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Urban landscape systems understood by geo-history map overlay

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DOI: 10.1080/18626033.2013.798929

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Urban landscape systems understood by geo-history map overlay

Journal of Landscape Architecture, (2013) 8:1, 54-63

http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/18626033.2013.798929
Urban landscape systems
understood by geo-history map overlay
Wybe Kuitert
Department of Landscape Architecture, Seoul National University, South Korea

Abstract 1.1. Introduction: background and scope

Map overlay is often used by landscape architects, planners and geogra- Ian McHarg (1920–2001) was a major innovator and proponent of the map
phers as a method to analyze ‘green’ landscape patterns. Urban landscapes overlay method (McHarg 1969; Steiner 2004; Steinitz, Parker & Jordan 1976). His
are more complex in an analysis and require culture and history data that aim was a more sensible use of the land for which he introduced his ecolog-
elucidate the geographic ontology of urban form, locating the processes­ ical planning method. Land value was determined by suitability, vulnera-
of the city in time and place. On the other hand, geo-scientific maps, such bility and other parameters; this resulted in land use solutions on the basis
as soil maps, reveal natural ecology and may support strategies toward of least damage and maximum benefit. McHarg himself spoke about ‘eco-
resilience. Experimental trials on Berlin and Seoul are reported here; sim- logical determinism’ because he thought ecological data about the natural
ilar in size, both cities are quite different from a landscape perspective. processes should determine whether a certain area was fit for development
As method, maps are disassembled according to their map units, each of or, on the contrary, should be preserved (McHarg 1966). Ecology in his vision­
which presents a pattern. Overlapping patterns indicate systematic rela- was a social valuation, with guidelines for human use; it was not seen as
tions among various disciplines. An arts and humanities approach can systematic for processes of landscape (Lee 1982). McHarg’s method gained
be linked to a natural-scientific approach by layering historical patterns an almost­mathematical aura, and he was criticized for its rigour and its po-
onto geo-scientific patterns. It gives clues for planning towards sustain- tential to damage freedom of design (Woodfin 1993). Furthermore, history_
ability in a social and natural ecological sense. Geo-history map overlay is of urban form in particular_does not play a major role in his map overlays
a platform that can bring together practitioners from multiple disciplines of the 1960s. At that time, his ideas on urban identity derived mostly from
to work on the urban environment. the natural landscape qualities of a city rather than from its history of hu-
man settlement. Later in life McHarg acknowledged these critiques and be-
Berlin / identity / landscape analysis / resilience / Seoul gan to discuss the interactions, opportunities and constraints of history that
guide landscape processes (McHarg 1981). Indeed, landscape architects came
to understand that planning and design are more complex than delineat-
ing forms of land use on a map. Many could understand that ecology is a
science about process and structure, that identity derives from history and
that both disciplines provide essential lessons for high-quality design. But
what about the map overlay method?
For analyzing and mapping the countryside of Europe, landscape was
defined as functional, hierarchical layers of abiotic, biotic and anthropo-
genic processes (Mücher 2003; Mücher, Klijn,Wascher & Schaminée 2010). On
this scale, a geo-referenced landscape classification is voluminous and
time-consuming. Mapping Europe will be relevant for European policies­
but does not address our daily planning practice. However,­it presents
a holistic approach necessary to accomplish smarter, more convergent
strategies for planning and engineering urban environments. With its
anthropogenic processes, landscape constitutes a bridge between nat-
ural-scientific knowledge and socio-economic issues when planning
for sustainability (Bastian, Kronert & Lipsky 2006; Mander & Uuemaa 2010).
Landscape architecture holds this fortunate position between the natu-
ral sciences and the humanities, between engineering and administrat-
ing. Landscape architects propose design solutions to manage urban­
form more in line with topography (such as Condon 1996). Landscape
urbanism­and ecological urbanism are proposed as a more conceptual so-
lution (KILA 2010; Mostafavi & Doherty 2010; Waldheim 2006). Conceptual as

54 Journal of Landscape Architecture / spring 2013

 Figure 1a, b, c Streambeds and accompanying soils (top); valley and
colluvial sands (middle) may be added. The 1950 city form shows
green and allotment gardens (bottom).

