DELA TORRE, GLYRAH MARIE S.

BSARCH 4 – ARCH 494 – R2C1

ACTIVITY 2

1. Give an example of a city located in the Philippines and discuss the location &
layout of the site & explain the factors that contributed to its development.

VIGAN CITY, ILOCOS SUR, PHILIPPINES

Vigan City is a city located located on the mouth of the Mestizo River in Ilocos Sur,
Philippines and it is one of the few remaining Hispanic towns in the country. It serves as
the provincial capital of the Ilocos Sur province, and it is located on the large island of
Luzon's western coast, facing the South China Sea. The old town is known for its
cobblestone streets and some of the country's most beautiful ancient colonial structures.
Because of its unique architecture, that combines Philippine and Oriental building
construction with colonial European architecture, it became a UNESCO World Heritage
Site. The choice to shut some streets to cars and allow only pedestrians and kalesas
contributes to Vigan's time-capsule ambience. It continues to be a very accessible hub
due to its great geographical features and location. Manila is 408 kilometers distant from
the city, and Laoag City is 88 kilometers away.
 Vigan City is no longer an island and is no longer separated from the mainland due
to silting of the Mestizo River. The city is unusual in the Philippines because it is one of
the few remaining historic cities in the country, going back to the 16th century. Long before
the Spaniards arrived, Vigan was a coastal trading port where Chinese sailors sail from
the South China Sea and come to Isla de Vigan (Island of Vigan) through the Mestizo
River, which ringed it.
 The city's urban plan was inspired by Manila's famous Intramuros or walled city,
which was founded by Juan de Salcedo in 1572. When the Spaniards colonized the
Philippines, it was also one of the first settlements they erected. The urban planners, who
were part of the Spanish government at the time, followed a fundamental design that can
be seen in most of the country's old towns, many of which date back to the Spanish
colonial period. The Ley de las Indias, or Law of the Indies, which was enacted in the 18th
century, describes this pattern. The Law of the Indies required streets to be laid up in a
grid form, with a plaza or central park in the center. The Plaza Salcedo is Vigan's central
park. The administrative buildings, the Casa Real or provincial administrative office, and
the municipio, are located nearby (municipal hall). Religious structures such as the
archdiocese's seminary, the Arzobispado (Archbishop's Palace), and St. Paul's Cathedral
are all within walking distance. In addition to these ecclesiastical institutions, the Saint
Paul College, formerly known as the Colegio de Nias, is a church-run school.

Because of its urban plan, Vigan City has kept undamaged over the years. It’s one
of the factors that contribute to the city’s development. Despite wars and natural disasters
in the early years, Vigan has persevered since its founding. Fires were the only thing that
changed the city's urban landscape drastically.
2.
a. briefly Discuss the timeline/Periods of the history of human settlement and elaborate
on the factors of the growth and development of each city.

7000 B.C CATALHOYUK: EARLY SETTLEMENT IN TURKEY (ASIA MINOR)

- Largest neolithic city-13 hectares; 10,000 people

- An intricately assembled complex without streets.
- Included shrines and quarters for specialized crafts, production of paintings, textile,
metal, etc.
- Rested on a new rationale for the city at that time-trade

5500 B.C KHIROKITIA: EARLY SETTLEMENT IN CYPRUS

- First documented settlement with streets

- The main street heading uphill was narrow but had a wider terminal, which may have
been a social spot

3700 B.C ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA CIVILIZATION

- Famous for ziggurat - oldest settlement of the world

- Ur was an important sumerian city-state in ancient mesopotamia iraq
- It was a fertile land rich, alluvial soil laid down by the twin rivers, the tigris and euphrates
and was enormously productive
- The river changed its course, settlement came to an end in order to harness the power
of the flood, an elaborate system of canals, dams.

3000 B.C. ANCIENT EGYPT CIVILIZATION

- Cities of Thebes and Memphis along the Nile Valley

- Characterized by monumental architecture-worker’s communities were built in cells
along narrow roads.
- Cities had monumental avenues, colossal temple plazas and tombs cut from rock. -
Unlike Mesopotamia, Egyptian cities and villages united into one large kingdom by 3100
B.C.

