Spiro Kostof ‘The City Shaped - Urban Patterns and Meaning Through History’ 1991, main concepts
urban design morphological research, based on anthropological, or architectural history approach
Researched by: Matan Golan
Kostof’s ‘The City Shaped - Urban Patterns and Meaning Through History’ lais down the major events and social order changes from the ancient till the modern era, as practiced and implemented over the political-physical human context - the City. It is globalized is a sense of referencing to study cases from varied historical times, geographical locations, and societies. The book might be accused in a sense of nostalgia and lacks practicality to contemporary times - though, in a way, it gives planners and urban designers tools/‘hints’ by revealing strategic patterns of adaptations to ‘contemporary times’ as practiced by earlier societies over a vast history. As for the argument that most study cases are western and nostalgic, appendix 5 includes a table which consists the study cases which are explained with a diagram in chapter 3 - the grid, in Kostof’s book. Indeed, most cases in this chapter are American, European and Mediterranean examples. In the text itself, Kostof gives more Asian cases in a brief way. The amount of African and Oceanian cases are neglected. Yet, in terms of coverage of urbanized areas in the date of the book publishment - it does reveal main cases of urbanization. Due to the fact that this is also an anthropological research, it's understandable that most study cases are western - as the need for full understanding of social order and politics is dependent on intimate understanding of culture. Therefore, I see it as modest, rather than biased. As we can see from the table, the cases are reflecting the areas which went through development along history, which left written archive that explains their culture. If Kostof was alive among us these days, perhaps, the rapid waves of urbanization in the southern hemisphere developing world cities would have been analyzed as well in an additional edition.
Kostof theory has theoretical contemporary context of authors discussing urban design. Kevin Lynch’s is cited a few times by Kostof due to shared ideas among the two - though Lynch’s approach investigated the relations of urban form and human life, while Kostof investigates social order and urban patterns. Lynch’s five elements of the city have great similarities with Kostof three ‘basic components of the city’ (street pattern, land use pattern and building fabric - pp 26). Chapter four - the grand manner is equivalent to Lynch’s landmark, as well as chapter five - the urban skyline. Rossi’s ‘Architecture and the City’ concept of collective memory, the importance of monuments, the past that is experienced in the present - urban memory; has a great emphasis with Kostof layering of time by the urban process. As for Rowe & Koetter ‘Collage City’ concept of the collision city and the politics of the ‘bricolage’ - it’s a reflection of Kostof concept of ‘coexistence’ of patterns, and the political-physical manifesto of the ‘urban process’. Architecture, planning and urban design are creating three-dimensional reality for humankind from two-dimensional language. But, when performing their full potential as political tools for the crowd, it’s the fourth dimension that is embedded - the dimension of time.
Essay heads:
1. Intro
2. Urban Process
3. Characteristics of Cities
4. Organic urban patterns - Ville Spontanee’
5. Grid Patterns - Ville Cree’
6. Coexistence of Urban Patterns
7. Conclusions
