Patrick Geddes: an almost casual genius

ABSTRACT The name of Patrick Geddes is well-known for his work on town planning, but he was a multi-talented individual who engaged at the forefront of the birth of a diversity of academic disciplines that we now frequently regard as disparate. This review essay explores a book documenting the pioneering activities of Geddes in ecology, sociology, cultural studies, and human geography, which he sought to link in a unifying theory of human ecology. Crucial to understanding the work of Geddes is the awareness that he constantly strove to bridge the gaps that he perceived between science and the arts, between practical skills and theoretical concepts, and between the need for sustainability in both cultural and environmental terms. In tracing the roots of the radical thinking that Geddes generated, the author has explored the substantial contributions made by a scholar who was ahead of his time and shows that there is still much to be gained by reconsidering his intellectual legacy.