HISTORICAL TIME LINE OF SETTLEMENTS AND CIVILZATIONS

I. ANCIENT CIVILIZATION
1. NEOLITHIC CITIES
a. Jericho circa 8000-7500 B.C. - The settlement is covered about 3 hectares and
must have therefore been uncommonly populous. Moreover, once it had
reached its optimum spread, the settlement was fortified by a fine stone wall
of cyclopean masonry overseen by a massive round tower, also of stone, built
against the inside of the wall, that guarded the people and the source of water
(Elisha’s Fountain). The houses were now rectangular, with slightly rounded
corners arranged around courtyards. Streets were unknown. The houses and
shrines communicated by means of courtyards

Figure 01: Neolithic Tower, Jericho, 8000 BC.

Source: http://lost-history.com/apocrypha1.html
b. Khirokitia circa 5000 B.C. - The village of Khirokitia comprised about a
thousand houses, and was approached by stone-paved road, the first true
street recorded.the houses huddle on the two sides of the main street, which
gives the settlement a spine of communication and spectacles. Stone ramps
lead down to the houses at regular intervals as tributary lanes. There is no
encompassing wall and therefore, no commitment to a stable size. Growth is
linear. The settlement’s lower parts of the wall were made of local limestone,
and a domed superstructure of pisé or mud brick. Some houses had double
walls, the outer leaf acting as a retaining wall. Most houses gave onto walled
courtyards.

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 `Figure 03: Reconstruction of Early Neolithic
Figure 02:Khirokitia-Vouni is the most extensively
settlement of Khirokitia in Cyprus
excavated aceramic Neolithic settlement on
Source:
Cyprus.
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?
Source:
q=cache:http://www.aai.freeservers.com/cyprus_i
http://www.phenomenica.com/2008/12/khirokitia
n_the_aceramic_period.htm
-vouni.html

c. Catal Hüyük circa 7500-5000 B.C.- The Dwellings displayed an unusual degree
of standardisation, and the inhabitants seem to have taken part in highly
organised rituals. The city of Catal Hüyük, at the foot of Taurus Mountain,
South Anatolia was continuously occupied. It extended over 13 hectares and
with a population of 4000 – 6000 people. Some buildings have been excavated,
and they are mainly rectangular single-roomed houses, about 25 m2. The
buildings were grouped into tight quarters so that a continuous blank wall of
construction faced the countryside: no doors and windows on this side were
allowed in the houses that opened up with an occasional courtyard. Access
was by ladder from the roof. Streets were unknown. Activities of the town
included primitive form of metallurgy that has mixed impact on the history of
architecture.

Figure 04: Plan of James Mellaart's excavations showing the dense house layout.
Source: http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://www.tslr.net/2007/11/catal-huyuk-
and-semi-grid-pattern.html

2. MESOPOTAMIA
a. Ur circa 4000-2000 B.C. - The early Mesopotamian cities were enclosed by a
wall and surrounded by suburban villages and hamlets. Two monumental

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 centers where the ziggurat complex and the palace of the king. The complex
comprised the ziggurat and its court, a secondary court attached to it, and
three great temples. All these stood on a great rectangular platform at the
heart of an oval-shaped walled city.
The founder of the First Dynasty of Ur was the conqueror and temple
builder Mesanepada (reigned about 2670 BC), the earliest Mesopotamian
ruler described in extant contemporary documents. His son Aanepadda
(reigned about 2650 BC) built the temple of the goddess Ninhursag, which was
excavated in modern times at Tell Al-Obeid, about 8 km north east of the site
of Ur.
Ur was captured about 2340 BC by King Sargon of Agade, and this era, called
the Akkadian period, marks an important step in the blending of Sumerian and
Semitic cultures. After this dynasty came a long period of which practically
nothing is known except that a 2nd dynasty rose and fell.
Ur-Nammu (reigned 2113-2095 BC), the first king of the 3rd Dynasty of Ur, who
revived the empire of Sumer and Akkad, won control of the outlet to the sea
about 2100 BC and made Ur the wealthiest city in Mesopotamia. His reign
marked the beginning of the so-called renaissance of Sumerian art and
literature at Ur.
Ur-Nammu, who wrote the first law in history, which contained 31 legal
paragraphes, and who built the great walls of Ur 'as high as a shining
mountain', and his son and successor Shulgi (reigned 2095-2047 BC) both built
the great ziggurat of Nanna (about 2100 BC) that has stood throughout the
centuries, and magnificent temples at Ur and in other Mesopotamian cities.
The descendants of Ur-Nammu continued in power for more than a century,
or until shortly before 2000 BC, when the Elamites captured Ibbi-Sin (reigned
2029-2004 BC), king of Ur, and destroyed the city.

Figure 05a: Map of ancient Ur (James Henry Breasted. Ancient Times A History of the Early World. Volume I,
The Ancient Near East. Boston. Ginn & Co.1963. Second Revised Edition) reveals two quays or harbors _within_

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the city wall encircling the tell mound of Muqayyar. The Enki hymns speak of a quay made of carnelian stone
for his boat to dock at. Most probably this stone-lined Quay is to be found within the the stone foundation
walls encircling the base of the Abu Shahrein mound.
Source: http://www.bibleorigins.net/eridusatelliteimagesphotos.html

Figure 05b: How the ancient city-state of Ur may have looked like around 2000 BC

b. Khorsabad circa 722-705 B.C. - It was a squared planned, with a defensive

perimeter, and covered early one square mile, but this area was never entirely
occupied by buildings. There were two gateways in each tower-serrated wall
except where the place of one of them on the northwest wall was taken by an
extensive citadel enclosure, containing all the town’s chief buildings. Built by
Sargon II and abandoned at his death.

Figure 06a:Khorsabad Palace of Sargon II.

Source: http://www.wku.edu/~darlene.applegate/oldworld/webnotes/3neareast/civ.html

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 Figure 06b: Khorsabad walled city and reconstructed Palace of Sargon II.

c. Babylon circa 605-563 B.C. It had an inner and outer part, each heavily
fortified. The inner town was approximately square in plan, of about 1300m
sides, containing the principal buildings, the Euphrates River forming the west
side. The few main streets intersected starkly at right angles, terminating in
tower-framed bronze gates where they met the walls. Between the main
streets tiered dwellings, business houses, temples, chapels, and shrines jostled
in lively disorder. The principal sites lined the river front, and behind them ran
a grand processional way, its vista closed on the north by the Ishtar gate,
glowing in a colored glazed bricks, patterned with yellow and white bulls and
dragons in relief upon a blue ground. Hereabouts there were palace-citadels,
and connected with Nebuchadnezzar’s great palace complex on the water side
was that marvel of the ancient world, the Hanging Gardens, among its maze
rooms was a vast throne-room, its long facade decorated with polychrome
glazed bricks. The central sites on the river front were occupied by the temple
of Marduk, and to the north of it, the expansive precinct where rose the
associated ziggurat, the Tower of Babel. Rebuilt and developed by
Nebuchadnezzar II.

