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    The City in History Lewis Mumford PDF

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    Alexandra Denisa

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    of 24
    Books by Lewis Mumford THE STORY OF UTOPIAS 1922 STICKS AND STONES 1924 THE BROWN DECADES 198 TECHNICS AND CrVviLizartos THE CULTURE OF CITIES+ 1038 MEN MUST ACT 1939 FAITH FOR LIVING 1940 ‘THE SOUTH IN ARCHITECTURE 1941 THE CONDITION OF MAN 1944 CITY DEVELOPMENT — 1945 VALUES FOR SURVIVAL 1946 GREEN MEMORIES 1967 THE CONDUCT OF LIFE 1981 ART AND TECHNICS 1982 IN THE NAME OF SANITY 1954 FROM THE GROUND UP+ 1986 ‘THE TRANSFORMATION OF MAN 1986 THE HUMAN Way OUT 1988 ME CITY IN HISTORY? 1961 ‘THE HIGHWAY AND THE CITY 1963 THE URBAN PROSPECT 1968 ‘THE MYTH OF THE MACHINE Vol. i TECHNICS AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT? 1967 Vol. I: THE PENTAGON OF POWER? 1970 INTERPRETATIONS AND FORECASTS: 1922-1972 1973 FINDINGS AND KEEPINGS MY WORKS AND DAYS 1970 193 THE CITY IN HISTORY ts ovieins, Its Transformations, and Its Prospects by LEWIS MUMFORD ‘A Harvest Book Harcourt, Ine San Diego New York London cHAPTER SEVENTEEN The Myth of Megalopolis 1: ACCRETIONS OF POWER ‘The increase in the area of arable land, the improvement of agrcalture, the spread of population, andthe multiplication of cis have gone hand ia hand throughout history: never more so than during the last century. Many counties are now entering an era whea the urban population will, ‘ot merely be greater than the rural population, but when the actual area ‘occupied or preempted by urban growth wil rival that devoted to cul ition. One of the signs of this change has been the increase in the ‘umber, aea, and population of great cies. Mepalopoi is fast becom log a universal form, and the dominant economy is 2 metropolitan econ 3, whch no elle eaterprie publ wtost a cl et the ici Docs this represent a final stage in urban development? Thote who Ueteve that there ae no aliematives tothe present proliferation of metro- Poltan tissue perhaps overlook too eaily the histori outcome of such 8 Seaczatation of urban power: they forget that this has repeatedly marked the Last stage im the casic cycle of clilaation, before its complete die- "Upon and downfall. There Is surely no evidence of stability in a civ- Seadon hat has, within fory years, undergone two workd wars and Prematurely terminated the lives of some sixty millon people, on the ‘ovest careful estimate: civilization that has resurrected the most bat- ‘tous forms of compulsion, torture, and wholesale extermination, and (hat now threatens, i future struggles to extend communism’ or “preserve {seéom,? to annihilate the population of entre continents and perhaps ‘ake the whole planet permaseatly uniahablable. This metropolian ct- Seaton contains within itself the explosive fores that will wipe out all ‘cet of its existence; and to make plans for the future without taking ‘iy, nde every asec bow and wit the cory that te pk a ‘us be transect eerlied fs, a 325 ts E wach et isbn woe ee el ‘voree from reality which has characterized the current a Sao oe Seneca ence ml roe Sa el saa asec ena aa Sugeno pet oye oy oe ee ‘ution of cities will provide an insight, hitherto lacking, that will ena eee ee ae ae fot ob concious ‘efforts to stimulate growth that should be curbed, oF 10 ae Som dpe thal td Ineo th essa othe oftrepented whan tapamio, an ditgraton tI spn car, est be ¥en Of eatin itil We have ace tin any lances he el 1 enue he orn mane ie of the communi verze fom hat sche conn te exease of ap td faker gowth The very srs of he cy i, with th nly way of opening the city up to the fesh demande of ite. ag hts the pine ned of he hy tay fran collective sel-knowledge, a deeper insight into the processes of 1 2 Sint op tovacd dicing nd con: such rowed by a neurotic patient in faring a long-buried infantile Sat fas ond ia he way of ht somal growth and intepraon, sete Bs Rome, which sora came to the ful endo he re resuming growth agin at «lower stage, afford an abundaoce data for studying the ie and fall of Megslopois. But unfortnatly dat is too seared and much of ii oo illegbe to provide a ful Into the facts. Though ia our time Wareaw, Belin, Tokyo, and many’ ites were close to physical extinction, enough of the living tissue of coltue was preserved chewbere to make posible