Plan analysis of historical cities: a Sino-European comparison

Abstract

Until recently Chinese and European approaches to the study of historical urban form have differed markedly. Here a comparison is made of the historico-geographical development of the ground plans of the walled cities of Como, Italy and Pingyao, China. Adopting a largely Conzenian approach previously mainly employed in Europe, considerable use is made of field surveys and series of large-scale plans to map patterns of change over time in streets, plots and the ground plans of buildings. In both cities, series of planned developments over some 2000 years have left major physical legacies that have acted as frameworks for long-term morphological development and given rise to distinct intra-city patterns of present-day physical forms. Cross-cultural similarities in the processes of development are revealed, especially with regard to the influence of ancient street lines, plots and successive city walls. Among the significant contrasts between the two cities are those stemming from socio-cultural differences, notably relating to cosmological influences.