Figure 07: Babylon city plan, with neighborhood names from topographical texts.
Source: http://proteus.brown.edu/cityfestival/1311

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Figure 08a: The Hanging Gardens of Babylon
Source: Figure 08b: Tower of Babel
Source:
http://www.personal.psu.edu/jss5254/Assignment
http://www.artknowledgenews.com/The_British_
7.html
Museum.html

3. EGYPT “NILE RIVER”

a. Memphis circa 3000 B.C. Memphis (Memphis is the Greek translation. But
the City was originally Ineb-Hedj, meaning "The White Wall".) Memphis is
the legendary city of Menes, the King who united Upper and Lower Egypt.
Early on, Memphis was more likely a fortress from which Menes controlled
the land and water routes between Upper Egypt and the Delta. Having
probably originated in Upper Egypt, from Memphis he could control the
conquered people of Lower Egypt. However, by the Third Dynasty, the
building at Saqqara suggests that Memphis had become a sizable
city.Tradition tells us that Menes founded the city by creating dikes to
protect the area from Nile floods. Afterwards, this great city of the Old
Kingdom became the administrative and religious center of Egypt. In fact, so
dominating is the city during this era that we refer to it as the Memphite
period. It became a cosmopolitan community and was probably one of the
largest and most important cities in the ancient world. When Herodotus
visited the city in the 5th century BC, a period when Persians ruled Egypt, he
found many Greeks, Jews, Phoenicians and Libyans among the population.

Figure 09a: A speculative plan of the major

Memphite temples of the New Kingdom, produced
by Ken Kitchen. It is based mainly on written sources,
which provide important evidence for the location
and relationship of buildings at Memphis.

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 Figure 09b: Because of its antiquity and its large population, Memphis had several necropoleis spread along the
valley, including the most famous, Saqqara. In addition, the urban area itself consisted of cemeteries that were
constructed to the west of the great temple. The sanctity of these places inevitably attracted the devout and the
faithful, who sought either to make an offering to Osiris, or to bury another.
Source: http://www.oddee.com/item_89087.aspx
b. Thebes circa 1549-1298 B.C. The ancient name for the city the Greeks called
Thebai was Waset, the Scepter nome, and it was the main city of the fourth
Upper Egyptian nome. It was close to Nubia and the eastern desert, with their
valuable mineral resources and trade routes. The site of Thebes includes areas
on both the eastern bank of the Nile, where the temples
of Karnak and Luxor stand, and the western bank, where are the large private
and royal cemeteries and funerary complexes.
Waset was little more than a provincial town in the Old Kingdom. Though two
brick-built mastaba tombs dating from the 3rd or 4th dynasty have been found
in the Theban area, and a small group of tombs have been found dating from
the 5th and 6th Dynasties in the area of the necropolis known as el-Khokha, it is
not clear if there was an actual Old Kingdom settlement here. The royal
residence and tombs, as well as most of the tombs of the court and government
nobles at this time, were primarily built at Saqqara near Memphis, closer to the
Delta. The peak for Thebes came during the 18th Dynasty. Its temples were the
most important and wealthiest in the land, and the tombs on the west bank
were among the most luxurious Egypt ever saw. The center of the city during
New Kingdom and later times stretched between the two major temples of
Karnak and Luxor, along the avenue of sphinxes that connected them. The area
is now almost entirely covered by the modern city of Luxor.

Figure 10: Map of Thebes 1850

Source: http://archangelnikk.wordpress.com/category/ancient-egypt/

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 c. El Kahun The pyramid now called el-Lahun stands north of the modern town of
that name and was built by Senusret II, circa 1895 B.C, during the period known
as the Middle Kingdom of ancient Egypt. Kahun overlooks the lakeside region to
which the kings of the 12th dynasty devoted much attention. The Faiyum, or
She-resy in ancient Egyptian, meaning "the Southern Lake", is a large fertile
depression, connected with the Nile by a river arm known as the Bahr Yusuf. The
12th dynasty kings, including Senusret II, had moved their capital to el-Lisht, and
constructed dams to irrigate the area. Kahun is larger than the other known
pyramid towns. Taces of brick walls, houses and pottery, indicating that herein
lived the workmen building the pyramid and its temple and their houses and
storehouses The town also housed the priests and lay personnel responsible for
the king's mortuary cult.At least three town districts, separated by walls, can be
distinguished. The first, is the acropolis, perhaps intended for the king himself,
the second, the east quarter, with large mansions centered around a court, and
consisting of as many as 70 or 80 rooms, the west quarter of smaller uniform
dwellings each with 4 to 12 rooms. The larger houses each had a court with
columns around the middle, and in the center stood a small stone tank. The
roofs were of beams overlaid with straw bundles and plastered with mud, but
some were of brickwork. The doors too were arched in brick.

Figure 11: Anotherworkers' village is located at Illahun, on the eastern end of the 12th Dynasty pyramid complex
ofSenusret II. That town was later occupied by officials of the kinmortuary cult.
Source: http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/cities.htm
d. Nubia circa 2613 to 2494 BC. The site consist of great fortresses were built by
successive kings of the 12th Dynasty, especially Senusret III. Most of the fortresses
were on the west bank of the Nile River or in the islands. There was close
communication between one fortress and the next, with the headquarters at
Buhen, the largest stronghold.
The Egyptians built fifteen fortifications along the banks of the Nile in Lower Nubia
that guaranteed, each in its own way, the pharaonic intentions for the region.
Strategically built in precise locations and with diverse military and civilian
advantages.

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 Most of these structures were built in the reign of Senuseret I (c. 1962-1928 BC31),
while the fortresses of the Second Cataract (whitewater rapids/ water is broken
by many small boulders and stones) and Batn el-Hagar (belly of stones) were built
in the reign of Senuseret III (c.1878-1842 BC32) except for Buhen (Senuseret I) and
Mirgissa (Senuseret II who reigned between c. 1895-1878 BC).
Ikkur (82x110m)
Kuban (70x125m)
Aniba (87x138m)
Toshka
Faras (75x85m)
Serra East (80xunknown)
Buhen (215x460m)
Khor (250x600m)
Mirgissa (190x295m)
Askut (77x87m)
Shalfak (47x95m)
Uronarti (57x114x126m)
Semna West (135x135m)
Kumma (70x117m)
Semna South (unknown)

Figure 12a: Map of Egyptian Middle

Kingdom Fortresses in Lower Nubia

The pharaohs also needed to organize the military. There were many attempts at
sneak attacks against the Hittites in the north, but many were not
successful. Unfortunately, the Hittites were very successful at surprise
tactics. Different so called “Forts” lined Ancient Egypt’s border at their thriving
point. No one really knows why they were there, except for the guess that they
were built as rest stops, or look out spots to keep certain invaders out. In the
actual wars, there were 3 main groups of soldiers: Footmen, Bowmen, and
Chariotry. Organization in the military was crucial for a great military.