it seems, Waldheim and Mostafavi rely on design case studies. These are
expensive­schemes with a commercial and aesthetic purpose that satisfy
a local or regional ambition to invest in ecology or sustainability without
posing a more globally applicable approach. A true merger of landscape
architecture­with the field of urban ecology lacks; both urbanisms remain­
aesthetical when it comes to urban planning, or remain as detached the-
oretical analysis only (cf. Forman 2010; Marzluff 2008; McDonnell, Hahs &
Breuste 2009; Niemelä et al. 2011; Steiner 2011). Landscape architect Steiner
proposed an integrated planning solution for a new neighbourhood of
Phoenix (Steiner 1999; 2008). In the same line, but stressing the need for
understanding the cultural history of an urban landscape, a geo-history
map overlay as a method that forms the groundwork for integrated­urban­
planning is proposed.
This paper sees the city as a landscape system, that is, pattern, struc-
ture, function and process of soil, water, vegetation and human settle-
ment. ‘Landscape’, is not regarded as a foundation for human settlement
but as a system in movement and in process. From a human point of view
the processes of settlement then reflect in historicity, making the city into
the story of its place. But suggesting landscape systems as a basis for a
sound city planning also forms a link with urban ecology that addresses
natural-scientific issues. Map overlay of geo-data and history is pertinent
for its natural-scientific component as well as its historic component so
it can be applied to any urban situation, rich or poor. As such it poses a
universally applicable, integrated planning vision (Nature 2008). It will al-
ways increase the awareness of problems that are relevant when planning
the urban. At the same time it leaves room for cultural, artistic, politi-
cal or any other interpretation when implementing planning or design.
Berlin and Seoul are introduced as experimental cases for geo-history
map overlay, taking a geo-science related topic that can be expressed in
10 km
hard data, and one from environmental psychology that can be expressed
in soft values and perceptions. The implications that geo-history map
overlay may have for planning with water and identity for these cities are
discussed. Obviously other aspects like biotope planning for vegetation ed in 1394 AD on the site of an older settlement. Berlin evolved gradually
and fauna, or landscape design in the city, can profit from geo-history­ with several larger expansions, such as the nineteenth-century suburbs and
map overlay, but they are not introduced here. the massive post-Second World War reconstruction. Seoul witnessed an ex-
plosive expansion from the later 1950s on, following the Korean War truce of
1.2. Berlin and Seoul as cases 1953. As large areas of Seoul were developed within the last fifty years or so,
These cities were selected as cases to test the geo-history overlay approach in the urban fabric is easier to identify and classify. Berlin is more diversified.
a wider context. Though located on the Eurasian continent and similar in From a landscape ecology and natural geography viewpoint, Seoul’s land-
age, they differ in geomorphology and history of urban form. Berlin’s urban scape is a complex Quaternary alluvial within much older systems while
history was established around the twelfth century, while Seoul was found- Berlin’s is a simple, post-glacial (Holocene) system.

Journal of Landscape Architecture / spring 2013 55

Urban landscape systems understood by geo-history map overlay Wybe Kuitert

WYBE KUITERT
10 km

Figure 2 In a simplified presentation, the geomorphology of Berlin Figure 3 The Elector’s residential cities, Berlin and Cölln,
is a glacial valley between two plateaus. Adapted from Berlin Senate at the Spree River (Memhard 1652)
Department for Urban Development, Environmental Atlas.

