Urban Morphology versus Urban Redevelopment and Revitalisation

Table of Contents

1. Frontmatter

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2. Chapter 1. Introduction. Urban Redevelopment and Revitalisation. A Multidisciplinary Perspective

   • Open Access

   Anna Agata Kantarek, Małgorzata Hanzl, Tomasz Figlus, Łukasz Musiaka, Artur Zaguła

   Abstract

   The XXIX ISUF conference book explores the multifaceted theme of urban redevelopment and revitalisation through the lens of urban morphology. It underscores the growing relevance of urban rehabilitation, particularly in light of the principles of urban metabolism and circular economy. It addresses the theoretical and methodological intersections between urban morphology and urban rehabilitation, advocating for a multidisciplinary approach to tackle the diverse challenges of urban renewal. Key themes include political, legal, and administrative conditions influencing urban transformations, and the social and cultural determinants affecting spatial redevelopment. The book also offers a comprehensive review of current theoretical and practical expertise, providing insights into economic, functional, infrastructural changes, and the impacts of climate change on urban strategies. It examines methodological advancements, ranging from traditional case studies to advanced digital tools like GIS and AI. The volume includes detailed analyses of political and economic systems’ influence on urban renewal, case studies on social participation, and the impacts of migration and cultural diversity. Additionally, it discusses theoretical concepts linking urban morphology with urban renewal, exploring sustainability and climate change effects. Practical architectural and urban solutions are highlighted, showcasing implementations from various countries to offer a global perspective on the morphological method in urban revitalisation.

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3. Methods for Analysing the Transformation of Spatial Structures of Settlements

   1. Frontmatter

   2. Chapter 2. Morphogenesis and Urban Change in Newcastle upon Tyne: Context and Process

      • Open Access

      Michael Barke

      Abstract

      This paper will argue that the study of morphological processes has lagged behind the identification and classification of morphological patterns. Examples from Newcastle upon Tyne will be used to illustrate this argument, ranging from mediaeval burgage plots, through a typology of nineteenth-century working-class terraced housing that emerged in the west end of the city, and more recent twentieth-century social housing. It is concluded that a deeper understanding of urban forms is dependent on a stronger focus on the processes operating at a variety of scales.

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   3. Chapter 3. Quantitative Analysis of Urban Form Through Urban Section: A Case Study of Nanjing, China

      • Open Access

      Ziyu Tong, Jingjing Dong, Lian Tang, Zhichao Yu

      Abstract

      A more comprehensive and in-depth understanding of the urban form has been a long-term interest of urban morphology. Compared to a plan view, urban section helps to understand the three-dimensional shape of a city from a transection. As a linear graph, the section can be quantified with some indicators easily and accurately. However, a single section cannot adequately describe the entire urban form, and a series of sections are needed to construct a representation of it. In this research, we test two different series of sections: parallel series and rotational series. In the former, all sections are distributed in parallel at a certain spacing, while in the latter, all sections are rotated around a center point. Taking four different districts of Nanjing, China, as the cases, two series of sections are applied to implement the quantitative analysis of urban form. The different parameters are also analyzed by comparison to determine reasonable values. The results show that the both series are effective in representing the urban morphological characteristics with reasonable parameters. In addition, the rotational series section method has unique advantages in expressing the urban form in different directions.

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   4. Chapter 4. Historical–Geographical and Procedural Typological Approach in Urban Renewal: As a Case Louroujina, Northern Cyprus

      • Open Access

      Nevter Zafer Cömert

      Abstract

      The city is observed and shaped by the development and transformation of its dynamics during the process. Urban morphologies research; analyze the transformation and formation of physical forms of cities in the historical process and transformation. Morphological studies are examined from different perspectives in many countries in a wide range and are spreading to different geographies day by day. English School, one of the pioneers of these studies, MRG Conzen examines morphology through historical–geographical perspective, while Italian school S. Muratori evaluates morphology through typological processes point of view. MRG Conzen, who started to examine morphology at macro-scale in planning processes, and JWR Whitehand, MP Conzen, and M. Bark, who had a great influence on the development of these theories, examined urban morphology in the context of (a) town plan, (b) townscape, and (c) fringe belts by the means of planning level. On the other hand, S. Muratori and his continuation G.F. Cannigia, who examine micro-scale morphology from an architectural point of view, advance urban morphology within the scope of (a) buildings, (b) urban tissue, and (c) urban organism. The studies created by these two schools also have an important place in the discussion of rehabilitation and protection plans on theory. Suggestions and solutions for the practical application of theory, which is being discussed today, are actually examples of the practical analysis of these studies. In this context, the aim of this study is to examine and put into practice the morphological analysis methods, which are considered together with the architectural scale theories and practices, starting from historical–geographical approach within the scope of planning scale and typological procedural approach on rehabilitation and renewal projects. While doing all this, it is to examine the role of local users, NGOs, governmental bodies, and municipalities (local bodies) at every stage of these projects and the place of their inclusion in the project in practice. The results of this research will lead both the planners and architects in rehabilitation and renovation projects, by creating a basis for the method, and how the method will be analyzed in terms of morphology in future studies and its reflections on practice.