Figure 12b: Architectural plans usually in a quadrangular or rectangular form (Buhen)

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 Figure 12c: Uronarti had a triangular shape

Figure 12b: Fortress of Semna (left) and Fortress of Shalfak (right)

4. CHINA
a. Anyang is the major capital city of the Shang Dynasty (1554 B.C. to 1045 B.C.)
Anyang was the last capital of the Shang Dynasty, and easily the most
important Bronze Age site in east Asia. Xiaotun, Northwest of Anyang, have
uncovered a large ceremonial and administrative center of the Shang period,
surrounded by small dependent hamlets and craft centers. Parts of the town were
laid out on a chequer-board pattern, which nearly parallel rows of rectangular
dwellings built on rammed earth podia, although at this time the majority of the
residents still lived in pit houses of traditional construction. The center contained
a group of over fifty timber framed buildings with a pitched and gabled roofs set
on rammed earth podia and arranged in three cluster.

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 Figure 13: Anyang

b. Luoyang (aka Loyang) was the capital city of many ancient Chinese dynasties, a
position it frequently swapped with Chang'an, usually whenever there was a
change of dynasty. Located in the Henan province in the eastern part of China's
central plain.
Luoyang was smaller than Chang'an but had a higher population density, over half
a million in the Han period. This population was made up not only of locals but
also workers, artisans, and officials from all over the Chinese empire and border
regions. The city covered a rectangular area which was surrounded by high walls
with access provided by 12 gates.
The buildings were generally plainer than they were at Chang'an, and the city was
more regularly laid out, once again reflecting the importance of Confucian thought
at Luoyang and a corresponding distaste for ostentatious buildings or
irregularities. Especially following the move of capital c. 23 CE, the Han emperor
and government were keen to differentiate Luoyang from the capital of their
predecessors during the Qin and earlier Han periods.

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 From the 7th century CE, under the Tang emperors, Luoyang was made even
grander. There was no longer any reserve about giving the city the finest and most
grandiose buildings possible. The city thrived and now boasted a population of
around 2 million people. As with other Chinese cities, Luoyang was composed of
distinct districts reserved for specific purposes and all laid out in a grid pattern
separated by streets and avenues.
There were two royal palaces, each set within its walls and both aligned precisely
on a north-south axis, areas for residence, artisan workshops, and various
marketplaces. There was a large armoury, the state granary, various altars, a ritual
hall, government buildings, the imperial stables, the Grand Academy of learning,
a library with 370,000 scrolls, museums of great artworks, and a garrison of the
imperial army. There were Buddhist temples and monasteries, synagogues, and
mosques; such was the cultural diversity at one of the greatest cities in the world
at that time.

Figure 14: Plan of Luoyang, Henan in the Eastern Han, first to second centuries A.D.

c. Beijing is one of the few cities in the world have served as long as the political and
cultural centre of an area as immense. Beijing is one of the Four Great Ancient
Capitals of China. It has been the heart of China’s history for centuries, and there
is scarcely a major building of any age in Beijing that does not have at least some
national historical significance. The city is renowned for its opulent palaces,
temples, and huge stone walls and gates. Pre imperial history dated back to 11th
century B.C.

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 Figure 15: Beijing and the Forbiden City

5. INDUS VALLEY
a. Mohenjo-Daro circa 2500-1700 B.C. near the River Indus in Sind Province , was
commanded by an artificial citadel mound northwest of town. The land between
it and the town may have been flooded and was fortified by baked brick with solid
towers and solid platform believed to have been refuge in times of flood. The town
occupied an area of about 25km2. The residential district was made up rectangular
blocks oriented north and south and subdivided by lanes. The main street were
about 14 m wide, and the central north-south street was flanked by open drainage
ditches.

Figure 16: Mohenjo Daro

Source: http://wwwi.ccs.edu/~bmcintosh/SCANS/ANCIENT%20CIVS/INDUS/INDUS%20VALLEY2.jpg

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 b. The layout of Harappa circa 3300-1500 B.C. on the Ravi, a tributary of the Indus in
the Punjab, appears to have been similar to that of Mohenjo-Daro, although the
city was all but destroyed in the 19th century by railway engineers who plundered
the site for bricks. The general outline of the citadel and few fragments of the
residential layout have survived. The citadel mound was fortified by mud-brick
ramparts. Between the citadel and the town was a barrack like block of workmen’s
quarter, with circular brick floors on which grains was pounded. Two lines of small
rectangular dwellings were separated by lanes of about one meter wide, the
whole enclosed within the compound walls.

Figure 17: Site Plan of Mohenjo-daro (left) and Site Plan of Harappa (right)

II. GREECE & HELLENISTIC KINGDOMS

Spanned three centuries (8th to 6th -centuries BC); saw the flourishing of philosophy, art,
and science in Classical Greece. Religion and politics directed movements and
development during this time. Ancient Greece is an influence to the Roman Empire and
eventually Western Civilization.

• “polis”: defined as a “city-state”.

• Acropolis - a religious and defensive structure up on the hills, with no definite
geometrical plan;
• visible relationship between buildings and nature; sacred
• Neopolis and Paleopolis (new and old cities)

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 • Agora - buildings served as facades to form an enclosed urban space; grouped
around central open space
1. ASIA MINOR
Troy and Beycesultan circa 1800 B.C. The main characters of these two
settlements, as well as the of the Cretan-Mycenaean town, is that they lack
religious buildings of public scale. Most of the built structure was residential and
administrative. Ritual observances were accommodated within the structures and
in occasional shrines not very different from ordinary houses, without the need
for monumental temples of the sort that still highlighted the archaeological
landscape of Mesopotamia, Egypt and Hittite Empire.
a. Troy (Hisarlık) is located in north-west Asia Minor 5 km from
the Hellespont (Dardanelles), rising above the alluvial plains of the rivers
Karamenderes and Dümrek (identified as the ancient Skamander and Simoeis).
The site comprises a tell-like mound with c. 16 m of deposits, a fortified citadel for
most of the history of the site’s occupation, and a lower settlement to the south,
reaching c. 30–35 ha in the Late Bronze Age.
The site was occupied from c. 2900 BC to the 6th century AD. The numerous
architectural phases are conventionally grouped into nine bands, called variously
cities, levels, or periods. As now defined, the occupation seems to have been
continuous throughout three and a half millennia.
i. Troy I–III (from c. 2900 BCE) represents the Early Bronze Age (EBA) I and II,
coming to its end around 2200 BCE, which witnessed a major change across
the Near East.
ii. Troy IV and V (from c. 2200 to c. 1800/1750 BCE) represent, respectively, the
end of the EBA and a large part of the Middle Bronze Age (MBA).
iii. Troy VI–VIIa (from c. 1800/1750 to c. 1180 BCE), representing the end of the
MBA and Late Bronze Age (LBA) I and II.
iv. Troy VIIb is a specific period on its own, with many Balkan elements
(from c. 1180 to c. 1050 BCE) understood now as LBA III at Troy, transitional to
the subsequent Iron Age, which is represented by Troy VIII, spanning the
Protogeometric to the Hellenistic periods (c. 1050 to 85 BCE).
v. Troy IX (85 BCE to 6th century CE) is Roman, and
vi. Troy X is Byzantine. This entry will concentrate only on the Bronze Age
segment of Troy’s development.
In the Early Bronze Age the further development of military architecture is best
illustrated at Troy, where parts of a fortress were uncovered. The most
convincingly reconstructed plan dates from the second phase of the Early Bronze
Age (c. 2700–c. 2500 BC).
It shows a polygonal enclosure, hardly 300 feet in diameter, surrounded by heavy
mud-brick walls on a stone substructure.
There is a single gateway, with strongly built flanking towers and gate chambers,
guarding the approach through a narrow sloping corridor.