The modern mapping of Seoul fully covers the entire urban area; the soil ments and pictures it with map units that are legible in the context of
map, for example, was surveyed largely just prior to the explosive expan- our times.
sions of the city in the second half of the last century. Correlations of city
form and landscape pattern are therefore easily studied. Berlin’s mapping 2.1. Landscape system and the origin of Berlin
is an interesting case too, because of the far-advanced modern under- The core of Berlin is situated on the rather flat floor of the Warsaw-Ber-
standing of its urban ecology. Prosperous cities, both are now confronted­ lin glacial valley that was a major outlet for glacial melting water in the
with questions of sustainability; ‘green’ policies are looked to for the Weichsel-Pleistocene era (Liedtke & Marcinek 2002). This NW-SE valley
answer­(UNU/IAS 2003). holds the widely meandering bed of the Spree River; lakes are abundant
and subsoil water is found near ground level (Fig. 2).
1.3. Geo-history map overlay as tool Berlin lies at a point where the glacial valley is most narrow, about
Data on Seoul stem from the Landscape Map of Seoul, a research project at 4 to 5 km wide. The river deposited washes at this point, splitting itself
the Lab on Landscape, Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Seoul into two branches, leaving an easy crossing for humans. Strategically it
National University. For Berlin, data were used as available on the web in was a cross-roads for the important trade routes connecting Rhine and
the Umweltatlas [Environmental Atlas] (Berlin Senate Department for Ur- Oder, as well as the Eastern Sea and central Germany. Due to this central
ban Development). Map research is supported with limited literature re- position in the traffic geography of the continent, the Spree River cross-
search on the history of urban form. ing flourished as a centre for trade from the end of the twelfth century
To find out how correlations work in the urban landscape, maps were on; two market towns, Cölln and Berlin, rose on opposite shores (Fig. 3).
layered with Adobe Illustrator and made insightful by obscuring, in fact Both towns, constructed on the washes of glacial sand that provided
deleting, map units while layering the various maps to find out what sturdy ground for the foundation of buildings in the swampy landscape,
units would overlap. In this way correlations could be found. An example soon merged into one to become the city of Berlin. After becoming a royal
illustrates the method. In the soil map of Berlin, one may find a pattern capital and residency in the seventeenth century, it quickly expanded its
of stream-accompanying formations by grouping all relevant soil associ- suburbs. Situated on less favourable land, building foundation problems
ations together and deleting all other map units. occurred in these suburbs. Two upland plateaus were positioned on the
Adding the valley sands and colluvial plateau sands, it becomes NE and SW of the glacial valley. The upland was put into agricultural use,
evident­how the stream-accompanying landscape structure fits into the although the sandy soils were not ideal. Some of the wet valley land was
pattern of valley sands, in fact, showing the pattern of the whole valley cultivated, but not all. The growing city of Berlin remained surrounded
landscape. The system of urban landscape that lies on top is visible when by marshland. The valley bottom lies about 32–35 m above sea level and
looking at a map of Berlin’s urban form dated 1950. Selecting the map with its marshes is flat. The uplands, shaven by Pleistocene glaciers, are
unit ‘green and allotment gardens’ shows a pattern of urban land use topographically unpronounced. In between, the slopes measure from a
that relates surprisingly well to the colluvium and valley sands (see Fig. 1).­ few to 10 m. Although not very dramatic, the valley is clearly readable in
The reason green and allotment gardens relate to valley sands is under- Schneider’s 1798 map as a stretching NW-SE band of meadows, gardens,
stood by studying history pre-1950, as discussed further on. The 1950 map fens, wet heathland and forests. The edge of the plateau is indicated as
is practical because it serves as a kind of summary of previous develop- relief­and dotted with wind mills (Fig. 4).

56 Journal of Landscape Architecture / spring 2013

Figure 4 The glacial valley runs between plateau lands;
Berlin sits at the narrowest point (Schneider 1798).

