The Generic City and its Origins covers the inherent constraints placed on the physical form and design of built environments by human nature and our basic need for shelter, water, movement, food and other specialized urban functions such as barter and defense in the founding and locating of cities. This course covers knowledge that is rarely taught or even spoken about but which we are expected to bring along with us and already intuitively understand based on our everyday experience of built environments. These generic aspects of form and function play a profound, continuous role in limiting the possibilities for shaping our buildings and settlements (1.0 hour course).
Key concepts: human genotypes, generic function, economy of building, topographical constraints, principles of centrality, linearity, and self-similarity.
Instructor: Dr. Mark David Major, AICP, CNU-A
Check here to purchase this course ($9.99), which includes an one-hour video presentation and PDFs of the course notes and slide handout.
Note: We are beta-testing with these initial course offerings so if you have any issues accessing the course material, please do not hesitate to contact us at [email protected]. Thank you!
