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An Introduction to the Work of JWR Whitehand

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J.W.R. Whitehand and the Historico-geographical Approach to Urban Morphology

Part of the book series: The Urban Book Series ((UBS))

Abstract

Over recent decades, the historico-geographical approach has been prominent in the debate on the physical form of cities and the agents and processes shaping that form over time. With origins in the work of German-speaking researchers—particularly MRG Conzen—this approach has been systematically developed since the 1960s by researchers in various parts of the world. JWR Whitehand structured an innovative and comprehensive school of urban morphological thought grounded on the invaluable basis provided by Conzen. This is the main argument of this book, published on the 80th anniversary of Whitehand’s birth. The development of several dimensions of the concepts of fringe belt and morphological region and the systematic exploration of the theme of agents of change are identified in this chapter as key contributions by Whitehand to the development of this school of thought.

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Acknowledgements

I owe an incalculable debt to Professor Jeremy Whitehand. Over the last fifteen years, in a direct way (through personal conversations or through email correspondence) and in an indirect way (through his notable and extensive work), Jeremy Whitehand has been my main influence in the field of urban morphology. More particularly, I should like to thank him for providing detailed and indispensable information for writing Chap. 1 and for recording ‘An interview with Professor JWR Whitehand’ in the University of Birmingham in October 2016. The idea for editing this book emerged in that week that I have spent in Newcastle upon Tyne, Alnwick and Birmingham. For that, I should also like to thank the warm hospitality of Susan and Jeremy Whitehand, and of Vivienne and Michael Barke.

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  1. Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal

    Vítor Oliveira

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  1. Vítor Oliveira
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  1. Centro de Investigação do Território, Transportes e Ambiente, Faculdade de Engenharia, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal

    Vítor Oliveira

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Oliveira, V. (2019). An Introduction to the Work of JWR Whitehand. In: Oliveira, V. (eds) J.W.R. Whitehand and the Historico-geographical Approach to Urban Morphology. The Urban Book Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-00620-4_1

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