2.2. Water in Berlin

Berlin has 62 lakes, of which the largest is the Müggelsee (766 ha); five oth- Northern parts of the city attracted entrepreneurs and their workers,
er lakes each measure well over 200 ha. Besides these, Berlin has more than whereas the southwest housed swelling numbers of commuting officials
100 smaller ponds and basins and 189 streams, rivers and canals. In the city and wealthier middle-class families living in villas set along tree-lined
more than 6 percent is surface water, accounting for its location on the bot- avenues. Over 400,000 inhabitants were counted in 1850; even double that
tom of the glacial valley. The Spree River has a catchment area of 10,104 km2. number in 1870, reaching 1.6 million in 1890. All could be accommodated
It is 398 km long and is the largest stream in Berlin. At an average of 4 m thanks to a planning strategy set out in 1862 providing the city with a ro-
deep and 50 m wide, 45.1 km are within the city area, including its length bust network of streets that in turn allowed for an exemplary system of
through Lake Müggelsee. The Spree empties into the Havel, west of Berlin; public transportation and green spaces (Bernet 2004). All of it was possible
there it has an average discharge of 40 m3 per second, or about 1.3 billion m3 thanks to the gentle landscape with its easily managed soil that allowed
annually. The valley of the Spree holds various mixtures of gravel, sand and for well-designed infrastructure in many forms.
cobbles as well as thick layers of tillites. As glacial valley, it is a quite expan- Large block-after-block rental apartments were developed, mostly­ to
sive flat area with often highly permeable soils. A large forested area, Spree- the northwest. The central area of the old city declined in density because,
wald, sits on the valley floor, upstream of Berlin. The permeable soil, the from about the 1850s, people flocked to the suburbs, commuting with
forest and clever management make for a valley that can buffer and delay trams and railway and with the underground from 1902 (Bairoch 1988: 282;
flooding from reaching the city. Nevertheless, minor flooding occurs every Bamler 2007: 24; Desyllas 1999). Including the satellite communities, in 1920
now and then but, as can be expected from a glacial valley, these are spread- Berlin had over 3.8 million inhabitants over its 878 km2, roughly­the pre-
ing and shallow and not excessively dangerous to the population. sent administrative Berlin. With the annexation of a wide ring around the
city, large areas of the upland plateaus with villages, suburbs and open
2.3. Berlin’s history of urban form space came within the city boundary. Large, low-rise housing­estates were
The geography of Berlin favoured the layout of transportation networks. developed here, placed amid parks and plantings (Hohenberg 1995; Ladd
On the rather level land with its resilient soil, roads were easily built and 1990: 225). The upland terraces are still spacious with their green villages
maintained. The abundance of water favoured shipping, and Berlin’s im- and villa settlements in low density. In a simplified representation, the
portance grew as a trade city from the seventeenth century. By the middle city can now be seen as a set of concentric circles. The centre has a high
of the nineteenth century Berlin was a major connector for railway lines density, but the layout is spacious as it was re-developed after residents
as well (Bamler 2007: 19). The combined forces of trade, industry and poli- moved out and once more after the devastation of the Second World War.
tics made Berlin an attractive city; within a few generations Berlin’s pop- Most of it sits on the sandy deposits of the Spree River. Besides­the sandy
ulation increased from 30,000 in 1701 to 170,000 by 1800 (Hohenberg & Lees washes of glacial sand in the centre, organic deposits are often found, in-
1995). Dismantling the thick defensive walls and replacing them with a cus- cluding peat, mud and so on. They originate from bogs and hammocks
toms wall to control city entries allowed for expansion. Suburbs grew and in the old and dead branches of the Spree. The upper limit layer of these
were planned with wide boulevards. After 1848, expansion was no longer organic strata almost always consists of human-made fills (Quick &
contained by any outer wall. Nußbaumer 2003). Much of the nineteenth century belt of high-density
residential areas in blocks sits on these organic strata.

Journal of Landscape Architecture / spring 2013 57

Urban landscape systems understood by geo-history map overlay Wybe Kuitert

Maps Map units indicated

Stadtgestalt 1950 More than 5 storeys; single-house residential area

(colour enhanced); green and allotment gardens

Soil associations, 2009 River accompanying and valley associations:

rev. ed. 1220, 1230, 1231, 1240, 1250, 1251, 1260, 1270, 1280,
1290, 1300, 3030, 1320, 1330, 1340, 1350, 1310, 3040,
1360, 1370, 1380, 2550
Plateau associations: 1010, 1080, 2560, 2580,
2590; Inner-city built-up area: 2490, 2500
Anthropogenic­soils show up as white spots.

Depth to the water ta- Depth below ground surface of: < 0.5, 0.5-1.0, 1.0-
ble, 2010 rev. ed. 1.5, 1.5-2.0, 2.0-2.5, 2.5-3.0, 3.0-4.0, 4-7 meters
WYBE KUITERT

Adapted from Nauen, Teltow, Barnim plateaus and rivers

Berliner Morphologie (All sources for this table: Environmental Atlas)
10 km

Table 1
Figure 5 Map overlay of geology, groundwater, soil and urban form
(1950). The systematic interrelation of landscape processes and human
settlement becomes clear. In each layer, only some illustrative units
are shown (see Table 1). Adapted from Berlin Senate Department for
Urban Development, Environmental Atlas.

