Urban Utopias in The 20th Century

Based on the visionary planners Ebenezer Howard, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Le Corbusier, the
assigned reading explores the possibility of progressive modifications to urban planning
conceptions. These three had similar goals and aims in their heads, in which they envisioned a
plan for the future of cities while tackling issues such as population growth, transportation
congestion, and overcrowding, but they approached these issues in different ways. It mainly
revolves around the narrative of these three men's visions, each of whom envisioned civilization's
rescue in his unique urban vision. Their ideal cities were no more alike than real cities: Howard
devised the notion of the 'garden city,' in which stores and homes constituted the heart of a
geometric design surrounded by farmland.

First, Howard's direct experience with traffic congestion and pollution influenced his development
of the city concept. His goal is to build a city with a combination of greeneries and nature, based
on urban decentralization, zoning, and greenbelts. The idea for the "Garden City," which included
a concentric ring pattern, originated from Ebener Howard. Howard and Le Corbusier have the
same vision when it comes to the need of including green areas, open spaces, and parks in cities.
While Le Corbusier's approach to city planning is known as "Contemporary City," it focuses on
today's cities rather than the future. Howard's design is based on a circular ring diagram, whereas
Le Corbusier's design is based on an asymmetrical grid pattern of perfectly spaced rows of
buildings. The city planning style of Le Corbusier is all about decongestion of city centers while
increasing density through extending transit networks and assuring total access to those
networks, as well as expanding open spaces, parks, and green spaces to provide clean air in the
atmosphere. Furthermore, Wright's plan promotes decentralization, based on the idea that the
city's residents control everything, including the government. Howard designed a "Garden City,"
Le Corbusier designed a "Contemporary City," and Wright designed a "Broadacre City," in which
the county government provides at least one acre of land for each person, as well as civic
amenities and community. Furthermore, futuristic machinery is favored above individual autos in
the Broadacre City idea.

The plans of these three visionary planners caught my curiosity as a future architect and designer.
Although these three used different approaches, they all had the same aims in mind. As a planner
and designer, I shall continue to create for the benefit of the people in the future. I would continue
to stress providing green areas and flora to enrich the overall environment, as did the three great
planners. Like Howard, I'd include central park street green belts in my design to help the
environment while also adding visual appeal without causing harm to the ecology. Furthermore,
similar to Le Corbusier's concepts, I would incorporate parks and recreational facilities into my
future projects for the benefit of the public. Regardless of their differences, model approaches like
"Garden City," "Broadacre City," and "Contemporary City" all have features that would help the
majority, and it also helped me hone my thoughts for future design and development.