EKISTICS

-TAIYABA RASHID F/O ARCHITECTURE & EKISTICS JAMIA MILLIA ISLAMIA

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 EKISTICS

The term Ekistics was coined by Greek

architect & urban planner Konstantinos
Apostolos Doxiadis in 1942.

Applies to the science of human

settlements.

Includes regional, city, community planning

and dwelling design.
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 BASIC PRINCIPLES OF EKISTICS

Human happiness
Unity of Purpose
Hierarchy of Functions
Four dimensions
Many scales for many masters

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FIVE ELEMENTS OF EKISTICS

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 BASIC PARTS OF COMPOSITE
HUMAN SETTLEMENTS
Homogeneous parts- fields;

Central parts- built-up villages;

Circulatory parts- roads & paths within the

fields; and

Special parts- i.e., a monastery contained

within the homogeneous part. 5
 CLASSIFICATION OF HUMAN
SETTLEMENTS
Based on sizes- size of five elements &
their combinations
Hamlet to Metropolitan cities
Small & sparsely spaced (rural settlements
or villages specializing in agriculture & other
primary activities)
Large & closely spaced (urban settlements
specializing in secondary & tertiary
activities)
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 CLASSIFICATION OF HUMAN
SETTLEMENTS
Based on Location of Settlements- plains,
mountains, coastal, etc.
Based on Relationships between
Settlements within Space (hierarchical or
non-hierarchical)
Based on Physical Forms- form as the
expression of content, function, & structure
Based on Five Elements of Human
Settlements
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 CLASSIFICATION OF HUMAN
SETTLEMENTS
Based on Functions- which are important
to an understanding of the meaning & role
of settlements:

Reveal nature, specialisation, & raison

detre of settlements
Based on activity (economic, social), their
performance, or special role (as
dormitories, retirement villages, etc.)
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 CLASSIFICATION OF HUMAN
SETTLEMENTS
Based on Time Dimension- age of
settlements, their place in continuum (past,
present, future), their relative static or
dynamic character, the whole process of
their growth
Based on degree of societys conscious
involvement in settlements creation-
natural & planned settlements
Based on institutions, legislations &
administration- which society has created9
for settlements
 CLASSIFICATION OF HUMAN
SETTLEMENTS
By Ekistics Units
By Ekistics Elements
By Ekistics Functions
By Evolutionary Phases
By Factors & Disciplines

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 CLASSIFICATION OF HUMAN
SETTLEMENTS
BY EKISTICS UNITS: FOUR BASIC GROUPS

Minor shells or elementary units- man

(anthropos), room, house;
Micro-settlements- units smaller than, or
as small as, the traditional town where
people used , do & still do achieve
interconnection by walking (housegroup,
small neighbourhood);
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 CLASSIFICATION OF HUMAN
SETTLEMENTS
BY EKISTICS UNITS: FOUR BASIC GROUPS

Meso-settlements- between traditional

town & conurbation within which one can
commute daily (small polis, polis, small
metropolis, small megalopolis, small
eperopolis, eperopolis); and
Macro-settlements- whose largest
possible expression is the Ecumenopolis.
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 CLASSIFICATION OF HUMAN
SETTLEMENTS
BY EKISTICS UNITS
Physical & Social Units
Man (as individual)- smallest unit
Space- second unit either personally owned
or shared with others
Family Home- third unit
Social Unit
Group of Homes
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 ANTHROPOS-1
ROOM-2
EKISTIC UNITS: HOUSE-5

15 LEVELS
HAMLET-40
VILLAGE-250

Also called NEIGHBOURHOOD-1,500

EKISTICS SMALL POLIS-10,000

LOGARITHMIC POLIS(CITY)-75,000

SCALE (ELS). SMALL METROPOLIS-5,00,000

Units range from METROPOLIS-4 MILLION

Man to
SMALL MEGALOPOLIS-25 MILLION
Ecumenopolis
which turn into MEGALOPOLIS-150 MILLION

four basic SMALL EPEROPOLIS-750 MILLION

groups. EPEROPOLIS-7,500 MILLION

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ECUMENOPOLIS-50,000 MILLION
 EKISTICS GRID/
EKISTICS LOGARITHMIC SCALE

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 EKISTICS UNITS

Ecumenopolis: The entire area of Earth Megalopolis: A group of conurbations,

taken up by human settlements. consisting of more than 10 million people
each. 16
 EKISTICS UNITS

