ULSARA AGM Apr15 Crowe on Geddes

Patrick Geddes in Dublin: Civic engagement and vacant sites
Philip Crowe
UCD School of Architecture: Landscape Architecture
philip.crowe.1@ucdconnect.ie
@filupcro

Part 1: Patrick Geddes
Part 2: Civic Engagement Part 3: Vacant sites
This
presenta,on
is
in
3
parts,
as
set
out
on
this
slide.

Commentary
is
provided
in
these
grey
boxes.

Part
1:
Patrick
Geddes
(1854-‐1932)

So
who
is
Patrick
Geddes?

He
was
a
polymath
who
has
been
described
as
an

evolu,onary
biologist,
ecologist,
conserva,onist,

town
planner,
sociologist,
economist
and
botanist.

‘The indefatigable folder of paper and drawer
of diagrams here conducts an
incomprehensible experiment on himself.’
Hall, 2002, 145

Geddes
was
living
in
a
period
of
rapid
and
unprecedented
technological,
social
and

environmental
change.

The
discipline
of
town
planning,
of
which
Geddes
was
a
founder,
eﬀec,vely
emerged
as
a

reac,on
to
the
ills
of
the
polluted
industrial
city.

He
understood
the
world
in
terms
of
social
and
ecological
systems.

Speciﬁcally
he
understood
that
man
was
an
integral
part
of
nature,
albeit
an
intelligent
one.

His
most
famous
‘thinking
machine’
or
diagram,
the
Valley
Sec,on,
is
an
illustra,on
of

interdependent
and
interconnected
social
and
ecological
systems
over
space
and
,me.

Edinburgh University Library Centre for Research Collections: Patrick Geddes Collection,
Volume I, A1.13, The Valley Section.

‘How many people think twice about a leaf? Yet the leaf is the chief product and phenomenon of
Life: this is a green world, with animals comparatively few and small, and all dependent on the
leaves. By leaves we live. Some people have strange ideas that they live by money. They think
energy is generated by the circulation of coins. Whereas the world is mainly a leaf-colony, growing
on and forming a leafy soil, not a mere mineral mass: and we live not by the jingling of coins, but
by the fullness of our harvests.’
Patrick Geddes
Macdonald, 2004, 62; as reported by Defries, 1927, of Geddes’s final lecture as Professor of Botany in the University of
Dundee, 1919.
This
famous
quote
illustrates
the
clarity
of
his
understanding
of
social
and
ecological

systems.

Geddes
was
thinking
about
natural
resource
deple,on
and
limits
of
non-‐renewable
resources
in
the

late
1800s.

National Library of Scotland
Archives, Miscellaneous Geddes
Papers, Excerpt from a thinking
machine sketch (undated), MS
10656.

‘The paleotechnic order should, then, be faced and shown at its very worst, as dissipating
resources and energies, as depressing life, under the rule of machine and mammon, and as
working out accordingly its specific results, in unemployment and misemployment, in disease and
folly, in vice and apathy, in indolence and crime.’
Geddes, 1915, 86.

The neotechnic order moves ‘towards a finer skill, a more subtle and more economic mastery of
natural energies..’
Geddes, 1915, 93.
Geddes
applied
this
understanding
of
social-‐ecological
systems
to
the
industrial
ci,es
he

saw
around
him
at
that
,me.

And
he
provides
us
with
a
vision
of
the
future
city
–
a
new
era
of
advanced
technologies

and
ways
of
doing
things
that
are
eﬃcient,
low
impact,
and
within
the
renewable
and

assimila,ve
capaci,es
of
the
planet.

Geddesian
thinking
in
the
early
1900s
reﬂects
the
contemporary
prevalent
discourse
in

urban
planning
and
policy
-‐
the
shiny
new
concept
of
‘urban
resilience’.

This
concept
requires
us
to
interpret
ci,es
as
social-‐ecological
systems.
This
is
a

mechanism
for
thinking
diﬀerently
about
the
city.

Every
conference
on
the
city
is
now
on
the
‘resilient
city’.
But
no
one
is
very
sure
what
this

actually
means
on
the
ground
or
in
prac,ce
to
urban
planning
and
policy.

