此课程在麻省理工学院已经讲授近五十年，最初是由Kevin Lynch教授授课至1979年，接着就是现任讲师。此课程目前有26节课，每节课历时一个半小时，其中包含20分钟的视觉性教材。每堂课学生会被给予必要与背景阅读的教材，以及全面共通性的参考书目。此课程为进阶课程，适合于先前已接受适当教育的学生。

此课程是种城市实体与社会形式的检验。当她们的暂存属性在课堂中被强调时，城市在不同时间点上达到某种形式，但此课程并不是在进行一种系统化的城市历史说明。主要是着重在已被激发且仍然报告城市建筑物的理论，其中涵盖规范性与功能性。

此课程教材分为三个部分。第一个部分是藉由传统上企图具体说明“美”的例子来检验城市形式的本质，同时近来也企图解释城市如何展现，以及在城市形式理论上系统化的主张。第二个部分是着重在起源于十八世纪晚期北欧的现代城市形式。仔细讨论其设计与形成同时期城市基础的创意。最后，通过强调目前的理论与实务，特别是城市形成过程、空间与社会结构、以及形式模型，企图将第三个部分的内容建构在之前的章节之上。

没有足够都市设计或都市历史背景的学生必须取得讲师的同意。

课程纲要

1.导论

第一部分：城市形式理论的本质

2. 三种类似例子：宇宙模式
3. 机械模式
4. 有机模式
5. 记述性理论与功能性理论
6. 几个最近的理论性主张

第二部分：现代城市形式

7. 早期资本主义的城市
8. 伦敦
9. 巴黎
10. 维也纳与巴塞隆纳
11. 芝加哥
12. 组织与控制
13.乌托邦主义
14.部份现实

第三部分：当代理论与实务

15. 城市形式与过程
16. 空间与社会结构
17. 双极性：约翰内斯堡／索威托（南非）
18. 双极性：圣地亚哥／提娃那（墨西哥），德里／新德里以及哈瓦那／古巴
19. 现代与后现代都市主义
20. 开放性与预言
21. 持久性与合理性
22. 记忆
23. 公共与私人领域
24. 郊区与外围
25. 后都市主义与资源保护
26. 大都市主义

结论：朝向城市形式理论

This class has been taught at MIT for close to fifty years, first by Kevin Lynch until 1979, and subsequently by the present instructor. It now consists of 26 lectures, each of 1 1/2 hours, including about 20 minutes for visual material. Students are given required and background reading material for each class as well as an overall general bibliography. The class is regarded as an advanced class for which appropriate previous education is required for enrollment.

The class is an examination of the physical and social form of cities. Cities achieve form over time, and while their temporal attributes are stressed in the class, the class is not a systematic account of the history of cities. It focuses rather on the theories, both normative and functional, that have motivated and still inform the construction of cities,

The class material is divided into three sections. The first examines the nature of city form theory through examples of traditional attempts to specify "goodness", recent attempts to explain how cities perform, and selected systematic claims on city form theory. The second section focuses on the modern city from its genesis in northern Europe in the late 18th century and discusses in detail the inventions which created it and formed the basis of the contemporary city. The third section attempts to build on the previous sections by concentrating on current theory and practice, in particular on city form process, spatial and social structure, and form models.

Students who have insufficient background in urban design or urban history must obtain the permission of the Instructor.

Course Outline

1. Introduction

Section One: The Nature of City Form Theory

2. Three analogical examples: The cosmic model
3. The machine model
4. The organic model
5. Descriptive and functional theory
6. Some recent theoretical propositions

Section Two: The Form of the Modern City

7. The early cities of capitalism
8. London
9. Paris
10. Vienna and Barcelona
11. Chicago
12. Organization and control
13. Utopianism
14. Partial realizations

Section Three: Current theory and practice

15. City form and process
16. Spatial and social structure
17. Bi-polarity: Johannesburg / Soweto
18. Bi-polarity: San Diego / Tijuana, Delhi / New Delhi and Havana / Cuba
19. Modern and post-modern urbanism
20. Open-endedness and prophecy
21. Permanence and rationality
22. Memory
23. Public and private domains
24. Suburbs and periphery
25. Post-urbanism and resource conservation
26. Mega-urbanism

Conclusion: Towards a Theory of City Form