Town Planning
Town Planning
Town Planning
GARDEN CITY
GARDEN CITY WAS THE MOST POTENT PLANNING MODEL IN WESTERN URBAN PLANNING. IT WAS CREATED BY EBENEZER HOWARD IN 1898 TO SOLVE URBAN AND RURAL PROBLEMS. GARDEN CITIES WERE INTENDED TO BE PLANNED, SELF-CONTAINED COMMUNITIES SURROUNDED BY "GREENBELTS", CONTAINING PROPORTIONATE AREAS OF RESIDENCES, INDUSTRY AND AGRICULTURE. IT WAS ALSO A SOURCE OF MANY KEY PLANNING IDEAS DURING THE 20TH CENTURY.
AN ATTEMPT FOR A GARDEN CITY: ZLIN IN CZECH REPUBLIC
SIR EBENZER HOWARD
THE CONCEPT:
EBENEZER HOWARD WANTED TO SOLVE THE INCREASING PROBLEMS OF TOWNS AND HENCE HE PROPOSED A SOLUTION IN THE FORM OF THE GARDEN CITY. HE ATTEMPTED TO EXPLAIN HIS IDEA THROUGH THE DIAGRAM OF THE THREE MAGNETS THE THREE MAGNETS HE MENTIONED THE ADVANTAGES AND THE DISADVANTAGES OF BOTH TOWN LIFE AND COUNTRY LIFE ON THE RESPECTIVE TWO MAGNETS- NAMELY TOWN MAGNET AND COUNTRY MAGNET
ADVANTAGES OF TOWN MAGNET BEING OPPORTUNITIES OF WORK, HIGH WAGES , SOCIAL OPPORTUNITIES AND AMUSEMENTS , PROPER STREETS AND SANITATION
DISADVANTAGES OF A TOWN DISTANCE FROM WORK, ISOLATION OF CROWDS , DIRTY AIR AND THE SLUMS. WHEREAS ADVANTAGES OF COUNTRY ARE NATURAL BEAUTY, FRESH AIR. ON THE THIRD MAGNET HE LISTED DOWN ATTRACTIVE FEATURES OF BOTH TOWN AND COUNTRY LIFE AND POSED THE PROBLEM OF WHERE WOULD PEOPLE GO. HENCE THE CONCEPTION OF GARDEN CITY WHICH AIMED TO COMBINE THE ADVANTAGES OF BOTH COUNTRY AND TOWN LIFE EXAMPLES LETCHWORTH.
AFFORDABILITY:
HOWARD WANTED GARDEN CITY FOR ALL INCOMES. MOST ORIGINALLY FOR THOSE OF MODEST INCOMES. THERE ATTRACTIVNESS AS LIVING ENVIRONMENTS HAS OFTEN MADE THEM BECAME MORE POPULAR WITH BETTER OFF PEOPLE. IT IS AN IDEAL CITY INDUSTRY IS BALANCED WITH AGRICULTURE, HOUSING CAREFULLY DISTRIBUTED, AND TRANSPORT RATIONALISED. HOWEVER, THE 32,000 INHABITANTS OF THIS GARDEN CITY ARE MORE MIXED, BY AGE, OCCUPATION AND ABILITIES.
APPLICATIONS:
(I). WELWYN, U.K.
