Ekistics - the science of human settlements, involves the descriptive study of all kinds of human settlements (Architecture, Interior and Urban Planning) and the formulation of general conclusions aimed at achieving harmony between the inhabitants of a settlement and their physical and sociocultural environments.
The descriptive study involves the examination of the content, such as man alone or in societies, of a settlement, and the settlement container, or the physical settlement, composed of natural and human-made elements.
The examination of settlement content and the physical settlement involves the investigation of five basic elements of human settlement: nature, including physicalgeography, soil resources, water resources, plant and animal life, and climate; human biological and emotional needs, sensations and perceptions, and values; society, including population characteristics, social stratification, cultural patterns, economic development, education, health and welfare, and law and administration; shells, or structures, in which people live and function, such as housing, schools, hospitals, shopping centers and markets, recreational facilities, civic and business centers, and industries; and networks, or systems, that facilitate life and day-to-day functions of inhabitants such as water and power systems, transportation networks, communication systems, and the settlement’s physical layout.
