1

ANNING PHILOSOPHY AND THOUGH

OF SIR PATRICK GEDDES

Presented By:
Yamang Taggu
Ist Year M.Tech, IDS Mysore

Sir Patrick Geddes(2October185417

April1932)wasaScottishbiologist,
sociologist,geographer,philanthropist and
pioneeringtown planner .
Heisknownforhisinnovativethinkinginthe
fieldsofurban planningandsociology.
Hewasresponsibleforintroducingthe
conceptof"REGIONtoarchitectureand
planningandisalsoknowntohavecoinedthe
term"conurbation
Aconurbationisaregioncomprisinganumberofcities,large
towns,andotherurbanareasthat,throughpopulationgrowthand
physicalexpansion,havemergedtoformonecontinuousurbanand
industriallydevelopedarea.Aconurbationcanbeconfusedwitha
metropolitanarea.Ametropolitanareaconsistofacentral cityand
itssuburbs,whileaconurbationconsistsofadjacentmetropolitan
areasthatareconnectedwithoneanotherbyurbanization.

Whilehethoughtofhimselfprimarilyasasociologist,itwashis
commitmenttoclosesocialobservationandabilitytoturnthese
intopractical solutions forcitydesignandimprovementthat
earnedhima"revered place amongst the founding fathers of the
British town planning movement
Hebelievedinsocio-evolution:Societieswith"universal
Educationwhichwouldimprovetheirsurroundings;thesewould
upgradesociety,whichwouldthenimprovethesurroundings,and
soon.
PatrickGeddes,whowashighlyinfluencedbyearliertheorists
suchasHerbertSpencerandFredericLePlay,expandedupon
earliertheoreticaldevelopmentsthatleadtotheconceptofregional
planning.
Heisthefatherofmoderntownplanningandregionalplanning.

PLANNING CONCEPTS:
InhisbookCitiesinEvolutionpublishedin
1915,headvocatedthesequenceofplanning
tobe:
i. Regionalsurvey.
ii. Ruraldevelopment.
iii.Townplanningand
iv. Citydesign.
Thesestepswererequiredtobekept
constantlyuptodate.

PLANNING PHILOSOPHY
1. TheconceptofPlace,WorkandFolk
2. ConservativeSurgery.
3. TheOutlookTower-Theobservationtechnique.
4. Diagnosticsurveycivicsurvey.
5. ValleySectionPrinciples.

1. The concept of Place ,Work and Folk : Geddesian Triad

He was the First to link sociological concepts to town planning
FrenchtheoristFredericLePlay,theorizethatsocietycouldbe
explainedbytheinteractionsamong Geddesadaptedthesetheories,
threeunitsofsocietyincluding
changingthelastLePlay'ssocial
Place(Environment)
unitsfrom"family"to"folk.
Work(Function)and
FromGeddesperspective,the
Family.
purposeofhistheorywasto
understandingrelationships
amongtheunitsofsocietyandto
Place
findequilibriumamongpeople
(environment
andtheenvironmenttoimprove
conditions.Inthecontextofthis
Family
Work
(organism) theory,familywasviewedasthe
(function)
centralbiologicalunitofhuman
society.

Hiscentralargumentwasthatphysicalgeography,marketeconomics
andanthropologywererelatedtoyieldasinglechordofsociallifeof
allthreecombine.
Place
(environment)
Work
(Function)

Folk
(organism)

CITY

Physical
geography
Market
economics

anthropology

Singlechordofsociallifeofall

threecombine.

