The study of urban form in Germany

Abstract

Urban geography in Germany is unique inasmuch as there was a period of three decades at the beginning of the twentieth century during which geographers focussed their research on urban morphology. In analysing the layout and the building fabric of towns their most important tool was the town plan. This period was followed by periods during which urban functions and urban structures were the major concerns of urban geographers. However, in the second half of the twentieth century there were again innovative contributions to the study of urban form, stimulated by the activities of architects and urban historians, the research of British geographers, such as A.E. Smailes and Berlin-born M.R.G. Conzen, the urban conservation movement, and activities of the study group Die alte Stadt.