The American Experience: Two world wars, a major depression, waves of immigration and host of major and minor

crises have erased from the publics mind the fact that USA once enjoyed what might be called a golden age of urban design: the years between about 1890 to the Great Depression. Often narrowly termed the City Beautiful Era The City beautiful movement: The world fairs arranged in late nineties inspired USA to build beautiful towns. At that time there were lots of examples where planned new town was formed after arranging a world fair. Jackson Park in Chicago and San Francisco Marina District which is known as Treasure Island is made from a fair ground. In 1901 the AIA held a national conference on city beatification in Washington Dc. The McMillan commission was then formed to prepare a plan for the improvement of central Washington. Some of the countrys foremost artists contributed the group including Daniel Burnham, Augustus St. Gaudens and Frederick Law Olmshed. They toured Europe and brought new ideas from there to make central Washington beautiful. They planned the city with grand classical concept of landscape architecture. They planned city with axe, mall, focal point and pools. At that time rail away stations and river banks were made as sculptures. A city hall, country curt house library, Opera house, museum, plaza were common in all cities. A dome for the city hall was a building to recognize the town. World fair and the new vision imported from Europe initiated country wide program of civic improvement efforts: the City Beautiful Era. The beautiful era was by no means limited civic centers or fine public buildings. Daniel Burnham made plans for the whole of Chicago, San Francisco, Manila and several other cities. Burnham is regarded as the father of American city planning and his remark: Make no little plans.. They have no power stir mans blood.. still rings. Barhams concept of a city was totally designed system of main circulation arteries, network of paths and clusters of local buildings. In his plans are to be seen the last use of France renaissance principals applied at the large scale possible. Roland Park in Bultimore was started in 1892 as a garden suburb for commuters. Its lessons of finance and design are copied in many similar developments throughout the country. All the large cities with flourishing economics and well to do families are only too ready for such commuter suburbs. The country club area in Kansas city is one of the more famous. Indeed, the image of the green American suburb became the ideal of all urban American families. Forest hills gardens in long Island was build as a commuter suburb for Manhattan in 1911 financed by the Rassell Sage foundation. In 1917 CIA published a book of all projects, proposed or accomplished. But these all were to make beautiful the city. There was no thought of common community needs. Better community needed some more deep thinking. Realizing the need a new movement called new communities movement was started.

New Communities movement: In this movement many Ideas came into act. There were some good sides and also some bad sides of the ideas. Long Island:

Good side: Well organized Every plot has free space around it. If one block could be kept empty, all the plots could enjoy good sun light.

Bad side: Very little unusable side space. As one free plot after one method could not be implemented the side rooms of the plots became poorly lit and poorly ventilated side rooms.

Sunnyside:

Good side: Well organized There is a big common space Rooms are now well lit

Bad side: Very long monotonous blocks Too many through streets are the barrier to use common space.

Roland Park:

Good side: Well organized

Bad side: Buildings are fronted towards the main road. Traffic on the roads are annoying and dangerous for safety.

All the bad sides of the above plans were overcome by a new strategy which is called super block.

Super block:

Super block: Chatham village, Pittsburgh & Baldwin hills, Los Angles Good side: Traffic free grouping of houses Through roads are limited

Bad side: This is not a whole town or a whole community.

To solve the problem a new idea was implemented at Radburn:

Radburn:

Good side: Traffic free grouping of houses Through roads are limited Common public places for all the super blocks Pedestal connected roads between common places. These super blocks are connected to common place.

But the project was not completed due to the recession.