PLN 3 - part 1 - ekistics etc.

Ekistics

The science of human settlements, Greek term meaning “settling down”

All other science of human settlements conditioned by men and influenced by economic, social, political, administrative and technical science as well as disciplines related to the

arts.

Ekistics

A term coined by Constantinos A. Doxiadis, a Greek architect-engineer

Doxiadis

described cities as urban nightmares, irrational

structures, clogged arteries, congested streets, pollution and

environmental degradation, lack of sufficient housing,

facilities and services are poor

Human Settlement

by definition, settlements inhabited by Man

man

Goal of Human Settlement: human settlement should satisfy "

___________"

content, container

Human Settlements must contain the following:

Economical realities

[realities of human settlement]

Many of the inhabitants of human settlements do not have the means to satisfy their needs.

- They remain homeless

- Live in houses of very low quality

Social realities

[realities of human settlement]

Man appears lost in the big cities

Man appears abandoned by progress in many small towns and villages

Political realities

[realities of human settlement]

There is the creation of new types of societies and new types of peoples which have not found their corresponding political institutions

New types of people: marginalized people, displaced people, poor, refugees, etc.

Technical realities

[realities of human settlement]

Most settlements do not have the facilities indispensable to their proper functioning, in spite of the technological achievements of our era

Inadequate facilities

Insubstantial: not enough to satisfy the growing needs of the populace.

Due to lack of maintenance

Dilapidated

Antiquated

Totally absent

Aesthetic realities

[realities of human settlement]

We need only to look around at the ugliness of human settlements of the present to be convinced

Man

[5 elements of human settlements]

the individual human being.

is unhappy in his settlements today and is growing more so as time passes, even if he is not always conscious of the source of his unhappiness.

Biological needs (space, air, temperature, etc.)

Sensation and perception (the five senses)

Emotional needs (human relations, security, beauty, etc.)

Moral values

Society

[5 elements of human settlements]

deals with people and their interaction with population trends, group behavior, social customs, occupation, income, and government. Of increasing importance is the preservation of values inherent in small communities after they have been absorbed by larger settlements.

Population composition and density

Social stratification

Cultural patterns

Economic development

Education

Health and welfare

Law and administration

Networks

[5 elements of human settlements]

for transportation, communication and utilities support the settlements and tie them together with their organization and structure. Their changes profoundly affect urban pattern and often developments in networks have been portending new development in cities and societies

The facilities that man created to serve his interaction with his fellow men.

Water supply system

Power supply system

Transportation system (water, road, rail, air)

Communication system (telephone, radio, TV, etc.)

Sewerage and drainage

Physical layout (ekistic plan)

Shells

[5 elements of human settlements]

are used as the generic term for all buildings and structures

The structures men built to protect himself, i.e., his place of rest, his place of work, his place of worship, etc.

Housing

Community service (school, hospitals, etc.)

Shopping centers and markets

Recreational facilities (theaters, museums, stadiums, etc.)

Civic and business centers (town halls, law-courts, etc.)

Transportation centers

Industry

Nature

[5 elements of human settlements]

represents the ecosystem within which man and society operate and cities and settlements are placed. The interrelation between man, machine, settlement and nature is of high importance as is the "carrying capacity" of regions, continents and ultimately the entire planet.

this is where we build our shells and subsequently where we build a society

Geographic resources

Topographical resources

Soil resources

Water resources

Plant life

Animal life

Climate

nature, man, society, shells, networks

chronological order of the 5 elements

the natural habitat

These are the areas around Human Settlements which man needs to breathe in, to commune with

nature

Natural surroundings,

[man's alienation]

i.e., trees, rivers, bodies, of water, mountains, nature reserve, etc.

Cultural surroundings

[man's alienation]

We have been bombarded with mass culture thereby losing our self, cultural identity, what makes us different from others.

Social structures

[man's alienation]

Society has become highly complicated that we now appear lost among it and find it difficult to blend with others. "Man feels all the more helpless"

Coordination

"Without _________ the system moves nowhere"

Experts who could be used to solve the problem of Human Settlements in a _______ manner.

We have to deal with specialists who are involved in Human Settlements.

o The architect at the buildings

o The planner at the two-dimensional layout of the city

o The engineer at the public utilities and structures

o The administrator at the local government problems

o The economist on money matters

o The social scientists on people.

30%

We find that no more than perhaps ___ of the total population of Earth has proper community

facilities

economists, engineers

The two basic professions which could greatly contribute to the solution of the problems of human

settlements

economist

_________ has to face the overall economic development of human settlements

In most developed economies, 30-40% of the total capital investment goes into projects in urban areas.

While in certain underdeveloped countries, this investment may exceed 90%

engineers

does not consider the task of human settlement as their responsibility.

Considers themselves completely auxiliary in nature to the architect.

Must serve as traffic ____ but in so doing create more traffic.

City officials and mayors

Those responsible for the overall effort within Human Settlement

Maximum contacts

[ekistic principles]

(material, aesthetic, intellectual) with nature and other people elements

Minimum effort

[ekistic principles]

to achieve maximum contacts and to reduce energy, time and cost a minimum. => higher densities

Optimum Space

[ekistic principles]

man needs optimum space (whether temporary or permanent) but not necessarily maximum space.

Quality of the Environment

[ekistic principles]

total environment (nature, society, shells, networks) needs to be optimized

Optimum synthesis

[ekistic principles]

synthesis of all the principles