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 Most prominent within the enclosure is a large public building thought to be an
assembly hall, built to the so-called megaron plan, which two millennia later was
to dictate the form of a Greek temple.
Approached through an open portico, the building consists of a megaron—a wide
rectangular hall with an enormous central hearth.
Near it is a second, less substantially constructed building that is thought to have
been the residential palace, since hoards of gold ornaments and
other precious objects were discovered buried beneath it; the
archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann named these objects Priam’s Treasure.

Figure 18: The ancient city of Troy is a prime example of how ancient sites are buried so deeply. Archaeologists call
the structures that cover ancient cities “tells”.

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 b. At Beycesultan, buildings that were almost certainly religious shrines were
uncovered—a find of some interest, since temples are virtually unknown in
Anatolia at this period. Rectangular shrine chambers seemed to be arranged in
pairs, with ritual installations recalling the Horns of Consecration and Tree, or
Pillar, cults of Minoan Crete. A palace building at the same site, dating from the
Middle Bronze Age (c. 1750 BC), had reception rooms at first-floor level, also in
the Minoan manner. In common with most other Bronze Age buildings in Anatolia,
its walls were composed of a brick-filled timber framework on stone foundations.
The private houses of this period at Beycesultan were all built on the megaron
plan.
RADIANT HEATING (Underfloor Heating Systems) Radiant heating systems were
first found in the Middle east, as far back as 1300 B.C. King Arzawa of Beycesultan,
Turkey had them installed beneath the palace floors.

Figure 19: Beycesultan Palace eastern summit (right), at the western summit public buildings (left).

2. MYCENAEAN & MINOANS

a. Mycenae circa 1600-1100 B.C. occupies a hilltop between mount Zara to the east
and mount Marta to the west. In the background rises mount Profitis Elias on
whose summit there are remains of Mycenaean look out post. The position of teh

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 citadel commanded the sea approach from Crete and the south Aegean in general,
as well as the land road to Corinth and Central Greece beyond.
Mycenae, Modern Greek Mykínes, prehistoric Greek city in the Peloponnese,
celebrated by Homer as “broad-streeted” and “golden.” According to legend,
Mycenae was the capital of Agamemnon, the Achaean king who sacked the city
of Troy. It is the chief Late Bronze Age site in mainland Greece. Systematic
excavation of the site began in 1840, but the most celebrated discoveries there
were those of Heinrich Schliemann. The term Mycenaean is often used in
reference to the Late Bronze Age of mainland Greece in general and of the islands
except Crete.

Figure 20: Plan of the citadel of Mycenae. Marked buildings: 1. Lion Gate; 2. Granary; 3. Grave Circle A; 4. Great
Ramp; 5. Little Ramp; 6. Ramp House; 7. House of the Warrior Vase; 8. South House; 9. Processional Way; 10.
Megaron; 11. Tsountas' House Shrine-Shrine Γ; 12. Tsountas's House; 13. Central Court; 14. Temple; 15. Room with
the Fresco; 16. Hellenistic Tower; 17. Southwest Quarter, including: 17a. House of the Hellenistic Tower, 17b.
Building A, 17c. Building B, 17d. Complex Complex Γ-Δ-Ε, 17e. Building Z, 17f. Building Θ, and 17g. Complex Κ-Λ; 18.
Northwest Quarter, including: 18a. Building N, 18b. Building I, and 18c. Building II; 19. House M; 20. Main
Megaron; 21. Artisans' Quarter; 22. House of Columns; 23. House Delta; 24. House Gamma; 25. North Storerooms;
26. Postern Gate; 27. Underground Cistern; 28. North Sally Port; 29. South Sally; 30. House Alpha; 31. House Beta;
32. Building K (after French 2010: fig. 50.2, with modifications by the authors)

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 Figure 20b: Map of Mycenae during palatial period
Source http://www.mycenae-excavations.org/gis.html, with modifications by the authors

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 b. Knossos circa 2000-1400 B.C. the eastern half of the island consist of large palaces
and prosperous towns. Palaces are designed around a rectangular court in which
the elevation dictates its function.

Figure 21: A map of the palace at Knossos. 1) West Porch. 2) Corridor of the Procession. 3) South Propylaeum. 4)
Central Clay Area. 5) Long Corridor. 6) West Magazines. 7) Stepped Portico. 8) Pillar Crypts. 9) Throne Room. 10)
Central Palace Sanctuary. 11) North Entrance Passage. 12) North Pillar Hall. 13) Fragments of “Priest King” fresco.
14) Residential Quarter. 15) Grand Staircase. 16) North Lustral Basin. 17) Temple Repositories. 18) Magazines of
the Giant Pithoi. 19) Early buildings. 20) Royal Pottery Stores. 21) Loom Weight Basement.

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 3. GREECE 800-146 B.C.
a. Athens circa 808-322 B.C. was in Attica, about 30 stadia from the sea, on the
southwest slope of Mount Lycabettus, between the small rivers Cephissus to the
west, Ilissos to the south, and the Eridanos to the north, the latter of which flowed
through the town. The walled city measured about 1.5 km (0.93 mi) in diameter,
although at its peak the city had suburbs extending well beyond these walls.
The Acropolis was just south of the centre of this walled area. The city was burnt
by Xerxes in 480 BC, but was soon rebuilt under the administration
ofThemistocles, and was adorned with public buildings by Cimon and especially
by Pericles, in whose time (461-429 BC) it reached its greatest splendour. Its
beauty was chiefly due to its public buildings, for the private houses were mostly
insignificant, and its streets badly laid out. Towards the end of the Peloponnesian
war, it contained more than 10,000 houses, which at a rate of 12 inhabitants to a
house would give a population of 120,000, though some writers make the
inhabitants as many as 180,000.Athens consisted of two distinct parts: The City,
properly so called, divided into The Upper City or Acropolis, and The Lower City,
surrounded with walls by Themistocles. The port city of Piraeus, also surrounded
with walls by Themistocles and connected to the city with the Long Walls, built
under Conon and Pericles.

