EXPLORING COMBINED APPROACH OF URBAN MORPHOLOGY TO PLAN UNIT RECOGNITION AND LANDSCAPE UNIT EVALUATION

Abstract

Combining and coordinating different schools of thought and approaches to enhance the description, explanation and prescription of urban form, is one of the key challenges facing urban morphology. In recent years, there have been notable endeavors on conceptualizing the combination of the historico-geographical and the configurational approaches, yet empirical studies are rare. In particular, it still remains implicit how and to what extent these two approaches could be combined, and in which ways the combined approach can be applied to urban design and urban landscape management. In this study, an analytical method that combines the historico-geographical approach and the configurational approach is developed. It firstly examines how the generic configuration of street network is related to the context-specific formation and transformation of plan units, and secondly explores how the socio-economic performance of urban form described and prescribed by street configuration and land use varies in landscape units. Two case studies are conducted, one is Ludlow, UK, and the other is Old Chengnan District, Nanjing, China. Based on the analytical results, it further discusses how the combined approach can inform the design and management of urban landscape, in particular the small-scale and incremental interventions of form and function in new developments.