InGeddesonwordsTown planning is not mere place planning,

nor even work planning. If it is to be successful it must be folk
planning

2.Conservative Surgery:

Geddeschampionedamodeofplanningthatsoughttoconsider"primary
humanneeds"ineveryintervention,engagingin"constructiveand
conservativesurgery"ratherthanthe"heroic,allofapiece
schemes"popularinthenineteenthandearlytwentiethcenturies.
Todemonstratethepracticalityofhisideasandapproach.In1886
Geddesandhisnewlymarriedwifepurchasedarowofslumtenementsin
JamesCourt,Edinburgh,makingitintoasingledwelling.Inandaround
thisareaGeddescommenceduponaprojectof"conservativesurgery":
"weedingouttheworstofthehousesthatsurroundedthemwidening
thenarrowclosesintocourtyards"andthusimprovingsunlightand
airflow.Thebestofthehouseswerekeptandrestored.Geddesbelieved
thatthisapproachwasbothmoreeconomical and more humane.
ThusTheconservativesurgerydemonstrateshowonecan
accommodatechangeswithout bulldozing thelargesectionsofanold
cityforthepurposeofdevelopment.

3. The outlook tower The observation technique :

In1892,toallowthegeneralpublican
opportunitytoobservetherelationshipsamong
place,workandfolk,Geddesopeneda
sociologicallaboratorycalledthe
OutlookTower.
Thetopmoststoreywasallottedforvisitorsto
haveabroadoutlookofthecity.
Thestoreybelowwasallottedforsciences
startingfromgeography,astronomy,history
etc.
Continuedtodownfloorshavingcitymaps,
surveydataofScotland,GreatBritain,Europeandfinallythe
GroundFloorendedinexhibiting
Theorientalcivilizationandgeneralstudyofman.

TheOutlookTowerwasbuiltinEdinburgh's
OldTownandcontinuestobeusedasa
museum.
Geddeshopewasthatvisitorswouldexitthe
TowerwithanewperspectiveontheScottish
capitalandanunderstandingofhowthey
couldplayanactiveroleinitsfuturethrough
schemesforsocialimprovementsuchashis
own.
TheOutlooktowerwasapowerfultoolin
communicatingideasaboutthewidercontext
inwhichcitiesexistanddevelop.
Inthemid-twentiethcenturytheTowerpassed
intothehandsoftheUniversityofEdinburgh,
whosubsequentlysoldthebuildingtoits
currentownerswhohaveturneditintomore
ofathemeparkthanOutlooktowiderideas.

4. The Diagnostic Survey- Civic Survey:

Geddesadvocatedthecivicsurveyasindispensabletourban
planning:hismottowas"diagnosisbeforetreatment".Suchasurvey
shouldinclude,ataminimum,thegeology,thegeography,the
climate,theeconomiclife,andthesocialinstitutionsofthecityand
region.HisearlyworksurveyingthecityofEdinburghbecamea
modelforlatersurveys.
Hewasparticularlycriticalofthatformofplanningwhichrelied
overmuchondesignandeffect,neglectingtoconsider"the
surroundingquarterandconstructedwithoutreferencetolocalneeds
orpotentialities".
Geddesencouragedinsteadexplorationandconsiderationofthe
"wholesetofexistingconditions",studyingthe"placeasitstands,
seekingouthowithasgrowntobewhatitis,andrecognizingalike
itsadvantages,itsdifficultiesanditsdefects":

5. Valley section Principles :

GeddesdrewonLePlay'scirculartheoryofgeographicallocationspresenting
environmentallimitationsandopportunitiesthatinturndeterminethenatureof
work.
Geddespointsouthowthegeographicalfeatures,thecontourandreliefare
associatedwithprimitiveoccupationsofman.
In1909,Geddesplannedthe Zoological Gardens in Edinburgh,whichledtohis
developmentofaregionalplanningmodelcalledtheValleySection.Thismodel
illustratedthecomplexinteractionamongbio-geomorphology,naturaloccupations
suchasahunter,miner,orfisherthataresupportedbyphysicalgeographiesthatin
turndeterminepatternsofhumansettlement.The point of this model was to
understand processes by which relationship between humans and then
environment could be improved through regional planning.

