Geddes, Sir Patrick

Geddes, Sir Patrick (1854–1932)
A Scottish polymath. His background was in biology and ecology, and he went on to develop an account of the effects of the environment on human settlements. Drawing on ideas from Frédéric Le Play, he saw strong links between ‘place’, ‘work’, and community. He coined the term ‘conurbation’ and attempted to provide town-planning with a social-scientific base and methodology of ‘survey–analysis–plan’. He was an important figure in British sociology in the early years of the 20th century, and some of his ideas have had a great influence on urban-planning theory and practice.