The abscissa of ekistic units remains constant in all uses of the ekistic grid, and the most usual ordinate consists of the five ekistic elements, NATURE, ANTHROPOS (MAN), SOCIETY, SHELLS (dwellings or buildings), and NETWORKS, with a sixth line denoting their SYNTHESIS.
NATURE, the first element, represents the ecosystem within which rural settlements must exist. It involves a number of component processes including the hydrologic cycle, biosystems, airsheds, climatic zones, etc. Archaeological studies show that even primitive man with limited tools made profound changes in natural systems.
Overcultivation in the Thar desert of the Indian subcontinent and overgrazing in the Middle East are two examples of how early cultivations weighted the natural balance and tipped it towards an uninhabitable landscape. If such significant changes in the natural system could be brought about by such limited numbers of men, it seems logical to suppose that today's 6,000 million persons must have far greater effectiveness in fouling the planet.
And, if the earth is to support 30,000 million people in the future, the interrelationships and ranges of adaptability of human settlements and natural processes must be very clearly understood and observed, for neither can survive without the other. At another level we cannot forget man's psychological and physical needs for contact with the world of nature.
ANTHROPOS himself is also constantly adapting and changing. The medical profession, in its move from "barbarism" to concepts of the constitution of the healthy individual, can contribute many important inputs to the better organization of urban life. Studies have shown that certain physical and psychological diseases are directly associated with urbanization. These include obesity, respiratory ailments and alienation (anomie).
This gives rise to many questions, such as whether it is possible for mankind to adapt to a completely urban world with no rural escapes; what urban densities "are tolerable"; and how the city may be made a satisfactory environment for the growing child. Thus, just as forward-looking medical and public health schools find a need to study the city, city builders must turn to study man.
SOCIETY comprises all those aspects of the urban or rural scene that are commonly dealt with by sociologists, economists and administrators: population trends, social customs, income and occupations, and the systems of urban government. One of the most urgent aspects of society seems to be the problem of the retention, or reorganization, of values inherent in independent small communities after these have become incorporated in megalopolis — in other words, the place of the neighborhood in megalopolis.
SHELLS, or the built environment, is the traditional domain of the architectural and engineering professions. Here a central problem is how mass-produced, anonymous housing can cater for the needs of very diverse individuals and family groupings. Where can man make his own mark? Where can he leave the touch of his own hand?
NETWORKS provide the glue for all systems of urbanization. Their changes profoundly affect urban patterns and urban scale. We have only to think of the effect of the advent of the railroad, or of piped water supplies, or of the telephone, upon the extent, the texture and the densities of human settlements. The increasingly rapid developments of all types of networks — coupled with population pressures — have been the most potent heralds of megalopolis.
The enormous growth in the uses of energy for the communication of ideas has whetted man's appetite for participating in all sorts of things that were formerly outside his ken. The television screen has stimulated desires both to participate in new sports, such as skiing, etc., and to participate in debates — political representation, etc. To respond to man's demands, transportation, communication and utility networks must all expand even faster than the anticipated growth of settlements.
SYNTHESIS arises from a consideration of the interactions of all the ekistic elements in terms of a single ekistic unit: for example, the interactions of Nature, Man, Society, Shells and Networks may be considered in terms of megalopolis. Or Synthesis can comprise a single ekistic element in terms of the whole range of ekistic units: for example, the effect of certain aspects of society (changes in the birth rate) or networks (advent of the automobile) upon all scales of human settlements.
Again synthesis can arise from synergetic associations with the total result having positive benefits greater than the individual inputs; for example, a health facilities program and air pollution control in conjunction may lead to lower mortality rates than predicted by each of the independent programs.
