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Journal - Abstracts vol.4 nr.2 (2000)

• W. Boerefijn - Designing the medieval new town

The hypothesis that complex geometry has been used as the basis for the design of medieval urban layouts is contested. In particular, the case of the bastide of Grenade-sur-Garonne in south-west France is analysed, comparing the geometrical hypotheses with measurements on the twentieth-century cadastral plan. In this case, it appears far more likely that the plan was designed by using a much simpler metrology. Further, it is suggested that the fields north and south of Grenade were probably originally laid out as house lots.

• P.J. Larkham - Institutions and urban form: the example of universities

Urban morphologists have made much of the role of institutions in shaping urban form. Universities in particular are sizeable landholders, with common aims, but which have resulted in very different outcomes in the urban landscape. Morphological concepts are applied to the timing, location and form of foundations. Three models of university development are suggested: the campus, colonization, and dispersed. Campus universities in particular present problems for traditional urban morphological analysis.

• S. McGlynn and I. Samuels The funnel, the sieve and the template: towards an operational urban morphology

In response to massive housing demand in south-east England and concern for the retention of local character in new development, this paper describes an attempt to introduce the concepts of urban morphology to the design managers of a large house builder. They, like the planners controlling them, tend to focus exclusively on building detail to the neglect of streets and plots. The concepts are introduced in a simplified way in order to make them applicable with limited resources. They are used to produce a template of a local area which is modified according to local regulatory and market conditions. The results demonstrate the influence of highway standards in determining urban form and raise doubts about the utility of the street block in design procedures.