Case Studies in City Form
MIT's graduate seminar on urban form and design examines how cities take physical shape over time. Students analyze, draw, and compare selected cities to build a working vocabulary for urban and architectural form, tracing the development of map making and other tools of urban representation. Historical focus falls on mid-nineteenth and mid-twentieth century periods of urban expansion, when many modern city patterns were set. A weekly seminar pairs this analytical work with readings in twentieth-century urban design theory, and computer-based drawing and mapping exercises are required throughout. Designed as a methods class for MIT's S.M.Arch.S. students in Architecture and Urbanism, the course gives a rigorous, comparative framework for reading cities as historical and social artifacts rather than just built environments. Materials are available free through MIT OpenCourseWare, including readings and assignment descriptions, with no certificate offered.