Perhaps
Geddesian
thinking
can
help
us
understand
this
concept
of
urban
resilience…

Part 1: Patrick Geddes
Part 2: Civic Engagement Part 3: Vacant sites

‘Whether one goes back to the greatest or to the simplest towns, there is little to be learnt of civics
by asking their inhabitants.’
Geddes, 1915, 18

‘the “civil service” is familiar to all, but civic service a seldom-heard phrase, a still rarer ambition.’
Geddes, 1915, 19
One
of
Geddes’s
main
pre-‐occupa,ons
was
that
people
were
‘half-‐blind’
to
the
city
and
its

history.
They
were
not
aware
or
engaged.

To
address
this
he
proposed
using
civic
engagement
to
help
people
understand
the
forces

that
had
shaped
their
regional
environment.

The Outlook Tower, Edinburgh
Geddes, 1915, Cities in Evolution
Survey categories in Cities in Evolution.
Geddes, 1915, 345
Geddes
had
2
main
mechanisms:

The
civic
museum:
this
developed
ﬁrst
in
the
Outlook
Tower
in
Edinburgh
and
then

evolved
into
a
roadshow
version
called
the
Ci,es
and
Town
Planning
Exhibi,on
(CTPE).

The
civic
survey:
a
mul,-‐disciplinary,
dynamic,
inclusive
process
of
understanding
the
city

and
its
drivers
of
change
over
,me
in
order
to
interpret
the
present
and
to
inform
future

planning.

Cornell University Library, John Nolen Papers, Pamphlet for
the Civic Exhibition
Both
elements
came
together
in
an

event
in
Dublin
in
1914
–
the
Civic

Exhibi,on.

This
was
organised
by
the
Civics

Ins,tute
of
Ireland
that
Geddes
had

helped
set
up
a_er
a
previous
visit
of

the
CTPE
in
1911.

Image of Dublin circa 1914, included in the Report of the Dept. Committee appointed ‘to Inquiry into the Housing Conditions of
the Working Class in the City of Dublin, Cd.7317, Dublin, 1914.
In
1914
Dublin
was
in
a
state
of
social,
economic,
poli,cal
turmoil.
The
city
had
a
severe

housing
crisis.

Lilian Davidson, Poster for the Civic
Exhibition 1914
Letterhead for the Civics Institute of Ireland dated 28th July 1914.
University of Strathclyde Archives T-GED 6/11/6
The
ambi,on
of
the
Civic
Exhibi,on
was
to
include
the

en,re
community
in
the
beèrment
of
their
city.

The
mechanism
of
an
exhibi,on
was
to
raise
awareness

while
simultaneously
entertaining
and
building

community
capital.

The
symbol
of
the
exhibi,on
was
the
Phoenix
–
so
it
was

about
transforma,on

/
rising
from
the
ashes.

The
Phoenix
was
used
in
the
official
poster
and
the
logo

of
the
Civics
Ins,tute
of
Ireland
–
with
the
moò

‘resurgam’
(rise
again).

The
civic
exhibi,on
took
place
from

July
15
to
August
31,
1914,
in
the

Linen
Hall
(on
the
corner
of
North

King
Street
and
Cons,tu,on
Hill
-‐

now
demolished),
Henrie`a
Street,

the
Kings
Inns,
and
the
Temple

Gardens.

The
exhibi,on
was
opened
by
a

procession
of
dignitaries
through

the
city
centre
with
much

pageantry
and
reportedly
received

9000
visitors
on
the
opening
day.

Special
trains
brought
people
from

outside
the
capital
and
department

stores
ran
‘Exhibi,on
Sales’
for
the

dura,on.

Irish
Times,
June
20,
1914,
9,
‘
Civic
Exhibi,on:
The
Arrangements;
Lady
Aberdeen;
A
Survey
of
the
Exhibi,on.’

Final
a`endance
ﬁgures
are

not
clear
as
the

announcement
of
WW1

disrupted
the
proceedings.

There
was
an
expecta,on
of

250,000
visitors
over
the
6

weeks.

TheSurveyofCities,PatrickGeddes,1915
Geddes Town Planning Exhibition 1914
- Included School of Civics, July 27 - August 15
Plan of the Ghent Exhibition, 1913, Two Steps in
Civics: “Cities and Town Planning Exhibition” and the
“International Congress of Cities,”: Ghent
International Exhibition, 1913. The Town Planning
Review, Vol.4, No.2 (Jul., 1913), p84
National Library of Scotland Archives,
Miscellaneous Geddes Papers, Photograph
of the Cities and Town Planning Exhibition
1913, MS 21205.3.
The
centerpiece
was
the
expanded
Ci,es
and
Town
Planning
Exhibi,on
(CTPE).

