Cite this article Research Article

Elshater A and Abusaada H Paper 2100046

From uniqueness to singularity through city prestige. Received 19/11/2021;
Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers – Urban Design and Planning, Accepted 14/03/2022
https://doi.org/10.1680/jurdp.21.00046
ICE Publishing: All rights reserved

Urban Design and Planning

From uniqueness to singularity through

city prestige
Abeer Elshater Hisham Abusaada
Professor, Faculty of Engineering, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt Professor, Housing and Building National Research Centre (HBRC), Giza,
(corresponding author: abeer.elshater@eng.asu.edu.eg) Egypt

This paper as a briefing explains the difference between ‘city uniqueness’ and ‘city singularity’ and emphasises how
a city’s notoriety promotes its unique characteristics in a deliberate direction towards the singularity. This viewpoint
asserts that the significant urban forms are responsible for cities’ uniqueness. In contrast, city singularity is concerned
with the tangible and intangible components of urban form and city life. Events or daily life experiences, an
ambiance that authentically captures its history’, chronicles, ideologies, religions, beliefs and human values are the
intangible aspects of cities that confer prestige on the unique forms of cities and promote singularity. The concluding
remarks reveal the commonalities between the two terms, distinguishing the imageability of tangible urban forms
(e.g. star architecture and artefacts). Having a strong psychological sense of place provides a city with a good
reputation, a good name and a good image, thus distinguishing it from other cities, as evidenced by contribution of
proposing a method for determining the distinctions between these words.
Keywords: built environment/history/knowledge management/town & city planning

1. Introduction and evoked experiences, pointing to the invisible realms of

The terms ‘uniqueness’ and ‘singularity’ are often used
interchangeably in urban studies to describe the prestige and
reputation of cities (Cao et al., 2018; Li et al., 2021; Licciardi
and Amirtahmasebi, 2012). This research study describes city
uniqueness as a city’s distinctiveness from a physical perspective
of urban forms (Abusaada and Elshater, 2021a, 2021b;
Barbehön et al., 2016). The word ‘singularity’ implies science,
technology, architecture, engineering and mathematics (Li et al.,
2021). This paper focuses on ‘singularity’ used in architecture
and overrides other disciplines for being outside the present
authors’ area of knowledge. While some scholars have used city
singularity to characterise the psychological feelings of distinc-
tions among cities (Abusaada et al., 2021; Arnheim, 1969;
Carmona, 2021; Lynch, 1960), other scholars have discussed the
singularity of cities in terms of the characteristics of urban life-
styles and everyday experiences (Gehlawat, 2011; Holm and
McEwan, 2020; Lefebvre, 1984). Such singularity emerges from
the socio-cultural and economic values that provide a city pres-
tige (Bernardo et al., 2021; Moser and Côté-Roy, 2021).
This paper aims to critically distinguish the differences
between the two terms ‘city singularity’ and ‘city uniqueness’.
The common consensus among scholars is that cities’ unique-
ness lies in the recurrence of visible forms while their singular-
ity can be found in the tangible urban forms and intangible
aspects, that is, the parts of everyday lives of the cities’ inhabi-
tants and visitors that are not immediately tangible and cannot
be physically recognised. Aside from the environment of cities,
city singularity refers to the urban atmospheres, public realm
human life (Abusaada and Elshater, 2021a, 2021b; Elshater,
2019; Piłat-Borcuch, 2015).
The related questions here are twofold. First, what are the
differences between the two terms in urban design and plan-
ning? Second, why should urban designers and planners strive
to achieve city singularity or uniqueness?
Over the last few decades, several planned cities have been devel-
oped worldwide. More than 150 cities have been established in
over 40 countries (Moser and Côté-Roy, 2021). Applied urban
planning and design paradigms may generate similarities among
a vast number of planned cities. For example, urbanisation gen-
erally adopts the grid planning of mixed-use plots and the
stereotypical repetition of mixed-use residential buildings and
high residential towers (Eboli, 2018). With the expansion of
American cities, new urbanism was founded on providing ped-
estrian-friendly and safe places, homogenising public spaces and
promoting a human scale (Talen, 2013). There are several cities
that are centred on a particular theme in their creation or devel-
opment. ‘Information city’, ‘city branding’, ‘smart city’, ‘multi-
cultural cities’, ‘organic urban development’, ‘green cities’,
‘sustainable cities’ and ‘entrepreneurial cities’ are some of the
slogans that have emerged in recent decades and produce, in
some cases, such similarity in urban forms (Abusaada and
Elshater, 2021a, 2021b; Alawadi, 2018; Sepe, 2017).
The authors reason that the similarity between these cities may
result from the rapid progression of steps in planning cities

1
Urban Design and Planning
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and applied sciences. Students can explore singularity
and similarities among cities while learning about planning
history and theory. This subject can also be treated as
foundational/core knowledge at the planning and design studio
levels. Students interested in designing or rehabilitating cities
can learn how to create cities of singularity.
Further research can explore changes in city singularity and
reason of city similarities over time for newly planned cities
worldwide using big data analysis. Urban form determines the
city’s singularity profile, including the effects of ordinary living
experiences. However, this reliance is projected to change once
city planning and design are completed, thus encompassing
the impact of everyday living experiences and adding to the
city’s distinctiveness. Therefore, it is recommended that future
studies use urban forms (tangible aspects) and everyday life
experiences (intangible aspects) as common keys in this direc-
tion. Considering the potential social, economic and environ-
mental benefits of new planned cities, one suggests that
municipality representatives and city mayors consider singular-
ity and uniqueness and incorporate them in their approach.
This consideration will guide urban designers and planners to
distinguish cities by their unique forms, singular constructions
and ways of life.
Acknowledgements
The authors thank the editor and anonymous reviewers who
provided time and effort in reviewing the previous version of
this paper. The authors are also thankful to the Science and
Technology Development Fund (STDF), Egypt for funding
this study of urban morphology and urban form (grant: STDF
Basic and Applied Research Grants (STDF-BARG: 37234)).
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