Sir Patrick Geddes, Lewis Mumford: Their ideas are still relevant

Central Image: scottishinsight.ac.uk

From Survey Plan to Garden City Movement and the thoughts on urban sustainability. A brief reference to the ideas that tried to change the design and development of the urban web.

Sir Patrick Geddes cannot be simply defined as a biologist, sociologist or topographer. He was the man who was able to integrate theoretically and practically all the aforementioned disciplines into a single spectrum of life study. He was the first to introduce the term region in topographic practice, a term borrowed from the philosophical thought of Auguste Comte and Frederic LePlay, while through the development of neotechnics he aimed to redefine the world and limit its money-driven and commercialising character. His theoretical thinking and his faith in reconciling urban design with nature are more urgent than ever.

S. Patrick Geddes and the Religion of Humanity

Born in Ballater, Scotland in 1854, Geddes studied at the Royal College of Mines in London, alongside botanist Thomas Henry Huxley. During his stay in the city, he became very familiar with Positivism - expressed by Auguste Comte - which seems to have profoundly influenced his own ideological and professional course. It is no coincidence that he turned to the Religion of Humanity, a secular religion based on public respect for Humanity. Perhaps, through his respect for Humanity and its understanding as a whole, Geddes found a way to develop a way of thinking that would include the reconstitution of new urban centres with sustainability in mind, a term that entered the public debate much later.

Sir Patrick Geddes was the founder of Collège des Écossais, in Montpellier (in 1954) | Image source: esperou.montpellier.archi.fr

But how did a biologist lay the foundations for the well-known doctrine "survey before plan"? To answer this question, we must first explain how he turned to the study of the urban landscape. Being a biologist himself, oriented to the sociological significance of the urban environment, he tried to include a bioregional perspective in his theoretical approach, which would respond to the logic of diagnosing the problem before treatment. This includes economic, social and cultural considerations of the ecological understanding of the biosphere, and to achieve it, it would be necessary to develop a more interdisciplinary research and multidisciplinary collaboration. Thus, the planning and study - which should always come first - would be done based on the union of the respective scientific disciplines so that the transition to a more sustainable residential complex can be completed more smoothly.

However, this will only be accomplished only when the world is understood as a whole, as a dynamic "cooperation" of the various domains of life, including those of nature. Therefore, just as there is sociology or engineering, ecological thinking should be included in shaping a sustainable urban landscape. Without the latter, the individual will not be able to adapt to a specific area of ​​residence and economic activity, thus leading to the absence of any development.

How can this theoretical approach to the study and understanding of the local -and later global- perception of the world be established? Perhaps Outlook Tower is a manifestation, if somewhat simplified, of Patrick Geddes’ philosophy.

Outlook Tower and the beginning of a new whole school of thought

In 1892, Geddes bought a tower next to Edinburgh Castle. The tower, also known as Outlook Tower (today the tower houses the Camera Obscura & World of Illusions museum-exhibition), would be transformed, in less than 20 years, into a "machine" intended to illustrate the relationship between the private and the public world.

Outlook Tower diagram| Image source: euppublishingblog.com

The tower consists of a vertical sequence of spaces, each of which gives the visitor a different experience. The Meditation room -a dark cell-, the veranda, as well as the Camera Obscura that previously existed in the building stand out. In fact, the latter room was - and is - the most impressive since, through the use of a mirror, the light rays are projected through a system of lenses to a darker space. In this space, the projection of the outside landscape becomes visible on a circular white table.

How Camera Obscura works| Image source: iiif.wellcomecollection.org

This particular project is based on an idea for a different way of ​​understanding the universe. Therefore, according to him, in order to understand the world as a whole one must first understand the importance of the local space. However, this understanding of our nearby space does not happen rapidly, but gradually. After one first sees the city of Edinburgh, one then moves in one's mind to Scotland, the English-speaking countries, Europe and finally the world.

This ideological direction, instigated at Outlook Tower, would continue to accompany Geddes through the development of the Valley Section. The latter would also constitute a breakthrough for a more ecological approach to the formation of cities.

Thoughts on urban sustainability

On July 18, 1904, Patrick Geddes gave a highly interesting lecture at London University. In fact, Ebenezer Howard, the father of the Garden City Movement, was also in the audience.