their swift ‘ion, with many minor improvements, if with no decisive functional aon. The persistence ofthese overgrown containers would indicate they are concrete manifestations of the dominant forces ia our ‘ivlation; and the fact thatthe tame sign of overgrowth aad ove tration exist in ‘communist’ Soviet Russia as in ‘capitalist ‘States shows that these forces ar universal ones, operating almost respect to the prevaling idelogies or ideal goals. ject HONS OF POWER m ne one most copie ve fact wo! te prema fo eleve _ inal and irreversible; we have already surveyed a aoe geen Om ‘soi conor wl ey De re ee tien ease oma ith gow od ay evo th he ae ea ev one th tae i poets fr foe coe Fe eet on tet te fle BOW a te PO ach ange oma rtf egw ch Fn cr ee epg, meat, ane, ee Sted as te fa gal of arn tan, Wt hey eo aici 2000 tga actualy ‘1984! Under Sr cremate decpon, he ocl eis a Et ean he eberate da of los nho- fet ig at ol day th eis oe a cm ce ee the ols dati of fal can, se Se ee alpat if toa vial fl ce. Se oct he prosper demon oes ny an aS ety tele elopeal sumptions te een te et ay ot mn Beneath i perc ee (aie pres at ae tt ce patnep of ora forms a a BC rn ty namtatons asad of esng ma a ae mand al hee partons a ead re ta hi wans-cot to be couse ox eles Se dat ted and ended a ots ough 08 she 2a th Pe me cee Ha coming mete ser chlo oa ih ngs mechan (oto! prtutic) abet te!) i othe ys hat pores inhabit wil on rare at bt ope Cans Yo wach a8 fe nd a Sa ec apo of popes adres ie ey ee ne aimely ond foe cy. Ta ty of te 2c cam eam toih love postin fe, oe os cea w treet ‘Such prophecies tend to be sel-fulling- The more widely they are believed the beer they work. But ‘he sooner they may come to a dire climax. Today the sad of our whole megalopolitan civilization i alltoo-sbly in ght Een a misiterpreted group of spots on a radar screen might this fat does vera wy many eo fe ‘tore indus and slow, ae abaya won ee NY ‘But the ‘xcic process we are in the midst of i not necessarily a io mine iin Seay hein oa mei s aie eno Peiemaseas tng “THE SLAVERY OF LARGE NUMBERS" Tee emcee ae Pe canna mi Ste ln tat ne fog ae eat mene wn sly peepee Ep sc maid fom sts tent eae Nips abn st nied moe far. This stock, which accounted for only about uae Pepto the cc in Maer dey, suet abet ste hk tury, though meanwhile some of the other ‘peoples “ que SLAVERY OF LAROB NUMBERS! 59 jk ei infenc, like the population ofthe Neherfands ast Ines, alse reproduced and survived as never befor. Th 1800 not ety in the Westera World had even a milion people: pod, the biggest, had only 939,310, while Parishad ile more than a lo, fe less than Amsterdam today. By 1850, London had over ‘ol ulin and Paris over a milion inhabitants; and though otber cies ‘reemed rapidly, too, thy were sil without serious sivas, But by 1900 a metropolis with more than a millon inhabitants had come into ‘here, including Bein, Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, Moscow, gpserburg, Vieana, Tokyo, and Calcuta "Tiny yeas later, a¢ the rent of a feverish concentration f capita tod faancl direction, along with the profitable mechanial means for AMtas congestion and extension, there wee twenty-seven cites widh more {ten « milion inhabitants, headed by New York and grading down to Hmiagham, England incuding metropolises on every continent, even [Ral By the middle ofthe teat centry there were a host of new ‘Soropotan areas, wth bulging and speating suburban rings that brought ‘Suny more within the general metropolan pete, "The ise of cities with a population of over a hundred thousand was cqoally marked; and these smaller cies, too, had their suburban rings: ren in such areas as North Carling, where there was an almost ror ‘kota! opportunity #0 create a regional balance, in separated. constella- thos of ees, no one of which might be more than 100,000 in number, Thee separate entities tended to coalesce Into an undileentated fonmless ‘shan mass, oF "conurbation." By 1930 nearly half ofthe population of the United States lived within a radius of twenty to Sty mies of cies with ‘fer «hundred thousand population; while by 1950 they were tobe found in 168 urban ares with $0,000 or more people: in all $3,929,863, Similar tendencies prevailed everywhere: by 1950 13.1 per cent of the world population fved in ets of 100,000 or ove, a8 agunst 1.7 in 1600, “Tis alteration in mombers, scale, and area