EDITORIAL COMMENT

Permanence and transformation of urban forms

PAPERS

Spontaneous and induced urban forms
E. Barbosa and P. Fernandes

{+}Abstract [PDF]This paper gathers research, developed in 2012/2013, in which urban morphology was used as an investigating tool to study the relations between urbanization and development, producing a comparative study of spatial and economic development, planning processes and the resulting urban forms of four cities: São Paulo and Jakarta, and Hanoi and Belo Horizonte. Planning policies and urban forms were compared at different scales in these four cities, using the approach proposed by Lamas (1993). São Paulo and Jakarta were chosen due to their importance and economic relevance on their respective contexts, Latin America and South East Asia, offering the possibility of comparison aiming at finding relevant similarities. Hanoi and Belo Horizonte have similar positions regarding their contexts; both are administrative cities with similar characteristics in terms of demography, economic growth and rapid urbanization. Despite these similarities, the cities present distinct processes of growth and urbanization, as well as cultural aspects; both were highlighted in this comparison. This study investigates the patterns of urban form of these four cities, exploring their urban tissues and building types, aiming at a better understanding on how these cities have coped with economic processes and how they work today, opening the possibility of broader discussions on which lessons can be drawn both to these case studies and to cities in general.

Application of the concept of Morpho-territorial Unit
J. M. P. Silva, F. Lima and N. C. T. Magalhães

{+}Abstract [PDF]The urban forms in the Metropolitan Region of Campinas, resulting from urban fragmentation and dispersion, need further investigation. This paper aims at presenting a method of analysis that relates different bodies of knowledge: landscape, ecology and morphological studies. The concepts, methods and techniques presented here are the result of years of discussion within the QUAPA-SEL (Quadro de Paisagismo – Sistema de Espaços Livres) research network that studies the relationship between the system of open spaces and the built form. The paper presents the analytical procedures in three different scales: i) metropolitan area, consisting of 20 cities; ii) neighborhoods, formed by different urban tissues, and iii) urban block, where both open spaces and built forms create the urban space. In the three scales, the system of open spaces has the main role. The results show that the method of analysis offers valuable insights on understanding of the phenomenon of urban dispersion and fragmentation. The method aims at gathering different analytical techniques from different bodies of knowledge, integrating morphological procedures and techniques used within ecology and urban landscape studies.

VIEWPOINTS _[PDF]

Transformation and permanence of urban forms: a methodological contribution
E. M. N. Mendonça

Why bother about urban morphology?
I. Samuels

Persistences, ruptures, dinâmics: paradigms of the historical studies of urban form
S. M. G. Pinto

Strategies for building renovation through Shape Grammars
S. Eloy

Adaptability, continuity, flexibility and resilience
T. Marat-Mendes

The physical form of cities – an analysis of the luso-brazilian contribution to the debate
C. Monteiro

Visual indicators
A. Perdicoúlis

REPORTS _{[PDF1] [PDF2]}

Portuguese-language Network of Urban Morphology (PNUM), 2014-15
T. Marat-Mendes

1st Symposium of the Turkish Network of Urban Morphology, Istanbul, 2015
T. Ünlü

4th Conference of the Portuguese-language Network of Urban Morphology, Brasilia, 2015
S. P. A. Costa

NOTICES

Urban Morphology
2º Workshop PNUM
ISUF Conference 2016: Urban morphology and the resilient city
PNUM 2016: The spaces of urban morphology