A.

SOCIETAL/CULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS

1. Political Framework

2. Economic Framework

3. Cultrual Framework

ents

OF ARCHITECTURE - WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY

pment Through History

4. Religious Framework

developments

SOURCE : MICHAEL S. OWEN , ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR - SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE - WASHINGTON STATE U

Understanding Urban Development Through History

5. Scientific/Technological Framework

B. URBAN FORM

1. General Locational Requirements

2. Layout

3. Construction Systems

C. INFLUENCES ON CONTEMPORARY CULTURE

(results of such development)

Pre-7000 B.C
NOMADIC SOCIETIES (PRE-URBAN SETTLEMENTS)

Tribal organization consisting of families or clans and headed by a democratically selected

chieftain.

Hunters and gatherers; minimal division of labor

Animistic--belief in "spirits" within animate and inanimate objects and phenomena

Primitive wooden, bone, and stone tools

None, by definition. Lived in portable/temporary shelters following animal migrations and sea
plant development

1 Urban Origins and Ancient Civilizations

1 Urban Origins and Ancient Civilizations

7000-2500 B.C
VILLAGE SOCIETIES (PRE-URBAN SETTLEMENTS)

Similar to earlier societies, but greater division of labor. Hence, families known for certain cra
services which they provided to the community. Chieftain democratically selected or heredita
connected to a ruling family

Primitive agriculture and animal husbandry, i.e., domesticated plants and animals. Division of
and specialization usually along family lines

Animistic. Specific persons, "shamans" interpreted spiritual signs and administered primitive
medicinal cures

Invention of clay pottery and advanced basket weaving allowed for storage of surplus grains.
Utilization of sophisticated stone and crude metal implements

Permanent settlements organized into small, loosely knit collection of buildings, impoundmen
(confined) and plots

2500 B.C.+
ANCIENT TOWNS AND CITIES (URBAN "CIVILIZED" SOCIETIES)

a. Class: society ruled by god/king, hereditarily selected from a "ruling family." Military class
maintained internal order (police) and external order (army)
b. Rights: No individual rights per se, rights related to position and status and law imbued in
god/king. This allowed rationalization of slavery and human sacrifice.

a. Division of labor
Craftspersons; Artists; Master Builders; Farmers
b. Systematic agricultural practices based on use of calendar to predict seasons, river
flooding, etc. Creation of food surpluses
c. Trade: mercantilism with other cities creating heterogeneity within cities (versus homogen
of village societies) allowing for
(1) cross-fertilization of ideas and technology
(2) competition for excellence/progress

a. God/king represented "god on earth"

b. Priest class conducted rituals and ceremonies (sometimes human sacrifice) to appease the
gods. This included keeping the secrets of the stars and seasons

a. Use of iron, copper and bronze implements

b. Invention of writing (to "store" information), numbering systems, calendars
c. Wheel and draught animals in Old World (Near East, North Africa, etc.)

ANCIENT URBAN FORM

a. Defense--islands, hills
b. Water
c. Agricultural land
a. Perimeter wall or some other form of defense/containment (e.g., river bank)
b. Precincts ("Neighborhoods")
Religious--temples, pyramids
Government/military--"the citadel" or last point of defense
Housing--"wards"
Marketplace
c. "Commercial" and "industrial" activities dispersed throughout housing areas
a. Wood and masonry (stone/fired-clay brick) technologies
b. Primarily trabeated (post and beam) structures

2 Classic Per
200 B.C.- 300 A.D
Golden Age 500 B.C.
ANCIENT GREECE

a. A loose collection of city-states

b. Laws created through democratic representation, i.e., senate
c. Invented concepts of "polis" and "citizen." (NOTE: Women, foreigners and slaves could n
citizens.)

a. As island societies, city-states were dependent on trade/mercantilism

b. For economic and political reasons, when cities became too large (generally over 30,00
new Greek colonies were established

a. Pantheistic. Elaborate mythology of gods in human form. Gods not infallible. Greek drama
showed gods acting out the comedy and tragedy of the human condition, basis for the human
b. Greeks strove for a balance of mind (philosophy), spirit (religion), and body (physical
conditioning)

