For centuries, urban morphologists have relied on traditional cartography and interpretative analysis to decode the fabric of cities and study recurrent spatial patterns. We are now rapidly enter a new era of ‘ubiquitous urban data’ characterized by the rapid emergence of new spatial technologies, new data sources and mining approaches and new assessment methods for understanding ever-so complex urban systems around us. These new capabilities and platforms, come with the unique opportunity to introduce new perspectives in the understanding, assessment, monitoring and management of urban form across space and over time and to better integrate the emerging science of Urban Morphometrics with established disciplines of urban morphology, urban geography and human ecology.

To harness this opportunity the Urban Design Studies Unit at the University of Strathclyde is launching the first Urban Morphometrics Symposium, a platform for knowledge exchange between research groups leading the exploration into the quantitative science of cities with the aim of building new basis for future collaborations.