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SUMMARY:A new theory of the city - Professor Bill Hillier\, Chairman of th
 e Bartlett School of Graduate Studies and Director of the Space Syntax Lab
 oratory\, University College London
DTSTART:20100609T121500Z
DTEND:20100609T131500Z
UID:TALK24438@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Juan José Sarralde
DESCRIPTION:Abstract: Cities can be thought of as socio-technical systems.
  In contrast to previous theories\,\nhere I propose a more complex and\, I
  believe\, true-to-life model based on the definition of the\nphysical sub
 -system of the city as a network of spaces – streets and roads - linking
  buildings\,\nrather than as a system of discrete zones. I will outline a 
 vertical and a lateral theory to account\nfor generic aspects of the emerg
 ent complexity of cities. I will explore two key issues in the study\nof c
 omplexity in general: the levels problem. Firstly\, how organised complexi
 ty at one level\nbecomes elementary the next level up and secondly\, the p
 arallel problem: how systems with\ndifferent internal dynamics interact wi
 th each other. I aim to show that cities are cognitive\nformations in an e
 ven more fundamental sense than they are socio-economic formations.\n\nBio
 graphy: Bill Hillier is Professor of Architecture and Urban Morphology in 
 the University of London\,\nChairman of the Bartlett School of Graduate St
 udies and Director of the Space Syntax Laboratory in\nUniversity College L
 ondon. He specialises in the study of human and social space in buildings 
 and urban\nenvironments of all kinds. He was the original pioneer of the m
 ethods for the analysis of spatial patterns\nknown as ‘space syntax’. 
 He is the author of The Social Logic of Space (Cambridge University Press\
 ,\n1984\, 1990) which presents a general theory of how people relate to sp
 ace in built environments\, ‘Space\nis the Machine’ (CUP\, 1996)\, whi
 ch reports a substantial body of research built on that theory\, and a\nla
 rge number of articles concerned with different aspects of space and how i
 t works.
LOCATION:First-floor Classroom\,  Department of Architecture\, 1-5 Scroope
  Terrace\, Cambridge\, CB2 1PX\, www.arct.cam.ac.uk
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