2.4. Berlin city form and landscape system

The 1950 map shows the outline of this city structure in the years after the that is distributed in the west and south of Seoul. The north-eastern dis-
Second World War. Land use in the glacial valley clearly differs from the up- tricts of the city are typified by relatively steep hills, characterized by bold,
land plateaus. The latter have a use indicated as ‘meadows and fields’ that withered­granite masses rising up from the top. Apart from one granite out-
surround villages and residential areas that are single family houses with crop, the south and west have gentler slopes due to the gneiss (Fig. 6). Across
spacious gardens. The valley though is densely occupied with the old centre, the area, the Han River flows westward and lies_with its tributaries_on
five storeys high or more, surrounded by a belt of nineteenth-century sub- wide and thick alluvial Quaternary deposits. Korea was never covered by gla-
urbia developed to five storeys. Apart from the dense urban development, cial ice (Hong, Lee & Hwang 1982; Kwon and Hee 1998).
the valley is filled with a unit indicated as green and allotment gardens (see Hills in the city are well over 800 m high and are intersected by com-
Fig. 1). Indeed the valley of Berlin is perfectly suited for gardening; since the plex dendrite systems of alluvial valleys and terraces, locally with col-
sixteenth century the upper classes had their estates and hunting forests luvium at the upper ends. The Han River valley is accompanied by vast
here, whereas others were active in agriculture or vegetable farming. This alluvial­river plains, some streambed washes, and fluvio-marine plains in
cultivated landscape enhanced the retention capacity of the valley to buffer western Seoul that were formed where the tides still influenced the river.­
peaks in river water discharge or peak rain fall; the large areas that remained That is, before dams were built that now control the water. Within the
forest or meadow supported this effect (Fig. 5; Table 1). geomorphology­thus summarized, in 1394 a site was selected to establish
a new capital city after ample considerations (Yoon 2006: 231–237). Chinese
3.1. Landscape system and the origin of Seoul models for an imperial capital layout were followed, but it lacked the typ-
The city of Seoul sits on the south-western tip of a vast Jurassic batholith. ical, rigid Chinese checkerboard grid. The king and his court moved in
It belongs to the system of large-scale granite formations that cross the first; afterwards, work started on the formal halls, fortification walls and
Korean­peninsula, as an intrusion into older Precambrian banded gneiss gates, opening the main arterial road in 1399. The structures necessary for

58 Journal of Landscape Architecture / spring 2013

 WYBE KUITERT

10 km

Figure 6 In a simplified presentation, the geomorphology of Seoul Figure 7 Map of the capital. The geomantic perception shows the
is a complex of alluvial valleys (grey) between older systems importance attached to the ridges of hills and the formal structures
(granite intrusions, pink, into Precambrian gneiss, white). of the capital sited within it. (Doseong 1789–1795, coll. Kyujanggak
Adapted from Geology Map for Seoul. Institute for Korean Studies, Seoul National University)

governing were situated as well as possible in the undulating topogra- in forwarding goods; important jetties came up on both sides. The gentle
phy of the site without altering it (Fig. 7). The merchants, townsmen and slopes of sand beaches served as temporary market places too. With mod-
all others finding a living in the capital resided, without much planning, ernization coming in, the market places on the beaches of the river disap-
around and in between the formal structures, in a natural process of set- peared, replaced by steel bridges and diesel trucks crossing the river. But
tlement (Yoshida 2009). the markets survived in place names and in a lively community identity,
The ‘geographers’ of the day saw the site of Seoul as the tip of a den- like Mapo-gu on the northern shore with its high social capital (Kim 2005).
dritic structure of mountain ridges, as modern geography confirms with From 1876 foreigners were allowed free entry, announcing another wave
the batholith. Within the city the structures for governing, such as the of modernization under the last Korean kings in the Joseon Dynasty. Sped
royal palace and the shrine for the ancestors, were set to touch with their up under the Japanese colonial occupation, feng shui perceptions were
northern back upon the hills, following feng shui wisdom. The old city, discouraged and installations like the city walls destroyed. In 1923 the
held within the hills and ridges, sits on an old alluvial complex atop the main structures of the palace were replaced by the Japanese government
batholith. As an intrusion, it is full of cracks and abounds in subsoil aqui- building signifying complete supremacy (Yoshida 2009). Under colonial oc-
fers. Ancient tube wells are numerous and still function, in spite of low- cupation the physical structure of Seoul underwent tremendous changes.
ering groundwater tables. The population grew spectacularly, exceeding 1 million by 1942. In 1945
the defeat of Japan in the Pacific War brought independence, but was soon
3.2. Seoul’s history of urban form followed by the Korean War that brought devastation and a flood of ref-
At the end of the eighteenth century the city counted about 200,000 inhab- ugees to Seoul in the aftermath. Shanty towns engulfed the rolling hills
itants, engaging in an extremely diversified set of trades, commerce and of the city, resulting in an accretion to 2.4 million inhabitants by 1960.
industries. This growth had come after 1791 when control of commerce Numerous development schemes with massive subdivision projects were
outside the walls by city merchants was losing effect and districts out- realized, mostly south of the Han River. Seoul could accommodate 10.6
side the gates, above all in the western outskirts, began to flourish (Yoshi- million in 1990 (Kim 2003; Kim 2010). Sixty percent was built-up area in
da 2009). The cramped perception of the feng shui city within walls lost in 2003, still leaving much open space made up of wooded hills and the Han
favour of commercial expansion. The Han River played an important role with its tributaries (Kim 2003).

