Representation of Urban Form in Typomorphology Scholarship: A Critical Reading of the Graphic Content of Urban Morphology Journal


Parlak Temizel N. S., Bilsel F. C.

ISUF 2021: Urban Form for Sustainable and Prosperous Cities, Glasgow, England, 28 June - 03 July 2021, pp.101-102

  • Publication Type: Conference Paper / Summary Text
  • City: Glasgow
  • Country: England
  • Page Numbers: pp.101-102
  • Middle East Technical University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

Representation of urban form via drawings, maps and photographs is an integral part of the typomorphology studies. In these studies, researchers aiming to reveal the physical and spatial structure of cities face the challenge of representation of 3D spaces in various scales from territories to buildings on a 2D printed/digital paper. This challenge brings in a question of abstraction on what information to include and what not to, and it is directly related to the method of typomorphology. Despite its indispensable role in typomorphological research, the character and the transformation of visual content are yet to be analysed in a systematical manner.


The Urban Morphology journal, published biannually since 1997, is one of the leading academic publications in the field. Currently, there are 173 articles published in the journal, the majority of which offer graphic content. This study aims to provide a critical reading of non-textual content in Urban Morphology Journal in order to answer following research questions:



  • What kind/type of visuals accompany the textual content? Is it possible to identify a repertoire of drawing types for typo-morphology studies? How does this repertoire transform in time? Are there identifiable turns in the way researchers draw?

  • Given that typo-morphology is an interdisciplinary field, is it possible to identify significant differences in the type of drawings that the researchers from different disciplinary backgrounds (i.e. architects, planners, geographers, historians, sociologists) use in their articles?

  • Given that typo-morphology studies deal with urban form in different scales, how does the graphic content of the journal respond to the question of multi-scalarity?

  • How the paratextual qualities of the journal affect the visual content?