a. Similar in all ways to ancient cities

b. Building restricted to trabeated (post and beam) construction

CITY FORM

1. Basic form similar to "Ancient Cities" with the following exceptions:

a. Perimeter walls minimized due to island locations.
b. No citadel per se, but each city had an acropolis at the high point which contained the
temple district ("homes of the gods").
c. Each city had a central marketplace, called the agora, which contained government a
well as commercial buildings. Generally, the agora was an open, irregular square bounded by
buildings. Some of these buildings were called stoa, which were long, open, arcaded structure
accommodate merchants' stalls.
d. Greek cities grew organically. Athens,for example, first established a winding roadwa
from its gates to the acropolis. Buildings, precincts and the agora were established along this
roadway. It was called the Panathenaic Way and became the principal parade route during cit
celebrations.
2. Colonization
a. To stabilize city size, the Greeks committed to a concept of colonization. The Greeks felt
optimum city population to carry out their form of political democracy was 30,000. When a
"mother" city began to approach this size, they would establish a new, completely autonomo
colony, or city at another location.
b. Greek colonies were based on systematic urban planning. The best known colony pla
are those for Miletus and Pirene created in 500 B.C. by Hippodamus, usually referred to
the first "urban planner." These colonies were laid out on a grid or gridiron street plan. T
include locations for an acropolis and agora. Major streets were laid out east-west to give eac
private home optimum solar (southern) exposure.
c. The Greeks believed that all citizens should have homes of equal quality, including
optimum access to space ventilation, light, and sun. Each home was a series of room

"mother" city began to approach this size, they would establish a new, completely autonomo
colony, or city at another location.
b. Greek colonies were based on systematic urban planning. The best known colony pla
are those for Miletus and Pirene created in 500 B.C. by Hippodamus, usually referred to
the first "urban planner." These colonies were laid out on a grid or gridiron street plan. T
include locations for an acropolis and agora. Major streets were laid out east-west to give eac
private home optimum solar (southern) exposure.
c. The Greeks believed that all citizens should have homes of equal quality, including
optimum access to space ventilation, light, and sun. Each home was a series of room
organized around a courtyard. Homes of the rich were not necessarily larger or more
elaborate, but would have higher quality furnishings and interior finishes and a larger cadre o
slaves

eriods of Greece and Rome

ods of Greece and Rome

KINGS 753-510 BC; REPUBLIC 509-527 BC; EMPIRE 527-330 AD
Golden Age 96-180 AD
ANCIENT ROME

a. Highly centralized authority emanating from the city of Rome. Caesars often equated to
god/kings
b. Government dominated by military

a. Trade economy
b. New trade areas opened up through military conquest, e.g., England in 40 AD

a. Romans reinterpreted Greek mythology, e.g., Hermes became Mercury, etc

b. Less spiritual and philosophical than the Greeks; Romans more practical and pragmatic
(sensible & realistic)

a. Perfection of the arcuated (arched) construction system allowed for great

engineering achievements
(1) Arch (one dimensional) gateways, bridges and aqueducts and buildings (e.g., Coliseum)
(2) Barrel Vault (two dimensional) water/sewer systems
(3) Dome (three dimensional) great spaces (e.g., Pantheon)
b. Use of arcuated construction systems combined with military organization result
in
(1) Rome becoming largest city in the ancient world--over 1 million persons
(2) The spread of civilization (cities) throughout the Roman Empire: North Africa, Near East,
Western Europe and England

URBAN FORM

1. Ancient Rome
a. Largest city in the ancient world--over 1 million inhabitants.
b. Underground water and sewer.
c. Forum Romanum (civic center) replaced Greek agora (marketplace).
d. Housing tenaments (walk-up apartments) limited to 7 stories.
e. Monumental buildings, e.g., Coliseum replaced Greek theater as civic gathering place
(Opera invented to cope with projecting voices across larger spaces.)
2. Roman military encampments became the planned cities of the civilized world (527 B
330 AD).
a. Military encampments were "planned" towns. They were created by establishing a perim
wall approximately one mile square. Four gates were established at the center of each w
and main streets were created to connect them. The government buildings and main mar
were established at the intersection of these streets. Other properties and streets wer
then filled in to make a completely autonomous new town.
b. Roman roads were absolutely straight. They were paved with stones to accommodat
principally foot and horse traffic. Bridges were built over streams and valleys. Aqueducts
created to carry water into the newly created cities.

principally foot and horse traffic. Bridges were built over streams and valleys. Aqueducts
created to carry water into the newly created cities.

400-1000 AD
DARK AGES

Dissolution of Roman rule; establishment of fiefdoms

Rural/agricultural--minimal trade

Proliferation of Christian monastic orders

Minimal advancement/discovery

URBAN FORM
1. Decline of urban centers/cities/trade.
2. Walled settlements organized around monasteries--"Heavenly Cities."
3. Primitive rural villages.