Geddes was very descriptive during his speech-narrative and presented the following image: At the beginning, there are vast arable slopes with small villages, which then lead to mountain settlements. From there the mind of the viewer-listener descends to the most prosperous villages at the foot of the mountain and to the railway station. Of course, the large, central city, located between the river and the agricultural area, would not be missing from the picture. However, the image-narrative does not stop there, since further away is the largest city of this imaginary county, while a little further down is the industrial city, the smokestacks of which can be seen from afar. This is the "global city".

Valley Section visual points| Image source: ciclica.eu

This description is also the basis of his ideology. A thought that solidifies the ideal urban condition and reveals the evolution of civilization, from the simplest to the most complex forms of habitation. We would say that the Enlightenment theory of Social Development is depicted in Geddes' diagram since we have the four stages of hunting, farming and agriculture, which ultimately lead to commercial development. Therefore, the separate parts (regions) of the valley - or, according to others, the different valleys - coexist, and together, the residents or the professionals who are active there coexist harmoniously.

But what is it that connects the Valley Section with the "survey before plan” idea? Perhaps, as mentioned above, the answer is clear if we think of the urban environment as a living organism, where the parts, although differentiated, work well together for the proper functioning of the whole. However, even the smallest modifications should always be taken into account so that new solutions are studied and implemented, always respecting the past. Culture, economy, society and ecological concerns need to go hand in hand and lead to a better, friendlier and sustainable future -views that would develop significantly in the middle of the 20th century. Therefore, Geddes seems to have been the first to speak about the necessity of studying how regional and urban planning will be able to integrate man and his livelihoods in the environment, through the detailed investigation of the various parameters - environmental and socio-economic - of the area in question.

The bioregional planning introduced by Geddes and the 1904 speech influenced -as expected- major movements such as the Garden City Movement. The movement, first introduced by Ebenezer Howard through Tomorrow: A Peaceful Path to Social Reform (1898), aimed to improve the quality of life in the city and address the problems created by rapid industrial development. The program of the movement was based on the planning of small cities - always of a limited acreage -, which would consist of agricultural lands on their outer periphery and, outside of that, residencies. 

Of course, Howard was not dogmatic about industry (neither was Geddes, as we saw in his description of the Valley Section) since the interior of these garden cities would have included inhabitants of all occupations. A typical example of such a city is that of Letchworth, near London, and Welwyn, a town adjacent to Letchworth.

Σχέδιο του Howard για το Letchworth | Image Source: hertsmemories.org.uk

Based on the above we see that perhaps Geddes' ideas of holistic research on urban planning found their application in the designs of the Garden City Movement.

A homogenous city for a better future

Harmonious coexistence within the city presupposes the absence of separation and the development of a philosophy of communication between citizens. Citizen participation, the preservation and maintenance of urban spaces and the effort of citizens to create an autonomous city, aiming for a more ecological way of life as opposed to unrestrained industrialization -indeed this thought reminds us of William Morris-, led Geddes to studies for urban planning in India and the eastern Mediterranean Basin, always with the aim of upgrading areas and highlighting the importance of decent living.

However, his proposals were not heard and were even mocked by many of his contemporaries. He emerged from obscurity when a student -at the time- Lewis Mumford -more on him in the next, second part of the feature on the ideas of sustainability - contacted him with the intention of becoming his student. Through Mumford and his writings in the New Yorker, Patrick Geddes' thought was revived, becoming a reference point for other architecture critics and topographers. Therefore, the thought of the continuous evolution of the city, which should always stay alert in order to keep developing, found itself at the centre of the discussions of the middle of the 20th and 21st centuries, debated by many theorists, such as Jane Jacobs, Christopher Alexander etc.

Therefore, we would say that the thought of Patrick Geddes is always relevant and crucial, especially today when the continuous tendency towards globalization and neoliberalism, have somewhat deregulated social and urban cohesion. Perhaps, if we rethink the ideological basis of what Geddes says, we can understand that everything can coexist, evolve and aim for sustainability, about which there is so much talk.

Further reading and Sources:

The Living City – The Rise and Fall, and Rise Again of Sir Patrick Geddes. From: ovalpartnership.com

D. C. Wahl (2017). Visionaries of Regenerative Design I: Sir Patrick Geddes (1854–1931). From: medium.com

M. Fabrizi (2020). From Vision to Knowledge: Patrick Geddes’ Outlook Tower (1892). From: socks-studio.com

Garden City. From: britannica.com

More on Sir Patrick Geddes, at: patrickgeddestrust.co.uk