Foreword.- Introduction: what is urban morphology.- The importance of urban morphology as an object of study.- Learning from urban form: the link between research and practice.- Urban design as urban morphology.- Inserting urbanity in a modern environment.- For a type-morphological approach to the study of urban form: the theory and method of reading.- Applying urban morphology in the teaching of urban design studios.
Vítor Oliveira is Professor of Urban Morphology and Urban Planning at ULP and Senior Researcher at the Research Centre for Territory Transports and Environment (CITTA / FEUP). He is an architect (FAUP), has a MSc in Planning and Design of the Built Environment (FAUP/FEUP), and a PhD in Planning / Civil Engineering (FEUP). He is THE PRESIDENT of the Portuguese-language Network of Urban Morphology (PNUM) and A MEMBER OF THE SCIENTIFIC COUNCIL of the International Seminar on Urban Form (ISUF). He is editor of the Revista de Morfologia Urbana, a member of the editorial board of Urban Morphology and an advisory editor of The Urban Book Series (Springer).
This book brings together contributions from some of the foremost international experts in the field of urban morphology and addresses major questions such as: What exactly is urban morphology? Why teach it? What contents should be taught in an urban morphology course? And how can it be taught most effectively?
Over the past few decades there has been a growing awareness of the importance of urban form in connection with the many dimensions – social, economic, and environmental – of our lives in cities. As a result, urban morphology – the science of urban form, and now over a century old – has taken on a key role in the debate on the past, present and future of cities. And yet it remains unclear how urban morphologists should convey the main morphological theories, concepts and techniques to our students – the potential researchers of, and practitioners in, the urban landscapes of tomorrow. This book is the first to address that gap, providing concrete guidelines on how to teach urban morphology, complemented by EXAMPLES OF EXERCISES FROM THE AUTHORS’ LESSONS.