Term Paper

Requirements

Requirements for the term paper vary depending on whether the course is being taken for 9 or 12 credits. The two options are:

For 9 credits: A paper of about 10–15 pages based on a topic discussed in the class lectures.
For 12 credits: A paper of about 18–25 pages based on a research topic chosen by the student.

Schedule

There are two deliverables for the paper:

Proposal: An outline of 1–2 pages maximum that covers the content of the proposed paper, including sources consulted. Due by Lecture 14.
Completed paper: Due by Lecture 26.

Guidance

Among the most disappointing papers have been those that have stuck to description of cities, or parts of cities, without pinning these descriptions to some hypothesis or argument. It is possible, of course, to derive hypotheses from interesting data, if you keep on developing categories for understanding the data and finally say something valuable about it all. In social science, this is often called “grounded theory.” More commonly one has a hypothesis—a puzzling question, an unexplored problem, a curious relationship—and finds the appropriate data to validate (or not) the hypothesis. Whichever way you choose to work—inductively or deductively—the intellectual structure should be based on argument, be linked, and be as clear as possible. Remember that designing is a valuable mode of inquiry, and that, as architects, many of you have or should have valuable design skills that you can bring to bear in a paper for this subject.

Examples of Past Student Papers

While the full text of the following student papers may not be available online, the list of examples is intended to provide a better understanding of successful topics and fruitful directions for this assignment.

Droege, P. “Floating Cities.” 1977.

King, G. “Poston, Arizona, 1924-1945: An Illustrated Case Study of a Temporary Settlement.” 1977.

Ebbe, K. “Freedom to Control: City Form as an Expression of Colonial Domination.” (Leopoldville and Kinshasha). 1978.

Aldrete-Haas, J. A. “The Formation of the Built Environment: The Case of a Colonial Proletaria in Mexico City.” 1979.

Devol, J. “The Death of a New Eden.” 1979.

Ferreira, F. “Portuguese and Spanish Colonial Cities in Latin America: A First Comparative Approach.” 1980.

Murray, S. “Historical Land Use Patterns in the United States of America.” 1980.

Morse, S. “Urban Form for Rural Development: Colonization in the Brazilian Amazon.” 1981.

Lin, Y. Y. “The Impact of Commercial Force on Urban Form: The Case of K’ai-feng, China.” 1981.

Mulla, A. “Historical Settlement Patterns in Mombasa.” 1981.

Kousoulas, G. “Allusion and Allegory: Aphorisms of a Capital.” 1984.

Christofidou, E. “The Development of Nicosia, Capital of Cyprus.” 1985.

Shah, B. “Changing Spatial Order and New Conformity: Katmandu, Nepal.” 1987.

Purwono, E. “Transformation of a Former Colonial City: A Case Study of Jakarta.” 1988.

Margoles, C. “The South African City: Emancipation or Prison?” 1988.

Wolfson, M. “City as Myth: Phoenix, Arizona.” 1989.

Rojas, J. “Observations of Tokyo.” 1990.

Havens, G. “Dublin: Capital of Colonial Ireland.” 1991.

Kanakar, A. “Varanasi: The Holy City.” 1991.

Campanella, T. J. “Sanctuary in the Wilderness, City by the Sea, Gravesend, Long Island, 1643.” 1992.

Shea, C. E. “Samarkand: ‘Mirror of the World’.” 1993.

Eastley, L. “Mormon Communities and the Building of the Earthly Kingdom.” 1993.

Hurley, T. C. “The Lights are Out in the City on the Hill: Wayland, Massachusetts.” 1994.

Sarkin, G. “Berlin Crossroads - The Case of Potsdammerplatz.” 1994.

Kodama, T. “The Formation of Kobe.” 1995.

Askalan, R. “Beirut: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow.” 1995.

McHugh, E. T. “Warsaw: A Study of Memory, History and National Identity in the Reconstruction of the City.” 1996.

Carrera, F. “Campo Santa Maria Formosa, Venice, Italy.” 1997.

Kosebay, Y. “Representing Language of Nasuh’s 16th Century Istanbul-Galata Miniature Painting.” 1997.

Turkel, J. A. “Barrow, Alaska: The Most Improbable Town in America.” 1998.

Tian, L. L. “The Concept of Home in the City of Helsinki.” 1998.

Apigian, M. “Landscapes of Convergence: San Diego-Tijuana.” 1999.

