Patrick Geddes: from cooperative social action to conservative surgery

Abstract

Patrick Geddes (1854-1932) is an inescapable figure in the history of regional and urban planning. Several biographies describe him as a biologist, sociologist, geographer and planner, and a pioneer in these disciplines, even though his career is covered in some obscurity. Firstly, this text provides an introduction to the visionary and revolutionary thought of Patrick Geddes, especially in his arguments of the idea of Civics, or cooperative social action. It then focuses on the period when Geddes was in India, in which he navigated the intricacies of imperial British planning, applying the idea of conservative surgery, strongly supported by the importance of local communities and participatory planning.