milan, italy - the study of city pattern

Milan is the second most populous city in Italy (with a population of 1.3million) and the capital of Lombardy, while its urban area is the 5th largest inthe EU and the most populous in Italy, with an estimated population of about5,264,000.

2 The Study Of C ity Pattern – Milan, I ta ly

The massive suburban sprawl that followed the post-war boom of the 1950s–60s and the growth of a vast commuter belt, suggest that socioeconomiclinkages have expanded well beyond the boundaries of its administrative limitsand its agglomeration, creating a polycentric metropolitan area of 7 millionpeople. It has been suggested that the Milan metropolitan region is part ofthe so-called Blue Banana, the area of Europe with the highest populationand industrial density.

Note : The Blue Banana (also known as the Hot Banana, Bluemerang, European Megalopolis, Manchester-MilanAxisor European Backbone) is a discontinuous corridor of urbanisation in Western Europe, with a population ofaround 111 million. It stretches approximately from North West England in the north to Northern Italy in the south.

The city is a major world fashion and design capital. Milan's museums, theatres and landmarks (includingthe Milan Cathedral, the fifth largest cathedral in the world, and Santa Maria delle Grazie, decoratedwith Leonardo da Vinci paintings, a UNESCO World Heritage Site) attracts over 6 million annual visitors.

Recreationplace

Predominant area

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Plan

ned

settlemen

ts

Planned settlements

The Study Of C ity Pattern – Milan, I ta ly

Road

Primary Road

Secondary Road

Canal

Connecting linkage from city centre

From the image, it can be

observed from the grain size

and grain distribution that the

space is flat or contour less.

Because, the grains are

distributed in the entire space,

where a flow can be observed.

If contours were present, the

grains must have been allocated

to different regions which

cannot be seen in this image.

This indicates that the landform

is flat or a valley.

Observation

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• Another observation that can be made is from the pattern or alignment of the roads. It can be seen

that there is a central point of focus, a main land mark or an important building at the centre.

Because all the roads coming from outside are getting connected to the centre.

• The city is also having a radial pattern. This shows that there must be a very important building at

the centre or maybe at earlier era, it was a walled city. This might have resulted for the radial

growth of the city.

• Another important feature observed is that there are so many nodes or junctions in the city. This

shows that there is good connectivity. A canal or a water body can be seen in the image. This may

be the water source for the city or may be used for inland waterways.

• It can also be seen that only one open space or garden is present in the entire area. This might be

the major recreational area or public space. This space is also connected to the central part of the

city. This indicates that the garden or open area might have come up due to the central part which

may be a palace or an administrative structure.


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• The right side and the north side of the city has a specific alignment of roads. And the grain size

of the buildings also look similar. This indicates that the area is a planned area. While the Central

part of the city, within the first ring road has an unorganised pattern with buildings of different

grain sizes. This shows that this area is not a planned area.

• The presence of different ring roads and long linear roads in the outer part, indicate that they

must be outer ring roads that connect Milan to other towns.

• The two metro rail present at the north and the pattern of the settlements in the northern and

eastern part of the city indicates that the growth of the settlements took place later. The earlier

growth of the city must have taken place in the central part of the city, as there is an organic

pattern observed in this part. Later, the settlements might have grown towards the outer part.


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ClusteredSettlement

Pattern


ClusteredRoad

Pattern

Clustered settlement

and road pattern most

observed in centre core

city and

These settlement

pattern spread along

2km radius from centre


LinearSettlement

Pattern

LinearRoad

Pattern

Planned settlement and linear type

of road are mostly observed in east

and northern part of the city from

core centre area


We have made certain observations about the Milan city from the image, which have been

already mentioned above. It is observed that Milan is a city with a radial pattern and has a flat

topography. The grain size and the organisation of the grains observed indicate about the city’s

spatial pattern and connectivity. The important feature observed from the image is that the

entire city is dependent on the central part, which may be due to the presence of an important

structure. The image of the city displays a beautiful city pattern which shows about the planned

and unplanned spaces in the area. The map also shows about the different road patterns and

nodes in the area.

Conclusion

milan, italy - the study of city pattern

Education

city centrefrom

walled city

populous city initalywith

entire area

open area

entire space

open space

area ofeuropewith