WELWYN 24 MILES FROM LONDON. LAND OF 2378 ACRES. DESIGNED FOR A MAXIMUM OF 40000 POPULATION. IN 15 YEARS DEVELOPED WITH 10000 POPULATION AND 50 SHOPS, INDUSTRIES. WELWYN CITY IS A TOWN WITHIN THE WELWYN HATFIELD BOROUGH OF HERTFORDSHIRE, ENGLAND. PLANNED BY LOUIS DE SOISSONS 1921. WELWYN GARDEN CITY WAS THE SECOND GARDEN CITY IN ENGLAND (FOUNDED 1920) AND ONE OF THE FIRST NEW TOWNS (DESIGNATED 1948). IT IS UNIQUE IN BEING BOTH A GARDEN CITY AND A NEW TOWN AND EXEMPLIFIES THE PHYSICAL, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL PLANNING IDEALS OF
AERIAL VIEW OF WELWYN
PLAN OF WELWYN
PLAN OF LETCHWORTH
PATRICK GEDDES
SIR PATRICK GEDDES (2 OCTOBER 1854 17 APRIL 1932) WAS A SCOTTISH BIOLOGIST, SOCIOLOGIST, GEOGRAPHER, PHILANTHROPIST AND PIONEERING TOWN PLANNER . HE IS KNOWN FOR HIS INNOVATIVE THINKING IN THE FIELDS OF URBAN PLANNING AND SOCIOLOGY. HE WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR INTRODUCING THE CONCEPT OF "REGION TO ARCHITECTURE AND PLANNING AND IS ALSO KNOWN TO HAVE COINED THE TERM "CONURBATION. HES THE FATHER OF MODERN TOWN PLANNING AND REGIONAL PLANNING. HE EARNED HIM A REVERED PLACE AMONGST THE FOUNDING FATHERS OF THE BRITISH TOWN PLANNING MOVEMENT. A CONURBATION IS A REGION COMPRISING A NUMBER OF CITIES, LARGE TOWNS, AND OTHER URBAN AREAS THAT, THROUGH POPULATION GROWTH AND PHYSICAL EXPANSION, HAVE MERGED TO FORM ONE CONTINUOUS URBAN AND INDUSTRIALLY DEVELOPED AREA. A CONURBATION CAN BE CONFUSED WITH A METROPOLITAN AREA. A METROPOLITAN AREA CONSIST OF A CENTRAL CITY AND ITS SUBURBS, WHILE A CONURBATION CONSISTS OF ADJACENT METROPOLITAN AREAS THAT ARE CONNECTED WITH ONE ANOTHER BY URBANIZATION.
PLANNING CONCEPTS:
HE ADVOCATED THE SEQUENCE OF PLANNING TO BE: REGIONAL SURVEY. RURAL DEVELOPMENT. TOWN PLANNING AND CITY DESIGN. THESE STEPS WERE REQUIRED TO BE KEPT CONSTANTLY UP TO DATE.
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PLANNING PHILOSOPHY:
I. THE CONCEPT OF PLACE ,WORK AND FOLK : GEDDESIAN TRIAD HE WAS THE FIRST TO LINK SOCIOLOGICAL CONCEPTS TO TOWN PLANNING
FRENCH THEORIST FREDERIC LE PLAY, THEORIZE THAT SOCIETY COULD BE EXPLAINED BY THE INTERACTIONS AMONG THREE UNITS OF SOCIETY INCLUDING: PLACE( ENVIRONMENT) Work WORK (FUNCTION) AND (function) FAMILY.
HIS CENTRAL ARGUMENT WAS THAT PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY, MARKET ECONOMICS AND ANTHROPOLOGY WERE RELATED TO YIELD A SINGLE CHORD OF SOCIAL LIFE OF ALL THREE COMBINE.
Place (environment) Work (Function) Folk (organism) Physical geography Market economics anthropology
GEDDES ADAPTED THESE THEORIES, CHANGING THE LAST LE PLAY'S SOCIAL UNITS FROM "FAMILY" TO "FOLK. FROM GEDDES PERSPECTIVE, THE PURPOSE OF HIS THEORY WAS TO UNDERSTANDING RELATIONSHIPS AMONG THE UNITS OF SOCIETY AND TO FIND EQUILIBRIUM AMONG PEOPLE AND THE ENVIRONMENT TO IMPROVE CONDITIONS. IN THE CONTEXT OF THIS THEORY, FAMILY WAS VIEWED AS THE CENTRAL BIOLOGICAL UNIT OF HUMAN SOCIETY.
IN GEDDES ON WORDS TOWN PLANNING IS NOT MERE PLACE PLANNING, NOR EVEN WORK PLANNING. IF IT IS TO BE SUCCESSFUL IT MUST BE FOLK PLANNING
II.
THE OUTLOOK TOWER THE OBSERVATION TECHNIQUE: IN 1892, TO ALLOW THE GENERAL PUBLIC AN OPPORTUNITY TO OBSERVE THE RELATIONSHIPS AMONG PLACE, WORK AND FOLK, GEDDES OPENED A SOCIOLOGICAL LABORATORY CALLED THE OUTLOOK TOWER . THE TOPMOST STOREY WAS ALLOTTED FOR VISITORS TO HAVE A BROAD OUTLOOK OF THE CITY. THE STOREY BELOW WAS ALLOTTED FOR SCIENCES STARTING FROM GEOGRAPHY , ASTRONOMY,HISTORY ETC. CONTINUED TO DOWN FLOORS HAVING CITY MAPS, SURVEY DATA OF SCOTLAND, GREAT-BRITAIN , EUROPE AND FINALLY THE GROUND FLOOR ENDED IN EXHIBITING THE ORIENTAL CIVILIZATION AND GENERAL STUDY OF MAN.
