ABSTRACT
Geddes assigned the modern planner the role of a motivating force for urban transformation, relating to the improvement of both city and society. Although he insisted that the improvement must be unique for each and every city, it should also be guided by means of comparison, by a uniform global scheme. Geddes’ interpretation of history and civilization were based on the conventional periods of European history as defined by his contemporaries. Describing local histories worldwide as comparable made it easy to analyze any history by discussing its European equivalent; 1 thus, parallels to Geddes’ typical Western-based schemes were to be found everywhere. As a result, Geddes saw no difficulty in striving for full implementation of his theory almost anywhere, finding simple and straightforward correlation for his ideas wherever he searched for them. This notion, nevertheless, has become the topic of some critical assessments of Geddes’ work, so far overlooked.