Mathema, K. “Tourism and City Form: The Kathmandu Valley.” 1999.

Switzky, J. “The Instant City of San Francisco and Theories on the Form of ‘Boomtowns’.” 2000.

Pitts, E. “Tlingit Village and House Organization.” 2000.

Spencer, C. “Urban Renewal: Its Effects on the Physical Form and Thinking of Downtown Schenectady.” 2001.

Gillespie, J. “Las Vegas: Mythical Frontier Oasis or Paradigmatic American City?” 2002.

Fergason, T. “Krier & Koolhaas.” 2002.

Resnick, N. “The Derailment of Detroit.” 2003.

Helinski, K. L. “The Walls of Cairo: The Ownership of Forgotten Landmarks.” 2004.

Vlado, N. “Mapping a Post-traumatic Landscape: Johannesburg’s Post-apartheid Form.” 2005.

Morais, M. “Neutrality as Response to Diversity: The Paradigm of Lisbon.” 2006.

Green, M. E. “A Speculative Study of Kampala’s Housing Form.” 2006.

Gora, T. I. “The African City: Imagining an Experiential Democratic Design of Urban Life.” 2007.

Basraai, Z. “Spaces of Persecution: the Jewish Shtetl in Nineteenth Century Poland.” 2008.

Abrahamse, C. “Spatial Structure and Social Structure: Looking for Contact Zones within the Post-apartheid South African city.” 2008.

Lockrem, Z. “Quebecois Identity and the Built Environment: The Case of Expo’ 67.” 2009.

Humphreys, B. “Oklahoma City’s Park and Boulevard System.” 2009.

Spicer, S. J. “Confronting the Voids in Berlin’s Urban Fabric.” 2010.

Nelson, M. “Auguste Perret’s Reconstruction of Le Havre.” 2010.

Thelander, M. “Precarious Paradise: The Paradox of Nature in Southern California.” 2011.

Woods, E. “Remembering the Palast der Republik: Identity Construction, Memorialization, and Preservation in Post-reunification Berlin.” 2011.

You may explore form issues of today that are worth writing about because they represent a new or innovative idea, are part of an important current debate, or are interesting because you can get close to events as they are unfolding. The trick is to avoid gross generalities and to do more than a piece of urban journalism.

Examples of Past Student Papers

Karen, V. “Pedestrian-free Environments.” 1977.

Landman, W. “Recycling the Suburbs.” 1977.

Oliver, R. “The Boston Waterfront District: The Environment as an Exchange System.” 1977.

Kokkoris, P. “Similitude and Formalism.” 1979.

Smith, T. “The Isolation of the Columbia Point Public Housing Project: A Social Control Exerted Spatially.” 1979.

Holleran, M. “Street Patterns as a Preservation Issue.” 1985.

Wiggins, G. “The Impact of the Information Society on the Form of the City.” 1988.

Robinson, R. “The Evocative City.” 1990.

Klein, M. “Nantucket: An Island Controls its Future.” 1980.

Fraser-Reid, T. “Suburban Neo-traditional Towns.” 1991.

Ahmed, I. “The Mall Road, Lahore.” 1991.

Kucan, A. “Barcelona: Spectacle of Modernity and Traditional Public Space.” 1992.

Panfil, J. C. “The Pedestrian Pocket: A Closer Look.” 1993.

Slate, B. R. “The Covenant and the Grid: Toward New Suburban Tracts for America.” 1993.

Feng, Z. “Conceptual Urbanism.” 1993.

Chew, W. “What is the Future of the Present Centrality of the Past.” 1994.

Pollard, K. “Projetto Bicocca: ‘Mind Takes Form in the City’.” 1994.

Sandomire, D. “City as Memory.” 1995.

Mukhija, V. “Whose City is it? A Lefebvrian Critique of Delhi.” 1996.

Lave, R. “Designing Change: Transforming Cultural Attitudes towards the Natural Environment.” 1997.

Durska, M. “Affirming the ‘Correct’ Urban Past: Rob Krier’s Ritterstrasse Housing Project.” 1998.

Campos, G. “The Re-emerging Concept of Neighborhood.” 1999.

Kron, Z. M. “Abandoned Gas Stations.” 2000.

Messagli, M. K. “E-Tailing vs. Retailing: The Socio-Cultural Dimensions of Shopping.” 2000.

