Basic

 Elements  of  the  City  

 
Concepts  of  space,  4me  and  scale  of  
city    
Constan4nos  Apostolou  Doxiadis  
EKISTICS  
THE  SCIENCE  OF  HUMAN  SETTLEMENTS    
 
“Dimensions   increase   and   will   con0nue   to  
increase  for  a  few  genera0on  and  thus  the  most  
probable   future   in   definable   terms   will   mean   a  
very   large   increase   of   popula0on   and   energy   in  
the  city  of  Anthopos  (man).  This  is  the  city  where  
the  whole  mankind  will  live  or  tend  to  live”.    
C.A.  DOXIADIS      
 C.  A.  Doxiadis  
Greek  architect  and  town  planner  
Father  of  EKISTICS  -­‐  the  science  of  human  seElements    
Born  in  1913  comes  from  a  family  that  played  an  important  role  in  the  
seElement  of  Greek  war  refugees  in  between  the  two  World  Wars.    
Worked  
•  Chief  Town  Planning  Officer,  Greater  Athens  Area  (1937  –  1938)  
•  Head,  Department  of  Regional  and  Town  Planning,  Ministry  of  Public  
Works,  Greece  (1939  –  1945)  
Major  Projects    
•  In  the  applica4on  of  his  theories  on  Ekis4cs,  Doxiadis  studied,  programmed,  
planned  and  designed,  in  collabora4on  with  his  colleagues,  a  great  number  
of   human   seElements   and   other   development   projects.   These   projects  
covered   several   fields,   like   rural   seElements,   agriculture   and   irriga4on,  
industrial  seElements,  manufacturing,  power  and  public  works,  commerce  
and   tourism,   transporta4on   and   communica4ons,   housing,   urban   renewal  
and  development  of  new  ci4es  etc.    
•  Known  for  planning  Islamabad,  the  new  capital  of  Pakistan  
 EKISTICS  
•  In  order  to  create  the  ci4es  of  the  future,  we  need  to  
systema4cally   develop   a   science   of   human  
seElements.  This  science,  termed  as  Ekis4cs.    
•  Ekis4cs  will  take  into  considera4on  the  principles  man  
takes   into   account   when   building   his   seElements,   as  
well   as   the   evolu4on   of   human   seElements   through  
history  in  terms  of  size  and  quality.    
•  The  target  is  to  build  the  city  of  op4mum  size,  that  is,  a  
city  which  respects  human  dimensions.    
•  Since   there   is   no   point   in   resis4ng   development,   we  
should   try   to   accommodate   technological   evolu4on  
and  the  needs  of  man  within  the  same  seElement.    
 Defini@on  
Ekis4cs   is   the   study   of   human   seElement,   which  
examines   not   only   built   forms,   but   also   the  
interface   of   @me,   movements   and   systems   in   the  
built  environment.    
Doxiadis  saw  Ekis4cs  as  an  intellectual  approach  to  
balance  the  convergence  of  the  past,  present,  and  
future  in  human  seElements  as  well  as  a  system  for  
crea@vely   coping   with   the   growth   of   popula@on,  
rapid   change   and   the   pressures   of   large-­‐scale,  
high-­‐density  housing.      
 EKISTICS  FRAMEWORK  
•  Doxiadis   posited   a   convenient   way   of   organizing  
informa@on   and   mapping   out   the   components   and  
rela4onships   of   the   elements   within   the   human  
seElements  realm  
•  He   suggested   to   have   a   Classificatory   System  that   will   be   a  
methodology   to   establish   the   hierarchical   structure   and  
links  among  elements  of  a  system  
•  Ekis4cs   is   the   science   of   human   seElements;   this  
characteris4c  refers  to  func4ons  expressed  in  space  by  area  
of  certain  dimensions  
•  In  prac4ce,  Ekis4cs  has  set  the  goal  of  Human  happiness    
•  There  are  two  Classificatory  Dimensions  
–  First  Dimension  -­‐  Rela@ve  to  Scale  
–  Second  Dimension  -­‐  Man's  Five  Environmental  Elements  
 Rela@ve  to  Scale  –  Ekis@cs  Logarithmic  Scale  (ELS)  
Ecumenapolis  
Urban  Region  
Megalopolis  
Conurba4on  
Metropolis  
Town  
City  
Neighborhood  
Dwelling  
Room  
Man  