1. Legacy of the monasteries.

a. Scholarly recording of classic culture:
Literature
Medicine
Law
Latin/Greek languages
Agriculture
b. Refinement of community/human values:
Inner discipline: spiritual vs. material development.
Restraint, order, honesty

3 Middle Ages Through the Renaissance

3 Middle Ages Through the Renaissance

1000-1400 AD
MIDDLE AGES

Establishment of feudalism; a period which tied personal power to land ownership: kingsh
and feudal lords

Resumption of trade; establishment of craft guilds

Heavy Christian influence (period of the Crusades); Gothic cathedral centerpiece of the city
society; separation of church and state

a. Refined stonework, the Gothic arch.

b. No other great advances in building engineering beyond the accomplishments of the
Romans

URBAN FORM
1. Walled for the purposes of defense and regulation of trade.
2. Pedestrian streets--organic.
3. Market Places--widened streets and squares.
4. Church Square
5. General Typologies
a. Towns of Roman origin.
b. Burgs--fortified military bases.
c. Organic growth and new towns

1. Guilds
a. Elevated status of workers/craftsmen.
b. Institutionalized communal ("socialized") education and welfare for workers.
c. Established a middle class.
2. University form of education--law, medicine, the arts.
3. Period when great cities were established--Venice, Florence, Paris, London, Vienna, Mun
the formative period of most European cities.

1400 - 1700 AD
"Rebirth" of classic cultures - Greeks and Romans
THE RENAISSANCE

Landed aristocracy and successful merchants/bankers--city/states

Consolidation of wealth from rents, taxes, piracy; Age of Discovery - world exploration/t

Unprecedented patronage of the arts; painting, sculpture, architecture - Leonardo da V

(1452-1519), Michelangelo (1475-1564), etc

Declined in government influence; clear separation of church and state--"conscience" o

society

Experimentation with military science (gun powder, tanks, flying machines); perfection o
sailing ships and mapping

URBAN FORM

1. Essentially a refinement of the medieval legacy

2. Did not significantly change the elements of the medieval city : walled; elaborate, organ
street system (pedestrian); and market squares.
3. Exception: Plazas given monumental scale and classical dignity--St. Peter's in Rome
St. Mark's in Venice.

4 Baroque Period &

1700-1800 AD
THE BAROQUE PERIOD

Consolidation of wealth in monarchies; development of great armies and new ways of wa

war based on use of gunpowder
Establishment of kingship/monarchies and nation-states.

Heavy taxation; colonial exploitation; the "Age of Revolution"--spawned new democracies

Institutionalized; aligned with oppressive (inflicting harsh and authoritarian treatment)

governments

Limited achievements due to focus on military conquest/revolution

URBAN FORM

1. Cities opened up; extended beyond walls--relieved overcrowding.

2. Great boulevards.
a. To accommodate troop movements; reduction in street defense.
b. Creation of vistas to show off wealth (palaces).
c. Avenues developed at expense of neighborhoods.
d. Imposed elite values onto masses:
(1) Subordinated urban life (free social and economic intercourse) to outward form
(ostentatious display of wealth and rigid artistic expression based on geometric principles), an
(2) New geometric order imposed to "control" nature and people.

1. Baroque culture based on king-centered, military-minded political/economic system

requiring LAW, ORDER, UNIFORMITY to sustain it--a "closed" system.
a. Analogous to Roman Empire.
b. Embraced by Nazis and Fascists in 20th Century.
2. Overvaluation of geometric form as basis for "universal" artistic principles.
a. Ultimately led to social and artistic elitism and arrogance in architecture and the arts--th
"Beaux Arts" (pronunciation - bouz)
b. Organic/Ecological (contextual) and Beaux Arts (metaphysical) philosophies compared:
i. ORGANIC/ECOLOGICAL - Acknowledges the existing context--materials, land forms, hist
and culture --as design determinants to be enriched and responded to.
ii. BEAUX ARTS - Simplifies the facts "of life for an "artful" system of concepts (known only
the initiated).