Figure 22: Athens and the Agora

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 b. Sparta; circa 900-362 B.C. Sparta was a large polis and major rival to Athens in
Ancient Greece. Its main strength lay in its military power. While Athens
worshipped at the temple of architecture, Sparta’s courageous men ‘served their
city instead of brick walls.’
By 650 BC, it was massively powerful, controlling a vast expanse. Its people were
kept in check by a warrior class.
Sparta could only be controlled through military alliances formed between other
prime Greek city-states—Argos, Athens, Corinth, and Thebes. It eventually fell to
Thebes in the Battle of Mantinea in 362 BC.
Ancient Sparta wasn’t a city like Athens, which had a dense collection of buildings
and citizens surrounded by a wall. Sparta was a loose group of five villages
inhabited by tribes who worked together according to the political and societal
laws of Lycurgus. There was no wall, as the Spartans considered their vaunted
phalanx to be superior to any static defensive structure.
Other Interesting Facts about Ancient Sparta
 The Spartan kings only came from two hereditary bloodlines—the
Eurypontids and the Agiads.
 Spartan Kings would fight alongside their soldiers
The Spartans were different from Athens in culture
 Spartans were not too concerned about progressing in art, literature or
philosophy.
 Instead, Spartans were concerned about military practices
The Spartans were highly invested in sports
 They sent many successful warriors to the Olympic games
 Sparta had a theater that was capable of holding nearly 15,000 spectators.
 It was one of the largest theaters in Greece

Figure 23: Map of the Topography of Sparta, Ancient Greece and

Environs

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 c. Miletus 450 B.C. Hippodamus arranged the buildings and the streets of Miletus
around 450 BC such that the winds from the mountains and the sea close to
Miletus could flow optimal through the city and provide a cooling during the hot
summer. In De architectura libri decem Vitruvius also mentions that in planning
we have to consider the influence of the winds. Hippodamus first applied to his
home city the grid plan which he had developed on inspiration from geometrically
designed settlements, and that later many cities were laid out according to this
plan.
Miletus, which is a fine example of the grid plan, comprises houses on blocks
created by streets and side streets crossing at right angles, with public buildings in
the city centre, this plan retained in the Hellenistic period, however in the Roman
period it began to deteriorate gradually and inevitably.
The Greeks were the first to use solar architecture They oriented their houses to
make use of the sun during winter, while obscuring its rays during summer and
entire cities were built this way as early as 400 BC.
The city of Hippodamus was composed of 10,000 citizens divided into three
parts—one of artisans, one of husbandmen, and a third of armed defenders of the
state. He also divided the land into three parts, one sacred, one public, the third
private: the first was set apart to maintain the customary worship of the Gods, the
second was to support the warriors, the third was the property of the
husbandmen.

Figure 24: Miletus showing the gridiron street layout

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Hippodamus of Miletus (498-408 BC)
• The invention of formal city planning was attributed to Hippodamus of Miletus (or
Hippodamos / Ιππόδαμος ο Μιλήσιος) (c. 498- c. 408 BC). He was an ancient Greek
architect, urban planner, physician, mathematician, meteorologist and philosopher, who
is considered to be "the father of European urban planning", and the namesake of the
"Hippodamian plan" (grid plan) of city layout. Hippodamus helped to design the new
harbor town of Piraeus, which served as a commercial port for Athens further inland.
Hippodamus' name is frequently associated with other orthogonally planned towns, such
as Olynthus, Priene, and Miletus. His direct involvement in these cases remains unproven,
but his name remains permanently associated with this type of plan that we
call Hippodamian.
o "Inventor/ father of formal city planning·, "Father of Town Planning" in Europe.
Greek lawyer-architect; emphasized geometric designs
o the first noted urban planner, introduced the Agora (public marketplace);
emphasized geometric designs for cities thru grid pattern of streets
o he developed the first theoretical basis for physical planning in cities (first known
example of physical
o limitations of growth in urban planning):
o maintained that only the capital city should be large and theorized that cities
should ideally have no more than 10,000 residents, because of hygiene and
capability to provide food & water.
o made the Hippodamian Plan or the grid city to maximise winds in the summer and
minimise them in winter. This shows his geometric, arranged style in design
o worked on the Piraeus Port and Alexandria

Plato (428-347 BC)

• In his Dialogue, Plato established one of the oldest environmental law principles and an
economic idea: The Polluter Pays Principle. It states: “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 /ass; 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 laws ... order the purification to be made by the offender in each case.”
• This principle is reflected in our Philippine environmental laws. For example, in the
Environmental Code (Presidential Decree 1152), Section 20 discusses clean-up operations
with regard to water pollution: It shall be the responsibility of the polluter to contain,
remove, and clean-up water pollution incidents at his own expense. In case of his failure
to do so, the government agencies concerned shall undertake containment, removal, and
clean-up operations and expenses incurred in said operations shall be against the persons
and/or entities responsible for such pollution.

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Aristotle (384-322 BC)
• In his distinction of corrective and distributive justice, he provided the foundation for the
concept of intergenerational equity by stating that “Human welI-being is realized only
partly by satisfying whatever people's preferences happen to be at a particular time; ii is
also necessary for successive generations to leave behind sufficient resources so that
future generations are not constrained in their preferences. 'This is what is referred to as
'for our children's children, and their children.” (Intergenerational equity is an approach
of the United Nations for sustainable development, climate justice and solidarity)

III. ROMAN EMPIRE 600 B.C.- 476 A.D.

The Romans replaced Athens as the. center of the Western World during the period 27 B.C. to 324
A.D. The Romans excelled in military science and engineering. This is reflected in their designs and
inventions, which were built to ease transport and enhance military movement and strategies.

ROMAN CITIES: adopted Greek forms but with different scale-monumental, had a social hierarchy
• During the Etruscans' reign, Rome grew into a great city built on seven hills along the Tiber
• the Roman Empire grew in power and wealth, the population of Rome greatly increased;
estimates ranged from first regional planners 250,000 to 2 million permanent residents
by the third century A.D.
• 8-storey buildings had been constructed in Rome
• first century A.D. when Augustus imposed a 70-foot height limit, the first known example
of zoning.
ORGANIZATION OF ROMAN TOWNS
• a system of gridiron streets enclosed by a wall;
• Theater, arena and market were common places for public assembly. Romans perfected
enclosed urban and architectural space - colonnaded plazas with a temple or basilica at
the end of the space.
• Romans as conquerors - wealthy Roman leaders built huge monument and public
buildings honoring their own and their empire's greatness and each new emperor built a
forum (a public meeting place) greater than the last.
• Romans as engineers - built aqueducts (serving 200 cities), elaborate plumbing systems
for public baths, network of paved roads (covering 50,000 miles), drainage systems, large
open interiors for public gatherings
• Romans incorporated public works and arts into city designs
• Romans developed housing variations and other spaces:
• Basilica - covered markets; later, law courts
• Curia - the local meeting hall; later, the capitol
• Domus - traditional Roman house; with a central atrium
• lnsulae - 3 to 6-storey apartments with storefronts

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 • Romans were heavily dependent on water from the Tiber River, thus the engineered
sewerage, canals, hydraulics, and the Aqueduct.
• Despite the excellence in physical planning, engineering and architecture, the downfall of
Rome came from mostly sociopolitical reasons. The Vikings destroyed the Aqueduct,
which cut the city's lifeline. Religious divisions, absence of military discipline, murder, and
citizen unrest also brought about instability which eventually led to the fall of Rome.

