Hello,
For a time ago there was a discussion about self organisation in built
environments. Here is an article forthcoming in Postmodern Science. Ed.
Robert Froemke et al. from Dr. Hab. Dirk Varderbeke that could be of
interest. With his permission, hereby attached one article. He can be
contacted on the e-mail adress: [log in to unmask]
Kind regards Akkie
Dr. scient Akkelies van Nes
TU Delft, Faculty of Architecture
Department of Urban Renewal and Management
Berlageweg 1
2628 CR Delft
The Netherlands
Tel (direct) +31 15 2783077
Fax: +31 15 2783411
-----Oorspronkelijk bericht-----
Van: Beattie, Alan [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Verzonden: dinsdag 3 februari 2004 10:27
Aan: [log in to unmask]
Onderwerp: Re: self organisation & morphogenesis and the structure of
human sett lements
Alan
It depends on the company you keep....
There is I believe (not least in the vicinity of UCL) a rhetorical party
line in embryology/ developmental biology that derides [certain kinds of]
modelling; they exemplify the strong reductionist programme, as a I recall,
of which Lewis Wolpert has been a chief and especially disdainful advocate.
There have always been others who take a different line (eg Goodwin;
Kauffman; Cohen & Stewart; etc). But for instance cellular automata models
seem to be emerging as a possible common ground - not of course uncontested,
but bringing together some unusual bedfellows...(since such models appear
both in computational biology and - do they not - in recent developments in
urban modelling at UCL).
You guys would be a better judge than I am of whether this could be a strand
in SS4.
Alan
-----Original Message-----
From: Alan Penn [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 02 February 2004 16:45
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: self organisation & morphogenesis and the structure of
human sett lements
Alan,
my developmental biology friends tell me that modeling fell out of
fashion as it was overtaken by experimental methods at the molecular and
genetic levels. But I think you are right - perhaps it would make an
interesting strand through the next Space Syntax symposium?
Alan Penn
> -----Original Message-----
> From: [log in to unmask] [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
On
> Behalf Of Beattie, Alan
> Sent: 02 February 2004 16:05
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: self organisation & morphogenesis and the structure of
human
> sett lements
>
> Bill
> OK yes, those big fat Waddington books were required reading for quite
a
> while...
> And yes I believe it was yours truly that dreamed up the phrase space
> syntax.
> You always used to accuse me of doing so at any rate. I think you and
I
> were
> both migrating into reading Chomsky at the time, although Howard
Pattee
> (in
> Waddington) and Aristide Lindenmayer (and even Thom, as in
Semiophysics)
> were making the case for a linguistic approach in theoretical biology.
> Now there's a topic for a seminar - where is all that at, now?
> Best wishes
> Alan
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Professor Bill Hillier [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: 02 February 2004 13:24
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: self organisation & morphogenesis and the structure of
> human sett lements
>
>
> Dear Alan - How nice to hear from you ! You are absolutely right of
course
> - and I had completely forgotten about the Transactions paper. Worse,
I
> had
> a temporary amnesia over the four volumes of Waddington's 'Theoretical
> Biology' series, which were of course hugely influential. What I
perhaps
> should have said was that as space syntax developed it tended to
relate
> less - and certainly less than it should - to the later developments
in
> these fields, and become more concerned perhaps with internal
development.
> I'm quite sure its time to turn it round !
>
> By the way, I think I'm right in saying that you invented the term
'space
> syntax', although I had used the idea of syntax before in talking
abhout
> space, for example in 'The architecture of architecture', I think you
> actually coined the term ?
> - Bill
>
>
>
> >Bill
> >
> >It's been a very long time since we communicated, and I've never
> previously
> >contributed to this list - I've been lurking for ages, and reading
it
> with
> >great interest and admiration, but I'm essentially a spectator
nowadays
> on
> >the sidelines of this area of work.
> >
> >But I'm seriously puzzled and disconcerted by the brief historical
note
> that
> >you offer in the email below.
> >
> >As I recall, when I worked with you and Adrian Leaman (in the
supportive
> >presence of Professor John Musgrove) 30 years ago at UCL to create a
new
> MSc
> >in Advanced Architectural Studies and to write and submit [in 1974]
the
> >first successful bid to the Science Research Council (as was) for the
> >programme of research that we called Space Syntax, ideas about
morphology
> >and morphogenesis were absolutely central to our deliberations. And
those
> >ideas, put together over the preceding 3 years or so, most
emphatically
> did
> >already draw on theoretical and mathematical biology, self-organising
> >systems and artificial intelligence.