under urbanization, ested la quate changes in all theve centers and in addition, exended the ‘phere of urban ifuene, bringing the goods, the habits, and the ieo- pict values of the ety to hitherto almost celcomtained vilges stl Persuing a round of Ife basally similar in content otha of the neolithic Stre Even the chil tools of primitive fe inthe jungle, the ax andthe machete ofthe South American Indians, were no longer produced close ot ands but in Newark or SbefSel These changes likewise alcted the tara rage of sacs incites: for this apparently varies in numbers and Uistsbution roughly withthe sie ofthe biggest iy in the series. Above sly this building and maliplication of ces aired the whole balance be- ‘wen the urban and the agricultural population. Ces had once been ‘land’ doting wide agricultural sea. But now, in the more populated rite asecmresmtes aren] Seer incense sc See ete eer ii Seas he ean eae Saihcteanseeeren onan Sasa Seton aes ae ree oes Se cesee eel Soniye eeer ee desis that could be proalyatiched tothe redecte ech econo anon =e ane Saree See enna Sa’ oacatue ae oe eed pptor ponte 10 achieve monopoly or quasi-monopoly, now called ‘oligopoly,’ 30. rete ore e te Siege auterteesanicars ie a emeistatos aoe es ere Seca ean lnk, Snnc, the ame for nd calm ome nlite Saat aereees See ee qoecaeaeaen ane a crete polis were sugenied by a geeral pu inthe se ect. The Saracen naire Soot eee ares fine ieee ers Sones ae ee Soe Joan canoes sym SLAVERY OF LARGE NUMBERS! sat the result of two forces that detached themselves in institutional forms ‘ry villy ater the seventcenth century: a productive economy’ (indus {Pal tlitng energies ona sale never before available, and a consump- fon eonomy (commercial) heretofore confined to the court and the soeracy, qulcly multiplying the comforts and luxuries available to the fe and gradually widening the ene circle of coosumers Both economies became hyperactive under the pressure of continued laveatin: power, speed, quantiy, and novelty became ends in themselves, fod 20 eflectve atempt was made to contol power and quantity with ‘eect other human neds than expanding production and consumption. ‘Ts the great metropoises brought into one vast complex the industria own, the commercial town, and the royal and aritoratic town, each ‘minting and extending is influence over the other. “Te standards of the factory andthe market quickly spread to every cher institution in the metropolis. To have the biggest museum, the big- fest unvesity, the biggest hospital, the bigest department sore, the Fiegst bank, the biggest Gnancial corporation was to fall the ultimate whan requirement: and to produce the maximum number of inventions, the maximum numberof seenie papers, the maximum numberof books hecame at much a mark of metropolitan success asthe marimum number lions of pig ia Pitsburgh or Essen. In short, every successful institu ton of the mtropois repeats i ts own organization the almessgiantsm cf the whole. In reacting against the ancient conditions of dearth and ‘easy, the metropolitan esonomy thus went othe ater extreme and cod ‘eatrated on quantity, without paying attention to the necessity for regult- ing the tempo, distbuting quan, or asimilating novelty. The organic, the qualitative, the autonomous were reduced to a secondary postion, i€ oot obliterated in every department. ‘Both the citadel and the wall had ong been bsolescent in the great ‘its; but atthe very moment they disappeared, a network of organ- ieaional controls centering inthe domiaatag eaptal city, ramiying by instant communication everywhere, came into existence and performed the ‘ume functions more effectively. Just fo the extent that the new powers eee shadowy, impossible to pin down or come to gripe with, etherilized, hey were all the more elective, One might breach a city wal or Kill a ‘ing: bot Row could one asault an international carte? Only when one ational capita came into confict with another capital did it become ‘pact that all the archaic and disruptive forces in the old citadels ‘ete sill aeve—and indeed had become grossly magnified and inreat- iney ization ‘The growth and multiplication of great metropolites were both the ois of this general tendency toward monopolistic concentration and ‘he means by which it was efeted. Even in the most selfcomplacent 532 THE MYTH OF MEoALOP Provincial town, the pattern of