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Extending Urban Morphology: Drawing Together Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches

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The Mathematics of Urban Morphology

Abstract

This chapter explores the complex and varied nature of ‘urban morphology’ and how a traditional, largely qualitative approach could be extended by the range of current and potential quantitative techniques to form a ‘new urban morphology’. The problems and advantages of innovative and interdisciplinary research are explored. The potential of such a ‘new urban morphology’ is in developing more robust and comprehensive approaches to understanding urban form, incorporating the multiple dimensions of scale, dynamics, production, and consumption.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    This was Bobek’s first methodological paper, written at the age of 23.

  2. 2.

    Note the volume of medical citations when searching Google Scholar for ‘morphology’.

  3. 3.

    By which I mean more than sociology; though settlements are social constructs hence sociology has a place, probably under-recognised, in urban morphology.

  4. 4.

    Though military history shows their frequent fallibility.

  5. 5.

    Though ‘observation’, physical engagement in the field, is a valuable constituent of much morphological research (Larkham 2018).

  6. 6.

    Interestingly given the focus of this chapter, Stan Openshaw moved from explicitly urban morphological research to computation, automated geographical analysis tools, GIS, artificial intelligence and fuzzy logic applications.

  7. 7.

    See the special issue of the journal Development (2017, vol. 144, no. 23).

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Birmingham City University, Birmingham, England

    Peter J. Larkham

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  1. Peter J. Larkham
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Correspondence to Peter J. Larkham .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Interuniversity Department of Regional and Urban Studies and Planning, Politecnico di Torino, Torino, Italy

    Luca D'Acci

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Larkham, P.J. (2019). Extending Urban Morphology: Drawing Together Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches. In: D'Acci, L. (eds) The Mathematics of Urban Morphology. Modeling and Simulation in Science, Engineering and Technology. Birkhäuser, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-12381-9_25

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