Journal - Abstracts vol.2 nr.2 (1998)

E.Koster - Urban Morphology and computers

The use of image processing and GIS in urban morphology research in the Department of Art and Architectural History in Groningen University is described. Attention is focused on a research project on the development of the town plan of the city of Groningen since the early seventeenth century. The potential of the computer is demonstrated, not only for the comparison of historical plans but also for visualizaton and analysis.

G.Curdes - Urban form and innovation: the case of Cologne

The physical form of Cologne is examined, principally during the period 1840-1990. The present built-up area is still orientated in relation to the central crossing place in Roman times of the cardo and decumanus. In recent decades the effects on the city core of traffic planning projects have diminished. The macro-spatial structure of the city appears to be largely independent of the aims and actions of individual generations of decision makers.

J.Vilagrasa Ibarz - The study of urban form in Spain

This paper traces the history of the study of urban form in Spain, paying special attention to the work of geographers. A periodization is established in which Spanish contributions are related to the growth of towns, urban innovations and foreign intellectual influences. The first period lasted from the second half of the nineteenth century to the Civil War (1936-39) and preceded the emergence of academic lines of investigation. The second period lasted from the Civil War until the early 1970s, years of great urban growth with little consideration for the historic past of the town. The 1970s were a decade of reorientation. Many important foreign contributions were assimilated, especially those derived from French urban sociology, Anglo-Saxon urban geography, and Italian architecture and urban history. Since the early 1980s a more interdisciplinary perspective has emerged. The most important long-term change has been the development away from an initial dependence on French research to a greater acceptance of other foreign ideas. The study of urban form has become established as an important field among Spanish scholars.