From Theory to Practice

Abstract

This chapter focuses on a fundamental issue for the field of urban morphology that has been receiving increased attention in literature: the passage from description and explanation of the morphological phenomena to the definition of prescriptive guidelines for the design of new urban forms or transformation of extant forms. Two eminently practical activities that can benefit from morphological support are identified: urban planning (and urban design) and architecture. While the first is a potential receptor of morphological theories, concepts and methods developed at larger scales, the second would be informed by morphological approaches developed at the building scale.