d & Monumental City Precedents

Monumental City Precedents

1500 - 1800 AD
MONUMENTAL CITY PRECEDENTS

A. 16TH CENTURY PRECEDENTS

1. Michelangelo's redesign of the Capitoline Hill, Rome (c. 1540).
a. Axiality as organizing element.
b. Use of perspective.
2. Sixtus V's strategy for organizing street systems of Rome (c. 1585-1590).
a. Connected "points in space"--obelisks in front of churches and cathedrals.
b. Formalized religious processionals.
c. Perspective vistas and movement sequence; Example: Piazza del Popolo, principal gateway
Rome.
B. 17TH CENTURY PRECEDENTS
1. Christopher Wren's plan for restructuring London (1666 after the Great Fire).
a. Based on planning principles established by Sixtus V. Used ideas from Italy and France pub
in books (due to widespread availability of printing).
b. Not implemented due to difficulties with land assembly; merchants/building owners did not
to give up loss of income from rebuilding period. Also, Wren's Plan violated the "parish" system
local government by tying previously separate parishes (districts) together.
2. Louis XIV-- Versailles (outside Paris).
C. 18TH CENTURY PRECEDENTS.
1. The Royal Crescent and Circus at Bath, England.
a. Bath--a resort town named for a Roman Bath dating to the 1st Century AD.
b. Designers used row houses as organizers.
c. Royal Circus
(1) Designed by John Wood, the Elder (c. 1727).
(2) Used Roman classical orders: Doric, Ionic and Corinthian.
(3) "Circus" composed of 33 row houses in a circle surrounding a public space and broken by t
intersecting streets.
d. Royal Crescent
(1) Designed by John Wood, the Younger.
(2) Also utilized classical imagery influenced by Alberti.
(3) Row houses provided a spectacular view: "the middle class equivalent of avenue and vista
royalty]" (Lewsis Mumford).
2. The Capitol at Washington, DC (c. 1791).
a. Designed by Pierre L'Enfant
b. Linked Capitol and White House to the Potomac River with grand boulevards/vistas.
D. 19TH CENTURY PRECEDENTS
1. Regents' Street, London, England (c. 1811)
a. Designer: John Nash
b. Links Regents' Park with Picadilly Circus.
c. Buildings organized to dramatize sense of movement, entry and arrival. Uses similar cornic
heights, column and pilaster arcading.
2. Restructuring of Paris by Haussman (c. 1850s).
a. Louis Napoleon exiled to London and admired Regents Street; later became Napoleon III an
accelerated process of redevelopment of Paris begun by previous generations.
b. Hired Baron Eugene Haussman to carry out design and work.
(1) Design based on a concept of connections of principal destinations (esp. new railroad stat
(2) Objectives:

b. Linked Capitol and White House to the Potomac River with grand boulevards/vistas.
D. 19TH CENTURY PRECEDENTS
1. Regents' Street, London, England (c. 1811)
a. Designer: John Nash
b. Links Regents' Park with Picadilly Circus.
c. Buildings organized to dramatize sense of movement, entry and arrival. Uses similar cornic
heights, column and pilaster arcading.
2. Restructuring of Paris by Haussman (c. 1850s).
a. Louis Napoleon exiled to London and admired Regents Street; later became Napoleon III an
accelerated process of redevelopment of Paris begun by previous generations.
b. Hired Baron Eugene Haussman to carry out design and work.
(1) Design based on a concept of connections of principal destinations (esp. new railroad stat
(2) Objectives:
Riot Control
Slum Clearance
Traffic Improvements
c. Transportation took 17 years and included:
New boulevards, water supply, sewers/parks.
Use of "excess condemnation" (exproporation of private property by government.
Buildings included shops on ground floors, 3 floors of apartments above.
Strong horizontals composed of belt courses, balconies, cornices.
Boulevards derivative of Nash and Versailles.
d. Lingering issue of land acquisition and destruction of neighborhoods.

5 Industrial Revolution
1800-1900
THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

The establishment of representative democracies (constitutional) based on a system of law;

replaced monarchies of 18th Century

The emergence of capitalism.

a. In 1776 "The Wealth of Nations" by Adam Smith urged free enterprise as the ideal vehicle f
personal/individual development under a system of "laisse-faire" government. (Doctrine that
government should not interfere with business and economic affairs)
b. Money economy controlled by banks--"the cathedrals of the modern age."
c. Wealth could be generated by controlling the "means of production"--property, technology,
capital.
d. Soon workers came to be seen as simple extensions of mechanization--"cogs in the
wheel."
e. Decline of the guilds.
f. Two classes resulting in an adversarial relationship between employer and employee
(1) Owners/Management--"bourgeosie," and
(2) workers
g. Employees lost all benefits--education, hospitalization:
(1) 14-16 hour days
(2) meager wages
(3) child labor
(4) dangerous/unhealthy working conditions
h. Employers became the "barons of the modern age"--oil, rail roads and banks.
i. Pursuit of profit over all other social obligations.

a. 1765 invention of the steam engine resulting in the mechanization of labor.

b. New technologies created new wealth.