1. The City of Rome, the Imperial City

o The city was a military camp or castra, and had grand walls for protection
o Rectangular and grid-iron street patterns were used
o The principal theorist and organizer of classical-style Greek architecture was
Vitruvius, a Roman architect and engineer of the first century B.C.
 10-volume treatise 'De Architectura' - relates experience of Roman
architecture and town design; treats architecture and town design as a
single theme; suggested location of streets in relation to prevailing wind;
the siting of public buildings; the testing of drinking water; design of plazas

Figure 25a: Topography of Ancient Rome

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 Figure 25b: Ancient Rome Aqueducts (left) and important buildings (right)

2. Pompeii - The excavated town offers a snapshot of Roman life in the 1st century, frozen
at the moment it was buried on 24 August AD 79. The forum, the baths, many houses,
and some out-of-town villas like the Villa of the Mysteries remain surprisingly well
preserved. Pompeii was a lively place, and evidence abounds of literally the smallest
details of everyday life. For example, on the floor of one of the houses (Sirico's), a famous
inscription Salve, lucru(Welcome, money), perhaps humorously intended, shows us a
trading company owned by two partners, Sirico and Nummianus (but this could be a
nickname, since nummus means coin, money). In other houses, details abound
concerning professions and categories, such as for the "laundry" workers (Fullones). Wine
jars have been found bearing what is apparently the world's earliest known marketing
pun (technically a blend), Vesuvinum (combining Vesuvius and the Latin for wine,
vinum). Graffiti carved on the walls shows us real street Latin (Vulgar Latin, a different
dialect from the literary or classical Latin). In 89 BC, after the final occupation of the city
by Roman General Lucius Cornelius Sulla, Pompeii was finally annexed to the Roman
Republic. During this period, Pompeii underwent a vast process of infrastructural
development, most of which was built during the Augustan period. Worth noting are
an amphitheatre, a palaestra with a central natatorium or swimming pool, and
an aqueduct that provided water for more than 25 street fountains, at least four public
baths, and a large number of private houses (domūs) and businesses. The amphitheatre
has been cited by modern scholars as a model of sophisticated design, particularly in the
area of crowd control. The aqueduct branched out through three main pipes from
theCastellum Aquae, where the waters were collected before being distributed to the
city; although it did much more than distribute the waters, it did so with the prerequisite
that in the case of extreme drought, the water supply would first fail to reach the public
baths (the least vital service), then private houses and businesses, and when there would
be no water flow at all, the system would fail to supply the public fountains (the most vital
service) in the streets of Pompeii. The pools in Pompeii were used mostly for decoration.

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 Figure 26a: Map of Pompeii

Figure 26b: Aerial view of pompei Today

Source: http://liladipasqua.blogspot.com/2011/11/step-with-me-into-pompeii.html

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The importance of the Ancient World (EGYPT, GREECE, ROME, etc.) is that it established a long-
lasting pattern of planning for cities.

CITIES ARE BUILT UPON FOUR BASES:

• PHYSICAL base of the city is that visible manifestation of building, roads, parks and other
features that it forms.
• ECONOMIC base of the city provides a reason for existence.
• POLITICAL base of the city is essential for its order.
• SOCIAL base is essential for city meaning.

Planning of the cities of the ancient world was the precursor of what we consider the urban
pattern.

IV. MIDDLE AGES 217-1369 A.D.

After the fall off the Roman Empire, the barbarians destroyed many Roman cities. Central
authority was replaced by local powers based in fortress and castles (500 to 1500 A.D.).
MEDIEVAL TOWN PLANNING
• The time span between fall of the Roman empire till the start of renaissance is termed as
DARK AGES as no great construction or development was carried out during this period.
• Economy was rooted in agriculture and the feudal system was the new order.
• Merchants & craftsmen formed guilds to strengthen their social & economic position.
• Wars among the rival feudal lords were frequent.
PLANNING
• Early medieval town was dominated by church or monastery & castle of lords; assumed a
radio-centric pattern; relied on protective town walls or fortification for security.
• For protective measures, towns were sited in irregular terrain, occupying hill tops or
islands. Towns assumed informal & irregular character.
• Church plaza became a market place. Predominance of abbeys and cathedrals indicating
church influences and control.
• Roads generally radiated from church plaza & market plaza to gates with secondary lateral
roadways connecting them.
• Castle was surrounded by wall & moat as a protective elements. Irregular pattern in
planning was devised to confuse enemies; as enemies unfamiliar with town. Relied on
protective town walls or fortification for security.
• Streets were used for pedestrian while wheels were restricted to main roads.
• Feudalism affected the urban design of most towns
• A many of coastal towns grew from military fortifications, but expansion was limited to
what the city could support
CASTLES
• used as estates and lords/kings lived in them.

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 • important defensive military places too as it defended it's country from foreign invaders.
• In times of peace, they served as symbols of power.
• Demonstrated power to the community and were places knights frequently visited to
defend, or live in sometimes .
MEDIEVAL FAIRS
• Objective were trade and commerce
• Local people could go to market at the, both to buy things not normally available locally,
and to sell things they produced.
• Lots of opportunities for fun at the Medieval fairs.
POPULATION GROWTH
• Contributed to the rise of towns.
• An increase in food production was brought about by the cultivation of wastelands,
clearing of forests, and draining of marshes.
RIVERS
• Development of medieval towns
• They were natural highways on which articles of commerce could be easily transported.
• The resurgence of trade in Europe was a prime cause of the revival of towns
CHURCH
• Your only contact with the world outside your community was through the church.
• church building itself would have been by far the biggest building you would have seen,
brightly colored inside and the focal point of the many feast days you had to attend.
MERCANTILIST CITIES: continuous increase in size
• World trade and travel created major population concentrations like Florence, Paris, and
Venice
• Growth eventually led to congestion and slums
CATHEDRAL CITIES
• Focal point of radial city growth was the cathedral or any similar monumental structure
• Retained the walled city from Roman practice
• The enclosure of the cities posed problems for growing populations because of the limited
resources, epidemics, and generally unhealthy environment.
ORGANIC TOWNS
• Towns which grew by slow stages out of a village or group of villages under the protection
of a monastery, a church, or a castle - these would conform to topographical and
geographical peculiarities, and change from generation to generation.
• LINEAR PLANS:
o Two medieval villages in Essex, England: Witham, anglo-saxon ‘burh’, and late
medieval ‘town’ of Wulvesford, built Roman road