Journal of Landscape Architecture / spring 2013 59

Urban landscape systems understood by geo-history map overlay Wybe Kuitert
Figure 5 FedEx system map of FedEx

Maps Map units indicated

Army Map Service, US Contour lines, levees, built-up area and villages.
Army, Washington, DC, (Villages are not indicated in the legends of US
Series L751: Army maps, but clearly presented in the map
6526 - I 1950; 6526 - II itself; colour enhanced.)
1951; 6526 - IV 1954;
6527 - II 1952; 6626 - I
1952; 6626 - III 1950; 6626
- IV 1950; 6627 - III 1947

Soil map Seoul City GIS Assemblies of soil associations as landscape units:
retrieved April 2011 Fluvio plain + Fluvio-marine plain + Alluvial
plain: BH, Bn, Bo, Ce, Cn, DN, Dq, Gj, Gq, Gt, Gw,
Gy, Gz, Hf, Hh, Hr, HT, Ih, Jc, Jd, Mg, Nd, Ng, Nn,
Np, Ny, Pe, Pr, Pt, Rn, Se, SE, Sk, Yl; Mountain foot
+ Rolling or Hill + Local alluvial cultivated up-
land: AnC, AnD, ArB, ArC, ArD, AsC2, AsD2, AsE2,
BeB, BeC, BjB, BqB, CfB, CGC, DkB, JoB, JoC, JnC2,
KAB, KDF2, NkB, OnC2, OnD2, OnD3, OnE2,
OnE3, PgB, PgC, SAB, SAC, SoC2, SoD2, SoE2, SqB,
SqC, SqD, SqE, StC, StD, SuB, SuC, SzB, SzC, UoB,
WaB, WdB, WdC, YaC2, YaD2, YaD3, YaE2, YbC2,
YbE2, YcB, YcC. (colouring added)

Rural Development Groundwater depth contours, and wells from

Corporation, 1996. 1 m3 a day to 50 m3 a day
Hydro-geological map
WYBE KUITERT

Seoul

Geology map for Seoul Biotite granite and Quaternary alluvial

1982
10 km

Table 2
Figure 7 Map overlay of geology, groundwater, soil and urban form
(1950). The systematic interrelation of landscape processes and human
settlement becomes clear. In each layer, only some illustrative units
are shown (see Table 2). 3.4. Seoul city form and landscape system
In spite of rapid development, the main structure of the city continues to
have a strong relation to the natural landscape. To understand this better
the analysis of the urban form takes the years around 1950 as benchmark, a
3.3. Water in Seoul period when a set of US army maps was published that reflect the situation
On the Korean peninsula, river reaches are relatively short, inland valleys before the Korean War (Army Map Service U.S. Army 1947–1954).
are deep and channel slopes are declivitous. Floods occur quickly and peak Based on the soil map, the structure of Seoul’s landscape is interpreted­
flood discharges are enormous due to topography and to monsoon rainfall as a system with components such as: mountains, rolling hills, alluvial
in summer. Seoul’s Han River stretches about 42 km in the city, with a total plains or fluvio-marine plains. Each component has typical water char-
length of 470 km and a catchment area of 26,018 km2 with an annual runoff acteristics. To give an example: the fluvio-marine plains are wet and
volume of 27.7 billion m3. Flow variations are high and cause serious­prob- swampy; natural streams were always easily adapted to human needs with
lems in river management. For example, a 1990 peak flood in mid-September­ drainage and irrigation often of geometrical design, managing the wa-
exceeded 30,000 m3 per second. Currently the peak flood calculation is set ter for large-scale rice cultivation. The ecology was dynamic, flooded now
on 37,000 m3/s, whereas 250 m3/s is the average amount at the Paldang Dam and then, and reworked every year. Currently, the fluvio-marine and al-
(Woo & Kim 1997). Since the dam’s completion upstream Seoul in 1973, most luvial plains are heavily developed with housing estates; large-scale agri-
severe flooding is controlled. The alluvial and fluvio-marine plains along cultural land use has now shifted to large-scale urban dynamics. Among
the river were now available for development with high-rise apartment the mass-produced apartment blocks on the alluvial plains one still may
blocks. The river bed and floodplains are narrowed considerably with im- sense the river in the healthy growth of trees, like Metasequoia and Popu-
pressive levees that double as expressway. Sometimes uncontrollable, heavy lus, betraying the abundance of fresh, subsoil water (Kuitert 2010). Around
sedimentation may occur on riverside parks in the remaining floodplain the old city on the rolling hills, villages and agricultural cultivation de-
(Woo & Kim 1997). But apart from an occasional incident when a pumping veloped in small-scale patterns. Many village forests were found, but in
station in a tributary fails, setting a catchment area under water, Han River the mid-twentieth century many had disappeared already. Still, landscape
flooding is largely under control. dynamics are rather low, and the identity is high, when compared to the