This
was
an
eclec,c
exhibi,on
that
documented
the
origins
and
evolu,on
of
urban
civiliza,ons

through
drawings,
illustra,ons
and
models.

The
CTPE
had
been
in
Dublin
previously
in
1911
at
the
RDS.

Cornell University Library, John Nolen Papers, Pamphlet for
The
Civic
Exhibi,on
was
in
effect
a
vast

pop-‐up
exhibi,on
and
community

space
in
a
re-‐used
public
building
in

the
north
inner
city
of
Dublin.

There
was
a
wide
range
of
exhibits
in

addi,on
to
the
CTPE,
for
example
on

agricultural
co-‐opera,ves
in
Ireland,

the
work
of
public
agencies,
and
on

towns
and
ci,es
throughout
Ireland,

the
Bri,sh
Isles,
Europe
and
the
USA.

It
was
a
civic
fes,val
with
fireworks,
a

ballroom,
playground,
outdoor

exhibits,
rooms
for
refreshments,

concerts,
and
lectures.
There
were

compe,,ons
in
musical
performance,

dancing,
gymnas,cs
and
buèr-‐
making.

CivicExhibitionIreland1914
Cornell University Library, John Nolen Papers. Cornell University Library, John Nolen Papers, Pamphlet for
The
very
act
of
holding
it
in
the
Linen
Hall
directly
engaged
people
with
the
pressing
problem
at

hand
as
the
Linen
Hall
was
right
in
the
core
area
of
housing
depriva,on.

The
renova,on
of
the
Linen
Hall
reﬂected
the
idea
of
rising
from
the
ashes
-‐
the
Phoenix.

In
1914
the
Linen
Hall
was
derelict
–
trade
had
long
since
moved
to
Belfast
and
the
building
had

been
converted
into
barracks
that
were
now
abandoned.

It
was
subsequently
burnt
down
in
1916.

DUBLIN CIVIC EXIBITION: PROGRESS OF THE SHEME VIEW OF THE BUILDINGS
The Irish Times (1874-1920); May 13, 1914;
ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Irish Times (1859-2012) and The Weekly Irish Times (1876-1958)
pg. 5

Irish
Times,
May
13,
1914,
5,
‘Dublin
Civic
Exhibi,on:
Progress
of
the
scheme;
View
of
the
buildings.’

The
transforma,on
of
the
Linen
Hall
was

reported
in
the
Irish
Times.

This
was
seen
as
a
microcosm
of
what

could
be
achieved
in
the
city
as
a
whole
–

a
transforma,on
of
Dublin
to
a
be`er

situa,on.

And
there
was
to
be
a
posi,ve
impact
on

the
surrounding
area.

‘The preparation of such more detailed surveys is in progress… and is well advanced, for instance,
in Edinburgh and Dublin: and though these surveys are as yet voluntary and unofficial, there are
indications that they may before long be found worthy of municipal adoption.’
Geddes, 1915, 357.
Geddes’s
other
mechanism
for
civic
engagement
-‐
the
Civic
Survey
–
was
also
evident
in

the
Civic
Exhibi,on
through
the
display
of
the
progress
of
civic
surveys
of
Edinburgh
and

Dublin
in
the
CTPE.

The
civic
surveys
were
to
be
realised
through
an
inclusive
and
dynamic
process
that

examined
all
aspects
of
the
city
before
a`emp,ng
to
plan,
in
order
to
avoid
‘designs
which

the
coming
genera,on
may
deplore’
(Geddes,
1915,
Ci,es
in
Evolu,on).

But
we
don’t
know
what
was
shown
of
the
Dublin
survey
at
the
CTPE.

University
of
Edinburgh,
Centre
for
Research
Collec,ons:
Patrick
Geddes
Collec,on,
Volume
I,
A1.98.A.
Ci,es
Exhibi,on
140

Archives
contain
a
number
of
maps
that
may
have
been
exhibited.

