THE MORPHOLOGICAL DIMENSION

THE MORPHOLOGICAL DIMENSION
The urban morphology which is study of the form and shape of settlements, is explained under Conzen’s(1960) four morphological elements as land uses, building structures, plot pattern and street pattern.
Unlike other key elements, land uses are temporary. By the time changing land uses can be affect the plot pattern and also street pattern. Especially in old settlements change in land uses effect the existing building patterns because of the need of adaptation and conversion.
Building structures can be mentioned under the defined urban spaces. For instance, while in traditional pattern of urban space, building structures composes definete streets and also squares, in modernist urban space pattern building structures transforms to be an object in the undefined space. At the time under this transformation from traditional to modern, surviving of building structure starts to be depend on their robustness which refers the ability of adaptation to new uses or changing according to new need of building structure. For example, a townhouse may successively be an upmarket single-family home, then offices, then student bedsits.
Increasing needs and by the affect of time plot pattern starts to be changing. For example after the small one or two storey buildings, the need of high rise super blocks cause subdividion of large plots or amalgamations. In this process amalgamation is more general than subdivision. On the other hand this process changes the boundaries and causes demosntration of buildings mostly than plots.
Cadastral pattern is the network that is created by the movements and the blocks. Here the term “palimsest” is the most important issue to concern, which the process of change can totaly be observed through the marks of the old and the existing structure. Another thing that should be concerned is the permability of the general system which defines the access, perception and the circulation issues of the spaces of the city.
Concept of the capital web is the broadest thought of the public network. The social character of the spaces and the physical movement spaces interact in same spaces in the city. So, usage,movement and perception notions are what urban designers need to be aware of.
From traditional understanding that defines the relationship between social and physical life in an urban form within the streetscape and building pattern, to the modernist thought that consists of the isolation of the blocks from the ground in relationshipwise. The meaning of the urban elements and social character tend to loose. In this modern process, pod developments offered many different land uses in a single world which can be conceived as a seperate world both physically and socially. This loosing character of the pedestrian understanding, social life and livable street pattern, and the dominating existance of the car, the mobility factor resulted by the modern age; causes a need for reorganization of the activites and functions in the city to achieve a definition which roots the main necessities and adapts to the modern processes.
Gülnur VURUSKAN
152002002