> >
> >Your own early published papers eg in Transactions of the Bartlett
> Society,
> >themselves make that lineage absolutely clear.
> >One of my contributions was to bring to bear the literature on the
> >mathematical modelling of growth and form, both in its application to
> >biological systems and in its application to 'complex buildings' (as
the
> >module that I ran on the MSc from 1974 to the early 80s was
entitled).
> Among
> >the many strands of theoretical-mathematical biology and biophysics
that
> we
> >spent much time on, I recall Waddington's epigenetic landscapes and
> >chreodes, Rene Thom's 7 catastrophes, Howard Pattee's analysis of
> >hierarchical structures, Lindenmayer's 'L-systems' for the modelling
of
> >self-organising growth, Stanislav Ulam on self-assembly in cellular
> systems,
> >HA Simon's 'Architecture of Complexity' and 'Sciences of the
Artificial'
> -
> >to mention but a few.
> >
> >As you know I had myself previously tried in the early 60s to use the
> newly
> >emerging techniques of mathematical morphology and morphogenesis in
my
> work
> >as a DPhil student in the Medical Research Council Cell Metabolism
> Research
> >Unit at Oxford University (where I was on the receiving end of severe
> >discouragement from senior biomedical scientists); and I'd
subsequently
> >tried to use these ideas again when I worked for the Medical
Architecture
> >Research Unit 1971-74, eg in the planning of hospitals, health
centres
> etc
> >(where again such morphological approaches were received less
favourably
> >than 'general systems' ideas). But although I moved away from UCL and
> from
> >space syntax, I've always supposed that SS [at its best] is a prime
> example
> >of just the kind of non-linear, discrete generative modelling that
some
> of
> >the pioneers of biomathematics and AI/artificial life had envisioned.
> >I would even go so far as to say that SS is a more authentic specimen
of
> >that kind of science than are some of the faddish outbreaks of
> >post-chaos-theory 'complex systems' modelling - which have not (in my
> >opinion) grasped the significance of the distinctively linguistic
> >(discursive, syntactical) agenda that Thom, Lindenmayer, Pattee and
> others
> >sketched for the new generative and relational biology. That's
another
> >story; but I would have thought that all those generations of
students
> from
> >UCL from 3 and 2 decades ago whose studies of built environment were
> >seriously interrupted by the back-breaking reading lists that you and
I
> gave
> >them on the mathematical biology of morphogenesis might actually have
> cause
> >to be very grateful that there was indeed already a fruitful
convergence
> of
> >concepts in those early years, one that still deserves to be pursued
> further
> >in many new directions.
> >
> >You say "But there are of course parallels, and there is a great deal
of
> >interaction now".
> >I can't think that you really mean to disown the unique (and
> exceptionally
> >interesting) origins of space syntax.
> >
> >Alan
> >
> >Alan Beattie
> >Professor of Public Health and Health Education, St Martin's College
> >Lancaster
> >MA Tutor and PhD Supervisor, Institute for Health Research, Lancaster
> >University
> >Member, Complexity Network, Institute for Advanced Study in the
Social &
> >Management Sciences, Lancaster
> >
> >
> >-----Original Message-----
> >From: Professor Bill Hillier [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> >Sent: 30 January 2004 16:50
> >To: [log in to unmask]
> >Subject: Re: self organisation & morphogenesis and the structure of
> >human sett lements
> >
> >
> >Dear Anthony - Not really - it very much came out of problems in
trying
> to
> >understand architecture. But there are of course parallels, and there
is
> a
> >good deal of interaction now. People like Alasdair Turner in the
research
> >group here came from artificial intelligence, and Rui Carvalho is a
> >mathematical physicist. So convergence, yes, very much so, but less
so in
> >origins. The origins are really set out in the Introduction to 'The
> Social
> >Logic of Space'. And by the way, you might look at the second chapter
> there
> >where we first tried look at generative processes which led to the
kinds
> of
> >spatial patterning you find in settlement - what I call in the
Atlanta
> >paper the 'basic generative process': it produces the topology but
not
> the
> >geometry of the city. It was the kinds of restrictions on otherwise
> random
> >generative processes that seemed to be needed to describe the range
of
> >spatial variation found in real settlements that were the sources of
the
> >ideas that became space synyax as an analytic tool. - Bill
> >
> >
> >>Dear Bill - Was the development of space syntax theory done in
parallel
> to
> >>the development of theories of self organisation and emergence in
> biology,
> >>physics, mathematics and artificial intelligence? If it was, then an
> >>interesting convergence of ideas could be taking place.