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 o Herrenberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany A linear plan distorted by contour
lines
o Cordes, France linear plan developed along ridge of a hill street layout reflects
contour lines
• Radial or Radio-Concentric (oval, rectangular, or circular outline):
o Germany: Aachen, Nördlingen, Wemding, Rothenburg
o France: Perouges, St. Quentin
o Flanders: Bergues
o Holland: Amersfoort
• Radial or Radio-Concentric (Star-shaped outline): starshaped outlines as cities developed
in some directions only because of physical limitations of site.
o Geneva, Switzerland showing the colossal bastion forts.
o Zürich, Switzerland
o Lausanne
o Dublin
• NETWORK PLANS:
o Martina Franca ( 1300 A.D . Italy)
‘NATURAL’ or HISTORIC PLANS :
• Plan of old Carcassone, France its Roman origin is only vaguely recognizable; more usually,
the ‘natural’ or historic type tends to have an ancient i.e. Roman nucleus and a radio-
concentric development around it.
• Regensburg, Bavaria, Germany The Roman castrum contained cathedral and palaces of
bishop. A Mercantile settlement lies to the west, became part of town and walled in
PLANNED, GEOMETRIC TOWNS (THE BASTIDE TOWNS)
• This category comprises the numerous planned new foundations of the high middle ages:
i.e. the colonial towns, laid out on the grid-iron plan and commonly referred to as
Bastides. These represent a significant aspect of medieval city development.
• bastides are laid out on a grid pattern, with a central square; while the grid pattern
may have been inspired by the model of the roman "castrum", of which there were plenty
of examples in the south of France, such as Aigues Mortes, the medieval port from which
Crusaders set forth. The idea of the central square may actually have come from the
Islamic world, either via the crusaders or via Moorish Spain. As likely as not, there is some
truth in all these theories. The central square of a bastide is generally surrounded by
arcades; the central square served as the commercial hub and market place, and was
sometimes equipped with a covered market hall. The main roads in the grid are known as
carreyras, or carriage ways, since they are wide enough for carts. The establishment of
bastides was a way for rulers to bring the population together in centres which could be
more easily controlled and defended than isolated farmsteads or hovels, while helping to
develop trade and other activities associated with the town. The bastides, by promoting
economic activity, also allowed the lords who founded them to raise more taxes, while
ensuring a better standard of living - and also more importantly the status of freemen
rather than serfs - for the people who moved into them.

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 • Growth of towns around either a monastery or castle and relied on protective town walls
or fortification for security.
• Generally, towns were unplanned, organically evolving with irregular street pattern.
• Predominance of abbeys and cathedrals indicating church influences and control.
• France:
o Aigues-Mortes,
o Monpazier in Guyenne,
o Sauveterre de Guyenne
• Welsh examples:
o Flint
o Caernavon
o Conway
• English examples were all replacement towns:
o 1287 Winchelsea
o 1293 Kingston-on-hull Salisbury ( Old Sarum)
• 1220 - a church foundation
• 1227 - granted royal charter

THE ZÄHRINGER NEW TOWNS South-west Germany / Switzerland

• One group of planned new town, in particular, deserves special mention in relation to the
urban colonization of the Middle Ages: the huge promotion of the Zähringer New Towns,
which included:
o In Switzerland:
– Bern
– Zürich
– Thun
– Murten
– Fribourg
– Burgdorf
– Rheinfelden
o In Germany:
– Freibourg
– Neuenburg
– Rottweil
– Villigen
– Offenburg
THE 3-DIMENSIONAL STRUCTURE OF THE MEDIEVAL CITY
• Throughout the period, and particularly during the later medieval days, three elements
dominated the city in varying degrees of balance and competed for supremacy, physically
as well as spiritually.

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 • We are immediately impressed by the compactness of the towns with their close-knit
communities flourishing under the shadow of the church and the watchful eye of the
feudal aristocracy.
o Church element - church, cathedral, cloisters, monastery.
o Secular element - castle or fortress - especially dominant in England and Germany
o Civic element - Walls and gates, town houses, town hall, guild hall, market place.
THE MEDIEVAL CITY HAS MUCH IN COMMON WITH ANCIENT GREECE:
• spatially and architecturally, it is expression of the urban community
• it is personal, has pedestrian scale and is built for a limited population
• its minor spatial arrangements have great plasticity: instead of free-standing houses of
the Greeks we now have compact building blocks, irregular roof lines but as in classical
Greece the townscape is interspersed with buildings of special symbolic and practical
significance which, in turn, create focal points.
• the close integration with nature reminds us of the Greek urban model. Although
separated from nature by its fortifications, the medieval city is not alienated from it,
having strong economic as well as emotional links with it. In purely physical terms also,
medieval cities, are excellently integrated with the topography of their sites.

V. RENAISSANCE 1400-1605 A.D.

15th and 16th century saw the flowering of the Renaissance, as most evident in Italy. An intensive
preoccupation with the arts and humanities arose. The effect upon urban planning was more
aesthetic than substantive. The basic form and pattern of cites remained unchanged but there
was more concern for beauty within.
• During the renaissance, architects began systematically study the shaping of urban
space, as though the city itself were a piece of architecture that could be given an
aesthetically pleasing and functional order. Many of the great public space in Rome
and Italian cities date from this era. Parts of old cities were rebuilt to create elegant
squares, long street vistas, and symmetrical building arrangements. Responding to the
advances in firearms during the 15th century, new city walls were designed with large
earthworks to deflect artillery, and star shaped points to provide defenders with
sweeping line of fire. Spanish colonial cities in the new world were built according to
rules codified on the law of the Indies of 1573, specifying orderly grid of streets with
a central plaza, defensive wall, uniform building styles.
• Several important concepts emerged:
o The axis style of city design was foremost (decumanus and cardo).
o The use of formal piazzas or squares was fostered by Michaelangelo,
Bernini and others.

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 o Rebirth of classical towns; piazza planning in Venice; grandeur in civic
structure and public spaces; streets were wide regular and circumferential
with the piazza at the center as in Italy.
• Settlement growth during the Renaissance is very similar to that of the Middle Ages,
so it was also radial in pattern.
o Commerce was a driving factor of the Renaissance Period, calling for
accessibility and easier mobility. This led to the development of plans that
follow the topography of the area
• Renaissance established the concept of urban design. This meant that urban planning
must consider beauty as well as form and function.
o Arts and architecture became a major element of town planning and urban
design
o Vienna emerged as the city of culture and the arts - the first 'university
town"
o Geometrical forms of cities were proposed.
• The ideal city of the Renaissance is a concept that not only emerged in famous
paintings of the 15th century, but in reality as well. Where artists like Piero della
Francesca shaped their ideal cities in paintings, architects like Biagio Rossetti and
Bernardo Rossellino sought to implement these new ideas of Humanism in the actual
cities of Italy. However, the ways these ideas were realized have differed quite a lot.
Ferrara, Mantua and Sabbioneta are cities that are defined by the Renaissance, as
they had their most significant developments during this time period.
• 1440: Leon Battista Alberti is Remebered for his “Ideal City” Star Shaped plans with
street radiating from a central point, usually proposed for a church palace or castle.
Designs included curved streets that conformed to the topography.
• Filarete (Antonio Alverino, c 1400 – 69) completed his Trattato d’architettura in the
early 1460’s. He suggested an alternative approach to urban design. In one of his
books that was a part of his Trattato d’architettura (1460), Filarete set out the
attributes of his ideal city which he called Sforzinda
• FACTORS SHAPING CITIES
o Modernization of warfare and the rise of the nation-state
o Colonial exploration, exploitation, and expanding networks of trade
o Dangers of rapid urbanization
o Political and geographical divisions within Christianity
• Spanish colonial cities in the new world were built according to rules codified on the
law of the Indies of 1573, specifying orderly grid of streets with a central plaza,
defensive wall, uniform building styles.
o First Layout of True Cities on their Colonies
o Laws of the Indies
o Philip II, (1527 - 1598), king of the Spaniards (1556–98) and king of
the Portuguese (as Philip I, 1580–98), champion of the Roman
Catholic Counter-Reformation. During his reign the Spanish
empire attained its greatest power, extent, and influence, though he failed

