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PLANNING 341:
EKISTICS: THE SCIENCE OF
HUMAN SETTLEMENTS
Ekistics is the science of human settlements. The term derives from the
Greek verb oik, meaning settling down, and denotes the existence of an
overall science of human settlements conditioned by man and influenced by
economic, social, political administrative, and technical sciences as well as
the disciplines related to the arts.
The term ekistics was coined by greek architect & urban planner
constantinos apostolos doxiadis in 1942.
In order to create the cities of the future, we need to systematically
develop a science of human settlements.
The target is to build the city of optimum size, that is, a city which
respects human dimensions.
Since there is no point in resisting development, we should try to
accommodate technological evolution and the needs of man
within the same settlement.
EKISTICS GRID
By combining the ekistics elements with the ekistics logarithmic scale,
Doxiadis created the ekistics grid, an organizational matrix on which each
study can be localized and categorized. This ekistics grid was henceforth to
be included at the beginning of each publication, thus it became a unique
and most valuable element in the journal ekistics.
The goal of
ekistics is to
achieve a balance
between the
elements of
human
settlements in
order to
guarantee
happiness and
safety of man.
Based on functions:
Which are important to an understanding
of the meaning and role of settlements:
reveal nature, specialization, & raison
detre of settlements