intutional life became ‘9f the metropolis: the hibboeth of power politics, the orgie ‘ationalism, the general acceptance of both the commercial and tural trade-marks ofthe metropolis, tothe shame-faced exclusion of roduets, became well-nigh universal by the beginning of the entry. ithad widened the magnitude and destrctveelicency of war, by it the benefits of mass production and mechanization. Once Soldier appeared inthe center ofthe city and with im, the colors of ebbing from the intenste miiew of the industrial town, flowed back the metropolis, in the gay unfores of the Guards and the No part of lif could escape this general regimentation. Under the surface and orderiy routine ofthe metropolis al the damension of Ind suddenly enlarged. As these forces developed, the mettopols, ‘more and more a device for inreaing the vareis of veka en and every citizen became a connoiseur in the art of death, ‘This seyative plcture of metropolitan organization dock not, It ‘rma, el the whole story. One must judge what has happened ‘the past century, and what threatens vs so banetully now, ot only by ‘coal transformations that have taken place, but by many brave alities that may, in the long run, ofet them and ft the whole Ie to a higher plane. Some of these potentialities have indeed, slteady been wiped out. Thus the preservation and transmission of tive cultures, for the contributions tht they might have made ia ‘coming the steriiis now so painfully evident in our own, was tempted tt irepaable damage was done. So, too, many humane dures and dicoveries in medicine and education that ave been by metropolitan civilization, still avait thee fll service ina culture {0 more human ends, But ifthe history ofthe nietenth-ceatury ‘8 Lavedan has well sid, the history ofan illness, that of the century city might be called the sory ofa strange kind of metal ‘and wcatmeat which sought to alley the symptoms, while sedulouly {aining al the agonizing conditions that caused the diease—and act Produced side reactions that were as tad asthe disease, ‘With a few ousting exceptions, like Patrick Goddes, Peter ‘otkin, Ebenezer Howard, and Max Weber, one sill loks in vale, fullness of understanding of the normal processes tht the city ‘Though there have been a multiude of studies of utben dcondee decay, the few that attempt to deal with urban health and to Detter norms for growth and development are stil, for the most cuuan sunsavenace 3 ly pin i gis He ie ten ape inmost cpuading economy; likewise In their conceiving as all-my of sume the ale sere and techie would ploy i the ci Ree development. We lis, even in its most confused and corrupted sie et tcp : Yor cis crain feck achievements i ising human care that ‘of Set ners ena ier os res my tur Jl and temple: The hire metropolitan core stil has a function a ‘once its members understand that neither its original monopoly, sca dimen cn be nate mainined. The pet et ye ay ar on ae <8 pcs ogy. We mot ne ac sce congestion ak al mobilization: for ethetiali- ie onan, for replete mage nd ening he Hl te wl yeas tome owe ape we amie ‘efi a ton tbe ce pac 3: THE TENTACULAR BUREAUCRACY eee eee 7 eee ape ae tee ee eee ee trowth rth ional impel exp: owe thes unde poo ee Seca eee eee Seay eee ete ae ee eee oe tae eee ee es eee po rei er 2S ee ee ee eee een = puneesiten ee ee ene SE eee teenie eee eee 534 THE MYTH oF soos we examined fat inthe baroque cy. ‘Once the means of instantaneous communication were avai sa fea nent to concentrate eps of sls ca could now be dicted, the shipment of goods rote, nde nd cane, ales made, res extended and rats cleared, ot spot. Remote control, first embodied in the separation of al ad tories by establishing the fashions Patterns of the metropolis as identical with civilizati nl ‘thing that could be called ‘real life.” sama a toacus ieiceny by the mie oe a lice. Dik ‘eden cl Povo neaton fo rate Si Tie are od Geunoeuon Ot, Ereryone expen, througout he arc plea wo he dcly of geting ngs Sone Oy dane i ‘simplest civil act required legal sanctions, documents, verificat ee shment of civil rights in tg, 0 eco move iho th nd sow cnet touts Lawes wo inew the pescibad forms sd teal se mee noha ad en ra a =e rae, end een ore he uct esc 1a A tis development the pola bureacrasy served tut fr chronic dperagenent ‘man apposed fs he of rundabow methods and + fing, tine wantg atcaon tra qui TENTACULAR