A theory of persistence in city form : Bursa, a case of the Ottoman city in Turkey
Name
20654570-MIT.pdf
Description
Full printable version
Size
20.2 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
7ef1b3c20e23af27578e805f4fb3a7d9
Author(s)
Heng, Teh Joo
Advisor(s)
Stanford Anderson.
Date Issued
1989
Publisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Abstract
The evolution of city form is an issue that has been studied extensively. Typically, however, the focus has been on change rather than persistence. During the process of change, many aspects of the city are left unaltered and remnants of the past survive vividly. Furthermore, the presence of the past constrains the way new intervention is carried out. I propose the hypothesis that a city has an inertia that resists change. This inertia is distributed unevenly among urban artifacts, and a hierarchy of artifacts in terms of their rates of change can be established The latent potential or capacity of urban artifacts permits them to adapt to changes without significant alterations in their physical structure. This capacity of artifacts allows them to support functions different from the ones for which they were conceived. This quasi-autonomous nature of urban artifacts also leads one to distinguish between an internal and external history of physical urban form. The research methodology develops Conzen's "plan units" as a tool to analyze the morphology of plan units and their built forms. Plan units are morphological frames for the built forms within. In the occurrence of critical events however, plan units may be amalgamated, subdivided, or even removed. The thesis also focuses on the genesis, evolution, and site succession of urban artifacts. Bursa, an ancient city in the western part of Anatolia is then adopted as a case study for the theory of persistence in city form. The morphology of a selected research area is studied in the aftermath of three critical events: Ahmet Vefik Pasa's intervention, the 1956 fire, and the beginning of industrialization.
Description
Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 1989.
Includes bibliographical references (leaves 103-104).
Subjects
Architecture.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Architecture
Terms of Use
M.I.T. theses are protected by
copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but
reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written
permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.
copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but
reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written
permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.
Persistent DSpace Link
