Research Of The Morphological Types Of Superblocks In The Old City Of Nanjing

Urban development in China showed extensive characteristics in the past rapid urbanization process.According to the requirements of new-type urbanization,urban development has begun to shift from speed oriented development to quality oriented development in recent years.Therefore,it is an urgent task to improve the quality of built environment.“Superblock” is a common phenomenon in Chinese cities which is connected with many problems.However,there is a lack of profound understanding of its form in the field of urban form research and urban design practice.Under such circumstances,this thesis discusses the morphological types and evolution process of superblocks in the old city of Nanjing based on the Typomorphology theory.The importance of superblocks as a kind of urban space unit is clarified and a cognitive system for the form of superblocks is initially established.That lays foundation for the understanding of the complexity and diversity of urban form and the solution of problems in the current urban development.The superblocks in the old city of Nanjing are chosen as the research subject because they have complex forms and various types due to the constructions in different historical periods and are faced with representative difficulty in renewal and development.At first,basic features of the super grid and superblocks in the old city are analyzed.Then the morphological types of superblocks are divided on the base of the comparative study of superblocks and morphological regions.After that,two case studies are carried out to trace the changes of two most prevailing types of urban tissue in history.At last,this thesis reveals the transformation patterns of basic morphological elements and the interaction between form and various forces,and makes a preliminary evaluation of the spatial pattern of superblocks.