TOOK OVER SHORTS OBSERVATORY IN 1892. SPECTACULAR VIEWS THE SURROUNDING CITY REGION. POSITIONED AT THE TOP IS THE CAMERA OBSCURA, WHICH REFRACTS AN IMAGE ONTO A WHITE TABLE WITHIN, FOR STUDY AND SURVEY.
A TOOL FOR REGIONAL ANALYSIS, INDEX-MUSEUM, AND THE WORLS FIRST SOCIOLOGICAL LABORATORY. IT REPRESENTS THE ESSENCE OF GEDDES THOUGHT. NOW THE TOWER IS HOME TO THE PATRICK GEDDES CENTRE FOR PLANNING STUDIES, WHERE AN ARCHIVE AND EXHIBITION ARE HOUSED. THE OUTLOOK TOWER WAS A POWERFUL TOOL IN COMMUNICATING IDEAS ABOUT THE WIDER CONTEXT IN WHICH CITIES EXIST AND DEVELOP.
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III.
VALLEY SECTION PRINCIPLES: GEDDES DREW ON LE PLAY'S CIRCULAR THEORY OF GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATIONS PRESENTING ENVIRONMENTAL LIMITATIONS AND OPPORTUNITIES THAT IN TURN DETERMINE THE NATURE OF WORK. GEDDES POINTS OUT HOW THE GEOGRAPHICAL FEATURES , THE CONTOUR AND RELIEF ARE ASSOCIATED WITH PRIMITIVE OCCUPATIONS OF MAN.
IN 1909, GEDDES PLANNED THE ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS IN EDINBURGH, WHICH LED TO HIS DEVELOPMENT OF A REGIONAL PLANNING MODEL CALLED THE VALLEY SECTION. THIS MODEL ILLUSTRATED THE COMPLEX INTERACTION AMONG BIO-GEOMORPHOLOGY, NATURAL OCCUPATIONS SUCH AS A HUNTER, MINER, OR FISHER THAT ARE SUPPORTED BY PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHIES THAT IN TURN DETERMINE PATTERNS OF HUMAN SETTLEMENT . THE POINT OF THIS MODEL WAS TO UNDERSTAND PROCESSES BY WHICH RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HUMANS AND THEN ENVIRONMENT COULD BE IMPROVED THROUGH REGIONAL PLANNING.
IV. SATELLITE TOWNS: SATELLITE CITIES ARE SMALL OR MEDIUM TYPE PREDATE THAT METROPOLIS- SURBURBAN REACTION). ARE AT LEAST PARTIALLY INDEPENDENT FROM THAT METROPOLIS
V. WORK IN INDIA: PRESERVING HISTORIC BUILDINGS AND BUILDINGS OF RELIGIOUS SIGNIFICANCE. DEVELOPING A CITY WORTHY OF CIVIC PRIDE, NOT AN IMITATION OF EUROPEAN CITIES. PROMOTING THE HAPPINESS, HEALTH AND COMFORT OF ALL RESIDENTS, RATHER THAN FOCUSING ON ROADS AND PARKS AVAILABLE ONLY TO THE RICH. CONTROL OVER FUTURE GROWTH WITH ADEQUATE PROVISION FOR FUTURE REQUIREMENTS
HE SAW THE CITY AS A SERIES OF COMMON INTERLOCKING PATTERNS, AN INSEPARABLY INTERWOVEN STRUCTURE, LIKE TO A FLOWER. HE CRITICIZED THE TENDENCY OF MODERN SCIENTIFIC THINKING TO SPECIALIZATION. IN HIS REPORT TO THE H.H. THE MAHARAJA OF KAPURTHALA IN 1917 HE WROTE: EACH OF THE VARIOUS SPECIALISTS REMAINS TOO CLOSELY CONCENTRATED UPON HIS SINGLE SPECIALISM, TOO LITTLE AWAKE TO THOSE OF THE OTHERS. EACH SEES CLEARLY AND SEIZES FIRMLY UPON ONE PETAL OF THE SIX-LOBED FLOWER OF LIFE AND TEARS IT APART FROM THE WHOLE.