2500 B.C. – ANCIENT INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION

- Indus valley civilization is bordered around

- India, Pakistan and Afghanistan
- Flourished along River Indus
- Bronze age civilization
- Inhabitants developed new techniques in handicraft and metallurgy
- City is famous for URBAN PLANNING Innovative use of baked bricks
 - Elaborate drainage & water supply system
- Trade and transport were the main occupation
- Pioneers of cotton cultivation
- They have good knowledge with measurement like length, mass and time

1900 B.C. – ANCIENT CHINA CIVILIZATION

- Yellow River Valley of China

- “land within the passes”. Precursor of Linear City.
- Anyang-largest city of the Yellow River Valley
- 1.7 million years old Homo Erectus fossil found near Beijing, China, known as the
Peking Man, and proving that people settled the river valley as much as 500,000 years
ago.
- 2000 B.C.E. farming settlements grew into cities along the Yellow River.
- The first dynasty in China, the Xia, emerged at this time Leader.
- Yu Yu tamed the Yellow River with his flood control and irrigation projects. This allowed
settlements to grow.
- When other river civilizations fell to invasions, the Shang people emerged in China
around 1700 B.C.E. to 1027 B.C.E. S
- Shang Dynasty - First Chinese written records

700 B.C. – ANCIENT GREEK CIVILIZATION

- Greek civilization developed in the mainland, that extends into the Mediterranean Sea.
- Greek mainland was rocky and barren and therefore bad for agriculture.
- Greeks lived along the coastal islands where the soil was also good for farming.
- The Aegean and Mediterranean Seas enhanced the communication and trade with other
places. - Old cities such as Athens had irregular street plans reflecting their gradual
organic development.
- New cities, especially colonial cities established during the Hellenistic period, had a
GRID-IRON STREET.
- Usually, City is divided in to ACROPOLIS, AGORA & TOWN
- Greek cities spread through the Aegean Region – westward to France and Spain-“polis”:
defined as a “city-state”.
- Most famous is the Acropolis- a religious and defensive structure up on the hills, with no
definite geometrical plan
- Parta and Athens: the largest cities (100-150T) the classical period,Athens was a center
for the arts, learning and philosophy,
- Neopolis and Paleopolis (new and old cities)

509 B.C-27 B.C ANCIENT ROMAN CIVILIZATION

- The romans were not seafaring people and colonists like the Greeks.
 - The ancient capital Rome founded near River Tiber was protected by SEVEN
SURROUNDING HILLS.
- They did not depend on mere colonization, but they conquered first by war and then
ruled by law
- The ancient Romans also employed REGULAR ORTHOGONAL STRUCTURES
inspired by Greek and Hellenic examples
- The basic plan consisted of a CENTRAL FORUM WITH CITY SERVICES, surrounded
by a COMPACT, RECTILINEAR GRID OF STREETS.
- A RIVER sometimes flowed near or through the city, PROVIDING WATER,
TRANSPORT, AND SEWAGE DISPOSAL.
- They would lay out the STREETS AT RIGHT ANGLES, IN THE FORM OF A SQUARE
GRID.
- ALL ROADS WERE EQUAL IN WIDTH AND LENGTH, EXCEPT FOR TWO, which were
slightly wider than the others.

1000A.D. - MEDIEVAL PERIOD

- Decline of Roman power left many outposts all over Europe where growth revolved
around - Feudalism affected the urban design of most towns
- The Medieval city developed out of a variety of nuclei, it is possible to distinguish the
following important original growth points of take-off points on which the development of
the medieval city is based on The amphitheatre at Arles serving as fortification for urban
housing since early medieval period View of 1686
- Medieval period lasted roughly from A.D. 1000 to 1500 Most cities of present-day
Europe were founded during this period.
- Revival of local and long-distance trade Trading networks required protected markets
and supply centers functions that renewed life in cities Long.
- distance trading led to the development of a new class of people - the merchant class.

