Architectural and Urban Design for Inclusive Smart City 2024

Group 05 / Class SC001

Names: Nguyễn Ngọc Quốc An
Lê Hoàng Quốc Duy
Nguyễn Tuấn Đạt
Lê Anh Khoa

Morphological System and Urban Settlements:

Coimbra (Portugal)
Introduction:
In the 21st century, the strategic vision for a sustainable city undoubtedly requires a multi-
analysis in the field of urban studies. Some circumstances that are related to the material support and
planning systems in the usage of land must be considered as fundamental aspects in urban design
also because of their significant contribution to the factors of sustainable cities.
The policies of land-use planning can be known as a way to understand the environment and
the landscape first appeared in scientific literature in 1961 “Design by Nature” by the landscape
architect Ian McHarg. This book has substantially changed our insights into the relationship between
the natural environment and the changes in the usage of land, a perspective that has been forgotten in
that period. The alteration is believed to take place through the environmental theory of land-use
transformation, giving us another point of view on the economically crucial of planning-related
issues.
Remarkably, a long-term case study about the urban enhancement of Coimbra shows a clear
connection between morphological systems and the establishment, and development of the urban
environment.
Coimbra is a city located in the Administrative Region of Coimbra, Portugal, with a dense
population of approximately 140,000 people and a city area of 319,4km2. The city consists of 16
municipalities and expands at an area of 3,372km2.
Coimbra gives us a typical example of how to handle the critical role of intrinsic factors in
the adjustment and enhancement of urban space. This led to the evolution of urban space for over a
thousand years, adapting to these elements. Thus, a man-made environment has been developed
through impeccable adjustments based on social experience with physical characteristics, all of
which has led to the swift changes in social challenges of the 1960s.

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Body paragraph:

Fig 1. Geographical setting of study area - on the Iberian Peninsula; in the Central Portugal; in
the municipality of Coimbra (source: SPRINGER LINK)
The Coimbra region is in the transitional area between the Old Mountain Range and the
Greater Syncline Border to the west, possessing a distinctive morphological structure. The Western
area and the central are formed with sedimentary materials and the alluvial deposited from the
Mondego River and the limestone hills. To the east of the area, is an area full of deteriorated
metamorphic rock mountains. The complexity of the relationships between geology and landforms
not only has been reflected by the morphology of this territory but also is affected by the water flow
during the Fourth Period. The significant evolution of the city of Coimbra has led to its expansion by
adapting to the morphological and geological complexity of the area. The tectonic plates give birth to
the edge of the mountainous easter landscape, contradicting the flat limestone and the Mesozoic
sediment plains to the west, and the valley in the Mondego Basin. Urban planning and enhancement
have been provided by these exclusive conditions, resulting in a wealthy tapestry of geography and
environment while representing unique ways to develop the city.

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 Fig 2. Integrated approach to the historic urban settlement of Coimbra; A - Elevations
of the medieval spaces (Upper and Lower City); B - Relationship between the morphology and
lithology; C - Urban design of the medieval town center (source: Antonio Manuel Rochette
Cordeiro)
Fig 3. Integrated approach to the
historic urban settlement of Coimbra:
1 – “Hill City” associated with the
walls of the Castle; 2 - Radial-
concentric design of the hill - “Alta”
(Upper City); 3 - Orthogonal design
of the “Baixa” (the Lower City)
(source: Antonio Manuel Rochette
Cordeiro)

By the end of the 19th century, the

city’s enhancement was attached to the
two centers: the “Alta” (Upper City)
and the “Baixa” (Lower City). The
reconstruction of the city revolved
around the hill where the university was
situated (Satana,1996; Lobo, 200)

In the early 20th century, the

establishment of urban technological
growth in different electronic
transportation facilities connected the
new neighboring areas. The growth of
urban areas has continued to grow
rapidly in the rural regions of Cumeada,
Montes Claros, Conchada, Calhabe, and
Tovim. The expansion of the urban

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areas in the first half of the 20th century indicated the aspects that were associated with the
morphological system such as topography and geology. Therefore, the city advanced on the flat
valley land surrounded by “Ribela '', which developed dramatically during this period (Figure 5, C).
This flat land, consisting of extremely hard rock with high-density shale and slightly marly
limestone, was utilized to the fullest during the area. And taking advantage of those minerals by
arranging streets along the axis of these areas and laying tram tracks, has led to consecutive growth
in these slope areas (Figure 5, D). It can be observed with ease that the city’s development and
formation most likely have a strong connection to the physical infrastructure, especially the
morphological system.

Fig 4. Framework of the urban

growth in the early 20th century in
the area surrounding the “Ribela”
stream: A - Relationship between
the morphology and the lithology;
B - Morphological Units; C - Load
capacity of the built heritage; D -
The city in 1947 and its relation to
urban rail lines (source: Antonio
Manuel Rochette Cordeiro)

The urban development model in

areas with a low slope allows for
large amounts of ventilation and
significant exposure to sunlight.
However, in the 1960s, the
demographic pressures and
substantial real estate market growth
led to the expansion of the urban
areas deviating from the latest
connections. And by revealing those
relationships. it gets even more
difficult to give a proper explanation
in terms of physical support. This
trendy shift was mainly due to the
fact that the available open spaces
and accessibility have expanded. In other words, the spaces on the sloping terrain have worth-
noticing slopes.

Therefore, taking the medieval urban settlement in Coimbra as a stepping stone to analyze the
crucial of the morphological system that aims to demonstrate how morphology has been a decisive
and unique factor in urban design over centuries, especially during the 16th century. With the recent
demands for increased space in the city, everything has changed as the occupation of slopes has
increased, causing uneven distribution of slopes and materials and covering them in the necessary
equilibrium equation between the morphological system and urban settlements

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Conclusion:

The land-use planning has formed a bond with human settlements and demands a multi-analysis of
various aspects of constituting the land. The fact that they have taken into consideration both
physical and human aspects also proves the importance of managing the resources efficiently,
avoiding conflict, and developing overall sustainability.

Especially, when we immerse ourselves into the strict regulations of different countries, as seen in
the case of European Union member nations, we can see the absolute significance of the value of
physical and biological factors within the context of complicated systems that are directly attached to
the actual area. By analyzing the physical supports, especially the morphological systems such as
topography, geology, or rock formations, etc as well as the similar aspects such as the slope or the
soil materials, all of which obligate to be described and given a detailed explanation from an
interdisciplinary point of view, non-identical to other specialized approaches.

It is an undeniable fact that similar related intrinsic factors, not only with direct constraints but also
with risk constraints (scientific Cindynics) and environmental aspects, should be included in urban
design and become more essential to the framework of different planning tools.

Personalizing intrinsic factors (such as the units of a complicated city system), with urban functions
drastically changing over time (assumed in the factor of physical support in land use planning and
urban planning as a systematizing factor), and by understanding it as a multi-disciplinary starting
point, gives us a surprisingly meritorious result from the assumption of a comprehensive vision for a
necessary sustainable urban development in the 21st century.

Bibliography

(Cordeiro, Morphological System and Urban Settlements. Coimbra 2021)

(Cordeiro, Morphological System and Urban Settlements. Coimbra (Portugal) 2021)
(Cordeiro and Silva, The importance of topography in the formation of cold-air pooling in urban spaces. The
example of the city of Coimbra (Portugal) 2023)