Urban form’ and ‘urban morphology’ are quite

broad concepts. M Doherty, in the Global Energy

Assessment: Energy Density Working Paper,
defines the distinction as:

Urban morphology, sometimes referred to as the

‘urban fabric' or ‘urban texture’, deals primarily
with the particular shape and dimensions of the
built environment and with the aggregations and
configurations of building types. At this fine scale
the configurations of cities directly affect both
outdoor and indoor climates and have a direct
bearing on embodied and operational energy use
(Adolphe, 2001).
Urban form refers to the arrangement of the larger
functional units of a city, reflecting both the
historical development of the city and its more
recent planning history; it is defined by the spatial
patterning of industrial, commercial and residential
land uses and also by different levels of residential
density (Rose, 1967).
• The period of formation, evolution and shape of towns is reflected from morphological range of
cities and towns.
• The cities or towns may have been developed through the ancient times, Middle Ages etc.
(ibid).
• For example, Erbil, in Iraq, developed in ancient times had experienced the early civilization, and
cities such as the Greek cities, cities in Rome empire time, medieval towns, or cities developed
in Renaissance time emerged at various time periods.
• There are various forces or factors which are responsible for making of a city mainly categorized
into two types: manmade and natural. Various authors stated forces responsible for emergence
of different towns or cities.
Urban form exerts a powerful influence on how
people interact, consume and create value within
cities. It is a critical determinant of energy
efficiency, sustainability and the cost of
infrastructure. It impacts on economic value
creation and underlies the city’s livability and social
and economic resilience.

Urban form refers to the physical layout and design

of a metropolitan area, city, or town. It involves the
patterns of its component parts and the process of
their formation and transformation. Our approach
involves the analysis of urban physical structures at
different scales as well as patterns of movement,
land use, ownership or control and occupation.
Typically, analysis of physical form focuses on
street patterns, plot patterns and building patterns,
sometimes referred to collectively as urban grain.
On the metropolitan scale, urban form refers to the spatial extension of the city. It refers to
land use (rural or urban land), to human activities (industries, offices, housing) and the way
they are organized and distributed on the territory.
On the district scale, urban form refer to how streets and transportation networks are
organized as well as how urban amenities such as parks, hospitals or schools are distributed
within the city.
On the neighborhood scale, urban form relates to the form and the size of urban blocks, the
way they are divided into plot subdivisions. It also relates to the physical texture of the urban
fabric and its bioclimatic potential.
TYPE OF FORM BASED ON DENSITY AND PHYSICAL
CONFIGURATION
A variety of urban forms can be described using a
typology based on two continuous dimensions,
which here are made discrete for explanatory
purposes: settlement density (high and low) and
physical configuration (ranging from contiguous
and compact to scattered and discontiguous). This
classification system suggests the eight idealized
types of sprawl which are presented in