2014 Volume 18.1
Editorial comment
ISUF after 20 years: reculer pour mieux sauter
Articles
Cartographical sources for urban morphological research in China
K. Gu and J. Zhang {+}Abstract [Full paper, PDF, 23MB]
ABSTRACT: The use of cartographical sources is fundamental to understanding
urban landscapes. Despite the increasing amount of research on the changing
physical form of Chinese cities, knowledge of the sources and access to them
remain poor. True ground plans showing streets, plots and building blockplans
are rare. This paper highlights the importance in urban morphology of
the use of those limited cartographical sources that are available in China,
including their use in conjunction with field surveys and other sources of
information.
Urban morphological research and planning practice: a Portuguese assessment
V. Oliveira, M. Silva and I. Samuels {+}Abstract [Full paper, PDF, 18MB]
ABSTRACT: This paper assesses the 2006 Plano Director Municipal of Porto,
Portugal as a contribution to the ISUF Task Force on Research and Practice
in Urban Morphology. It focuses on the application of the urban tissue concept
and is in three parts: i) an assessment of the plan and its typological approach;
ii) an assessment of the results on the ground; and iii) an assessment of the
planning process, developed under the framework of the plan.
Ambiguity in the definition of built form
K. Kropf {+}Abstract [Full paper, PDF, 1.2MB]
ABSTRACT: A detailed critical analysis of the definitions of built form as used
in urban morphology is reported. The overarching aim of the analysis was to
establish a common reference point for examination of the different aspects of
urban form in a given case and comparative study of cases from different times
and places. Seminal works are examined in detail, in particular 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
that allows for the richness of overlapping sets reconciles earlier conceptions
and accommodates a wide range of specific forms.
The new urban form and the model city: town planning in the Brazilian hinterland
R. L. Rego {+}Abstract [Full paper, PDF, 30MB]
ABSTRACT: The diffusion of planning ideas incorporates both objective learning
and more imaginative processes. This paper explores the interconnection of
these two factors in Sinop, a new town in Brazil’s Mato Grosso state, planned
by private developers in 1972. Sinop’s layout was commonly believed to reflect
features of Maringá, a new town founded in 1945 in southern Brazil, whose
highly rated design was planned according to formal garden-city principles.
Like Sinop, Maringá was developed by private investors as part of a systematic
colonization and deliberate urbanization process. Although Maringá was
taken as a model for Sinop’s design, the two urban forms appear fairly distinct.
Viewpoints
Urban design as urban morphology E. Talen
Consolidating urban morphology as a discipline K. Kropf
A symbolic articulation of morphological structure S. Marshall
The metropolitan skyline: researching the vertical dimension in urban morphology M. Appert and C. Montès
Manuals for urban morphological education V. Oliveira
Hypothesizing Roman Alnwick T. R. Slater
Excavating the origins of urban form: Çatalhöyük A. Krim
[Viewpoints, PDF]
Reports
Ninth International Space Syntax Symposium, Seoul, 2013 R. Dalton
Planning processes for sustainable urban form, Karlskrona, 2013 P. J. Larkham
Inaugural Seminar of the Chinese Network of Urban Morphology, Nanjing, 2013 A. Lu
[Reports, PDF]
Book reviews
E. Firley and K. Gron (2013) The urban masterplanning handbook H. Davis
J. Düwel and N. Gutschow (eds) (2013) A blessing in disguise: war and town planning in Europe, 1940-1945 D. Adams
H. Davis (2012) Living over the store: architecture and local urban life S. Costa
V. Oliveira (2013) A evolução das formas urbanas de Lisboa e do Porto nos séculos XIX e XX E. Pinheiro
[Book reviews, PDF]
Book notes
[Book notes, PDF]
Notes and notices
- ISUF 2014: Our common future in urban morphology
- Meeting of the Council of ISUF
- Revista de Morfologia Urbana
- ISUF 2015: City as organism: new visions for urban life