Knowra Patrick Geddes Patrick Geddes Patrick Geddes (1854–1932) was a Scottish biologist, sociologist, geographer, and town planner who brought ecological and social analysis into urban planning.
Civic survey : A systematic study of a place’s physical conditions, people, occupations, history, and institutions. Geddes used surveys to ground planning in a city’s landscape and lived conditions.
Place-work-folk : A framework relating a region’s physical setting, economic activities, and population. Geddes used these three elements to explain how societies and settlements develop together.
Evolutionary biology : The study of how populations and species change over generations through inherited variation and other processes. Biological ideas about adaptation and interdependence informed Geddes’s view of cities.
Lewis Mumford : An American historian and critic of cities, technology, and architecture. Mumford popularized Geddes’s regional approach and acknowledged his influence on urban thought.
Garden city movement : An urban planning movement advocating planned communities that combine town and country characteristics. Geddes shared its concern for healthier settlements while stressing regional survey and local adaptation.
Conservative surgery : A planning approach that improves urban districts through targeted changes while preserving useful buildings and social ties. Geddes preferred careful repair of existing neighborhoods over wholesale demolition.
Valley section : A diagram tracing human occupations and settlement from mountain headwaters down a river valley to the sea. The section illustrated how landforms and resources shape work and patterns of habitation.
Charles Darwin : An English naturalist whose theory of evolution by natural selection transformed nineteenth-century biology. Darwin’s evolutionary framework helped shape the biological context in which Geddes worked.
Victor Branford : A British sociologist and publisher who collaborated with Geddes on social and educational initiatives. Branford helped establish institutions and publications that advanced Geddes’s civic ideas.
Modern urban planning : The professional practice of shaping urban development through land-use policy, design, infrastructure, and public institutions. His ecological and social approach helped broaden planning beyond street layouts and building schemes.
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