In   the   Lower   End   -­‐   there   is   individual,   the   room,   and   the   dwelling   units;   and  
increases  in  size  all  the  way  into  the  Other  Extreme  -­‐  the  city,  the  urban  con4nent,  
and  the  "world-­‐wide  city”-­‐  which  he  called  an  Ecumenopolis  
Man's  Five  Environmental  Elements  

1.  Man  

2.   3.  
Nature   Society  
Human  
SeElements  

4.  
5.  Shells  
Network  
 Man's  Five  Environmental  Elements  
•  The   first   principle   is   maximiza@on   of   •  The   fourth   principle   is   op@miza@on   of  
man's   poten@al   contacts   with   the   the   quality   of   man's   rela@onship   with  
elements   of   nature   (water   and   trees),   his   environment,   which   consists   of  
nature,   society,   shells   (buildings,  
with   other   people,   and   with   works   of  
houses)   and   networks   (roads,  
man  (such  as  buildings  and  roads)   telecommunica4ons).   This   principle  
•  The  second  principle  is  minimiza@on  of   leads   to   order,   physiological   and  
t h e   e ff o r t   r e q u i r e d   f o r   t h e   aesthe4c,   and   that   influences  
architecture   and,   in   many   respects,  
achievement   of   man's   actual   and  
art.    
poten@al  contacts  
•  Finally,   the   figh   principle   is,   man  
•  The   third   principle   is   op@miza@on   of   organizing   his   seElements   is   an  
man's   protec@ve   space,   which   means   aEempt   to   achieve   an   op@mum  
the   selec4on   of   such   a   distance   from   synthesis  of  the  other  four  principles,  
and  this  op4miza4on  is  dependent  on  
other  persons,  animals,  or  objects  that  
@me  and  space,  on  actual  condi4ons,  
he   can   keep   his   Contacts   with   them   and   on   man's   ability   to   create   a  
(first   principle)   without   any   kind   of   synthesis.    
Sensory  Or  Psychological  discomfort  
 
 Ekis@cs  Units    
Network   Shell   Society   Man   Nature  

• Water  supply   • Housing   • Popula4on   • Biological  Needs   • Geological  

systems   Community   composi4on  and   (space,  air,   Resources  
• Power  supply   Services   density   temperature   • Topographical  
systems   (schools,   • Social   etc.  )   Resources  
• Transporta4on   hospitals  etc.)   Stra4fica4on   • Sensa4on  and   • Soli  resources  
systems  (water,   • Shopping   • Cultural  PaEerns   percep4on  (the   • Water  resources  
road,  rail,  air)   centres  and   • Economic   five  senses)  
• Plant  Life  
• Communica4on   markets   Development   • Emo4onal  
• Animal  Life  
systems   • Recrea4onal   • Educa4on   Needs  (human  
facili4es   rela4ons,   • Climate  
(telephone,   • Health  and  
radio,  TV  etc.)   • Civic  and   security,  beauty  
welfare  
• Sewage  and   business  centres   etc.)  
• Law  and  
drainage   (town  hall,  law   • Moral  values  
administra4on  
• Physical  layout   courts  etc.)  
(Ekis4c  Plan)   • Industry  
transporta4on  
centres  
 Analysis    
•  To   achieve   this   we   must   clarify   what   do   we   mean   by   ci4es.   If   we  
have  the  wrong  concep4on  -­‐  for  example,  that  ci4es  are  “all  like  the  
City   of   London,   densely   built,   small,   tradi4onal   central   parts   of  
urban   areas,   or   like   the   city   of   New   York,   mul4million   people  
agglomera4ons  with  many  skyscrapers”-­‐  we  cannot  go  very  far.    

Preston   in   Lancashire  
presents   the   confusion  
created   by   the   random  
development   of   ci4es   in  
the  19th  century.  

