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International Symposium on Formal Methods in Architecture

FMA 2022: Formal Methods in Architecture pp 201–218Cite as

Applying a Morphological Approach into Istanbul’s Urban Landscape

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Part of the Digital Innovations in Architecture, Engineering and Construction book series (DIAEC)

Abstract

This paper proposes a methodology based on the concept of morphological region and the method of morphological regionalization. The concept has been proposed by M.R.G. Conzen in the early 1960s, and promoted by J.W.R. Whitehand and his colleagues at the University of Birmingham mainly from the late 1980s. A morphological region is an area that has unity in respect of its form that distinguishes it from surrounding areas, based on a combination of town-plan, building fabric, and land and building utilization (Conzen’s tripartite division of the urban landscape). The methodology is based on a set of criteria considering the tripartite division of the urban landscape. Age of streets, streets geometry, plot layout, and building coverage are four criteria offered on the basis of the town-plan. Architectural style, building material, and height are proposed on the basis of the building fabric. Finally, land and building utilization is used to design the methodology. The methodology is applied to the Fatih District, the historical core of Istanbul. A four-tier hierarchy of regions is identified. The map of first-order morphological regions can offer the basis to produce a map of planning zones—a key tool to guide urban landscape management. Lower order regions can support the formulation of regulations for each planning zone, framing the design of new forms, assuring a strong relationship with extant urban forms. These ideas, detailed in the paper, are of great relevance for spatial planning, particularly for Turkish planning, where regulations are very generic and do not acknowledge the specific character of each urban landscape.

Keywords

  • Urban form
  • Urban morphology
  • Planning practice
  • Morphological region
  • Istanbul

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Investigação do Território, Transportes e Ambiente, Faculdade de Engenharia, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal

    Muzaffer Ali Arat & Vitor Oliveira

Authors
  1. Muzaffer Ali Arat
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  2. Vitor Oliveira
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Correspondence to Muzaffer Ali Arat .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Campus da Zapateira, ETSAC-UDC, A Coruña, Spain

    Plácido Lizancos Mora

  2. UPT/CEAU-FAUP, Porto, Portugal

    David Leite Viana

  3. LIAD-ESAP, Porto, Portugal

    Franklim Morais

  4. LIAD-ESAP, Porto, Portugal

    Jorge Vieira Vaz

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Arat, M.A., Oliveira, V. (2023). Applying a Morphological Approach into Istanbul’s Urban Landscape. In: Mora, P.L., Viana, D.L., Morais, F., Vieira Vaz, J. (eds) Formal Methods in Architecture. FMA 2022. Digital Innovations in Architecture, Engineering and Construction. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-2217-8_12

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-2217-8_12

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-99-2216-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-99-2217-8

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