Part-whole problem

The part-whole problem refers to the fact that in most cities made up of parts with a strong sense of local place it is almost impossible to make a clear morphological distinction between one part and another, at least not at the level at which it could inform design.

Sources

Hillier, B. (1996, 2007), Space is the Machine: A Configurational Theory of Architecture. Space Syntax: London, UK. pp. 113.