In  all  these  cases  we  fail,  not  because  the  ci4es  of  the  future  
may  not  be  like  these  prototypes,  but  because  we  approach  
our   subject   with   preconceived   ideas   about   numbers   of  
people,  physical  size,  buildings,  and  styles  which  are  a  major  
hindrance  to  the  concep4on  of  the  ci4es  of  the  future.    
 Analysis    
•  According   to   Doxiadis,   the   greatest   SOME  OF  HIS  PROPOSALS  INCLUDED:  
problem   facing   ci4es   worldwide   was   •  Limi4ng  all  buildings  to  three  levels  
the  problem  of  managing  growth.     or  less,  with  permission  to  build  
•  He   proposed   several   solu4ons   to   higher  
leave   room   for   expansion   of   the   city   •  Separa4ng  automobile  and  
core.     pedestrian  traffic  completely.  
•  Construc4ng  ci4es  as  a  "beehive"  of  
Doxiadis  designed  a  central  mall   cells  each  no  bigger  than  2  by  2  
outside  Los  Angeles  where   kilometers,  the  maximum  
pedestrians  are  able  to  move  free  
of  automobile  traffic  

Doxiadis  limited  the  number  of  

roads  on  campus.  All  the  
educa4onal  buildings  are  
interconnected  to  permit  people  to  
walk  from  one  to  the  other.  
Courtyards  provide  a  place  for  
mee4ngs  between  people.    
 
One   of   the   major   problems   is   the   great   confusion   created   by   a   mixing  
of   two   elements—of   man   and   machine—within   the   ci4es   of   the  
present.  This  confusion,  which  brings  man  and  machine  into  conflict  in  
all   urban   areas,   has   been   resolved   sa4sfactorily   in   favor   of   the  
machine   only   for   major   lines   of   transporta4on   where   man   as   a   free  
agent   has   been   completely   separated   from   machine   and   has   been  
confined  within  it.    
 
 Ques4ons    
•  Are  dimensions  actually  increasing?  
•  Is  popula4on  growth  a  boon  or  a  taboo  to  a  
society?  
•  Do  we  really  need  to  have  control  measures  
to  curtail  this  growth  or  rather  use  our  
intellect,  which  puts  us  at  par  viz  a  viz  animals  
and  other  life  forms?    
•  Why  then  ci4es  s4ll  live,  without  succumbing  
to  this  devasta4ng  growth?    
 
 What  is  needed?  What  is  lacking?    
•  Long  term  planning  is  needed  to  determine  whether  such  lands  are  
des4ned  to  become  urban  or  not    
•  But  that  ideal  works  only  if  the  urban  planning  is  for  Green  Field  Projects  .  
Since  most  urbanisa4on  is  not  green  field  the  ques4on  is:  are  our  policies  
encouraging  this  integra4on,  or  the  development  is  a  chao4c  process?  
•  Today’s  chaos  may  be  more  visible  in  Delhi,  Mumbai,  Ahmedabad,  
Bengaluru,  Chennai,  Kolkata  &  Hyderabad.  But  more  serious  chaos  is  
probably  happening  in  other  small  towns.    
•  Our  modern  day  ci4es  too  can  be  planned  in  such  a  manner  that  limits  are  
set  to  accommodate  a  certain  popula4on  and  the  city  is  buffered  by  an  
equal  area  of  country  side  before  another  new  city  is  created.    
•  This  equitable  land  distribu4on  between  the  city  and  the  village  would  be  
an  inter  complementary  arrangement  
•  Mega-­‐ci4es  interconnected  with  high  speed  transport  with  green  fields  in  
between.  Integra4on,  if  at  all  necessary  should  be  evolu4onary  and  nit  
enforced  
•  A  city  where  the  scale  is  within  the  horizon  of  the  human  mind.  With  the  
planner  no  longer  planning  the  city  since  being  overtaken  by  poli4cians,  
builders,  emergence  of  so  called  millennium  city  like  Gurgaon  which  lack  
the  minimum  social  facility  is  evident.    
The  garden  ci4es  were  created  
outside  the  built-­‐up  area  (a)  in  
order  to  avoid  its  pressures,  but  
later  were  absorbed  by  the  
dynamically  expanding  city  (b).    

