Regional Planning Theory of Patrick Geddes - Essay Example

SIR PATRICK GEDDES: A Man Ahead of His Time Patrick Geddes was born from humble parents in October 2, 1854. The youngest of five children, his father was Alexander Geddes, an ordinary soldier and his mother Janet Stevenson. They lived in the quiet town of Ballanter, Aberdeenshire, Scotland for three years and later moved to Perth. Patrick attended school at Perth Academy, after which he attended the Royal School of Mines. He was 20 years old when he met Thomas Huxley, a prominent biologist, and an avid Charles Darwin follower. Patrick was asked to design/put up a Zoological station at Stonehaven; it was a success as the wives and children of privileged men frequent the place. He left for Mexico on a scientific expedition, and there he a condition that caused his temporary blindness. With this situation, he was unable to use the microscope which he used for his studies and experiments. This has made him turn his studies outward: bigger creatures like man. He conveyed varied intellectual and practical causes; he was a lecturer of Botany in Edinburg University and there he campaigned of reforms. In 1886, Patrick married Anna Morton, a musician, and together, they put up the Edinburg Social Union. By personal example, they worked hard to improve their residence along Royal Mile. He worked as professor of Botany at University College, Dundee. Among his many accomplishments at that time was the establishment of the first summer school in Europe; put up the world's premier social laboratory, later dubbed as the "Outlook Tower". It is also in this same time frame when he started to concentrate on planning ideas/concepts. He also was able to publish a book "Evolution of Sex" with his student Arthur Thompson as his co-author. In 1897, Patrick and Anna went to Cyprus on a 'mission'. They started reclaiming agricultural lands and started rural dwellings. In 1899, he was on a series of lecture in the United States of America. During this time, he was moving to preserve "Rue des Nations" as a museum institute. From the period of 1914 to almost a decade, Patrick Geddes was traveling to India and Palestine, scrutinized and assessed Indian Urban Areas; one of his most treasured formula is the PWF:FWP formula which stand for In 1924, Geddes returned to Europe because of an illness but on the way to France, he made an unbelievable recuperation and was soon back to work building small outlook towers. Weeks before his death in April 17, 1932, he accepted a knighthood. In his lifetime, Patrick Geddes has various books touching about all topics possible: politics, literature, agriculture, history, geology, gardening, education, geography, travel, housing, public health, music, philosophy, religion, and even poetry! UP CLOSE: IDEAS THAT CHANGED THE WORLD REGIONAL PLANNING Regional planning is the effective program of land use activities, infrastructure and settlement expansion over an individual city or town area. It is the facility to properly design areas to maximize its economic, social and environmental use and sustainability. It is therefore a process of planning for the improvement of urban areas, residential settlements, positioning of economic/trade centers, leisure and aesthetic areas that will more or less assure the safety, health and physical consideration of the dwellers. It is also concerned with the transportation and communication, its availability and accessibility to further push forward the socio-economic growth of the town/city. Principles of Regional Planning: Specific interventions and solutions will depend entirely on the needs of each region in each country, but generally speaking, regional planning at the macro level will seek to: Resist development in flood plains or along earthquake faults. These areas may be utilised as parks, or unimproved farmland. Designate transportation corridors using hubs and spokes and considering major new infrastructure Some thought into the various 'role's settlements in the region may play, for example some may be administrative, with others based upon manufacturing or transport. Consider designating essential nuisance land uses locations, including waste disposal. Designate Green belt land or similar to resist settlement amalgamation and protect the environment. Set regional level 'policy' and zoning which encourages a mix of housing values and communities. Consider building codes, zoning laws and policies that encourage the best use of the land. