Case studies in city form

Lectures: Two sessions / week, 3 hours / session

This course is intended as an introduction to urban form and design. It is more analytical than synthetic and will concentrate on the physical and social form of the city.

Selected cities will be the subject of this semester's study. The cities will be analyzed, drawn, and compared to other cities in order to develop a working understanding of urban and architectural form (i.e. building and block types, fields, edges, streets, squares, monuments, gardens, etc.).

The development of map making and urban representation will be discussed, and use of the computer will be required. There will be special focus on the historical development of the city. There will be related required readings on urban design theory in the twentieth century in addition to the individual investigations.

This course is also open to MCP students with some background in architecture.

Don't show me this again

This is one of over 2,200 courses on OCW. Find materials for this course in the pages linked along the left.

MIT OpenCourseWare is a free & open publication of material from thousands of MIT courses, covering the entire MIT curriculum.

No enrollment or registration. Freely browse and use OCW materials at your own pace. There's no signup, and no start or end dates.

Knowledge is your reward. Use OCW to guide your own life-long learning, or to teach others. We don't offer credit or certification for using OCW.

Made for sharing. Download files for later. Send to friends and colleagues. Modify, remix, and reuse (just remember to cite OCW as the source.)

Learn more at Get Started with MIT OpenCourseWare