60 Journal of Landscape Architecture / spring 2013

 5.1. Geo-history map overlay as a method: conclusion
plains along the river. Many landmarks in the human mind, like centres A city like Berlin or Seoul can be defined in terms of a fluvio-marine plain or
of villages or old footpaths along contour lines were found in this land- a glacial valley. This stems from an interpretation of soil and its formation
scape. The lower edge of the rolling hills was a zone of intensified human in the wider context of geomorphologic correlations. A proper understand-
activity.­Today, these are not anonymous places; many schools and uni- ing of mapping soil and landscape is of utmost importance as it forms the
versities in Seoul take up positions in the foothills of the urban landscape. clue to successful map overlay. Basically, soil samples are sets of natural-sci-
Taking names from older villages, subway stations with their concentra- entific data about physics and chemistry. Placing these in a sequence of soil
tions of leisure and commerce are found here. The rolling hills form an im- profiles and drawing a map of patterns is based on understanding the con-
portant identity core of the city outside the old city centre (Fig. 8, Table 2). text of such sequences. It is an explanation of a geographical situation of to-
pography, relief and land use (Chesworth 2008; Edmonds 2008). From the exist-
4. Geo-history map overlay: some implications for Berlin and Seoul ing city-wide soil maps for Seoul, as well as Berlin, it was in particular the
Geo-history map overlay leads, therefore, in the first place to a conceptu- item topography as it was mapped in the pre-urban soils that proved useful
al understanding of the urban landscape system. How then, can planning in establishing ideas on urban landscape patterns. Units of topography be-
practice and policies take profit from this? Some implications are addressed long to each other; there are correlations and coherency. This is a structural
as examples below. The Berlin soil map shows the wide expanse of upland characteristic of landscape as was positively determined in landscape­ecolo-
plateau soils. These are usually not very permeable glacial formations with gy (Forman & Godron 1986); coherency even relates directly to identity (Man-
deep, and sometimes hanging, groundwater. All water for city consump- der, et.al. 2010). Coherency perceived and recognized in the environment,­
tion is drawn from the subsoil water in the valley and from under the pla- the landscape, gives the user orientation. Recognizable structure enables­
teaus (Limberg 2010). The plateaus serve as catchment of rain water, and a spatial cognition and attachment to place as a component of personal or
management to reduce surface runoff and increase infiltration is the way to communal identity (Cullen 1961; Linneweber, Hartmuth & Fritsche 2003: 229;
sustain water services in the long run. For the glacial valley this is less rel- Lynch 1960; Proshansky, Ittelson & Rivlin 1976: 271–281). ‘Recognize-ability’ of
evant as water finds its way easily, above and below ground level. Presently­ an urban environment, also called readability, is fundamental to feelings
half of the Berlin city area is green and open space; it forms an important of ‘home’, ‘communality’, well-being and health; in short it contributes to
element­of urban identity and citizens’ happiness. Allotment gardens, for the sustainability of individuals and communities (Eyles & Williams 2008;
example, greatly contribute to the resilience and sustainability of the city Spirn 2005). Social, psychological and cultural sustainability is enhanced by
and the quality of daily life for many. Most of the larger allotment garden a structured environment. The same is true for ecological sustainability­or
complexes are found in the glacial valley, and any green infrastructure plan- resilience. The degree into which the coherency_the structure of the land-
ning can take profit from an increased understanding of these forming part scape_is in good order determines resilience; the more we can perceive
of the city’s identity. it, the higher­the identity of a place becomes. In planning the city, urban
For Seoul, assuming that the present dwindling population is a long- form as the historicity of the place cannot be seen apart from the biotic and
term trend, one may well decide to abandon the urban developments abiotic­landscape with which it forms a coherent system. Geo-history map
in the river bed geomorphology in the coming century. Returning the overlay makes the connection and provides groundwork for more sophis-
river­bed to the river improves the sustainability of the urban landscape. ticated planning towards resilience and identity. Landscape architecture­is
Bioretention­and wetlands are not appropriate mitigation for river flood- indeed ‘the single bridge between the natural sciences and the artificers of
ing due to the extreme force of Seoul’s floods. But the ancient practice of the urban environment’ (McHarg 1966: 40). It only takes landscape architects
growing short-run vegetable crops along the rivers should be re-intro- who are able to work with soil maps.
duced in a form of urban gardening. Some recent experiments are success-
ful because they relate directly to landscape identity. Another water prob- 5.2. Discussion
lem in Seoul is caused by storms that bring flash floods and mud slides. In Several practical problems are not solved and point to more fundamental
this case retention is a suitable approach for mitigation. Such measures questions. Historical maps usually do not fit a GIS map; calibrating or re-
should be located higher up the catchment of the Han River_more par- constructing an old map may solve the problem, as was done with a feng
ticularly in the upper ends of the dendrite systems of old alluvial deposits. shui map in a Seoul planning project (Lab on Landscape in Seoul 2011). Of
Incorporating such mitigation measures into a green infrastructure plan- course, a map is as much a cultural construct as landscape is, and one may
ning reinforces the readability of the landscape and strengthens urban question the relevance of an old and dirty map as culture moves on. Is an
identity and the well-being of citizens. Supported by knowledge derived historic vision (such as feng shui) out-dated in modern urban planning? If
from geo-history map overlay, other issues can be dealt with in a similar, so, is it only because of historical discontinuities, like war or occupation?
conceptual way (Kuitert 2010; 2013). The examples of Seoul and Berlin demonstrate that patterns of urban form

