Urban Morphology as a Research Method

Urban morphology is the study of the form of settlements over time. For some, use of the term "urban morphology" is fluid and can refer to generic ideas such as "central place theory" or "transects". Urban morphology, while making an important contribution to urban design and planning practice, is a field of study where data and methodology are at least as reliable as other social science contributions to planning. Pure morphological research adds to and enlightens other kinds of research, such as economic or demographic analysis, about a place. Another way in which urban morphology is distinguished from other kinds of urban analyses relates to the starting point of acquiring formal data about specific places. The data used in urban morphology are substantially measurable or mathematically derived from measurements or coordinates of built form and, thus, for the most part objective.