Traditions of Urban Morphology: Opportunities and Challenges

Each morphological approach has its strength and weakness in description, analysis and prescription of urban form. Integrating different morphological approaches—the historico-geographical, process-typological, configurational and spatial analytical approach—could provide enhanced understandings of urban form, which is one of the major challenges facing urban morphology. Synthesis of the first two approaches has been extensively studied. In recent years, there have been notable attempts at conceptualizing the combination of the historico-geographical and configurational approaches in the study of historical transformation and socio-economic performance of urban form. Yet to what extent the configurational approach could inform plan unit division and measure socio-economic performance of morphological region (landscape unit) remains not fully clear. Further investigations are needed to explicate to what extent and manner in which way there two approaches can be combined, and how the combination can contribute to enhancing our understandings of urban form. Moreover, the relation between morphological research and practice has long been rather weak. How the enhanced understanding of urban form could inform planning and management of historical urban landscape awaits further exploration.