Patrick Geddes and the Missing Heart of Modern City Planning

Abstract

This thesis examines the meaning of <italic>community</italic> from a land use planning perspective. What constitutes community in city planning, both from a historical perspective, and as this idea is applied to modern neighborhoods and cities? The theories and planning methods of early city planner and biologist Patrick Geddes will be used to answer this question. Geddes's theory of the city, and his chart, The Notation of Life, provide a holistic definition of the city that includes interconnected physical, social, emotional, and religious elements. Geddes's theory of the city revolves around people's connection to each other and the landscape and as such is also a definition of community. How he applied his theory to his many city and town plans and urban designs will be examined, as well as how some of these ideas can be applied to the Wells Avenue neighborhood's revitalization effort in Reno, Nevada.