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regional_planning THE OUTLOOK TOWER Thomas Short was a famous astronomer and optician from Leith. His brother is famous telescope-maker James. After his brother's death, Thomas claimed what was left of his instruments and among the many was a 12-foot reflecting telescope. He then built an observatory in Calton Hill to showcase his brother's collection to the public for a fee. It became very popular. Upon his death, his daughter came back from West Indies and was informed that she had no claim or rights to the observatory which was ran at that time by the Edinburg Astronomical Institution. She demanded that her father's equipment be returned to her; and she built her own observatory first in Calton Hill which she was later evicted. After her eviction in 1853, she acquired an aged town house previously owned by Ramsay's of Dalhousie on Castlehill. In 1955 the observatory was in full operation with added floors to further house am exhibit and an observatory. The main attraction was the Camera Obscura; from the latin word "camera" which means "dark" and "obscura" which means "room". In 1892, the building was bought by Patrick Geddes, and that was the start of the observatory's climb to fame. Geddes used the building as a tool to better understand the world, starting at Edinburg and its surrounding regions. The tour to the Outlook Tower must start at the top level of the building, in a roof area overlooking the whole region. Followed by an experience of the Camera Obscura, that gives a glimpse of perfection in minute details when an image reflects the screen; to further absorb and soak up the beauty of the experience, a chair in the dark room is made available. From the natural beauty of the landscape to the playful imagery of the reflection, the tower provides a stimulus for inner awakening, a bridge to connect man to his environment. THE VALLEY SECTION . "The Valley Section, which traces a diagrammatic slice from a river's source in the mountains to its mouth at the sea, attempts to relay how human adaptations have developed in relation to their position in this section, as well as reveal how the zones of a landscape are linked by a common waterway. This method, which applies botanical concepts of plant distribution, explores the potentials of a region while seeking to elucidate elements of landscape as both ecological and cultural identity. His method is useful first in that it emphasizes the importance of an interrelationship between settlement, culture and landscape, and second in how it communicates this relationship between people and place that is not easily expressed through the flattening qualities of a plan, but linked to the particulars of geography (http://www.arch.virginia.edu/lunch/print/territory/rooting.html)." CONURBATION A term used by Patrick Geddes to describe sweeping city regions (examples are New York, Boston, Greater London). Usually pertains to a city or a group of cities surrounded by vast landscapes which take form into an imaginary environment. Conurbation can be misconstrued as the same as the metropolitan area; while metropolitan area comprises of small neighborhood, conurbation is a group of demographically close metropolitan areas. Transportation is designed to link these areas together, their resources and manpower to function as whole. LEWIS MUMFORD and REGIONAL PLANNING ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA A student protg of Patrick Geddes Lewis Mumford was born in October 19, 1895 in Long Island, New York. He attended at Stuyvesant High school until 1912 and attended the City College of New York but did not finish with a degree because of tuberculosis. He spent his time visiting public libraries and museums. In 1915, he read one of Patrick Geddes' work, his organic view of the society, and in 1923 when they personally met, he Mumford claimed that Geddes was his mentor. With his continued work, as a writer, investigator and investigator, he has slowly inched his way towards his real turf which is planning. His expertise was urban architecture. He believed that architectural congestion has a dehumanizing effect, and the legendary urban planner, architectural critic and historian paved way for more daring advocacy to bring together technology (profit) and humanistic goals. The Regional Planning Association of America is an association formed in 1923 headed by Clarence Stein, with its top Lewis Mumford as its founding member. This is an association of a sundry group of talented and skilled people working together to critically examine and assess the city's circumstance, jointly help in its development, especially in politics, infrastructure and building projects. They met irregularly for a decade or so, but none the less had brought about enormous innovations in planning history (worth mentioning is the "greenbelt" scheme). The Regional planning is not merely into putting together the design and use of land but also practical thinkers for existing problems in transportation and housing it is somewhat like an overseer. READINGS: Cities in Evolution: An Introduction to the town planning movement and to the study of Civics. Patrick Geddes. London Benn, 1968.pg 214-230 Cities of Tomorrow: An Intellectual History of Urban Planning and Design in the twentieth Century. Peter Geofrey Hall. Malden, MA: BlackWell Publishers, 2002. Patrick Geddes: Social Evolutionist and City Planner. Hellen Elizabeth Meller. New York: Routledge:1993 http://www.arch.virginia.edu/lunch/print/territory/rooting.html, November 17, 2008 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regional_planning, November 17, 2008 Read More