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   5. Chapter 5. Intellectual Heritage for Morphological Studies in Belgrade, Serbia: Understanding Spatial Transformations Through Review of Academic and Practical Thoughts and Actions from 1969 to 1981

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      Vladan Djokić, Milica P. Milojević, Aleksandra Milovanović, Aleksandra Djordjević, Mladen Pešić

      Abstract

      If heritage is about continuity, then intellectual heritage is about continuity of knowledge, ideas and thoughts that allows us to learn from the past and make informed decisions in the future. Accordingly, the paper strives to establish review of academic and practical thoughts and actions within the scope of urban morphology in Belgrade starting from the period after World War II until the beginning of 1980s. Therefore, the two research questions were (a) what kind of theoretical and methodological approaches have emerged in local context over this period and (b) on which manner these approaches reflect, confirm, or deny emerging interpretations around global research landscape in spatial transformation? The research engages the literature review method through three steps: (1) analysis of relevant bibliographic units from magazine Urbanism of Belgrade dating from the most influential planning period (1969–1981), (2) content analysis of selected units and (3) deriving key notions and actions. These sources provide background for tracing the intellectual progression for the field on local level—key authorities and precedents. The paper results—over the timeline—in the evolution of theoretical and practical reflection on morphological studies in a local context, and provides a new theoretical perspective for understanding intellectual heritage and for guiding future actions, contributing to critical visions and disciplinary discussion within Serbian Network of Urban Morphology (SNUM). The research has both practical and theoretical impetus and is based on the assumption that research on locally specific approaches on the renewal processes is an important puzzle in understanding the global research agenda in the subject area and accordingly seeks to show the roots and precedents in the context of Serbia.

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   6. Chapter 6. Quantity Versus Quality: Do Citizens in Denser Neighbourhoods Have Poorer Access to Urban Open Spaces? A Pilot Study in Stavanger, Norway

      • Open Access

      Todor Kesarovski, Fabio Hernández-Palacio

      Abstract

      The sufficient provision of urban open spaces (UOS) is fundamental for sustaining good quality of life in cities. This is an aspect long established within urban planning. Indeed, the balance between built masses and open spaces has been crucial for the discipline’s development and innovative practices in spatial design. This paper presents a pilot study correlating the concentrations of built form and population with 10-minute walk access to UOS, including both grey and green areas. We realise this in three steps. First, we verify the availability of all UOS for flexible utilisation by the public. Second, all UOS are evaluated through a qualitative score matrix. And third, we assess the amount of UOS that is accessible from each residential building within the 10-minute isochrone through network analysis. The research results challenge the notion that citizens in denser neighbourhoods have poorer provisions of good quality UOS. On the contrary, the examined case studies illustrate that inhabitants within denser areas have physical access to a greater quantity of UOS. This fact becomes even more significant when one considers the individual open spaces’ elements, amenities and connectivity. The realised analysis indicates that if one aims to effectively assess the provisions of UOS within cities, a more complex and diverse picture must be drawn in the evaluation process. Only then the impact of planning strategies such as urban densification can be fairly evaluated with respect to the pressure the process puts on the available green and grey UOS.

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   7. Chapter 7. Reading for Rewriting Chinese Urban Form: The Dual Typo-Morphology of Nanshijie Block in Ganzhou

      • Open Access

      Laura Anna Pezzetti, Li Bao

      Abstract

      Reading urban form is essential for establishing a cultural relationship with the site’s history, memory and future writings. As Chinese historic sites are generally considered the loci of a despatialised textual memory lacking physical substance, the condition of latency and disappearance together with an overestimation of intangible values too often open the path to unjustified erasures, substitutions and re-historicisation through replicas. Yet, by understanding the place not only through what is today detectable by the eye but rather as a historically layered and culturally defined context, we can inaugurate a methodology to decode the site as an “already-written” text that requires interpretation and guides future writing. The Nanshijie site in Ganzhou Historic City is a paradigmatic urban text that has become unreadable. Through the reading of morphology and building types combined with the hermeneutic work of decoding traces and absences, the research revealed the latent urban form in three structuring components and “Latent Structures” that still inform the site’s readability and potential rewritability. The cognition and interaction between these essential components should be the starting point for defining the “city part” and its conservation boundaries, that is, integrating preservation, regeneration and design approaches into one co-evolutionary rewriting of urban form.