South Florida Tokyo: Worlds largest metropolis

Conurbation: A group of large cities & their Metropolis: A large city & its suburbs
suburbs, consisting of 3 to 10 million consisting of multiple cities & towns having 1 to
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people. Also called urban agglomeration. 3 million people.
 EKISTICS UNITS
Large City: A city with large population &
many services having less than 1 million but
over 3 lakhs people.
City: A city with abundant but not with as
many services as in a large city, having over
1 lakh upto 3 lakhs people.
Large Town: Population of 20,000 to 1
lakh.
Town: Population of 1,000 to 20,000.
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 EKISTICS UNITS
Village: Generally does not have many
services, possibly having only a small
corner shop or post office. Population of 100
to 1,000.
Hamlet: A tiny population (<100) & very
few (if any) services, & few buildings.
Isolated dwellings: 1 or 2 buildings or
families with negligible services, if any.

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 CLASSIFICATION OF HUMAN
SETTLEMENTS
BY EKISTICS ELEMENTS
Nature: Represents ecosystems including
water cycle, biosystems, climatic zones, etc.

Anthropos: Constantly adapting &

changing certain physical & psychological
diseases directly associated with
urbanisation. These include obesity,
respiratory elements & alienation.
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 CLASSIFICATION OF HUMAN
SETTLEMENTS
BY EKISTICS ELEMENTS
Society: Realm of society comprises all
those aspects of the urban or rural scene
that are commonly dealt with by
sociologists, economists & administrators:
population trends, social customs, income &
occupations, & the system of urban
government.

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 CLASSIFICATION OF HUMAN
SETTLEMENTS
BY EKISTICS ELEMENTS
Shells: The built environment is the
traditional domain of architectural &
engineering professions.
Networks: Provide glue for all systems of
urbanisation. Changes profoundly affect
urban scale like advent of the rail-road, or
of piped water supplies, or of the telephone
which affect the extent, texture & densities
of human settlements. 22
 CLASSIFICATION OF HUMAN
SETTLEMENTS
BY EVOLUTIONARY PHASES
Macro scale- nomadic, agricultural, urban,
urban-industrial;

Micro scale- specific area at a limited

period of time.

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CLASSIFICATION OF HUMAN
SETTLEMENTS
BY FACTORS & DISCIPLINES

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 THE UNIVERSITY OF THE PUNJAB
Doxiadis was involved in the design
of this new campus in Pakistan.
Used ekistic principles to create a
campus he believed was built for
true human scale.
Limited the number of roads on
campus, banning them from the
classroom areas.
All the educational buildings are
interconnected to permit people to
walk from one to the other.
Courtyards provide a place for
meetings between people. The University of the Punjab, 25
Lahore, Pakistan (1959)
 DOXIADIS BAGHDAD
Doxiadis Associates identified Tigris as reference for
establishing a central axis of growth.
Ideal limits of the future Iraqi capital set to 3
millionapproximately three times larger than
1958 population which suggested Baghdads
maximum limits, defined with an elongated
rectangle orientated along the main NW-SE axis of
the river.
Rectangular area incorporated some of existing
major roads & suggested opening of new roads that
would adopt a rectilinear pattern.
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 DOXIADIS BAGHDAD
Residential sectors & subsectors
arranged according to
rectangular grid system,
modified in middle, to
accommodate commercial
district.
Commercial district included old
city centre & new commercial
centres expected to emerge
along main axis of Dynapolis.
New commercial centres to abide
by rectilinear logic of road
system & residential grid. Doxiadis Associates, The Master 27
Plan for
Baghdad, Iraq, 1958.
Plan of Community Sector in West Baghdad Model of Community Sector in West Baghdad

Western Baghdad Development Scheme to house 100,000 people.

Composed of different community sectors of seven to ten thousand people.
Each sector provided for administrative, social, educational, health & other community
buildings, shopping centers, green areas, coffee houses, & mosques. 28
 Sub-hamlets built in groups of 10 or 15 small attached houses beside a pedestrian way, at end
of which was a small gossip square (an idea from Hassan Fathy, the Egyptian architect who
joined the Ekistics group in 1957).
Doxiadis asked that term to be replaced with community squares of first degree. 29
 House Types in West Baghdad Upper-Income Housing in West Baghdad

Standardized house types pushed courtyards to side or back of each unit, thereby losing any of
traditional courtyards climatic benefits & secluded qualities.
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 ISLAMABAD
Unity of scale for cohesion between
various elements of town. City isnt a
conglomeration of isolated& unrelated
spaces, but one entity of interrelated
spaces. A scale measurement was
determined to govern elements
composing the city (plots, streets, open
spaces, squares, roads, etc.).
Unity of Expression: A system of four
highways becomes the basic step for
the metropolitan area. These axes form
a big square, which will define all future The main highways
transportation systems & all major
functions within. 31
 ISLAMABAD
3 DISTINCTIVE AREAS:
(subdivided into sectors)
Islamabad proper (expansion towards
SW): Capital of nation mainly
administrative & cultural functions.
Rawalpindi (expansion towards SW):
regional centre serving industrial &
commercial functions.
National Park: to retain certain
agricultural functions & where sites must
be provided for national sports centre,
The three parts of the
university, research institute, etc. metropolitan area.
(expansion towards SE). 32
 The administrative sector within
Islamabad.