Accordinglytheminer,thewoodmanandhunterontheheights,the
shepherdonthegrassyslopes,thepoorpeasantonthelowerslopes,
therichpeasantontheplainandfinallythefishermanatseacoast
arenotonlycontrolledgeographically,butarealsoconditionedby
theirenvironmentandoccupationwhichismanifestedintheir
settlements.
Geddessaystheviolationofthisprinciplewillnotonlyresultindaily
economicwastebutalsoendinaestheticruin.

Work in India :
Between1915and1919Geddeswroteaseriesof"exhaustivetown
planningreports"onatleasteighteenIndiancities,aselectionof
whichhasbeencollectedtogetherinJacquelineTyrwhittsPatrick
GeddesinIndia(1947)
HeheldapositioninSociologyandCivicsatBombayUniversity
from1919to1925.
HisprinciplesfortownplanninginBombaydemonstratehisviewson
therelationshipbetweensocialprocessesandspatialform.They
included:("WhattownplanningmeansundertheBombayTown
PlanningActof1915")
Preservationofhumanlifeandenergy,ratherthansuperficial
beautification.
Conformitytoanorderlydevelopmentplancarriedoutinstages.
Purchasinglandsuitableforbuilding.
Promotingtradeandcommerce.

Work in India :
Preservinghistoricbuildingsandbuildingsofreligious
significance.
Developingacityworthyofcivicpride,notanimitationof
Europeancities.
Promotingthehappiness,healthandcomfortofall
residents,ratherthanfocusingonroadsandparksavailable
onlytotherich.
Controloverfuturegrowthwithadequateprovisionfor
futurerequirements

The master plan of Tel Aviv (Isreal) :

Geddesplannedthecityin1925sothat
itwouldansweritsresidentsspiritual
andmaterialneedsbytakinginto
accountfactorsrangingfromclimate
andsocialstructuretoincome.
Hebelievedinfosteringhuman
interactionbybringingpeopletogether
naturallyinpublicplaces,suchas
squares,parksandstreets;hedidnot
believeinseparatingthecommercial
centrefromtheresidentialareaslestthe
formerbecomeghosttownduringnon-
workinghours.
Residentialbuildingsweretobelow
rise,airy,aestheticallypleasingand
inexpensive.

TelAvivisnowfrequentlyreferredtoasaLivingMuseum
ofModernArchitecture.
UNESCOdesignedTelAviv(Whitecity)asaworldheritage
sitein2003.
ItisIsrael's2ndlargestcity(afterJerusalem)andthecountrys
businessandculturalcenter.
AtpresentTrafficcongestionisthemainproblemofthis
city.

Influences
Geddes'ideashadworldwidecirculation:hismostfamousadmirer
wastheAmericanurbantheoristLewisMumfordwhoclaimedthat
"Geddeswasaglobalthinkerinpractice,awholegenerationor
morebeforetheWesterndemocraciesfoughtaglobalwar".
GeddesalsoinfluencedseveralBritishurbanplanners(notably
RaymondUnwin),theIndiansocialscientistRadhakamal
MukerjeeandtheCatalanarchitectCebrideMontoliu(1873
1923)aswellasmanyother20thcenturythinkers.
Geddes'workonregionalsurveys,culturalevolution,andurban
sociologyhasbecomeevenmorenoticedsincehisdeath
HisOutlookTowerandviewonlifeservesasacatalystfortoday's
sustainablecitymovement.
Geddesgreatachievementhasbeenthemakingofabridge
betweenBiologyandSocialScience,wrotehisbiographerLewis
Mumford

Hesawthecityasaseriesofcommon
interlockingpatterns,aninseparably
interwovenstructure,liketoaflower.He
criticizedthetendencyofmodernscientific
thinkingtospecialization.InhisReportto
theH.H.theMaharajaofKapurthalain
1917hewrote:
Each of the various specialists remains
too closely concentrated upon his single
specialism, too little awake to those of the
others. Each sees clearly and seizes firmly
upon one petal of the six-lobed flower of
life and tears it apart from the whole.

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