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   8. Chapter 8. From Maps to Diagrams. A Morphological Tool to Unravel Transitional Processes

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      Rossella Gugliotta

      Abstract

      Studying the regeneration and revitalisation of urban tissues involves addressing transitional changes as processes occurring over time. Traditional methods in the Italian morphological theory aim to develop a qualitative and conjectural approach to uncover transitional laws within the city. In these methods, maps play a fundamental role in studying the process providing a first interpretation of what changes and what remains fixed inside the city. However, a gap exists between traditional studies and emerging quantitative methodologies. This research investigates maps developing their diagrammatic components to bridge traditional approaches with new perspectives in the field. The starting point is the analysis of maps of the cities of Venice (Saverio Muratori), Como (Gianfranco Caniggia), and Turin (Augusto Cavallari-Murat). By decomposing these three maps, it becomes possible to define the temporal, symbolic and diagrammatic components that make these maps a tool for studying urban change with a forward-looking perspective. The research enhances map components that can help visualise the qualitative method, working on diagrammatic elements of the tool. This approach is a starting point for developing a methodology and a tool to read morphological transitional events. The final output is a diagram that bridges the gap between traditional methods and innovative AI tools.

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   9. Chapter 9. Typology and Morphology: The Gene of Chinese Traditional Town Form

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      Laura Anna Pezzetti, Wowo Ding

      Abstract

      This round table aims at the conceptual exploration of theories, tools and case studies for a comparative reading of Chinese Traditional Town Forms, focussing on how to interpret Chinese morphology and to view the relationship between Chinese traditional town forms and its building types. The main question of research epistemology and methodology is the contact point between analysis and design.

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   10. Chapter 10. Typo-morphology in the Cognition of Traditional Landscape Region—Case Study of Urban Design Project in Changting Town, China

       • Open Access

       Yidan Liu, Lian Tang, Wowo Ding

       Abstract

       Typo-morphology can be seen as the research perspective and methodology of urban morphology. The terms typo-morphology are typological and morphological because they describe urban forms according to the detailed classification of building types, emphasizing the relationship between building types and overall form in the evolution of urban morphology. In order to better integrate urban morphological research with practice to identify traditional landscape region, it is worthwhile to apply the perspective and method of typo-morphology to deeply recognize the traditional landscape characteristics of the old town based on local types. This study examines the characteristics of GIS platform on the basis of the tradition of Conzen and Caniggia through the case of our urban renewal projects in Changting Town, a historic town in the south of China. First of all, investigation and learning of local building types with traditional characteristics are the tools to understand the basic unit of urban form preliminarily. Secondly, presenting traditional landscape characteristics from two aspects including characteristics of building composition and spatial perception, and doing some simple data overlay analysis helps us to clarify more scientific traditional landscape areas. Finally, we have determined the reasonable traditional landscape region by combining the discussion of other historical information in details. The paper concludes that the term typo-morphology are meaningful in delineating traditional landscape region, which makes an important contribution to the renewal and protection of old town in China.

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4. Economic, Functional, Infrastructural Changes and Political, Legal, and Administrative Conditions for the Redevelopment and Renewal of the Urban Tissue

   1. Frontmatter

   2. Chapter 11. The New Urban Agenda in Urban Redevelopment: The Central Role of Public Space Networks

      • Open Access

      Michael W. Mehaffy

      Abstract

      Public spaces, and their intimate structural relationship to private spaces, have long been a central interest of urban morphologists. Recent developments in network science have shed new light on the complexity of public space networks, with specific implications for policy, education, and practice. These developments come at a historical moment when all 193 member states of the United Nations have recently adopted by acclamation the New Urban Agenda, a landmark framework agreement for global urbanization through 2036. As it happens, the New Urban Agenda has much to say about public space networks, their structure, and their importance—but implementation remains a historic challenge.