University of Strathclyde Archives, ‘2 slides relating to the open space survey Dublin ‘, T-GED 22/1/358.
And
these
slides
of
a
survey
of
open
space.
Geddes’s
concern
was
that
Dublin
didn’t
have

enough
small
parks
that
were
local
to
where
people
lived.
He
felt
that
the
Phoenix
Park

skewed
all
sta,s,cs.

Map of the City of Dublin showing derelict sites, Report of the Dept. Committee appointed ‘to Inquiry into the
Housing Conditions of the Working Class in the City of Dublin, Cd.7317, Dublin, 1914, between 324 and 325.

The
report
for
the
inquiry
into
The
Housing
Condi,ons
of
the
Working
Classes
in
the
City
of

Dublin,
at
which
Geddes
gave
evidence
in
1913,
includes
a
‘Central
Area
Showing
Derelict
Sites

and
Tenements’
plan
that
locates
a
total
of
1,359
derelict
sites
and
buildings
across
the
city.

This
was
used
a
tool
for
strategic
management
of
a
severe
housing
crisis.

Map of the City of Dublin showing derelict sites, Report of the Dept. Committee appointed ‘to Inquiry into the
Housing Conditions of the Working Class in the City of Dublin, Cd.7317, Dublin, 1914, between 324 and 325.

The
plan
iden,ﬁes
‘Derelict
Sites’,
‘Land
available
for
building’,
‘Insanitary
areas’,
‘Areas
for

which
schemes
are
in
prepara,on’
and
‘Dangerous
Buildings’.

What
we
don’t
know
about
the
Dublin
plan
is
to
what
extent
the
gathering
of
informa,on
was

dynamic
and
inclusive
and
involved
a
wide
community
of
contributors.

University of Edinburgh, Centre for Research Collections: Patrick Geddes Collection, Volume II, Map shewing the open spaces in the Old Town
of Edinburgh, A2.

Survey Progress displayed at Civic Exhibition 1914
The
Dublin
plan
of
1914
clearly
shows
the
inﬂuence
of
Geddesian
thinking
as
we
know
of
2

earlier
drawings
of
Edinburgh
along
the
same
lines
that
were
included
in
the
CTPE
in
1911
and

presumably
1914.
Edinburgh
was
always
the
exemplar
for
the
civic
survey
work.

University of Edinburgh, Centre for Research Collections: Patrick Geddes Collection, Volume II, Map of derelict sites 1910 A2.
Survey Progress displayed at Civic Exhibition 1914
The
Dublin
plan
of
1914
clearly
shows
the
inﬂuence
of
Geddesian
thinking
as
we
know
of
2

earlier
drawings
of
Edinburgh
along
the
same
lines
that
were
included
in
the
CTPE
in
1911
and

presumably
1914.
Edinburgh
was
always
the
exemplar
for
the
civic
survey
work.

King’s Wall Garden, Old Town, Edinburgh.
Edinburgh University Library , Centre for Research Collections: Patrick
Geddes Collection, Volume II, Outline of a Survey of Edinburgh
Gardening as a means to engage citizens in ‘vigorous health and activity, guided by vivid intelligence’
(Geddes 1915, 99).

Edinburgh
was
also
the
exemplar
for
work
with
individual
vacant
sites,
which
he
considered

spaces
of
opportunity
for
engaging
with
ci,zens
and
reinven,ng
the
city.

It
is
s,ll
possible
to
take
a
walking
tour
of
these
secret
community
gardens
in
Edinburgh

today.

Notice for the opening of St Monicas Garden Playground,
Dublin, 1912. University of Strathclyde Archives T-GED
1/10/1
In
Dublin,
Geddes
and
his
daughter
Norah

were
involved
with
the
Womens
Na,onal

Health
Associa,on’s
work
on
vacant
sites

from
1911.

Here
is
an
example
from
1912
–
the
St

Monica’s
Playground
and
Garden
at
St

Augus,ne
Street.

Notice for the opening of St Monicas Garden Playground, Dublin,
1912. University of Strathclyde Archives T-GED 1/10/1
The
Women’s
Na,onal
Health
Associa,on
were
‘transforming
derelict
spaces
into
centres
of

brightness
and
happiness’.

