The idea of morphological regions as a tool in planning and design

Abstract

A great deal has been written on how to get a better understanding of urban form, to identify transformation processes of existing types, patterns of urban form elements, and types of forms. The idea of ‘morphological regions’, proposed within the historico-geographical approach by M.R.G. Conzen, has been one of the most powerful tools to overcome the difficulties of reading extremely diversified urban forms. The concept of region is clear. A region is an area that has unity in respect of its form that distinguishes it from surrounding areas, based on a combination of town plan, building fabric and land and building utilization. However, the concept still remains elusive among scholars and practitioners in regarding to how it deals with reading urban form, and what the capability of the concept is. On this basis, this paper attempts to clarify these inexplicit aspects. The paper has two main goals. First, it identifies the establishment morphological region on the basis of the tripartite division of the urban landscape - the town plan (streets, plots and their aggregation into street-blocks, buildings), the building fabric, and the land and building utilization. Second, it demonstrates the ability of the concept to be applied into planning and design practices. In this way, it is elucidated that reading urban form based on the idea of morphological regions can serve a sound basis for: new design, conservation area delimitation and control, heritage management, character assessment, urban landscape management, suitability and effectiveness of area preservation, and enhancement strategies.