2002 Volume 6.2
Editorial comment
An Italian focus and beyond
Articles
The study of urban form in Italy
N. Marzot {+}Abstract [Full paper, PDF]
ABSTRACT: This paper demonstrates the strong relationship between urban morphology and urban design within the Italian traditions of architecture and urbanism. Attention is focused on the work of architects and urban planners during the twentieth century, the period in which urban morphology and urban design emerged in Italy. A common cultural background shared by all those contributing to the field is the concept of `type' and the assertion of a close connection between urban morphology and building typology. In contrast, different positions emerge in the interpretation of what the contemporary city should be, and this has, in turn, had an influence on the analysis of urban form. For this reason the typological debate in Italy has always had a strong ideological component. Instead of a common attempt at mutual understanding, urban morphology has been strongly characterized by a systematic, reciprocal misunderstanding among its followers. This paper attempts to define the multiplicity of cultural positions within the field according to the particular design and planning goals of those positions, in the conviction that the complexity of the current urban phenomenon can no longer be confronted from a single point of view.
The city as form and structure: the urban project in Italy from the 1920s to the 1980s
A.B. Menghini {+}Abstract [Full paper, PDF]
ABSTRACT: Since the end of the First World War Italian architecture has had an original and decisive impact on theories and methods of urban planning. The complexity of this impact emerges if one compares the various positions of those who have expressed a clear idea of the city and made careful observations on urban planning through systematic theories or empirical methodologies Some have assumed as a basis for their research the relation between building typology and urban morphology, while others have emphasized one specific aspect of the city. These various approaches have generated a diversity of project methods and tools. What links all these experiences is the desire to bring the urban question back to the realm of architecture: to bridge the divide between architecture and urbanism as disciplines.
Viewpoints
Misusing 'morphology'? P.J. Larkham
Reinventing morphological regions? N. Morton
Reports
Conference of the Urban History Group, Birmingham P. Jones
Meetings of the Council of ISUF K.S. Kropf
The Caniggia Seminar, Cernobbio I. Samuels
Book reviews
W. Fulton (2001) The reluctant metropolis K. Stanilov
T. Harlander (ed.) (2001) Villa und Eigenheim K. Arntz
K. Kropf (ed.) (2001) Stratford-on-Avon District design guide T. Hall
C. Loeb (2001) Entrepreneurial vernacular B.C. Scheer
W.S. Logan (2000) Hanoi: biography of a city P.J. Larkham
Notes and notices
- International Geographical Congress 2004
- Personalia
- Surburban Space
- Legislation and urban form in France
- ISUF 2003
- 2003 IFLA World Congress