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EKISTICS
EKISTICS IS THE STUDY OF HUMAN SETTLEMENT, WHICH EXAMINES NOT ONLY BUIILT FORMS, BUT ALSO THE INTERFACE OF TIME, MOVEMENTS AND SYSTEMS IN THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT. KONSTANTINOS APOSTOLOS DOXIADIS (1942) SAW EKISTICS AS AN INTELLECTUAL APPROACH TO BALANCE THE CONVERGENCE OF THE PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE IN HUMAN SETTLEMENTS. IT IS A SYSTEM FOR CREATIVELY COPING WITH THE GROWTH OF POPULATION, RAPID CHANGE AND THE PRESSURES OF LARGESCALE, HIGH-DENSITY HOUSING. ONE OF THE PRIMARY TENETS OF EKISTICS IS THE DEVELOPMENT OF HUMAN SETTLEMENTS BASED ON HEXAGONAL INFRASTRUCTURES. RECTILINEAR URBAN PLANNING IS SHOWN TO FAIL MISERABLY IN THE ABILITY TO EFFICIENTLY HANDLE THE VARIOUS ZONES (RESIDENTIAL, COMMERCIAL, AND INDUSTRIAL) IN WAYS THAT SUPPORT PEOPLE THAT ARE COLLECTIVELY AND DEMONSTRABLY WELL AND FIT (INTEGRATED AND BALANCED SPIRIT, MIND, AND BODY). NAMES OF UNITS AND POPULATION SCALE (FINAL VERSION, FROM C.A.DOXIADIS' LAST BOOK, ACTION FOR HUMAN SETTLEMENTS, P. 186, ATHENS CENTER OF EKISTICS, 1976): NOTE: THE POPULATION FIGURES BELOW ARE FOR DOXIADIS' IDEAL FUTURE EKISTIC UNITS FOR THE YEAR 2100 AT WHICH TIME HE ESTIMATED (IN 1968) THAT EARTH WOULD ACHIEVE ZERO POPULATION GROWTH AT A POPULATION OF 50,000,000,000 WITH HUMAN CIVILIZATION BEING POWERED BY FUSION ENERGY
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LE CORBUSIER
LE CORBUSIER WAS BORN IN LA CHAUX-DE-FONDS, SWITZERLAND, 1887. TRAINED AS AN ARTISAN, HE TRAVELLED EXTENSIVELY THROUGH GERMANY AND THE EAST. FROM 1907 TO 1911, LE CORBUSIER UNDERTOOK A 10 SERIES OF TRIPS THAT PLAYED A DECISIVE ROLE IN THE EDUCATION OF THIS SELF-TAUGHT ARCHITECT. HE AFFIRMED THAT TOWN PLANNING IS THE ORGANIZATIONS OF FUNCTIONS OF COLLECTIVE LIFE THIS APPLIES TO BOTH RURAL AND URBAN SETTLEMENTS. FOUR FUNCTIONS OF ANY SETTLEMENT DWELLING WORK RECREATION TRANSPORTATION, WHICH CONNECTS THE FIRST THREE WITH ONE ANOTHER.
CIAM 1928:
LE CORBUSIER ORGANIZED IN CIAM, ASSEMBLY OF CONSTRUCTORS FOR AN ARCHITECTURAL RENEWAL (ASCORAL) WHICH SYSTEMATICALLY STUDIED THE PROBLEMS OF CONSTRUCTION, ARCHITECTURE AND CITY PLANNING. IT RESULTED IN THE PUBLICATION OF THE THREE HUMAN ESTABLISHMENTS. THE EXAMINATION OF WORKING CONDITIONS IN A MECHANISTIC SOCIETY LED TO THE RECOGNITION OF THE UTILITY AND NECESSITY OF THREE UNIT ESTABLISHMENTS INDISPENSABLE FOR HUMAN ACTIVITY : THE FARMING UNIT THE COOPERATIVE VILLAGE : A UNIT FOR AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION THE LINEAR INDUSTRIAL CITY THE RADIO CONCENTRIC CITY - SAME AS RADIANT CITY (VILLE RADIUSES') FOR THE EXCHANGE OF GOODS AND SERVICES.
