Linear settlements: Morphological Patterns and Processes, Shaping territory, networks and urban fabrics. A case study in and around Vienna in a European perspective

Journal article, 2027

Linear settlements represent a distinctive village typology that is prevalent across numerous regions of Europe, encompassing both rural and more urban areas. In the context in and around Vienna, historical linear settlements are a defining feature of the built landscape. From historically grown structures to top-down planned settlements, these linear village types are defined by a range of factors, e.g. agricultural activities, geographical conditions or even internal colonisation processes by monarchs. Over the course of history, a canon of different village forms with distinct spatial qualities has developed. However, within the scope of this research on Vienna and against the background of the umbrellaing 15 mC project (emc2), the predominant types of Straßendorf and Angerdorf are the primary focus. In Vienna, these historic linear settlements are integrated into the urban fabric while still retaining varying degrees of permanence and persistence in the urban layout. By combining different methods - local morphogenetic analysis, urban network analysis, regional typological mapping and comparative analysis to regions in France and Italy - this study provides insights and findings on how linear settlement types in and around Vienna have developed morphologically, with a particular focus on the last two centuries. The objective of this study is to explore the influence of these linear settlements on the shaping of territories, networks and urbanisation processes, and their subsequent characterisation of contemporary urban and rural environments.