Urban Planning: Historical Overview and Modern Implications

Early Urban Planning

• Ancient Civilizations:
  • Babylon: A walled city in Mesopotamia, notable for its early urban planning.
  • Uruk: By 2900 BC, had planned settlements.
• Greek and Roman Times:
  • Roman Empire: Developed road networks and aqueducts to serve cities.
  • Example: Tenochtitlán, part of the Aztec Empire, is now modern-day Mexico City.

Industrial Revolution and Its Impact

• 19th Century: Economic activity increased, leading to poor urban conditions:
  • Issues included poor air quality, raw sewage smells, and unsanitary living conditions.
• Response to Urban Conditions:
  • Establishment of city ordinances such as zoning codes to improve conditions.
  • 1916 New York Zoning Act: Restricted building heights and improved residential tenements.

Early 20th Century Developments

• Euclidean Zoning:
  • Mid-1920s: Focused on land division, equal treatment, land uses, and intensity development.
• Design Solutions:
  • City Beautiful Movement: Aimed at fixing city aesthetic and infrastructure.
  • Garden City Movement: Proposed creating new housing areas away from existing cities.

Housing Legislation and Urban Renewal

• National Housing Act of 1934:
  • Aimed at improving and regulating housing conditions; made housing more accessible and affordable.
  • Included mortgage assistance during the Great Depression.
• Urban Renewal Projects:
  • Notorious example: Pruitt-Igoe, an urban renewal project that failed.
• Le Corbusier's Radiant City:
  • Concept of a master-planned city focused on utopia-based living environment.

Post-World War II and Suburbanization

• Levittown:
  • Mass-produced homes post-WWII, representing the American Dream.
• Urbanization and Infrastructure Development:
  • Increased economic activity led to massive urbanization.
  • Development of freeways and mass-scaled home building.
• Suburban Sprawl: Consequences became evident, leading to a reevaluation of planning priorities.

Modern Urban Planning

• Contemporary Focus:
  • Cities are now seen as solutions to suburban sprawl.
  • Emphasis on design, general plans, and master plans.
  • Zoning and subdivision ordinance help regulate land use, health, and safety.