> >>
> >>Anthony
> >>
> >>> -----Original Message-----
> >>> From: Professor Bill Hillier [SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
> >>> Sent: Friday, January 30, 2004 5:25 AM
> >>> To: [log in to unmask]
> >>> Subject: Re: self organisation & morphogenesis and the
structure
> of
> >>> human sett lements
> >>>
> >>> Dear Anthony - There are quite a few papers in the Space Syntax
> Symposia
> >>> Proceeedings which address thes issues, though not always under
the
> title
> >>> of 'self-organising systems'. But in a sense, a good deal of the
space
> >>> syntax stuff about cities is about self-organisation, though it
> doesn't
> >>> call itself that. It's about how multi-agent distributed processes
> spread
> >>> over decades or centuries create well-formed emergent patterns
with
> both
> >>> invariants and differences. So in a sense, it's a theory of the
> 'organic'
> >>> city. You should browse the web-sites for the last two symposia
> >>>
> >>> As far as the things I have written myslf are concerned, a key
recent
> >text
> >>> is my first paper to the Third Symposium called 'A theory of the
city
> as
> >>> object' http://undertow.arch.gatech.edu/homepages/3sss/ which
tries to
> >>> give
> >>> some account of how the spatial patterns formed by the aggregation
of
> >>> buildings acquire certain kind of emergent structure. This builds
on
> >>> earlier papers which describe between them how emergent space
> structure
> >in
> >>> cities shapes the processes of movement, land use patterns and
centre
> and
> >>> sub-centre formation in cities. The sequence of papers is:
> >>>
> >>> Hillier B et al (1993) Natural movement: or configuration and
> attraction
> >>> in
> >>> urban pedestrian movement - Environment & Planning B: Planning &
> Design
> >>> 20,
> >>> 29-66
> >>>
> >>> Hillier B (1996) - Cities as movement economies in Urban Design
> >>> International Vol 1 No 1 pp49-60 E & F.N.Spon. Also Chapter 4 of
Space
> is
> >>> the Machine.
> >>>
> >>> Hillier B (2000) Centrality as a process: accounting for
attraction
> >>> inequalities in deformed grids Urban Design International, 3/4,
107-
> 127
> >>>
> >>> Hillier B (2002) A theory of the city as object: how the social
> >>> construction of urban space is mediated by spatial laws Urban
Design
> >>> International 7, 153-159)
> >>>
> >>> Also relevant are
> >>>
> >>> Hillier B et al (2000) Self-generated neighbourhood consolidation
in
> >>> informal settlements (with Margarita Greene and Jake Desyllas)
Urban
> >>> Design
> >>> International ISSN 1357 5317 vol 5 no 2 61-96
> >>>
> >>> Hillier B (1999) The hidden geometry of deformed grids: or, why
space
> >>> syntax works, when it looks as though it shouldn't Environment and
> >>> Planning
> >>> B: Planning & Design, 26, 169-191
> >>>
> >>> Self-orgnaisation issues are also dealt with in in different way
in my
> >two
> >>> paper to the Fourth Symposium:
> >>>
> >>> Hillier B (2003a) The architectures of seeing and going Paper to
the
> >>> Fourth
> >>> Space Synyax Symposium, London, June 2003.
> >>>
> >>> Hillier B (2003b) The knowledge that shapes the city Paper to the
> Fourth
> >>> Space Syntax Symposium, London, June 2003
> >>>
> >>> both of which can be downloaded from www.spacesyntax.net or
> >>> www.spacesyntax.org/
> >>>
> >>> - Bill
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> >I am studying how the theories of self organisation &
morphogenesis
> >could
> >>> >help our understanding of the structure of human settlements.
> Obviously,
> >>> >space syntax theories would be useful in this regard. Has any
> research
> >>> been
> >>> >done in this area.
> >>> >
> >>> >Anthony
> >>> >
> >>> >----wrtmail--%3423wrt%----
> >>
> >>----wrtmail--%3423wrt%----
> >
> >
> >
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