Schupbach, J. “Urban Entertainment Centers and Downtown Shopping.” 2002.

Shorett, M. “Spiritual Planning: The Fate of a Polycentric North American Regional Plan.” 2003.

Felix, E. “Form and Situated Meaning.” 2004.

Sevtsuk, A. “Effects of ICT on City Form.” 2005.

Nguyen, E. “Transforming Value in the Place of Waste.” 2006.

Zhang, X. “Becoming Visible: Mapping and Analyzing the Geographical Patterns of Gay and/versus Lesbian Populations.” 2007.

Hall, K. “What is a City Hall Plaza?” 2008.

Rehman, N. “Roads: Symbolism or Equity?” 2008.

O’Koren, J. “The Freeway in the City.” 2009.

Kraubitz, T. “1001 Houses for Baladia City, Negev Desert, Israel: A Mock City to Rehearse for Future Wars in the Middle East.” 2009.

Zewde, S. “Towards a Theory of Black Urbanism.” 2010.

Doone, R. “Bifocal Nature: An Image of the Future Modern City.” 2010.

De Vries, C. “Beyond the Cosmopolitan Enclave.” 2010.

These are generally topics that require a careful examination of an institution and a way of modeling it, a way of conceptualizing the physical environment, and finally, a good explanation of how these fit together. Or the order can be reversed. These are not easy tasks. Some hold strong opinions about these kinds of subjects; for example, how tall office towers represent exploitation of land and human resources, but seldom demonstrate these relationships convincingly.

Examples of Past Student Papers

Calvet, L., and M. Dominguez. “The Streets of Cambridge: Who Controls What?” 1978.

Jaster, S. “Beaches, Control, and Racial Conflict.” 1978.

Mazumdar, S. “The Concept of Control in Persian Architecture.” 1978.

Ozonoff, T. “Public Health and City Form: The Early Period, 1630–1799.” 1981.

Lou, E. “Public Housing as a Means of Social Control: Singapore.” 1983.

Fischler, R. “Architecture and Cultural Production: The Cross and the Banner—Design and Politics in Brasilia.” 1985.

Moustafa, A. A. “Colonial Planning Policies in Morocco, 1912–1923.” 1987.

Pradhan, G. “The Relationship between Ideology and City Form: The Case of Delhi.” 1987.

Vale, L. “Politics and the Form of New Capital Cities.” 1987.

Smith, T. E. “The Tale of Three Cities: The Control of Deviance and City Form.” 1988.

Rea, C. B. “A Legacy of Hope and Despair: Detroit.” 1990.

Shimshoni, A. “The Bedouin of the Negev: Form and Politics.” 1990.

Sherman, M. E. “Learning City Form from Children.” 1991.

Landaeta, A. R. “Is Socialism Anti-urban? The Case of la Habana.” 1994.

Sass, L. “The Theory of an African American City.” 1994.

Yi, E-S. “The Urban Logic and the Qibla.” 1995.

Mani, M. “Shifting Paradigms and the Influence of Temporal Authority on City Form: A Study of Hyderabad, India.” 1996.

Tulay, S. “Institutionalizing the Mentally Ill: A Moral Retreat from the City.” 1997.

Smith, C. A. “Performance and Public Space.” 1998.

Kim, D. “How to Make a Straight Line into a Square: An Examination of Central Square.” 2000.

Liao, N. H. “Investigating Urban Sign Making as Ethnic Identity in Chicago.” 2000.

Muntean, D. “Sarajevo under the Austro-Hungarian Empire (1878-1914): The Empire’s Reforms and their Impact on the City Form.” 2001.

Yaden, R. “Interstate Highways and City Design in the United States.” 2002.

Hodges, C. “Public Education and Smart Growth.” 2003.

Su, J. “Segregation or Integration? A Dual Image of the Chicago ‘L.’” 2004.

Balderas-Guzman, C. “Coffeehouse Culture in Europe versus America.” 2005.

Form, S. “The Hero and the City: The Imagery of Urbanism in DC Comics.” 2005.

Matteson, B. “Zoning as an Instrument of Intentional Form-making.” 2005.

Wegmann, J. “Three-Decker, Three-Flat, Three-Family, Triplex.” 2006.

Bhatia, N. “The Dilemma of the Civic Monument in a Pluralist Society.” 2006.

