragments poorly located, unevenly distributes and dimensions and morphology
unpredictable not always facilitating the realization of public life or even urban appropriation.
Formal and spatial typologies, the concept of functionality of open spaces associated with them
and also the role of the spatial fragments created by according to on percentages laws originated
by urban plans, are some of the aspects that will be presented. The paper will present a result of
a research based on a , S o Paulos district known as Vila Mariana, that is a part of QUAPASEL- Networks research, which is developing the national research project entitled "Open
spaces system in the constitution of the contemporary urban form in Brazil: production and
appropriation".
Key Words: urban morphology, open spaces system, human settlements, landscape architecture.

445

Urban form and multidisciplinarity: contributions to the So

Paulo Master Plan revision
Eugenio Queiroga, Joo Meyer, Silvio Macedo
Faculdade de Arquitetura e Urbanismo, Universidade de So Paulo.
E-mail: queiroga@usp.br , joaomeyer1@yahoo.com.br , ssmduck@usp.br
The Urban Planning applied in So Paulo City during the last 40 years is characterized, as a
rule, by a functionalist approach, very few aware of the structuring open spaces system and the
urban forms resulting from the zoning legislation. Since the end of 2013, the So Paulo Master
Plan is under revision by the City Council and discussed by the society. As a contribution, Lab
QUAP, the landscape laboratory of FAUUSP, proposed guidelines and strategies for the open
spaces system in order to improve its qualification, creating a greater control of urban form
generated by pertinent legislation. Among the main topics, it was suggested the more
comprehensive concept of "Municipal Open Spaces System" instead of "Municipal Green Areas
System", more restrictive. This embracing focus involves all open spaces for conviviality,
leisure, circulation, environmental conservation, private or public owned, vegetated or not.
Besides, plans for open spaces system and more integrated management tools on the topic are
proposed seeking the control of urban form and ensuring proper public appropriation. Among
them are the increasing of necessary public open spaces correlated to the population and
building densities growth and the requirement of previous urban projects for all new
entrepreneurships in land areas larger than 12,000 m. Moreover, the multidisciplinary approach
was the basis for the proposals formulation, bringing together the landscape design, the urban
planning, the morphological studies and the real estate evaluation.
Key words: open space; master plan; So Paulo; density; urban projects.

446

Public policies towards river and streams restoration:

perception and appropriation
Fany Galender, Ana Ceclia Campos
LAB-QUAP, FAUUSP, So Paulo, Brazil.
E-mail: fgalender@uol.com.br , anacecilia@arrudacampos.com
Since the decade of 2000, So Paulo City has been implemented special programs centered on
parks built along rivers and reservoirs. They developed new paradigms in landscape design
contradicting the established urban planning, drainage and sanitation policies since the
beginning of the twentieth century where rivers were concreted, piped underground or even had
their channel rectified. Culturally, these natural structures along with spring sources or lagoons
with relevant landscaping importance are understood as hindrances towards urban development.
Since the recrudescence of environmental legislation, and following international movements
for rivers restoration, new governmental projects involve many different practices. Generally,
by stabilizing the banks with hard or living materials, by controlling the water level reducing
floods and by deflecting or concentrating water flows away from eroding banks, some
satisfactory results towards new forms of occupation are obtained such as public open spaces
connection, urban native forest increasing and buffer zones implementation. Therefore,
removing urban settlements from dangerous areas, these actions create opportunities for new
development in the upland areas, mainly for low-income population. In 2009, there were 48
municipal parks, 15 implemented since 2005, but only 7 linear ones. With a lack of land for new
structures, transforming rivers into linear parks constitute an alternative to increase public open
spaces and, in some cases, developing social relations through community participation. In
addition, they have the potential to transform the urban form of consolidated areas, providing
recreational and sports equipments for a population of 11 million people.
Key Words: open spaces; landscape design; urban form; river restoration; preservation.

447

Morphologic transformations of public spaces in the

surroundings of ova Limas churchs
Marieta Cardoso Maciel, Maria Cristina Teixeira
Project Department, Architecture School, Federal University of Minas Gerais.
E-mail: marietamaciel@gmail.com
The present work aims at evaluating the transformations of central open public spaces in the city
of Nova Lima originating from the Portuguese (1700-1884) and English (1884-1939)
occupation periods focusing on morphology in different historical contexts until current times.
The excessive number of improvised housings, gatherings and the reduced number of plazas and
public parks necessary for public leisure were the motivation to this study, which also observes
the environmental benefits within the urban perimeter of Nova Lima. This analysis will focus on
open public and private spaces modifications in the central area of the municipality since the
occupation started there and it also suffered Portuguese interventions and received English
villages destined to mining. New landscapes appeared and triggered the search for reasons that
could have contributed to the sites morphologic analysis. The places subject of investigation
are located in the surroundings of Bonfim, Pilar and Nossa Senhora do Rosrio churches
including traffic lanes and existing public and private buildings. Also, occupied spaces (public
and private), traffic lanes, citizens and existing natural remainings will be included in the
analysis for belonging to the urban landscape. These are the elements which allow to evaluate
the citys current configuration as well as its environmental quality, and that will certainly
contribute to the improvement of the citys landscape and, especially, for the well-being of the
population.
Key Words: urban morphology, open public spaces, landscape, environment quality.

448

Our Common Future in Urban Morphology

21st International Seminar on Urban Form