URBAN FORM

1. Industrialism resulted in unprecedented urbanization--the city became another extensio

mechanization--another means of production.
2. Ideology of capitalism endorsed by all societal institutions, including government--hence,
business given unprecedented freedom for development.
3. The "Industrial City" can be characterized by the factory, the railroad, and the slum.
a. The Factory
(1) Factory production subordinated every other detail of life; art, religion and government be
mere embellishments.
(2) Early factory towns made no provisions for police, fire protection, water and food inspectio
hospitals or education.
(3) Factories claimed the best sites:
Valley Land
Rivers (for dumping and transport)
Waterfronts
Our present urban legacy.
b. The Railroad
(1) Allowed to penetrate to the heart of cities.
(2) Large tracts of land for yards.
(3) Became barriers--separated neighborhoods--"across the tracks."
c. The Slum
(1) Worker housing.
(2) Tenements
(3) No provision for refuse disposal.
(4) Lack of sunlight: Bred bacteria; Psychological depression

b. The Railroad
(1) Allowed to penetrate to the heart of cities.
(2) Large tracts of land for yards.
(3) Became barriers--separated neighborhoods--"across the tracks."
c. The Slum
(1) Worker housing.
(2) Tenements
(3) No provision for refuse disposal.
(4) Lack of sunlight: Bred bacteria; Psychological depression
(5) Overcrowding
(6) Pestilence--rats, infectious insects.

1. Conditions of the industrial city became so bad that reactiontioaries led the way to modern
hygiene and safety improvements.
2. Social commentary reform:
Upton Sinclair
Charles Dickens
Jane Addams
The Salvation Army
3. Sanitary Reform
a. Systematic sewer development.
b. Urban park development.
c. Building codes established to regulate light, air, and fire protection in buildings.

on and the City Beautiful Movement

and the City Beautiful Movement

THE CITY BEAUTIFUL MOVEMENT

A. 1893 COLUMBIA WORLD'S EXPOSITION--THE "WHITE CITY"

1. Daniel Burnham "Make no little plans."
2. Launched "classic revival" in architecture.
B. REINTERPRETATIONS OF URBAN DESIGN
1. Plans created for "civic centers": patterned after Baroque planning--influenced axes, gre
plazas, broad avenues, etc.
2. Influenced San Francisco, Chicago and Manila; and many State capitols, e.g., Olympia, WA.
C. INFLUENCES
1. Positive
a. Renewed public awareness in civic design.
b. Encouraged other movements, i.e., urban parks, civic beautification, etc.
2. Negative
a. Falsely assumed planning and style could be transferred from another age (ignored cultu
materials, technology).
b. Emphasized "classic monumentality"--ultimately hollow and unnatural.

6 The Garden Cit

THE GARDEN CITY OF EBENEZER HOWARD

A. CONDITIONS IN THE 19TH CENTURY

1. Uncontrolled growth.
2. Environmental degradation--pollution.
3. Unhealthy conditions.
4. Produced a generation of reformists--novelists, social workers and the first modern "city
planners": Patrick Geddes and Ebenezer Howard of Great Britain.
a. Geddes known for the concept of applying "scientific" principles to analyzing and controllin
development--"regional planning."
b. Howard known for concept of "garden cities": self-supporting communities of limited size to
provide an alternative lifestyle to large, overcrowded cities.
B. EBENEZER HOWARD
1. English-born in London 1850, died 1928
2. Became a clerk at age 15.
3. Couldn't stand London so moved to Nebraska at age 21 to become a farmer--failed after 1 y
4. Moved to Chicago and became a court reporter, then moved back to London for rest of his
5. As a sideline, he became interested with people protesting uncontrolled speculation:
a. Concerned with over-population of city and destitution of rural areas.
b. But was not anti-urban, anti-industrial, nor did he advocate "going back to the land."
C. THE "GARDEN CITY" CONCEPT
1. First published in 1898 under the title: "Tomorrow--a Peaceful Path to Reform."
2. In 1902, republished as "Garden Cities of Tomorrow."
3. Described the "Ideal Town."
a. A socialist community, modified with ideas of private enterprise on publicly-owned land--"b
both systems."
b. The "3 Magnets"
c. Conceived the idea of planned dispersal Diagram No. 5(actually employed by ancient Greek
maintain stable population in principal cities like Athens).
d. Basic layout consisted of single family houses distributed around a central nuclear--civic an
commercial center.Diagrams No. 2 and No. 3
(1) Industry on outskirts.
(2) Strictly zoned.
(3) Walking distance to center and work.
e. 3 Basic Principles
(1) Controlled Growth
City surrounded by agricultural land or forest to prevent sprawl--"green belt."
30,000 population in city; 2,000 population in "green belt."
5,000 acres total; 1,000 acres for city.
(2) Economically Self-Sufficient
Has its own industry as well as housing/commercial.
Also, a characteristic of ancient Greek colonization.
(3) Community Ownership
Ownership and governance of town by community.
Properties leased to individual residents on 99-year basis.
Limited dividends; profits used to maintain city.
D. HOWARD WAS ABLE TO GET TWO TOWNS BUILT
1. Formed "Garden City Association" in 1899.

