Santa Marta Urban Grammar Towards an understanding of the genesis of form

Abstract

The research presented here aims to understand how spontaneous occupation in informal settlements evolves, how to develop guidelines for the requalification of these settlements, and how to plan new settlements in similar conditions. This paper focuses on the use of a parametric urban grammar as a methodology to describe the complex urban form of informal settlements, explaining how buildings and pathways create the maze-like urban structure, how different building typologies are located according to internal and external forces like topography, and urban context and functional organization of these buildings.