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THREE ZONES: CENTRAL CITY PROTECTED GREEN BELT FACTORIES & SATELLITE TOWNS
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CENTRAL CITY:
RECTANGLE CONTAINING TWO CROSS AXIAL HIGHWAYS AT ITS HEART WAS A SIX-LEVEL TRANSPORT INTERCHANGE CENTRE FOR MOTOR, RAIL LINES (UNDERGROUND AND MAIN-LINE RAILWAYS) AND ROOF OF WHICH IS AIR-FIELD. 24 CRUCIFORM SKYSCRAPERS 60 STORIED OFFICE BUILDING WITH DENSITY 1200 PPA AND COVERS 5%OF THE GROUND. SURROUNDING SKYSCRAPERS WAS APARTMENT DISTRICT 8 STOREY BUILDINGS ARRANGED IN ZIGZAG ROWS WITH BROAD OPEN SPACES WITH DENSITY OF 120 PPA. THE BUILDINGS IN THE CENTRAL AREA WERE RAISED ON STILTS (PILOTIS) SO AS TO LEAVE PANORAMAS OF UNBROKEN GREENERY AT GROUND LEVEL. THE GENERAL IMPRESSION WAS MORE OF A CITY IN A PARK THAN OF A PARKLAND IN THE CITY. THE CITY ESPOUSED SPACE, SPEED, MASS PRODUCTION AND EFFICIENT ORGANISATION, BUT ALSO OFFERED COMBINATION OF NATURAL AND URBAN ENVIRONMENTS.
CRITICISM: CLASS BASED CONCEPTION OF LIFE DIFFERENT CLASSES BEING SEPARATELY HOUSED. DOUBTS WERE EXPRESSED ABOUT THE SCALE AND DEGREE OF CENTRALISATION. PLAN VOISIN 1925: LE CORBUSIER REWORKED CERTAIN ELEMENTS OF THE VILLE CONTEMPORAINE & APPLIED TO A SECTION OF PARIS. 18 DOUBLE CRUCIFORM 60 STOREY SKYSCRAPERS, PLACED IN AN ORTHOGONAL STREET GRID AND PARK LIKE GREEN SPACE. THREE CLUSTERS OF LUXURY APARTMENTS
PLAN OF THE CITY OF THREE MILLIONS
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HE UNDERTOOK TOWN PLANNING PROPOSAL FOR ALGIERS. AND THE RESULTING OBUS PLAN WAS A VARIATION OF THE RADIANT CITY. IT COMPRISED OF FOUR MAIN ELEMENTS : 1. AN ADMINISTRATION AREA BY THE WATER IN TWO SLAB BLOCKS. 2. CONVEX AND CONCAVE APARTMENT BLOCKS FOR THE MIDDLE CLASSES UP ON THE SLOPES ABOVE THE CITY. 3. AN ELEVATED ROAD ON NORTH SOUTH AXIS. 4. AND A MEANDERING VIADUCT WHICH WAS LATER REPLACED BY HIGHWAYS. ANALOGY OF THE CITY WITH THE ABSTRACT IMAGE OF A MAN: THE SKYSCRAPERS (BUSINESS AREA) OF THE VILLE CONTEMPORAINE WERE REARRANGED AWAY FROM THE CITY CENTRE AT THE HEAD[THE] BODY WAS MADE UP OF ACRES OF HOUSING STRIPS LAID OUT IN A STEPPING PLAN TO GENERATE SEMI-COURTS AND HARBOURS OF GREENERY CONTAINING TENNIS COURTS, PLAYING FIELDS AND PATHS. TRAFFIC PATTERN AN ORTHOGONAL SYSTEM WITH SUPER IMPOSED DIAGONALS & THE CIVIC CENTRE IS ON THE MAIN AXIS. LIGHT MANUFACTURING, FREIGHT YARDS AND HEAVY INDUSTRIES AT THE BOTTOM. THE LOGIC OF INCREASING URBAN (DENSITY) THE MORE DENSE THE POPULATION OF A CITY IS THE LESS ARE THE DISTANCES THAT HAVE TO BE COVERED.
OBUS MODEL
THE MORAL, THEREFORE, IS THAT WE MUST INCREASE THE DENSITY OF THE CENTRES OF OUR CITIES, WHERE BUSINESS AFFAIRS ARE CARRIED ON.
OBUS PLAN
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