The Historical Evolution of Town and Country Planning in Australia and Internationally Essay Example for Free

The Historical Evolution of Town and Country readiness in Australia and Internationally EssayDespite the profession of supplying being a relatively invigorated-fashioned creation, formulation has existed in some family since the beginning of human settlement itself. Whether it is the ancient cities of the Old conception or the global metropolises of today, every urban environments display some degree of planning in their origination and function (Smith, 2007). However, just as cities have evolved over time, so to have the approaches taken to planning and the philosophies rotter them. This development of Town and Country Planning forms a long and complex history which encompasses a massive breadth of inclinations. Reflecting upon this history, sev agel reveal movements can be identified The origins of Planning in the 19th century, the Modernist era of the early 20th century and the Postmodernist era that followed. This paper will nidus on these key movements. Histori cal Planning During the 19th century, cities were subject to increasing industrialization accompanied by rapid community growth and urban expansion. This lead to overcrowding, congestion, slums and lack of sanitation (Hall 1992).Growing exoteric protest in the form of protests and labour strikes in countries like Britain led to the implementation of various reform measures such as the populace Health Act of 1848 and the Labouring Classes Dwellings Houses Act of 1866. These went some way to relieving these pressures (Maginn 2011) by setting minimal standards for wellness and housing, resulting in for increased living standards by the centurys end. During this time, planning was used mostly by private companies as a tool to increase productivity by improving the health of the working population (Cowan 2010).The higher living standards and economic prosperity this created lead to planning ism ever-changing its focus from providing housing and improving cities to beautifying them ( Bluestone M, 1988). This City Beautiful movement focused on civic beautification and the construction of monuments. The term beautility was used to describe the theory that a beautiful city must also be utilitarian one. (Freestone et al 2000) However, these changes led some to question if further improvements could be do.By the end of the 19th century, canonical ideas about urban planning were well developed. These ideas had underlying utopian aspirations that influenced the attitudes and procedures planners (Akoi, K 1993). The Garden City is perchance the best example of this, as an optimistic attempt to unite broad utopian ideals with the planning lessons of the bypast into a a specific plan. ( http//faculty. tamu-commerce. edu/jsun/racespaceplace. pdf) First outlined by Ebenezer Howard in To-Morrow (1898), the Garden City became a major force in the historical planning era that influenced planners world wide-eyed.According to Hall 1992 (Hall 1992b), Howard argued that a new type of garden-city settlement could uniquely combine all the advantages of the town such as employment and entrance to services, as well as the advantages of country life, without any of the disadvantages of either. His proposal for creating such a settlement rest on the notion of decentralization, the movement of workers and their places of employment away from the city and into the new settlements isolated by wide greenbelts. Howard proposed the development of numerous Garden Cities, each with 30,000 inhabitants.Despite wide support from planners of the time, only two attempts were made at garden cities, Letchworth in 1903 and Welywyn in 1920, both of which never fully realized the goals of the movement. Mordernist Planning The glad City As the world entered the 20th century, planning philosophies evolved further. In Europe, Swiss-born architect Charles Edouard Jenneret, known as Le Corbusier, put forward radical planning proposals, which built on the ideas of Howard and his p redecessors. Le Corbusiers ideas and philosophies are contained in The City of tomorrow (1922) and The Radiant City (1933).These books outlined Le Courbuisers planning philosophies, centered around the idea of high density achieved through the construction of enormous skyscrapers, surrounded by open garden spaces and serviced by a highly efficient transport system of superhighways and railways grade separated from the inhabited realm (Hall 1993c). His proposals for a large-scale implementation of this phisosophy, outlined in his Plan Voisin Pour Paris, were never realized, though his ideas were implemented at a smaller scale around Europe in the postwar period following man War II, such as the Unite dHabitation in Marseilles.By the 1960s many planners began to question the effectualness of Le Corbusiers proposals (Hall 1992d), and today many critics condemn his plans entirely, such as such as Dalrymple 2009 who views them as soulless and totalitarian in nature. However, it cannot be denied that his radical ideas had a major and lasting squeeze on the evolution of town and country planning (Hall 1992e). The Broadacre City While Le Corbusier was a proponent of density, American architect Frank Lloyd Wright was not. The two men were influenced by many of the same sources, but their visions were very different.highly-developed mingled with 1932 and 1959, Broadacre City was a proposal for a sprawling city of large lots, farms and industry counterpane across the countryside serviced by network of superhighways (Brown 2007) While it was never built, Todays critics have drawn parallels between it and the sprawling sub-urban expansion that defined the postwar reconstruction period in Australia and around the world. Postmodernist Planning Suburbia Thompson (2007) asserts that the postwar reconstruction of the 1950s linked town and country planning with housing concerns to an point not seen since plannings beginnings in the 19th century.In Australia, master plans w ere created for cities, all of which reflected international planning philosophies of the time (Thompson 2007), supporting unlimited outward expansion, low-density residential development, car-oriented transport networks. In North America, this evolution was even more pronounced. Similar suburban developments were created, but on an unprecedented scale, with approximately 75 part of North American housing stock built since World War II (Hirch 1983). These planning practices keep unabated until the 1970s, when the effects of this planner began to be questioned (Thompson 2007).New Urbanism The end of the 20th century has seen the beginnings of yet another(prenominal) stage in the evolution of Town and Country Planning. Originating in the 1980s, New Urbanism is a planning philosophy that promotes the construction of dense communities integrated with well-designed public spaces (Maginn 2011). According to Hikichi 2003, It promotes mixed residential unit types that are ancillary of di ffering income levels, protection of the environment, less reliance on automobiles through he use of walking and bicycles for transport as well as the development of public transit and transit oriented development.In addition, New Urbanism supports having a town center that is within walking distance from all residential units that open space for public use. Conclusion It is clear that Town and Country Planning has a long and complex history, influenced by changing social, political, economic and environmental philosophies of both governments and private companies and planners. From its beginnings in 19th century Britain, through its modernist period and into its contemporary postmodernist phase, planning has left both negative and positive impacts upon the urban environment.However, this history has not been do by and planners of today utilize the lessons learnt from the planners of the past in order to plan as well as possible, as shown in the positive changes to planning practi ces as it has evolved. All approaches to planning have had a permanent impact on our urban environment, the results of which impact people today and will continue to do so into the future.