University of the Philippines Visayas

College of Management

Iloilo City, Philippines

Diploma in Urban and Regional Planning

P201- Assignment No. 2

Prepared by: Judd P. Traje

Reflections on the Evolution of Cities

The idea of City planning had started during the ancient period and developed through
times. Some of the most popular proof is the Catal Huyuk in 7500 B.C, which is one of the
best examples of Neolithic towns that became very important evidence of the transition of
nomadic life of humans to a settled society. Another example is the Angkor Wat which was
built during early 12th century and located in Northern Cambodia, which embodies a
monumental type of complex settlement. Other settlements like in Athens and Rome also
contributed to the history of city planning and became the basis of development thereafter.

It is very important to understand the history of cities before going in depth for further study
because it will help in answering major questions such as: Why do we study cities? How do
we start? What can we learn from the history about the modern world? These questions are
such a vital starting point before going into details for the study of City planning. There are a
lot of issues that must be addressed in city planning and for us to understand more and to
contribute as planners, the foundation of city planning must be thoroughly understood first.

Since the history of settlement began, a lot of issues and struggles emerged that even the city
planners nowadays are still trying to address like the sanitation in public spaces, innovations,
roads, and a lot more. It is still an ongoing discussion on how to approach these issues in an
efficient and collaborative way and because of these discussions, many strategies were
formulated that contributed to the development of city planning in general. This led to the
concept of New Urbanism. The concept of New Urbanism is developed in a modernist point
of view. In this concept, a lot of modern issues in city planning are being exposed so that the
current struggles of the modern city planning be addressed.
New Urbanism

It is interesting to know that most of the Urban Planning concepts are based in anarchy
and is totally plotted in a different society. With all these urban planning concepts, New
Urbanism has developed. New Urbanism stands in a modernist thought. It tells more about
the quality of the city more than just its edge or the visible part. New Urbanism emphasizes
many factors of city planning like the sustainability, the walkability of streets, the activities,
transportation, and the quality of life in general. It is also interesting to know about the debate
between the landscape urbanism and new urbanism. It shows contrasting ideas most
especially in the place of nature. It is also interesting to know about industrial revolution. It is
important to know how industrial revolution came up and its relation to New Urbanism.

Before and After Industrial Revolution

The Planned Community

The Planned Community tackles more about new towns, grand manner planning or
what we called monumentalism, organic city, etc. One of great example of city planning that
was under the period of The Planned Community is the Garden City Movement by Ebenezer
Howard. The Garden City Movement was founded in United Kingdom and had the aim of
showing the benefits of a sustainable city by identifying and separating residential areas,
agricultural areas, and industrial areas. It was inspired by the novel “Looking Backward” and
had the aim of emphasizing more about sustainability and being a self-contained community
by showing the advantages of countryside areas in relation to city areas and working on the
disadvantages otherwise. Some popular examples of Garden City Movement are the
Letchworth Garden City and the Welwyn Garden City. The Planned Community also called
the “environmentalist” in simple term because of its objectives and how it addresses the
circumstances presented during its period.

The Incrementalist

The Incrementalist focused more about the creative side of urban planning. It is also
called “The creatives” definitely because of the way it approaches the urban planning and how
it addresses the issues around it. One of the notable people during this period is Jane Adams.
She is a Nobel prize awardee because of her works during World War 1 but also, she is an
active advocate of this movement. She focused more on waste disposal and sustainability in
the community. The Incrementalist movement goes around the details of how the
neighborhood would affect the city planning in general. It used maps to locate and separate
the areas in relation to their needs and role in community. It is interesting that some of the
most notable people in this movement were women. There’s this novel called “How women
saved the city” and it talks about the importance of role of women in the urban planning and
how they can contribute to the community in general.

The Plan-makers

The Plan-makers developed and focused more about beautifying the city. One of the
best examples of this period is the “City Beautiful Movement”. City Beautiful Movement
flourished in North America during 1890s to 1900s. The aim of this movement is to introduce
the beautification in the city. It is in this time where landscaping in major areas were introduced.
It is also interesting to know that this movement was rooted in democracy. There was a
collaborative effort between the planners and the citizens. The decisions were made through
the interaction of the people around it like how if would be funded and how it would be
implemented. However, this movement did not last for a long period of time because of the
criticism that it got. More planners said that it was not realistic at all and the major concerns
like sanitation were not actually addressed.

The Regionalist

The Regionalist is the most intellectually interesting above all the movements
mentioned. It is said to be the most radical and scientific. It focused more on the social justice,
change, and sustainability. It is where the deepest details in Urban Planning have been
presented and it used more scientific method in addressing the issues and struggle around
the city. The Regionalist Movement was also called “The Scientists” in simple term. It is where
“Zoning” have been developed in a more radical way. This movement also emphasizes the
sustainability in the city.

Those movements made a big impact of how the New Urbanism developed and how industrial
revolution came up. It is a vital process to know those movements- its advantages and
disadvantages, its effect in the modern way of urban planning, the behavior of people during
those eras, and how it addresses the problems that are also affecting us today. By knowing
more about this history of city planning and new urbanism, we as planners are guided with
strong foundation and enlightenment on how we approach a certain issue concerning the city.

City Planning in Aklan

One of the examples I can show about the city planning in Aklan is the issue concerning
the adjacency of one municipality to another municipality. The planning in Aklan developed in
terms of Urban Periphery where it shows the disadvantage of towns in relation to its main core
or the capital per se. Some belief systems and ideology were developed according to the
adjacency of the areas surrounding the main core and I can see it as a major issue the must
be addressed properly. Other issues like sustainability, transportation, and landscape factor
must also be addressed for us (The Aklanon) to be equipped and prepared for more
development in the community.

Conclusion

The movements mentioned above are very vital in terms of guiding the planners of different
ways on how to address the issues within the city or the urban areas. Understanding the pros
and cons stated in the different eras before and after industrial revolution is a big help for the
planners of the modern society.

All things considered, there are a lot of factors that contributes to the development of the cities.
Visible and nonvisible factor, both plays a big role in city or urban planning. Whether it be an
issue about beautifying the city or an issue about how the city can be more sustainable, are
both important factors in the modern way of planning.