PLANNING 423

Principles of Urban and Regional Planning

Module 02
History of Urban and Regional Planning

Bird's eye view of the Bund in 1930. Displayed at the Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition. 1930
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bund_in_1930_-_Shanghai_Urban_Planning_Exhibition_Center.JPG

History of Urban Planning

Historically, planning thought has experienced its greatest periods of innovation in response
to periodic social crises – explosive population growth, war, global economic shifts. Planning’s
aspirations have always soared above the practicality of their comprehensive realization,
being reshaped continually by broader social constraints.

At times, planning has been a deeply flawed practice, with outcomes often
the reverse of those intended (destruction rather than enhancement of
community, promotion of segregation rather than social cohesion, dreary
townscapes rather than inspired urban design). This is planning’s ‘noir’
side. Always more political than merely technical, sometimes it has been
exploited as a tool of social control to pursue policies of exclusion,
segregation, and marginalization.

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At the same time, there is a raft of value-adding achievements in areas such as open space
provision, affordable housing, mass transit, public infrastructure, development of livable, new
communities, injection of sanity into myriad land-use determinations, and protection of natural
and cultural resources. There is general community acceptance that constraints on individual
freedoms and property rights may be warranted for collective benefits. On balance, urban
planning initiatives have meant that a significant proportion of humanity on every continent
finds itself living in better circumstances at the beginning of the twenty-first century than
100 years previously.

Neolithic Era
Stone tools were created, and settlements became permanent with main activities include
agriculture and domestication of animals

While human populations grew, so did the need to find sustainable food sources and means
of shelter. Moving larger and larger populations became difficult, so the need for permanent
dwellings increased as well. These factors not only led to new ideas regarding feeding and
housing the population, but also to the beginning of a socio-political system that was far more
complex than the simple social hierarchy that had worked for the nomadic people. Additionally,
the changes that were happening in terms of subsistence and shelter ultimately had an impact
on religious practices and belief systems as well.

Artist’s impression of Çatalhöyük. Image credit: Dan Lewandowski.

http://www.sci-news.com/archaeology/catalhoyuk-urban-problems-07300.html

Pre-Classical
Ancient cities were notable for their geographical diversity, as well as their diversity in form
and function. Excavations at early urban sites show that some cities were sparsely populated
political capitals, others were trade centers, and still other cities had a primarily religious focus.
Some cities had large dense populations, whereas others carried out urban activities in the
realms of politics or religion without having large associated populations. Some ancient cities
grew to be powerful capital cities and centers of commerce and industry, situated at the
centers of growing ancient empires.

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https://www.sporcle.com/blog/2018/05/what-is-mesopotamia/

The pre-classical era witnessed several cities being laid down according to a strategic plan.
Many of these cities tended to develop organically over time. Some of the most prominent
cities designed in this period were Harappan, Minoan, Egyptian, Greek ang Roman
civilization.

The streets of many cities known to humankind were built and laid out in the forms of rigid
right angles and grid patterns. Some archaeological evidence also suggests that many houses
were designed to shield from the noise and improve the standard of living. Additionally, most
of the homes have their very own water well. This suggested the remains for sanitary
purposes. Furthermore, some archaeologists also interpret that these cities had well-
organized drainage systems as well as agricultural land.

https://www.thinglink.com/scene/655323319930716162
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PLATO 428 - 347 BC - Established the Polluter Pays Principle “If any one
internationally pollutes the water of another, whether the water of a spring, or collected
in reservoirs, either by poisonous substances, or by digging, or by theft, let the injured
party bring the cause before the wardens of the city, and claim in writing the value of
the loss; if the accused be found guilty of injuring the water by deleterious substances,
let him not only pay damages, but purify the stream or the cistern which contains the
water, in such manner as the law order the purification to be made by the offender in
each case.”

ARISTOTLE 384 - 322 BC - Provided the foundation for the concept of

intergenerational equity. For our children’s children Human well-being is realized only
partly by satisfying whatever people’s preferences happen to be at a particular time; it
is also necessary for successive generations to leave behind sufficient resources so
that future generations are not constrained in their preferences.”

Classical and Medieval Europe

The disintegration of the west Roman empire dates to the 5th century. Since then, the general
improvement is noted to have appeared in the 10th and 11 centuries. This time was interpreted
as politically stable and economically beneficial. It was then when trade and craft flourished,
and monetary benefits were revived in the economy. During this era, hundreds of towns were
built. Moreover, many of the pre-existing towns were expanded.

Characteristically focused on a fortress, a fortified abbey, when planned for military

purposes, with organic growth focused on walking around.

The Medieval Period 5th – 15th Century AD

• The church and monasticism
• Rise of Islam
• Byzantine empire
• State power
• The Crusades

Cathedral Cities
• Cathedral or monument as a focal point of the city having radial growth.
• Retained the walled city from Roman practice
• Enclosure caused problems such as epidemics and limited resources

Renaissance Europe
City inside fortified walls were still a focus; however, cities no longer grew organically, radial
streets extend outward from a defined center of military, communal or spiritual power.

The Renaissance, with its rebirth of ancient forms, derived and ultimately monumentalized the
Roman ideal of city planning. Michelangelo’s plan for the Roman Campidoglio is one of the most
complete and perfectly executed plans for a city sector, constructed to front a medieval
agglomeration of buildings that themselves had grown up on the edge of the once highly
ordered Roman Forum. Although the Campidoglio was intended not as an inhabitable city but
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as a symbolic urban space, it followed the Roman ideal of the imposition of physical order on
chaos. Based on Michelangelo’s ingenious geometric patterning and centered on the Roman
statue of Marcus Aurelius, this Renaissance masterpiece recalls the order and majesty of
ancient Roman planning.