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 to suppress the revolt of the Netherlands (beginning in 1566) and lost the
“Invincible Armada” in the attempted invasion of England (1588).
• Juan de Herrera - One of the most outstanding Spanish architects in the 16th century,
Herrera represents the peak of the Renaissance in Spain. His sober style was fully
developed in buildings like the Monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial. The Herrerian
style was named after him, and was representative of the architecture of the Spanish
Empire of Philip II and his Austrian successors.
His Discurso sobre la figura cúbica (Discussion of the Cubic form) tells us about his
notable knowledge about geometry and mathematics. He also participated in the
military campaigns of Charles V in Germany, Flanders and Italy.
• Leonardo da Vinci designed an ideal city that was centuries ahead of its time
Around 1486 – after a pestilence that killed half the population in Milan – Leonardo
turned his thoughts to urban planning problems. Following a typical Renaissance
trend, he began to work out an “ideal city” project, which – due to its excessive costs
– would remain unfulfilled. Yet given that unsustainable urban models are a key
cause of global climate change today, it’s only natural to wonder how Leonardo might
have changed the shape of modern cities.
• Leonardo’s city
o a series of innovative thoughts can be reconstructed, regarding the
foundation of a new city along the Ticino River, designed for the easy
transport of goods and clean urban spaces.
o Leonardo wanted a comfortable and spacious city, with well-ordered
streets and architecture. He recommended “high, strong walls”, with
“towers and battlements of all necessary and pleasant beauty”, and felt
the place needed “the sublimity and magnificence of a holy temple” and
“the convenient composition of private homes”.
o His plans for a “modern” and “rational” city were consistent with
Renaissance ideals. But, in keeping with his unconventional personality,
Leonardo included several innovations in his urban design. Leonardo
wanted the city to be built on several levels, linked with vertical staircases.
This design can be seen in today’s high-rise buildings, but was absolutely
unconventional at the time.
o But the true originality of Leonardo’s vision was its fusion of architecture
and engineering. Leonardo made designs for extensive hydraulic plants to
create artificial canals throughout the city. The canals, regulated by locks
and basins, were supposed to make it easier for boats to navigate inland
and transport goods.
o Leonardo also thought that the width of the streets ought to match the
average height of the adjacent houses: a rule still followed in many

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 contemporary cities across Italy, to allow access to sun and reduce the risk
of damage from earthquakes.

VI. BAROQUE 1600-1750 A.D.

• We associate the baroque city with the emergence of great nation-state between
1600 and 1750. Ambitious monarches constructed new palaces, courts, and
bureaucratic offices. The grand scale was sought in the urban public spaces: long
avenues, radial street networks, monumental squares, geometric parks and gardens.
Versailles is a clear expression of this city building model; Washington D.C. is an
example from the United States. Baroque principles of urban design were used by
Baron Haussmann in his celebrated restructuring of Paris between 1853 and 1870.
Haussmann carved broad new thoroughfares through the tangled web of old Parisian
streets, linking major sub-center of the city with one another in a pattern which has
served as a model for many other modernization plans.
• Henry IV, the king of France from 1589 to 1610, was a true visionary. After decades
of financially-draining religious wars, Henry IV made the practical decision to convert
to Catholicism to end religious strife. At the time he declared, "Paris vaut bien une
messe", meaning "Paris is well worth a Mass".
Following a century of conflict, he brought peace and prosperity and ushered in
architectural innovations that would influence the future of Paris, right up to today.
With growing national wealth, Henry initiated several public works projects — bridge
construction, expansion of the Louvre, and public squares — that would transform
Paris from a medieval mess into a great city.
• André le Nôtre, the king of gardeners and Gardener to the King, Le Nôtre gave the
“French garden” its noble reputation. Responsible for the most beautiful gardens of
the 17th century, he made Versailles his greatest masterpiece, earning himself a
large fortune and international fame.
The landscape gardener made full use of all the water sources and played with light
and shade by creating shady spaces (groves) alongside lighter areas (parterres).
Le Nôtre perfected his garden designs in Versailles, using main axes interspersed
with secondary alleys marking off the groves. Trellises and arbours formed walls of
greenery that strengthened perspectives, while diagonal or winding alleys led to
groves designed to surprise visitors. Innovative decor and water features contrasted
with the strict symmetry of sections planted with trees.

VII. INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION 1700-1900 A.D.

• 1799: Robert Owen constructed and operated a textile mill village at New Lanark as
an enlightened social and manufacturing community. Conceptualized “Village of
Unity and Mutual Co-operation” – self sufficient, presence of educational and
recreational facility.
• 1775-1778: Claude Nicholas Ledoux – Architect Theorist : Brought intense analysis and
rationale to the design process, urban design attend to workers as well as the working

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 class. Principal work was to design Chaux, a town for salt workers in France. Ideal plan,
where everything is motivated by necessity, where workers can grow their own food;
self sufficiency of the workers town.
• 1829: Francois Marie Charles Fourier conceived the phalanstère as an organized
building designed to integrate urban and rural features. Based on the idea of a
phalanx, this self-contained community ideally consisted of 1500-1600 people
working together for mutual benefit. The structure of the phalanstère was composed
by three parts: a central part and two lateral wings. The central part was designed for
quiet activities. It included dining rooms, meeting rooms, libraries and studies. A
lateral wing was designed for labour and noisy activities, such as carpentry,
hammering and forging. It also hosted children because they were considered noisy
while playing. The other wing contained a caravansary, with ballrooms and halls for
meetings with outsiders. The outsiders had to pay a fee in order to visit and meet the
people of the Phalanx community. This income was thought to sustain the
autonomous economy of the phalanstère. The phalanstère also included private
apartments and many social halls. A social hall was defined by Fourier as a seristère.
• 1901: Tony Garnier designed hypothetical industrial town “Une Cite Industrielle”. This
industrial town possessed a defined center but with a linear structure with great
emphasis on zoning and separation of various urban function.

References:
Brown, L. J. et al. (2009). Urban design for an urban century: Placemaking for people. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley.
Fletcher, B., S. (1996). (20th ed.). Sir Banister Fletcher’s a history of architecture. Oxford: Architectural Press.
Kostof, S. (1995). (2nd ed.). A history of architecture: Settings and rituals. New York: Oxford University Press.
Vickers, G. (1998). Key moments in architecture: The relationship between man buildings and urban growth as seen
in the metropolis through the ages. London: Hamlyn.

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