1500 A.D - RENAISSANCE PERIOD

- In the 15thcentury France, the kings achieved unity and display their affluence and power
by improving and beautifying the cities.
- Arts and architecture became a major element of town planning and urban design. -
Geometrical forms of cities were proposed.
- Cosmic forces observations were displaced by scientific theories and urban design
observation. - urban design ceased to be a natural expression of community life and
became a much more conscious artistic self-expression.
- renaissance urban design was mainly on aesthetics as perceived by the user of public
places.
- Thus, it has been argued that mainstream urban design was born in the renaissance age.
- Was conceived as a centralized unit (as opposed to medieval urban development which
gradually added subsidiary parts, the 'faubourgs")
 - Urban society is divided by class conflicts; identification with the city became more difficult
as it became the symbol of the invisible state and its obedient subjects. New bonds were
forged by the now fully developed money economy, the increasing specialization of work,
and by the princes, who held the power of the state.
- Horizons widened, as towns lost their narrow limitations and their urban areas expanded.
The upper classes exerted decisive influence upon the life of cities, towns and
architecture, while their 'carriages' set a new scale of development.
- was dominated by formal planning and design principles

18th Century – INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

- Around 18th century began on Britain.

- It replaced the hand tools with power driven machines Invention of steam engines and
power looms.
- Outbreak of many large-scale industries Faster transportation.
- Drastic growth in the textile industry because of the invention of power looms Mass
production and low cost.
- More number of institutions were built to provide education.
- Middle and upper class enjoyed all benefits
- The “machine age”- change from manpower to assembly lines the industrial revolution
- 2 schools of thought- the “reform movements” and the “specialists”.
- Reform movements
- that puts emphasis on building on building from scratch to improve workers living
conditionspecialist
- believe that problems of cities should be tackled one item at a time, beginning with the
improvement of health and sanitary systems
- The industrial city
- An immense impact on urban spaces
- The discovery of the gunpowder & the invention of the steam engine signaled
b. Sketch the layout of the city or settlement per civilization and label the important
elements (sketch one city for each settlement/civilization)

5500 B.C KHIROKITIA: EARLY SETTLEMENT IN CYPRUS

KHIROKITIA

7000 B.C CATALHOYUK: EARLY SETTLEMENT IN TURKEY (ASIA MINOR)

CATALHOYUK
3700 B.C ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA CIVILIZATION
CITY OF UR

3000 B.C.- ANCIENT EGYPT CIVILIZATION

CITY OF MEMPHIS
2500 B.C. – ANCIENT INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION
CITY OF MOHENJO-DARO

1900 B.C. – ANCIENT CHINA CIVILIZATION

FORBIDDEN CITY
 700 B.C. – ANCIENT GREEK CIVILIZATION
CITY OF ATHENS

509 B.C-27 B.C ANCIENT ROMAN CIVILIZATION

ROMAN FORUM
 1000A.D. - MEDIEVAL PERIOD
BURHGS

1500 A.D - RENAISSANCE PERIOD

ANNAPOLYS MARYLAND
 18th Century – INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

c. Discuss What do you think is its contribution to modern planning?

If it weren't for the earlier settlements per civilization, modern planning and
architecture would not exist today. The cornerstone of modern planning is built on the
foundations of past human settlements. What we see today is the result of combining prior
ideas, designs, and styles to create a modern world to live in. Human settlements change
with time, and we can see this progression in previous civilizations.

This evolution helped in the enhancement of architecture's essence and beauty,

as seen by modern dwellings, buildings, skyscrapers, parks, landmarks, and other
structures in our current surroundings. Architectural styles have changed as well, with
some buildings or residences blending two or more architectural forms. Combining
different ideas and design, which are originated from the past settlements, will create a
more exciting mood that will stimulate the senses of those who will be living in that certain
space. Streets, highways, passageways, and borders are better built in the present
times to help alleviate congestion and improve quality of life. Even in the future, changes
will occur, and previous experiences in the context of planning and designing will serve as
the foundation for finding answers to future urban challenges.