The Nordic Network of Urban Morphology (NNUM) – Urban form research in Scandinavia.

Abstract

Urban morphology is defined as research program propounding methods and tools for the analysis and design of cities. The Nordic Network of Urban Morphology (NNUM) was established in 2006 to help promotion and diffusion of urban morphology both nationally in Sweden and across the Scandinavian countries. The morphological research in Scandinavia follows three research traditions: spatial analyses, typo-morphology and Space Syntax. There is a century long research tradition associated with geographical analyses of cities and regional science in Sweden, Finland and Denmark, typo-morphology in Sweden and vibrant Space Syntax groups in Sweden and Norway linking to individual researchers spread across Scandinavia. This paper maps scholars and groups at universities that follow and mix these traditions. It reviews the latest morphological research in Scandinavia and it also reflects on the future of morphological research in Scandinavia viewed in relation to the way in which Scandinavian cities fits into the worldwide pattern of urban development and dominating planning paradigms. In Scandinavian countries tradition collides with modernism and functionalism, but history have never been totally set aside. They tend to perpetually mix.