A view of the city-state of Florence in woodcut image from 1493.

https://www.historycrunch.com/florence-in-the-renaissance.html#/

Renaissance 14th To 17th Century AD

• Commerce as a driving factor
• Called for accessibility and mobility
• Like the Medieval Period, had a radial growth pattern
• Plans began to follow the topography of an area

Leon Battista Alberti 1404-1472

Wrote the De Re Aedificatoria: Ten books of planning and design principles Growth is
characterized by a star-shaped form

Baroque Planning
Great baroque urban schemes dwarfed even the Renaissance plans. Bernini’s extension of
St. Peter’s exterior space into Rome via his colonnade set the stage for sweeping baroque
urban-planning schemes, with their spatial command and shaping of urban space. Cities
extended themselves as medieval city walls were torn down and replaced with dynamic
baroque schemes throughout Europe. Whole cities became works of art as urban planning
reached its dramatic heights in the 16th and 17th centuries.

19th Century Industrialization

Rulers often embarked on ambitious attempts at redesigning their capital cities as a
showpiece, but disasters were often a major catalyst for planned reconstruction. This
stimulated thinking about urban design that influenced city planning in North America. Ped
sheds were the focus of planning, easy access to walking and intermodal transportation
transfers. Baroque planning was the opposite of organic planning

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https://monovisions.com/paris-france-late-19th-century-historic-bw-photos/
The late 19th century saw a boost in the industrial sector. This was a result of the rapid
population growth, business enterprises, frequent profits, and so forth. Giant cities developed
during this era, and a subtle exhibition of luxury as well as poverty was observed. The growing
status difference led to the rise of corruption as well as the poor sections of society like the
slums, etc., saw a rise.

The poor standards of living resulted in poverty, and that posed a threat to society. Since then,
individuals have started to focus on the betterment of public health. This was followed by the
creation of better and strategic plans for water supplies, sewage, and so forth.

https://monovisions.com/paris-france-late-19th-century-historic-bw-photos/

Soon, the first housing reform was enacted in the late century. However, the implementation
was slow and steady as the government provided funding after a long gap. With housing
improvement, new and erect structures were observed in the economy. These were more
stable and improved standard of living.

Modern Urban Planning

In the 20th century, there was a tremendous shift in the historical concept of urban planning
from art to technics. The practice of urban planning from the mid- to late 20th century
had little to do with the artistic grandeur of earlier times and more to do with the
technician’s approach to the city as a functional entity.
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As urban planning took on the life of the masses, it acquired a new urgency. In the 20th
century, theories of urban planning swung in wide and contradictory arcs—with very concrete
consequences for cities.

City Beautiful Movement

City Beautiful aimed to build large structures to attract more tourist. Also, The City
Beautiful Movement, led by the middle and upper classes, was meant to deal with
these rising issues of sanitation, crime, and over-population of cities.

The City Beautiful Movement was inspired by the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition
in Chicago, with the message that cities should aspire to aesthetic value for their
residents.

Garden City
City Beautiful aimed to build large structures to attract more tourist Garden City aimed
to divide cities into sections, and zoning. Garden cities are also known as Satellite
Cities.

Garden cities were intended to be planned, self-contained communities surrounded by

parks, containing proportionate and separate areas of residences, industry, and
agriculture. The garden city would be self-sufficient and when it reached full population,
another garden city would be developed nearby. Howard imagined a cluster of several
garden cities as satellites of a central city of 50,000 people, linked by road and rail.

Radiant City
During this period the US was recovering from the Great Depression. The Radiant City
aimed for efficiency, by having all population needs in large buildings while leaving
everything else green, this included large residential buildings as well.

Greenbelts and City of Highways

This is also called the Postwar Consumer Society Era, when many families moved
further away from city centers, in a very prolific economic period. The 20th century
industrialization made it affordable for families to buy large houses and cars. Forcing
cities to build bigger and longest highways.

Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society and 1970’s Environmentalism

With the passing of both the 1964 Urban Mass Transportation Act and the Housing
and Urban Development Act, a more centralized movement started to rebuild large
urban areas for the population needs. By the 70s, cities started to implement tougher
zoning laws and water and air pollution management

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Additional References:
1. Freestone, R. (2015). Urban Planning (Western), History of. International Encyclopedia of the
Social & Behavioral Sciences (Second Edition). Retrieved from:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/social-sciences/urban-planning

2. N/A. Urban Planning. 20th Century Architecture. Retrieved from:

http://architecture-history.org/schools/URBAN%20PLANNING.html

3. Palma, R. A. (2016). the History, Theories, and Principles of Urban and Regional Planning.
Powerpoint Presentation. Retireved from:
https://www.slideshare.net/EnPRageneAndreaPalma/history-theories-principles-of-urban-
and-regional-planning

4. N/A. Urbanization and the Development of Cities. Retrieved from:

https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-sociology/chapter/urbanization-and-the-
development-of-cities/

5. N/A. (2021). The History of Urban Planning. Retrieved from:

https://internationaljournalofresearch.com/2021/04/30/the-history-of-urban-planning

6. N/A. Urban Planning Timeline, Retrieved from:

https://www.preceden.com/timelines/275770-urban-planning-timeline

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