BUREAUCRACY 335 pe st cena took place win the realm of basis act his put to ‘ene per addons tothe governmental bureteacy. Pinly 29 Se rpnte enterprise ith 1 wow aetwork of age come ct market calles factory and investors could exist witout Sore upon the series of an army of patient, clekly rowincers inthe ‘erpal tenogrepber, ling clerks, and book-keepers ofce manage, anager, adverting decor, accountants, and thc varied ait- sat abt up tothe ith vice-president whose name ot OLK. sts the Saal {Et ot responsibility upon an action. yn hosing of hs bureaucracy in ofr bulldings and tenements and redenial suburbs cOnsitted one of the major tasks of metropolitan ‘SGumion. Tele transpriation to and from work, within Umitedtime- sre ibed one of the difcalt technical problems that confronted the {Sy planner and the englcer. And not merely did the bureaucracy itll Bul ofl space and domestic apace: the by-products ofits routine (anded an increasing share of the new quar; fies vals, places fer tive storge and dead storage, parade grounds and cemeteries of hcumeats, where the records of business were alphabetically arrayed, witha ee tothe pousbiity of ftue exploitation, future reference, future levity fare cont. "Tis age found its form, a carly asthe eghten-cightes in America, tow type of office building: symbolically sort of vertical human fling ease, with uniform windows, «uniform faade, uniform accommeds- tions, lag Door by for in competion for ight and air and ove all fancial pretige with otber skyscraper. The abstractions of high ance produced their exact material embodiment in thee buildings, and the Tendency te multiply bureaucrat services and extend the fareaching ‘tem af controls has not, even now, reached » terminus; for at members ltcrease and trnacions besome more complicated, mechanical bureat- Crate processes must replace dct buman contact and pesooal iter ‘ours. While fn Eagland and Wales, for example, between 1931 and 1981 taal employment grew by eiht pe cent, ofice employment grew by sxy~ thee per eam and in London te oumber of prions employed in ofloes is twee the natlonal average. ‘With this development, new trinity dominated the metropolitan scene: Seance, insurance, advertising. By means ofthese agents, the metropolis ‘extended ity ule over sbordinate regions, both within is own poical Certory and in outing domain: dell ot iniecty, they expedited the dow of teibute back nto the big centers. Economic eterprise, pola Power, soil autor, once divided over the length and read ofthe Lind, now ecacentated in the new Romes. To obtain money, one must 1 othe metopoi: to exercise nlenc, oe must acleve a prominent ‘ancl position in the metropolis. Here and there, alone wolf ike the a {Rese lemmas, The metropolis the natiral recroie of capital SSasenere eset mena paras ena Song eee mat a rns Dre oo easeng tegen es sean eee Series ake caer pled ap eee sy mee a tes nic ore ‘Part of the population, as investors, depositors, borrowers, a eed ‘very: ‘of this concentration, the banker was supreme, i chats Uae oe meter See a eee eer Mal eitti ssi nes 008 a So ener proce eee recent Logos ad lai totnoharen emepeisnest ye oe qus TENTACULAR BUREAUCRACY 3s ses snd leper pots howgh housing wpperincome rows, (Carter Sela the dum Gwelers but the speculative Soanciers and builders a peen the main beneficiaries) ‘rhough tased on dynamic expansion, the whole system becomes omatvely Tid and les capable of mecting new suntins: it can er mancuver nor retet. Not the lest rp part of it indeed, is the sion 10 sary Cough the process of expansion Inthe medieval crepe fatale and inecurticsof ile wee ofc by the orgasization tis and friendly scien In tbe metropolitan epi, these services ily peformed by special Gnancal corporations fsurance com is. Fite, food, scknes, disability, accident, and death are all covered ae or aother form of insurance In the calculations made to ascertain Sr in imesive wotk toward heath maintenance and disease prevention ‘Get oganitions ike the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company bave ‘monsirated the cash value of improvement in these departments by fdocation and medical aid. ‘Unfortunately, witin the curent metropolitan scheme, insurance is a attempt to achieve security by piling together atone point te maxi ‘hunber of rsks In the short rn the insurance company may be solvent inthe long tun it becomes