Patrick Geddes: Meaning (information, definition, explanation, facts)

Patrick Geddes (1854 - 1932) was an innovative Scottish thinker, responsible for introducing the concept of "region" to architecture and planning.

Geddes shared the belief with John Ruskin that social processes and spatial form are related. Therefore, by changing the spatial form it was possible to change the social structure as well. This was particularly important in the late 19th and early 20th century when industrialization was dramatically altering the conditions of life.

Geddes demonstrated this theory through his work in Edinburgh's "Old Town". Here, in this most dilapidated area, he used associations with prominent thinkers who lived there in the 18th and 19th century (like Adam Smith), to establish residential halls. Here he situated his famous Outlook Tower, a museum of local, regional, Scottish, and world history.

Volker M. Welter published an excellent account of Geddes life and work in 2002, Biopolis, Patrick Geddes and the City of Life.

To get a sense of his work, Rutgers University Press has published the text of Geddes first significant 1904 work, City Development, A Report to the Carnegie Dunfermline Trust.