(1) Controlled Growth

City surrounded by agricultural land or forest to prevent sprawl--"green belt."
30,000 population in city; 2,000 population in "green belt."
5,000 acres total; 1,000 acres for city.
(2) Economically Self-Sufficient
Has its own industry as well as housing/commercial.
Also, a characteristic of ancient Greek colonization.
(3) Community Ownership
Ownership and governance of town by community.
Properties leased to individual residents on 99-year basis.
Limited dividends; profits used to maintain city.
D. HOWARD WAS ABLE TO GET TWO TOWNS BUILT
1. Formed "Garden City Association" in 1899.
2. Bought 4,500 acres, 24 miles from London.
3. Built Letchworth, 1903
Designed for 35,000 (reached 15,000 after 30 years.)
4. Built Welwyn Garden City north of London in 1920
Designed for 40,000 (reached 10,000 after 10 years).
5. Both cities still viable--have become "gentrified" because of good planning. Status to live th
E. CRITICISM AND ATTRIBUTES
1. Public outcry--communistic, anti-city, utopian.
2. Separated urban functions; did not allow overlap--discouraged the social and cultural intera
found in cities.
3. But had an immense influence as a planning idea--treated urban and rural improvement as
single idea.

City and New Town Movements

y and New Town Movements

THE NEW TOWN MOVEMENT

Definition--a self-contained, self-sufficient city unit consisting of housing, work places, indust
shopping areas, schools, parks, etc. (Not suburban "bedroom communities" consisting of hous
and shopping only!)
A. ENGLAND
1. Abercrombie's "London Plan, 1946"
2. New Town Planning Act, 1946
a. Allowed government to designate any area as a site for a new town (including existing tow
and to appoint development commissions.
b. 3 Generations
(1) Pre-1950's--14 new towns with strong Garden City influence (Harlow).
(2) 1950-60's-- compact cities (Runicorn, Hook, Cumbernaud, Scot.) Thamesmead--"New Town
Town."
(3) 1970's--American Model based on accommodating the automobile (Milton Keynes).
3. Influences/Results of New Town Development
a. A successful policy (not tied to changes in government).
b. Did not stem tide of urban growth: "conurbation" has occurred on both sides of the green b
with new towns being established further from London.
B. NEW TOWNS IN THE U.S.
1. Early "New Towns"
a. Planned Cities
Williamsburg, VA 1633
New Amsterdam (New York City) 1660
Philadelphia, PA 1682
Savannah, GA 1733
Washington, DC 1791
Chicago 1833
b. Company Towns
Pullman, Illinois 1881
Longview, WA 1923
2. "Modern" New Towns
a. Radburn, NJ 1928 "New Town of the Motor Age" followed concepts of Clarence Stein and He
Wright.
(1) "Superblocks" 30-50 acres; no through traffic.
(2) Traffic surrounded, but did not intrude into neighborhoods.
(3) Cul-de-sac access streets to housing.
(4) Underpasses separated pedestrians from traffic.
(5) Concept of the "neighborhood unit" based on distribution of housing, shopping and school
according to walking distances (1/4 - 1/2 mile from home to school).
b. Resettlement Administration Communities 1930's
(1) Greenbelt, MD
(2) Greendale, WI
(3) Greenhills, OH
c. Privately-Developed New Towns
(1) Irvine, CA 1972
(2) Reston, VA
(3) Columbia, MD

(2) Traffic surrounded, but did not intrude into neighborhoods.

(3) Cul-de-sac access streets to housing.
(4) Underpasses separated pedestrians from traffic.
(5) Concept of the "neighborhood unit" based on distribution of housing, shopping and school
according to walking distances (1/4 - 1/2 mile from home to school).
b. Resettlement Administration Communities 1930's
(1) Greenbelt, MD
(2) Greendale, WI
(3) Greenhills, OH
c. Privately-Developed New Towns
(1) Irvine, CA 1972
(2) Reston, VA
(3) Columbia, MD
(4) Difficulties: Land Assembly
US New Towns never developed into anything more than upper class suburban "bedroom
communities."
US has no tradition in large-scale land purchase/lease by government.