iself one of the elements contributing to untrupcy ofthe repine asa whole. As long asthe productive mechanism {rin working order the flow of goods and services is continuous. But ‘doug a duststorm, an earthquake, a glut of commodities, to say nothing fc atwae, will shake the fabri; and the assertion of these implacable ‘Setropltan claims then stands in the way of rational poitca adjustment. Trine beld Before the invention of nclear weapons, what shall we say ‘ofthis form of security now? IE the system had infact a rational basis, tthe surplus funds of insurance organizations would be addressed to the tne sok that now makes all other risks microscopic: Insurance for world pce, a prodeat proposal thatthe philosopher, Joiah Raye, broached Joog ago. "rercomplete the process of metropolitan monopoly, its one-sided con- eo must Be pusbed even further: by buying up and assembling local tterptses forming caine of hotels Oc department stores that may be ace under centralized contzol and milked for monopoly profits. To seal ‘his contol one further step is necessary: the effective monopoly of Advering. news, publity, pedodial trate, and above ll of the ‘ew channels of tase communication, radio and television. These various ‘periments have diverse points of origin and represent various inital ‘atresia; but historialy they have been lowly ted together since the ‘epaning and rthin the metropeltan framework they nally coalesce, ‘All these mpedia work toa common end: to give the stamp of authen- 538 THE MYTH OF MEGALOR, ticity and value to the style of fe that emanates from the metropolis, ‘establish the national brand: they control the national mack they every departure from the metropoian pattern sem deploably ‘uncouth, and what is even more heinous, out-of-date The final this process would be a unified, homogeneous, completely population, cut to the metropolitan pattern and conditioned to ‘only those goods that are ofered by the controllers and the inthe interests of a continuously expanding economy. In, the United States where this development has been swift, that already clearly insight. Need one wonder that in thi country, past decade, something lke twice the sum was spent per family on ‘ings was apent on primary and secondary public education? without kigsbip: conformity without choice: power without the tion of personaly. ‘Whete the ofgans of finance and publicity are concentrated, possessing classes, n0 matter where they originate, are lewie together; for the ritual of thei fe, as lived i public forthe the ilusrated newspapers and the television programs, is an prt ofthe pecuniary lure. Montesquieu, observing this regime a an ‘age, described the social consequences with his usual insight and cision. “Laxury," be note, "is also in proportion to the towns, and especially of the capital; so that it i im proportion riches of the states, tothe inequality of peivate fortune, and to the of people settled in particular places.” The concentration of the 1 typical metropolitan phenomenon. The princely ital of os expenditure, no longer confined to the royal cout, ives rise tothe loxury indasties of the metropolis: dress, food, adomment, Because of the univers mature of metropolitan standards, the fashions of the rich are presently copied and reproduced on a mass for the benefit of the entire populace: that indeed is necessary philanthropy ise becomes an auxiliary business of high repute Ia tries where the rupert on income is high, charitable and foundations serve the new art of giving away money and yet fim control over its disposition, 50 as to protect the sytem that it powsible, Just ab a few hundred great corporations contol about the industrial captain the United States, 40 do relatively small from the financial and managerial classes contol the organs of ‘When new lines of activity are 10 be promoted inthe ats and sc Its to the swollen purses of the metropolis that the promoters themselves: there, more often than not, the ew foundation sete. wan eer oi cee ae Sa alae eee oe oe spreaes the opportunity for seca interes to fod suppor uondspropotonate share of power and infoece ad wea cae: ‘Sie ai away from the hinterland, it is necessary for ee ricer es 7 to agglomeration of population. reer sion abet te invents agement ot Poplin. icntatatr apsted ta te pow of peal utr Sm igo sem pi wm came to el pve ad ‘She ransformed the india