Main axis through core of Islamabad :Capital Avenue.

Looks towards the Presidential Palace located on top of a hill.
Due to fixed road & location of administrative centre on a higher level, this section of
the capital which is its brain centre and pulsating heart - will dominate the city
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even after it has expanded and fully grown along the patterns provided for.
A Community Class V for about A Community Class IV for about A Community Class III for
40, 000 people. 12,000 people. about 3,000 people.
Each sector (Community Class V) of Islamabad is self-contained & self-supported wrt everyday life.
Sub-divided into 3 or 4 smaller Communities (Class IV) by income groups of occupants.
Centre of sector is the civic centre, containing shopping, business and civic activities.
Each Class IV Community is subdivided into several Communities Class III, which are further
subdivided into Communities Class II.
Arrangement of functions best serves the inhabitants of each sector and with least time required
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for approach.
Pedestrian and Vehicle Traffic:
Segregated by a road system where scales of human & motor-vehicle movements differ.
Pedestrians move within human community though spatial hierarchy from small pedestrian
streets towards larger ones of a Class II Community, then to centre of a Class III Community, &
so on.
Spaces & perspectives created along way agree with same hierarchical order.
For roads leading to specific targets aesthetically related and presenting a unity of scale.
Extensive use of cul-de-sacs at end of access roads.
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Pattern of motor traffic leading to houses without interfering with pedestrian-street systems.
 Street Design-The Positive Space: House Design: Plots vary from 111 sq. yards
Detached houses are the greatest to about 3,000 sq. yards, depending on income
challenge in terms of a proper shaping of group. Frontage dimensions of plots are less
space. than their depth. Most plots are rectangular.
Houses are situated as much as possible in Special efforts were made to avoid irregular
accordance with the morphology of the plots, especially in low-income areas.
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site.
 Low-income house (perspective view)

Low-income house (plan)

Minimum Accommodation:
No house has less than two rooms, a kitchen, WC, & a shower room.
Sufficient space for outdoor living.
Each house has closed, semi-covered or open living spaces. 37
Supplied with running water & electricity, and connected with sewage system.
 NEED TO BALANCE ELEMENTS
OF HUMAN SETTLEMENTS
We are dealing by necessity with:
Nature, which is being spoilt;
Man, who is continuously changing;
Society, which is changing because of mans
new needs;
Shells, which must be constructed;
Networks, which are also changing to cope
up with new demands.
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 EVOLUTION OF HUMAN
SETTLEMENTS
Phase 1: Primitive non-organised human
settlements (started with evolution of man)
Phase 2: Primitive organised settlements-
Eopolis (period of villages lasted 10,000 years)
Phase 3: Static urban settlements or cities-
Polis (lasted about 5,000 to 6,000 years)
Phase 4: Dynamic urban settlements-
Dynapolis (lasted 200 to 400 years)
Phase 5: Universal City- Ecumenopolis (which
is now beginning)
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 CONCLUSION

Study of human settlements should be

comprehensive and have an interdisciplinary
scope related to five ekistics elements.
Any study of settlements shall refer to ekistics
units of scale from man to Ecumenopolis, the
fifteen levels in ekistics logarithmic scale.
Time dimension must be integrated in analysis
and design of human settlements from past to
present to distant future.
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 CONCLUSION
The scientific method shall be used in a
systematic treatment of human settlements,
following the models, concepts, principles,
values & postulations of ekistics.

City must be treated as a dynamic settlement

for which the concept of Dynapolis allows for
growth & change.

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 REFERENCES
Classnotes
Time Saver Standards for Urban Design by Watson, Plattus,
Shibley
Metropolitan Problems by S. Miles
Information & Communication Technologies, Society & Human
Beings: Theory & Framework by Haftor & Mirijamdotter.
Basic ekistic principles_word: pdf
Ekistics_the_science_of_human_settlements:pdf
W.A. Howard, Ekistics
Journal of Planning History by Panayiota Pyla
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ekistics
http://www.csiss.org/classics/content/36 42