THE "NEIGHBORHOOD UNIT" CONCEPT

Clarence Perry--Housing for the Machine Age, 1929.
Clarence Stein and Henry Wright--Radburn New Town, ("Superblock"), 1942

1900-1975
THE CITY OF THE FIRST THREE-QUARTERS OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY

Multi-nationalism. World War I (1914-1917) fought on horseback and in the trenches; sym
of demise of the old aristocratic order. World War II (1939-1945) involved the modern armies
almost every nation in the world; ended with the defeat of fascism (Benito Mussolini in Italy
Adolf Hitler in Nazi Germany) and installation of two primary ideologies: democracy and
communism "Cold War" (1950-1989)

Capitalism tied to democratic regimes and socialism tied to communistic regimes. Money
economy based on gold standard; multi-national trading. Highly complex economic force
resulting in periods of depressions, recessions and inflation. Oil the most sought after w
commodity; oil prices impact energy costs which in turn influence land use patterns,
highway construction, building design, etc

a. Combustion Engine--The Automobile

(1) Completely changed the pattern of human settlements.
(2) Most notable change came in the U.S. with the development of vast suburban "bedroom
communities spread out around central cities--"urban sprawl." (expansion of human populatio
away from central urban areas into previously remote and rural areas)
(3) By 1970, a national highway system linked all parts of the U.S.
(4) U.S. became a car culture: drive-in-movies, restaurants and the shopping center.
(5) "The American Dream" became a single family house (surrounded by a white picket fenc
located in the suburbs--"individualism" coupled with "owning a piece of nature."
b. Steel and Ferro-Concrete Construction
(1) "Skyscraper" invented in Chicago in 1880's.
(2) Within 30 years, the "American skyline" appeared, creating highly dense urban centers
composed of high-rise structures, continuing banking, retail and "whit collar" office functions.
(3) 1950's and 1960's--High rise "housing" begins to appear in U.S. (from ideas imported fro
Europe by members of the "International School"--Le Corbusier, Mies Van der Rohe, Marcel Br
Walter Gropius, etc.

7 The Modern City,

7 The Modern City, Me

1887-1965
LE CORBUSIER AND THE ORIGINS OF THE MODERN MOVEMENT

A. LE CORBUSIER A.K.A."CORBU" (nee CHARLES-EDUOARD JEANNERET)

1. The most influential architect and urban designer of the 20th Century.
2. Born in Switzerland, but practiced in France.
3. An artist: abstract impressionist.
4. Most recognized architecture: Villa Savoie, Unite d'Habitacion, and Church of Ronchamps.
B. "MODERN CITY" THEORY OF LE CORBUSIER
1. Context
a. Post World War I Europe
Overpopulation--shortage of housing and office/business buildings.
Traffic congestion due to outmoded transportation system.
Air pollution
Tuberculoses and slums
Social miseries/decadence
b. Bourgeois Attitudes/Conventions
Example: an exhibition of urban "beautification" projects meant benches, kiosks, street light
sign posts, billboards.
Corbu agreed to design a fountain, but, with a city of 3 million behind it!
2. Corbu's Ideal City Plans
a. 1922 "Ville Contemporaine"
Separated buildings from the ground on "pilotis"
2 goals:
(1) Increase density and reestablish business center.
(2) Bring "greenness" into urban life.
b. 1925 Plan Voisin
Towers: To achieve maximum penetration of light and density (premise for cultural progress)
plan showed 60 storey towers, 800' apart in cruciform plans.
Nature and Space: Because of his belief in parks as the "lungs of the city," he created 95% p
space in business areas and 85% in residential.
Axes and Speed: He believed that the city that has "speed has success." He called the stree
"machine for circulation." He also believed in the straight line, broad expanse, monumental