Shah, P. “The Architectural and the Ubiquitous: The Evolution of the Reinforced Concrete Frame and its Role as a Generative Element in the City.” 2007.

Frem, S. “Variations on Urban Boundaries.” 2008.

Stout, A. C. “The American ‘College Town’ as an Ideal City Form.” 2008.

Trueblood, A. “Accidental Meaning in Washington D.C.” 2009.

Olson, T. “The YMCA: Urban Strategies for a Civic Association.” 2010.

You may pursue more deeply researched aspects of a topic that has been discussed in the class lectures. Here the task is to examine an aspect of a topic critically, to solidify vague but provocative notions, or to use the paper to strengthen your own interest in a special area. You either have to find more detailed information, or be able to arrange arguments in a different way.

Examples of Past Student Papers

McFarlan III, E. “Alexander: The Language and the Ideology.” 1977.

Polton, R. “Socialism and City-making: An Overview and Analysis.” 1977.

Dean, C. “Towards a Theory of City Form: Le Corbusier’s Plans for the City of Algiers, 1930-1942.” 1978.

Poodry, D. “Social Structure and Spatial Structure: Observations.” 1978.

Wang, M. H. “The Ends-Means Dilemma in the City-making Process.” 1978.

Shah, V. “Ancient Town Planning Principles in India.” 1980.

Watiker, J. “What Forces Influenced the Development of Early Cities?” 1988.

Unger, M. “The Block in the European Context.” 1981.

Dale, J. “Thomas Jefferson’s Image of the City.” 1984.

Kim, J. “Modernization and the Everyday Built Environment.” 1986.

Nielsen, B. “The Other Side: Gender-based Theories of City Form.” 1986.

Kapadia, K. “Transformational Nature of Urban Pattern.” 1987.

Tuttle, W. “Aldo Rossi and Leon Krier.” 1987.

Brady, N. “Cities of Infinite Possibilities.” 1988.

Sim, K. “Regent Street and the City: An Alternative History.” 1988.

DeShong, M. “Housing Typology and Urban Morphology: London and Paris.” 1990.

Kumar, S. “The ‘Non-City’ and City Form.” 1991.

Vernooy, A. “Polynuclear Cities: Crisis in Form or Perception.” 1991.

Rashid, M. “Chaos Reigns.” 1992.

Scheid, A. “Garnier and Gill.” 1993.

Knight, L. “Seats of Power.” 1994.

Mar, E. “The Border Condition: Uneven Development and the Space of Flows.” 1995.

Crabtree, A. “The City of Man.” 1996.

Moustafa, A. A. “Colonial Planning Policies in Morocco 1912-1923.” 1997.

Papaefthimiou, N. “Cape Town, Kingston and Rio: Case Studies in Spatial Segregation.” 1998.

Han, H-S. “Sustainable Development: Sustainable Urban Design.” 1999.

Brown, R. S. “Typology as Urban Form: Urban Morphology in Boston’s Back Bay.” 2000.

Ho, J. C. “The Implications of Broadacre: Frank Lloyd Wright’s Suburban Utopia.” 2001.

Meyer, W. “The Social Process of the Malecon.” 2002.

Raber, C. “Through the Eyes of an Artist.” 2003.

Foxe, D. “Toward the Nature of Meaning and the Meaning of Nature in Urban Design.” 2005.

Arkaraprasertkul, N. “Towards Modern Urbanism: Kahn’s Plan for Philadelphia.” 2006.

Romanos, C. “From Open System to Closed Grid.” 2007.

Shepard, C. “The City Goes to the Fair: Lewis Mumford and the Filmic Case for Planning.” 2007.

Outram, C. “City-Sense: Constructing an Image of the City through GEO-tagged Data and the Web.” 2008.

Koh, C-L. “Chaos Theory of City Form.” 2008.

Madden, S. “Representing the City: Tracing the Development of Mapping and City Plans.” 2009.

Watabe, M. “Forms of Cities, Forms of Communication.” 2009.

Levesque, A. “Why the West End? Controversy and Consequences of Urban Renewal.” 2010.

Cappelletti, D. “Nature, Cities and Gardens.” 2011.

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Theory of City Form

Term Paper

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Guidance

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Examples of Past Student Papers

Examples of Past Student Papers

Examples of Past Student Papers

Examples of Past Student Papers

Course Info

Instructor

Departments

As Taught In

Level

Topics

Learning Resource Types