Journal of Landscape Architecture / spring 2013 61

Urban landscape systems understood by geo-history map overlay Wybe Kuitert

relate strongly to the underlying geo- patterns in 1950_that is before spec- This relates to an important discussion on so-called urban soils; these are
ulative, large-scale development came in. Therefore, it seems valid to intro- formed by human occupation and, strikingly, are lacking completely in
duce a chronology of even older maps as source material for understanding Seoul’s soil map. By contrast, they are mapped in Berlin in much detail,
city identity in these cases. but only for their physical properties (Claußen & Metzlaff 1995; Kuitert 2013;
The understanding of soil is another problem. Mapping landscape Rossiter 2007). These Berlin anthropogenic soils are discontinuities in the
from soil associations requires a level of understanding that is fundamen- geomorphology of the glacial valley system and do not contribute to our
tally different from soil chemistry and physics on which soil taxonomy is understanding of the natural landscape structure in its totality. And it is
based. The USDA Keys to Soil Taxonomy, for example, has terms such as exactly this big picture that forms the base for sound planning concepts.
Alfisol, Udalf or Typic Endoaquepts; it is a taxonomy based on the physical For a small, contaminated site such as a garage, the theoretical solution
and chemical properties of soil samples. Informing about the landscape is simple: the soil needs to be sanitized. But quite a large area of Berlin’s
qualities of soil are other items that derive from field surveys such as: land anthropogenic soil has a powerful history: the meters-thick layers of war
use, workable depth, parent material, slope percentage or recommended debris in the central parts of the city. It cannot be ignored and forms an
use. Topography, in particular, is an item of soil association descriptions important part of the soil landscape.
that relates to the landscape system. Topography cannot be measured in As seen in this discussion geo-history map overlay may seem a roman-
a test tube. Actually the soil map in itself is not hard science and relies on tic notion from the arts and humanities, but that is a judgment from a
some kind of Gestalt perception of the world (Hudson 1992). Soil survey purely natural-scientific standpoint. To be relevant, the natural sciences
is as much art as science and proper soil-landscape taxonomy is missing need the humanities. And vice versa.
(Taskey 2007). Drawing a soil map fundamentally derives from an obser-
vation of the structure of a landscape and is therefore a cultural as well as Acknowledgments
natural-scientific activity. I want to thank staff and students of the SNU Graduate School of Environ-
mental Studies and, in particular, the members of Lab on Landscape in Seoul
for their support while I was developing this research. This work was sup-
ported by the Seoul National University Foundation Research Expense.

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