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   3. Chapter 12. From Feudalism to Socialism: Socialization Process and Changes in Political Meaning of the Built Environment in Traditional City Central Areas

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      Xueqi Chen, Feng Song

      Abstract

      Institutional plot refers to the built environment with relatively strong political and power attributes in Conzenian School. Under the background of urban development and political change, the spatial organization and social relations of institutional plot changes with the use and accessibility, which has specific performance in core element, crowd flow, element organization and structure, reflect a lot of the political control of the city. It can be expressed in the following three forms: (1) Breakthrough of function, (2) Breakthrough of town plan and (3) Breakthrough of the accessibility. In this paper, two case studies corresponding to the above breakthrough processes were carried out in Beijing, which were located in the central location of traditional cities, the most representative expression of political space in China, experienced the historical change with political meanings from feudal to modern society. We believe that the findings can reflect the relationship between morphological transformation and urban political and social reform. In the process of socialist China’s transformation, the institutional plot and monumental space under the original feudal system have been transformed accordingly, which are long with the reshaping of society and citizens. A mechanism of influence should be established between the renewal of the institutional plot and the political, social and cultural conditions.

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   4. Chapter 13. Exploring the Interaction Between Urban Landscape and Regeneration Decision-Making Factors in the Context of Urban Regeneration, Exemplified by Liverpool Docklands

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      Junyuan Lu, Feng Song

      Abstract

      Urban regeneration is emerging as an important means of transforming cities for development, with built environment as the main object of operation. Modern urban regeneration process has become a mechanism in the evolution of urban landscape, where decision-making factors such as legal, institutional and administrative systems have a direct impact on the implementation of regeneration activities. In turn, the built environment will also influence the urban decision-making process. Accordingly, this article interprets the important role of decision-making factors in urban regeneration from the perspective of urban landscape, taking Liverpool docklands as a case as it bears the history of shipping and trade and is also the main area of Liverpool’s urban regeneration. Based on the literature and official documents, this article reviews the urban regeneration process staging in Liverpool Docklands, identifies the decision-making factors, and constructs an explanatory framework, then the role of decision-making factors in shaping urban landscape is interpreted in stage. It is found that the role of decision-making factors is rooted in the notion of legitimacy of development power and influenced by institutional systems and administrative relationships, generally involving different agents from public, private and intermediate organisations. And the role in shaping urban landscape takes three forms: restrictive, chance and evolutionary.

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   5. Chapter 14. The Impact of Plot Configuration on the Patterns of Spatial Change: A Diachronic Approach to the Urban Redevelopment Processes in New York, Melbourne and Barcelona

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      Onur Tümtürk

      Abstract

      Investigation of the patterns of urban (re)development and identification of the laws behind these processes are critically important to understand how cities evolve under different material conditions. Without denying the effect of socio-economic, cultural and historical peculiarities, it could be argued that ‘urban form’ itself is also an important aspect guiding future patterns of redevelopment. This research aims to examine morphological conditions created by plot structures and their impact on the patterns of urban redevelopment in three international case studies: Midtown Manhattan (New York), Central Melbourne (Melbourne) and Eixample (Barcelona). Physical changes that occurred in each selected site during identified analysis periods are mapped and measured by relying on a longitudinal geospatial database generated from various cartographic resources. The relationship between patterns of physical change and selected quantitative urban form descriptions of plots (plot size, accessible plot density, plot frontage, accessible plot frontage and accessible plot size diversity) is analysed in a diachronic manner. The empirical investigation indicates that character of plot configuration plays an important role in guiding long-term physical change. Critical discussion of these morphological parameters will contribute to our understanding of urban redevelopment processes and help to achieve resilient and adaptable urban spaces by providing specific design conditions.

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   6. Chapter 15. The Impact of Innovation Economy on Urban Form and Its Transformation: Taking Cases on Shenzhen

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      Zhenyuan Yang, Kai Xu

      Abstract

      In recent years, many startup businesses have grown with the development of the so-called high-tech industries. Unlike conventional enterprises, these firms prefer to settle down in city centers, which gradually form innovation clusters leading to renewal processes that transform old buildings in the city. The aim of this paper is to research how the innovation economy has boosted such renewal processes and its impact on urban form. Shenzhen has been selected as the case study, which is known as the fastest-growing Chinese city highly dependent on its high-tech industry. The method is to map the distribution of 19,232 innovation companies by linking their spatial information with their innovation capacity indexes. Certain concentration areas can be identified and classified as innovation clusters according to their business models. The innovation clusters are categorized into four types. Their distribution patterns, characteristics, and formulation principles were analyzed to investigate the relation between the business composition of innovation clusters and urban morphology. By analyzing the Che-Gong-Miao area, the function of old factory buildings and their value in the renewal process was revealed. A set of morphological principles can be concluded regarding such renewal processes driven by the innovation economy.

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