2. Corbu's Ideal City Plans

a. 1922 "Ville Contemporaine"
Separated buildings from the ground on "pilotis"
2 goals:
(1) Increase density and reestablish business center.
(2) Bring "greenness" into urban life.
b. 1925 Plan Voisin
Towers: To achieve maximum penetration of light and density (premise for cultural progress)
plan showed 60 storey towers, 800' apart in cruciform plans.
Nature and Space: Because of his belief in parks as the "lungs of the city," he created 95% p
space in business areas and 85% in residential.
Axes and Speed: He believed that the city that has "speed has success." He called the stree
"machine for circulation." He also believed in the straight line, broad expanse, monumental
boulevards and axial geometry of the Baroque planners. Therefore, his plan included a super
highway linked by two monumental arches.
Multi-Layered Transportation: He separated vehicles and pedestrians and created various
layers/levels of transportation according to function, range and speed:
The Airport
Arterials for Automobiles
Pedestrian Walks
Subways
Suburban Roadways
Interstate Roadways
c. 1933 "Ville Radieuse"--RADIANT CITY
Incorporated ideas of earlier schemes.
Best known for urban form of continuous rows of tall buildings woven zig-zag across landsca
space.
Plans created for Algiers, Antwerp and Stockholm
3. The Charter of Athens
a. Many of Corbu's urban concepts were incorporated into the discussions of CIAM (The
International Congress of Modern Architecture--an international group of architects who espou
the ideas of the "International School").
b. In 1943, CIAM published "The Charter of Athens," which was a manifesto describing the goa
the "modern city," including:
Balance of individual and communal requirements.
Dominance of the landscape over buildings; green areas for living and recreational functions
the city as well as in the country.
Consideration of climatic conditions; insulation and ventilation.
Maintenance of historic buildings.
Unraveling, separation and organization of the four main urban functions (living, working,
recreation, and transport); housing to be given priority among the problems of urban planning
humane working conditions; generous recreational facilities; separation of vehicular and
pedestrian traffic; long-distance and access traffic, etc.
Legislation for the enforcement of these demands.
C. LEGACIES OF THE MODERN MOVEMENT
1. Few of Corbu's city plans were built. Exceptions:
a. Chandigarh, capitol of the Province of the Punjab in India--designed by Corbu in the 1950's;
monumental/expressionist architecture--lacking in human scale.
b. Corbu influenced the design of Brasilia, the new interior capitol of Brasil in the 1960's.
2. Many of Corbu's ideas were followed blindly and created instant slums, especially during th
"urban renewal "period in the U.S. (1960's) when vast "blocks" of housing were built that peo
hated living in. Most notorious was the Pruitt-Igoe Housing Blocks in St. Louis, which had to be
demolished only two years after they were built; this became a symbol of the failure of the Mo
Movement and Corbu's ideas.
D. THE MEGASTRUCTURE CITY MOVEMENT
1. Use of technology to create dense, compact communities combining work, living and play u

monumental/expressionist architecture--lacking in human scale.

b. Corbu influenced the design of Brasilia, the new interior capitol of Brasil in the 1960's.
2. Many of Corbu's ideas were followed blindly and created instant slums, especially during th
"urban renewal "period in the U.S. (1960's) when vast "blocks" of housing were built that peo
hated living in. Most notorious was the Pruitt-Igoe Housing Blocks in St. Louis, which had to be
demolished only two years after they were built; this became a symbol of the failure of the Mo
Movement and Corbu's ideas.
D. THE MEGASTRUCTURE CITY MOVEMENT
1. Use of technology to create dense, compact communities combining work, living and play u
one roof.
2. Concepts:
a. Fantasies of "the metropolis" in the 1880's: high-rise buildings interconnected with pedestr
bridges, separated from vehicular traffic (Hugh Ferris, Harvey Corbett, et al.).
b. Walking Cities--Archigram, 1960's
c. Plug-in-City--Archigram, 1960's
d. Freeway City--Paul Rudolf
e. Flying Cities/Space Stations
f. Covered City--Buckminister Fuller
3. Realities
a. Aircraft Carriers
b. Oil drilling rigs--North Sea
c. "Habitat"--by Moshe Safdie, Montreal, 1967.
d. Skywalk systems--Minneapolis, St. Paul, Calgary, Spokane.
e. Cumbernauld, Scottish New Town.

Megastructure City and U.S. Suburban Movements

astructure City and U.S. Suburban Movements

1867-1959
FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT AND THE ORIGINS OF THE "AMERICAN LOVE AFFAIR WITH SPRAWL

A. FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT

1. The most influential American architect.
2. Established "The Prairie School" of architecture based on principles of "organic architecture
nature; for example Wright would describe his houses as being "of the hill rather than on the
B. THE IDEAL AMERICAN CITY ACCORDING TO WRIGHT
1. Context
a. Post World War I America
Untouched (physically) by the War
Land Rich
Burgeoning highway system--access
No socialist tradition
b. Wright had been practicing for 40 years by 1930
Organic architecture--"of the land"
Equated land ownership with sovereignty of the individual citizen practicing in a democratic
2. Wright's Response--"Broadacre City"
a. At least one acre of land for every family.
b. Decentralization--access by auto.
c. "Usonian" ideal--agrarian democracy.

COMPARATIVE ELEMENTS