(b Ballater, Perthshire, 2 Oct 1854; d Montpellier, France, 17 April 1931). Scottish scientist, urban planner, teacher and writer. He studied in London (1874–8) under the natural scientist Thomas Huxley and from 1878 at the University of Paris. In France he was introduced to the social theories of Frederic Le Play (1806–82) and Elisée Reclus (1830–1905), which shaped his future work decisively. After extensive travels in Europe and South America, Geddes returned to Edinburgh in 1880. From 1889 to 1919 he held the chair of Botany at Dundee University, while working mostly in Edinburgh. He quickly established a reputation as a radical and unconventional thinker. His basic concern was social change and the relationship between society and its environment, which for Geddes were inextricably linked. In his view, only the interaction of social processes and spatial form could bring about social change. Thus he developed the idea of ‘civics’, the study of social and environmental planning, and he initiated the Edinburgh summer meetings (1887–99), annual summer schools covering a wide range of subjects and promoting the study of civics, sociology and geography.

• Geddes, Patrick
  • Urban planning, §V, 1: c 1890–1945: Extension policies and the emerging professions
  • collaboration
    • Chaikin, Benjamin
  • groups and movements
    • Glasgow style
  • works
    • Jerusalem, §I, 4: History and urban development, after 1917
    • Mural, §1(i): Europe, c 1810–c 1930
    • Scotland, §III, 3: Painting and graphic arts, c 1850–1918
    • Scotland, §III, 4: Painting and graphic arts, after 1918
    • Tel Aviv