The eidos of urban form: a framework for heritage based place making
Despite the efforts of preservationists, numerous decaying heritage structures dot the urban landscape. Simultaneously, new development in historic areas has received much debate. Applying Plato's theory of Forms, this research highlights contributions of the historic built environment to place making, offering a new theoretical framework based on the study of eidetic imagery. The root word for eidetic is eidos, the foundation of Plato's theory. This paper traces the connotational evolution of the term eidos, applies these meanings to place research and case sites, and presents a new framework for heritage based place making based on these meanings. Two salient factors are suggested moving forward: (1) the regeneration of non productive heritage structures; and (2) utilizing the shared characteristics in the local and regional historic environment for design and planning of new development. While the case sites are international, the contextualization of the problem is primarily US oriented.