ove ot ord on das crc 0, acy wet eed oy more fu 08 er a tas ops and to protect he e- tat oanects the source with the ‘voracious mouth of the metropolis, became icons a he ary nd 8 can me fe as te tool, ye mens oF ct In a an ra mri te row f te a oe "Even in a country like the United States, the outlying ‘eopaan bani gat consmpon. Towed the Sezoad Wold = Sia remnarin eee i eeeergraas pee "Stee eu oay eee S ca a a be made—o case Ke Rall eens ee wee els ateeceemecnepeae i cn ‘SoS te art aaa seem lps are bay ognized in ich a fn © aoe Siping cetcinctiee te ome wir accra hoc “esi Scena eee s os ee ae Saeenereer arid Daly nai ean the sane poston” tay a eae tere pis tatioeri sno cure for poli incompetence and soil lve 4: THE REMOVAL OF LIMITS ieomeycoteri = senpecs ee eas no es ‘to purposeless expansion. it salaenaae ee a waa” aetna roeieiastceingierstge ae =e oe Soran oma ate ee ‘settlement coincided with the coal beds, the ore beds, the railroad a ice ee rae eee eae meee eet es ee a eta ie cee mata eae, reer teeh cera, oe ae a a eee eee oes Stereo eeee See eee eee eco ee eee = fae su to be a universal conurbation. Those who ignored rperiapeet lariat que REMOVAL OF LIMITS sa ve penomenon land taeda it wae actly ney dew, a me hve even misapplied 10 the conurbation the insprons=n tee , though i represen in fact the precise opposite of a ency that rough he oii iy of this same into xine. 2 en store ty Was sil, eidaly, neni: the comsrbason oweremity, and becomes more paealy #0 a xt sPreade nent aCmval of limits taeans can perhaps Best be grasped by etenng wo the extension of sori center. Wheo Rome was srroxnet seer rela Wallin 40.274 covered a Be oe tha fv 21 ee present area of London is 130 times ax rat as Ws, Wie ae ly 65D ties as big a he area of medieval London, Wh was is rout ye conurbation of New York is even more widespread’ or aorethng ike 2.514 square miles. If no human purposes S¥Perens cove bling ont of the countryside and to ental Kit for the te 2S) ad clot of ce, the whole conta sip rom Ming Bowe might coalesce into an most undilerentated conurbation, ot eid ita aeons cy otto ld that it represents the Dew ae ii ement to which modern man must adopt hit iasitutions and ‘eas cel acds isto mask the reales ofthe Buran situation m8 ‘is peremeiagly automate forces 10 become a stbsiute for bumas oseE ast urban masses are comparable to a routed and disorganized cay igh has lon sender, seated its talons and conan, toon ofits ‘a ie Reing in every tection. “Sauve qui peut” so cy towne anding this suation, besides eablishment of #9 sto e-group in-uits that ean be ectively bande ore cGmaeatnd te fneton ofthe smaller units and can ring em nde ie rea The scale of datances has changed, and the econ) wc reality, indeed wa neces. Bu the cemation fr the relies of megslopolitan expansion. “Though the ruin was Widespread, large patches of healthy tasue for- runaaly femained. By an immense gathering together of resources, helped in many countries by the generous iiiatves of the Marshall Plan, the ormous task of rebuilding cites and tansporaton sysems was 'sic- ‘Costly undertaken. Sometimes this constiued a sentimental tsk of Imiaive restoration, of "Dlder aus der Vergangenheit,” as in so many tovns in Germany: sometimes it produced a bold effort at old-fashioned fnonalzation af in the resonstrucion of Cherbourg: sometimes, asin Rotterdam or in Coventry, it became an energetic effort to achiewe a froh form forthe urban core, which would do justice in wholly com- temporary architectural terms to traditional valves neleted in the nine- teenth eentnry. In two counties, Sweden and England, an even larger ifort was made to conceive 2 new urban pattern that would break away from the automatic concentration and the equally automatic spread of the big ety, In the ease of England's New Towns, the feasibility of di- ‘eving and contlling urban growth in relatively selé-contaned and bal- ‘nce communities, with sound industrial base, was amply demonstrated. ‘Remarkably, the wholesale rehabiliation of th cies of Europe at a higher level than they had achieved ia the pas, took place in less than 4 doven years. Tht almost superhuman mobilization of energies demo- ‘tated that urban reconsruction and renewal ona far greater scale might be accomplished, within a single generation, provided the economy was

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