Reciprocal Accommodation

Reciprocal Accommodation

In his early studies as a biologist Geddes challenged Darwin’s theories of natural selection and made his own case for co-operative relationships and mutual living. In his examinations of algae living in flatworms Geddes discovered that the two could live more effectively simultaneously than they could separately. From this Geddes created the term ‘reciprocal accommodation’.

Patrick Geddes was at the forefront of an urban renewal program for the Old Town of Edinburgh in the late 19^th century. Using his relationship with many of the prominent thinkers of the time, Geddes was able to initiate many conservation and rehabilitation projects across the Old Town of Edinburgh. The Outlook Tower at the top of Edinburgh’s Royal Mile is the most of enduring of these projects and remains one of Edinburgh’s most popular attractions.

Patrick Geddes' renewal program for Edinburgh's Royal Mile and Old town can be understood as an attempt to apply this natural example of mutual living to the social and built environment of humans.

Comparison can easily be drawn between Geddes’ projects along the Royal Mile and his studies of ‘Reciprocal Accommodation’.