Sir Patrick Geddes: Pioneer in Town Planning (PDF)

PATRICK GEDDES biologist, sociologist, geographer, philanthropist and pioneering town planner October 2, 1854 – April 17 1932  Early life and influences: Patrick Geddes was born on October 2, 1854 in the village of Ballater Early childhood spent gardening, con...

PATRICK GEDDES biologist, sociologist, geographer, philanthropist and pioneering town planner October 2, 1854 – April 17 1932  Early life and influences: Patrick Geddes was born on October 2, 1854 in the village of Ballater Early childhood spent gardening, conducting science experiment and exploring the country side. 1874 to 1878 studied at the Royal College of Mines in London under Thomas Henry Huxley  Founder of the College des Ecossaise (Scots College) an international teaching establishment in Montpellier, France. 1880 to 1888 he lectured in Zoology at Edinburgh University By 1920-23 - professor of Civics and Sociology in University of Bombay  A “polymath” – a man of many parts, spent his life in the various field he was in all over the world. He was knighted in 1932 shortly before his death in Montpellier Patrick Geddes -Also known as “Father of Modern Town Planning” First to link sociological concepts into town planning Among his notable works include Chapters in modern botany, 1893 City development: a study of parks, gardens, and culture institutes, 1904 Cities in evolution: an introduction to the town planning movement and to the study of civics, 1915 The evolution of sex, 1889 (jointly with Sir J. Arthur Thomson) The coming polity: a study in reconstruction, 1917 (jointly with Victor Verasis Branford Our social inheritance, 1919 (jointly with Victor Verasis Branford) In merely a span of five to six years (1914-1919), he drew up nearly 50 plans for Indian cities. The list includes Baroda, Calcutta, Indore, Lahore, Lucknow, Nagpur, and Patiala and some replanning or extensions of cities such as Ahmedabad, Amritsar, and Bombay.. British era in India between 1858 to 1947 Concepts Patrick Geddes explained an organism’s relation ship to its environment as: “ The environment acts, through function upon the organism and conversely the organism acts, through function, upon the environment” (Cities in Evolution, 1915) In human terms this can be understood as a place acting through climatic and geographical processes upon people and thus shaping them. At the same people act, through economic processes such as farming and construction, on a place and thus shape it. Hence, both place and folk are linked and through work are in constant transition.  Geddes and the valley section Geddes first publish his idea of the valley section in 1909 to illustrate his idea of the ”region-city” The region is expressed in the city and the city spreads influence of the highest level into the region To put it another way, Geddes said that “it takes a whole region to make the city” The valley section illustrated the application of Geddes’s trilogy of “folk/work/place” to analysis of the region The valley section is a complex model which combines physical condition-geology and geomorphology and their biological associations – with so called natural or basic occupations such as miner, hunter, shepherd or fisher and with the human settlements that arise from them. GEDDIAN TRIO REPRESENTATION Geddes and the Constellation Concept CONSTELLATION THEORY refers to “4 or more cities, which are not economically, politically, socially equal come together in developing a whole region” This theory is mostly used for administrative purpose in all countries worldwide. Such theory is most prominently used because planning cities in a particular shape pattern is not possible in today’s times. Geddes and the Conurbation Theory The term "conurbation" was coined in 1915 by Patrick Geddes in his book Cities In Evolution. Internationally, the term "urban agglomeration" is often used to convey a similar meaning to "conurbation" “Conurbation” - waves of population inflow to large cities, followed by overcrowding and slum formation, and then the wave of backflow – the whole process resulting in amorphous sprawl, waste, and unnecessary obsolescence. A conurbation is a region comprising a number of cities, large towns, and other urban areas that, through population growth and physical expansion, have merged to form one continuous urban and industrially developed area.  Geddes developed a new approach to regional and town planning based on the integration of people and their livelihood into the environmental givens of the particular place and region they inhabit He emphasized that sound planning decisions have to be based on a detailed regional survey, which established an inventory of a region’s hydrology, geology, flora, fauna, climate and natural topography, as well as its social and economic opportunities and challenges  PRINCIPLES building with nature to make it an integral part of the physical contour of cityscape diagnostic survey and conservative surgery formed the basis of planning, town planning was not mere ‘place’ planning, it was essentially ‘people’ planning The city was a complicated tapestry or an organism rather than a machine.  Developing a city worthy of civic pride, not an imitation of European cities. Promoting the happiness, health and comfort of all residents, rather than focusing on roads and parks available only to the rich. Control over future growth with adequate provision for future requirements.  Ecological cities Geddes’ idea of a city incorporated, besides considerations of housing, sanitation, and adequate infrastructural facilities, open green spaces, parks, gardens, trees, and water bodies.  