1914 [Cd. 7317] Appendix to the report..
House of Commons Parliamentary Papers Online
We
get
more
insight
into
his
ideas
for
civic

engagement
through
vacant
sites
from
his

evidence
to
the
inquiry
–
where
he
suggests:

•  Giving
communi,es
agency
to
look
a_er

their
own
local
environment;

•  Using
the
vacant
sites
for
urban

agriculture;

•  Reclaiming
all
vacant
land..
‘in
the
public

interest’
and
alloca,ng
it
amongst
the

poorer
classes
in
order
to
create
a
level
of

income.

Red Luas Line, Dublin, 2014. Photograph by UCD MRUP students.
There
are
many
opportuni,es
in
this
re-‐examina,on
of
Geddesian
ideas
about
civic
engagement

in
Dublin
to
make
parallels
with
today.

If
we
speed
forward
100
years
from
1914,
we
s,ll
have
many
vacant
sites
and
buildings,
a

housing
crisis,
signiﬁcant
social
inequity,
and
a
lack
of
engagement
with
planning
processes.

Red Luas Line, Dublin, 2014. Photograph by UCD MRUP students.

Map of vacant sites. Dublin City Council, 2014.
In
2014
Dublin
City
Council
generated
a
map
of
vacant
sites,
mo,vated
by
a
proposal
in
2013

to
place
a
levy
on
vacant
sites
by
the
then
Lord
Mayor
of
Dublin,
Oisin
Quinn,
based
on
a

concern
that
developers
are
holding
on
to
sites
in
the
expecta,on
of
higher
land
values
over

,me.

This
directly
parallels
the
map
of
derelict
sites
100
years
previously.

Irish Times, January 2, 2014Extract from evidence of Mr E.A. Aston, Report of the
Dept. Committee appointed ‘to Inquiry into the Housing
Conditions of the Working Class in the City of Dublin, Cd.
7317, Dublin, 1914, 220.
.

There
are
even
parallel
ideas
discussed
in
the

evidence
for
levies:

Granby Park, Dominick Street, Dublin 1. August 2013. Photograph by A2 Architects
And
temporary
re-‐use
of
vacant
sites
is
quite
commonplace
around
Dublin

today
–
for
example
at
Granby
Park
in
August
2013.

Granby Park, Dominick Street, Dublin 1. August 2013.
Photograph by A2 Architects
Geddes
explores
ideas
in
rela,on
to
vacant
sites
that
may
be
useful
in
our
present
situa,on
–
for

example:

•  Using
the
map
for
strategic
planning,
for
example
in
housing,
not
just
for
tax
collec,on.

•  Vacant
sites
represent
opportuni,es
for
reinven,ng
the
city
and
addressing
numerous

challenges
that
could
be
related
to
food
and
energy
systems,
biodiversity,
ecosystems
services
–

they
are
not
just
opportuni,es
for
more
buildings.

•  There
is
a
need
for
the
open
and
par,cipatory
process
that
Geddes
imagined,
that
engaged

ci,zens
in
gathering
data
–
it
should
not
be
just
a
once
oﬀ
remote
exercise
by
planning
oﬃcials.

In
UCD
we
are
trying
out
some
of
these
ideas
in
an
open-‐source
web-‐mapping
applica,on

called
Reusing
Dublin,
that
iden,ﬁes
underused
spaces
in
the
city.

This
is
an
evolving
map
that
records
spaces
that
are
not
used
at
all,
are
only
partly
in
use,
or

that
could
accommodate
addi,onal
uses
such
as
energy
crea,on
or
growing
plants
for

biodiversity.

Users
can
discover
and
share
informa,on
(such
as
photographs,
reports)
on
an
iden,ﬁed

space,
and
connect
with
others
who
have
ideas
about
how
that
space
could
be
used
more

eﬃciently.

Users
can
also
add
markers
for
underused
spaces
not
already
recorded
and
share
informa,on

or
connect
with
others
about
that
space.

Please
visit
www.reusingdublin.ie

‘The indefatigable folder of paper and drawer
of diagrams here conducts an
incomprehensible experiment on himself.’
Hall, 2002, 145
This
presenta,on
has
hopefully

demonstrated
why
it
might
be
worth

re-‐examining
the
work
of
Patrick

Geddes.

Geddesian
ideas
around
civic

engagement
and
the
opportuni,es

presented
by
vacant
sites
are
s,ll
very

relevant
today.

ULSARA AGM Apr15 Crowe on Geddes

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ULSARA AGM Apr15 Crowe on Geddes