In  spite  of  the  con4nuing  

The  centre  has  to  grow  within  the   surgery,  the  dynamic  city  cannot  
built-­‐up  area,  and  the  dynamic  city   be  relieved  of  pressures;  with  
is  choked  to  death.     more  roads,  more  func4ons  
  move  in.    
EKISTIC  PRINCIPLES   DESIRABILITY  OUTCOME    
Maximiza4on  of  poten4al   Each  individual’s  need  for  access  to  other  people,  work,  goods,  
contacts     and  services,  is  met  in  ways  that  score  posi4vely  in  terms  of  
accessibility,  technology  and  cultural  appropriateness.    
Minimiza4on  of  effort  in   People  can  sa4sfy  their  needs  (e.g.  as  above)  without  having  to  
terms  of  energy,  4me  and   expend  unnecessary  4me  and  energy.    
cost    
Op4misa4on  of   People  live  in  a  human  scale  neighborhood  which  is  safe  and  
Anthropos’  protec4ve   secure,  where  culturally  sensi4ve  provisions  meet  these  needs.    
space  when  alone    
Op4misa4on  of  the  quality   People  have  levels  of  access  to  opportuni4es,  and  economic  
of  Anthropos’  rela4onship   and  social  benefit  which  are  fair  and  culturally  sensi4ve.    
with  the  system  of  life    
Op4miza4on  in  the   The  humane  habitat  exhibits  a  sensi4ve  balance  in  the  
synthesis  of  all  principles     desirability  outcomes  where  quality  of  life  and  social  jus4ce  
reinforce  the  desirability  to  achieve  a  sustainable  environment.  
Human  scale  re-­‐established  within  the  human  community  as  in  
this  one  in  Mosul,  Iraq.  Street  for  pedestrians  only  in  
Islamabad,  Pakistan.      
 
 
 Islamabad    
An  applica4on  of  Doxiadis  Principles    
Islamabad   was   an   idea   to   create   a   “City   of   the   Future”   with   the  
concept   of   Dynapolis’,   that   is,   a   planned   unidirec4onal   linear   city   as  
the  only  solu4on  to  cope  with  the  growth  of  an  explosive  urbaniza4on  
era,  relying  on  strong  environmental  elements  and  a  synthesis  of  town  
planning  and  Architectural  principles.    
    
 Conclusion    
•  The   fact   that   the   frame   is   extra-­‐human   does   not   mean   that   we  
cannot  create  a  human  scale  within  it  
•  Man  will  have  to  create  once  more  a  human  scale  within  an  extra  
human  frame,  which  has  many  inhuman  parts  
•  The  key  to  the  solu4on  is  the  crea4on  of  the  human  community  as  
a  part  of  a  much  larger  city  
•  The  problem,  therefore,  is  reshaped  as  a  problem  of  an  organized  
Ecumenopolis,  consis4ng  of  many  human  communi4es  that  will  be  
its   fundamental   cells,   interconnected   by   the   tens,   hundreds,  
thousands,   and   tens   of   thousands   into   major   urban   complexes   that  
will  be  the  parts  of  Ecumenopolis  
•  In   this   way,   what   was   a   natural   human   community   can   be  
immensely  enlarged  into   a   human   city.   With   proper  organiza4on  of  
transporta4on  and  telecommunica4ons  networks,  the  extra-­‐human  
scale   of   the   large   city   can   be   turned   into   a   human   one   and   the  
inhuman   condi4ons   now   exis4ng   in   many   parts   of   the   city   can   be  
eliminated  
 REASON  WHY  CITIES  STILL  LIVE    
Vital  ci@es  have  marvelous  innate  abili@es  for  understanding  ,  
communica@ng,  contriving  and  inven@ng  what  is  required  to  combat  
their  difficul@es  
•  Perhaps   the   most   striking   example   of   this   ability   is   the   effect   that  
big  ci4es  have  had  on  disease  
•  Ci4es   were   once   the   most   helpless   and   devastated   vic4ms   of  
disease,   but   they   became   great   disease   conquerors.   All   the  
apparatus   of   surgery,   hygiene,   public   health   measures,   etc.   which  
people  not  only  in  ci4es  but  also  outside  them  depend  upon  for  the  
unending   wars   against   premature   mortality   are   fundamentally  
products  of  big  ci4es  and  would  be  inconceivable  without  big  ci4es  
•  The   surplus   wealth,   the   produc4vity,   the   close-­‐grained  
juxtaposi4on   of   talents   that   permit   society   to   support   advances  
such   as   these   are   themselves   products   of   our   organiza4on   into  
ci4es,  and  especially  into  big  and  dense  ci4es.      
Arundha4  Mai4,  Department  of  Urban  Planning  
School  of  Planning  and  Architecture  –  New  Delhi  
arundha4mai421@gmail.com    

THANK  YOU