By: Mirat shah

Father of modern town planning.

Patrick Geddes was a Scottish biologist, sociologist, geographer,
philanthropist & pioneering town planner.
THOUGHTS:-
Think global act local Pioneered a sociological approach to the study of
urbanization.
City should be studied in the context of region.
The social thought of Patrick Geddes: place, work and folk.
Geddes advocated the civic survey as indispensable to urban planning: his
motto was "diagnosis before treatment".
Conservative surgery, weeding out the worst of the houses, widening
the narrow closes into courtyards and allowing more sunlight and air to
get in.
PATRICK GEDDES PLANNING CONCEPTS

Rural development, Urban Planning and City Design are not the same and adopting a
common planning process is disastrous.

Conurbation waves of population inflow to large cities, followed by
overcrowding and slum formation, and then the wave of backflow.

The sequence of planning is to be:
Regional survey
Rural development
Town planning
City design

These are to be kept constantly up todate.

He gave his expert advice for the improvement of about 18 major towns in INDIA.
EDINBURGH SCOTLAND
He played A key role in the 19th century overhaul of the old town of Edinburgh.
His efforts to improve the old town began in 1886 when he and his wife, bought
a row of slum tenements in James court, and made it into a single dwelling.
He disapproved of sweeping clearances and instead began A process of what he
described as conservative surgery. The best of the houses were kept and
restored. Geddes believed that this approach was both more economical and
more humane, though it went against the trends of the times.
He was one of the first people to highlight the importance of light and air in
homes and famously launched summer schools to explain how the arts and
sciences could be applied to town planning.


A tool for regional analysis, index museum and
the worlds first sociological laboratory.

It represents the essence of Geddess thought his
holism, visual thinking, and commitment to
understanding the city in the region.

He said of it: Our greatest need today is to
conceive life as a whole, to see its many sides in
their proper relations, but we must have a practical
as well as a philosophic interest in such an
integrated view of life.

Now the tower is home to the Patrick Geddes
Centre For Planning Studies, where an archive
and exhibition are housed.


OUTLOOK TOWER
OUTLOOK TOWER

In 1909, Geddes assisted in the early planning of the southern aspect of the zoological
gardens in Edinburgh.
This work was formative in his development of a regional planning model called the
"valley section.

INDIA

Geddes' work in improving the slums of Edinburgh led to an invitation from lord
pentland (then governor of madras) to travel to India to advise on emerging urban
planning issues.
Geddes lectured and worked with Indian surveyors and travelled to Bombay and
Bengal.
He held a position in sociology and civics at Bombay university from 1919 to 1925.
Between 1915 and 1919 Geddes wrote a series of "exhaustive town planning
reports" on at least eighteen Indian cities.
Through these reports, Geddes was concerned to create a "working system in India",
righting the wrongs of the past by making interventions in and plans for the urban
fabric that were both considerate of local context and tradition and awake to the
need for development.
His principles for town planning in Bombay demonstrate his views on the
relationship between social processes and spatial form.
They included,

Preservation of human life and energy, rather than superficial beautification.
Conformity to an orderly development plan carried out in stages.
Purchasing land suitable for building.
Promoting trade and commerce.
Preserving historic buildings and buildings of religious significance.
Developing a city worthy of civic pride, not an imitation of European cities.
Promoting the happiness, health and comfort of all residents, rather than
focusing on roads and parks available only to the rich.
Control over future growth with adequate provision for future requirements.