For the health and beauty of a city, building with and in cooperation with nature was crucial, believed that for human beings, close contact with nature was necessary and beneficial, for it had the power to heal, and to nurture;  its presence ensured mental and physical health and happiness to all life itself Town planning was not a new special branch of engineering, or of sanitation, building, architecture, gardening or any other fine arts, as most people mistakenly believed. It was not even a new specialization to be added to the existing ones; its larger purpose, Geddes asserted, was to combine all of them ‘towards civic well-being’. To town planning, he brought the methods of ‘diagnostic survey’ and ‘conservative surgery’, concepts taken from the medical science, which formed the basis for the entire exercise of planning Diagnostic survey implied an extensive, preferably walking tour of city, meeting and talking to people in order to acquaint oneself with how the city had grown and what problems it faced at present. Conservative surgery essentially meant improvement of the city with the minimum of human and financial cost. Geddes believed that every city had its rundown areas with dilapidated houses, ugly and unhealthy quarters, congested and narrow lanes, natural systems that had fallen into disuse, but which could be upgraded and renewed without adopting drastic and expensive measures of removing or destroying them.  Each city is unique, different in its own way, has a soul and a spirit which characterizes it must be planned individually, with due respect for its individuality. In refusing to create an urban ideal, he opposed “those town planners who design a shell and then pack their snail of a would-be progressive city into it, not discerning that the only real and well-fitting shell is that which the creature at its growing periods throws out for its own life,” Geddes made every effort to provide the best possible living conditions and facilities for every section, including the most underprivileged, at the same time preserve the cultural and natural asset of a city.  Observations and Contributions while in India In Lahore, he was astonished to find that the layout plan proposed by the municipal officials for a particular site, swept away not only the old buildings but also temples, mosques, dharmshalas, and tombs. All the dwellings, shops, and existing roads and lanes were to be destroyed.  In Broach, where similar plans for arbitrary widening of streets were made in committee rooms and offices, he had to remind the administrators and experts that ‘roads and streets are for houses, not houses for roads’. In Gujarat, he pleaded for the broken-down wells to be repaired and maintained; the beautiful local architecture and crafts to be protected and promoted  In southern cities, he recommended the water bodies surrounding the majestic temples to be cleaned and made accessible. In Patiala, he proposed a photographic exhibition of the old dilapidated houses so as to evoke a sense of pride among the inhabitants In Dacca, he suggested measures to protect the ‘Khals’, a natural drainage system of great efficiency and beauty, from further deterioration. He vociferously argued again the prevalent practice of concretization of water bodies to control the mosquito menace. In every city, he identified open spaces, large and small, which could be planted with suitable trees, or turned into parks, even small vegetable gardens. Everywhere he tried to convince officials and influential local citizens to establish small museums to educate the citizenry in history of their cities, the good, bad and ugly and to reveal the potential for their improvement. Geddes was different from other city planners, his predecessors as well successors. He did not want to design a city in accordance with a pattern, there was no one pattern, one design, and he did not have one which could be used to make a city. Cities were not made from nothing; they grew and had life of their own. Geddes used the beautiful metaphor of the city as “complicated tapestry, eternally in the process of being woven,”. A lesson for us to learn is that too many factors, human and non-human, go into weaving this tapestry Tel-Aviv(Israel) The Geddes Plan for Tel Aviv was the first master city plan for Tel-Aviv In 1925 Patrick Geddes was commissioned to design a master plan for the city of Tel Aviv and the plan he produced was accepted in 1929 Tel Aviv turned out to be the only example of one of Geddes’ plan being built largely as he envisaged and is a good example of an early planned city The area of Tel Aviv originally planned by Geddes makes up approximately 7.5% of the current day municipality of Tel Aviv and is now known as Tel Aviv’s “Old North” It was designed to be an extension of the much older neighboring Arabic port town Jaffa to the south and a home for the increasing population of Jews emigrating from the other parts of the world (predominantly Eastern Europe) The principle he employed for the city were striking similar to what we now know as New Urbanism ideas of planning ▪ an emphasis was placed on pedestrians as opposed to motor car traffic, ▪ a sense of community and a civic life was encouraged through the use of town squares and abundant planting of greenery provided significant focus on minimal environmental foot print ▪ private automobile traffic was minimized and the city was envisage on a pedestrian scale. This neighborhood identity has been crucial in the success of Tel Aviv as a City “But a city is more than a place in space, it is a drama in time.” - Sir Patrick Geddes Thank you!  References https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/ar ticle/abs/pii/S0169204616301864 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Geddes_Plan_for_Tel_Aviv Design and Planning for People in Place: Sir Patrick Geddes (1854–1932) and the Emergence of Ecological Planning, Ecological Design, and Bioregionalism | by Daniel Christian Wahl | Medium