New towns have a unique interest in urban planning history. In Europe, most of the process of mass urbanization has taken place around the core of established towns, always transforming them in the process but never offering a tabula rasa to modern planners. New towns on the other hand, were exciting in that they offered a chance to break free from history and the 'detritus' of the past (supposedly a modernist ideal). Breaking free from the past is a natural human instinct of the next generation and in the twentieth century, between the two World Wars, hopes were high that new beginnings could be made that would lead to a better future. Politics, especially of the extremes of Fascism and Communism, but not exclusively, since there were democratic countries where planners sought to change the urban future with equal enthusiasm and, naturally, many of the new European countries set up under the Treaty of Versailles nurtured such longings. New Towns built in Europe, from the Scandinavian countries to the new democracies in Central Europe, from the Fascist, Nazi and Communist countries, to the Imperial nations, had one thing in common: they came into being to meet social and economic needs. There was a chance to marry ideas on urban design with "progressive" ideas on society that may, or may not have been, stronger than the political dictates of any government. The debate on interwar new towns has been confined mostly on a national level and has strongly emphasized the role of architecture and town planning as tools for political legitimization and ideological representation of the regime's aims and power. The aim of this session is to broaden comparative research and to evaluate what was achieved in this period, specifically in the complex context of Europe, by exploring how well established ideas about what constitutes good urban design, ways of integrating social needs and aspirations within an orderly framework, worked out in practice. It is hoped to raise issues about the relationship between different political structures, and the practitioners and citizens who worked to shape the urban environment. Keywords: European New Towns; Interwar Period; Urban Design; Politics; Social Aspects Period: 20th Century Type: Main Session
Session organisation: Planting New Towns in Europe in the Interwar Period: Politics, Practitioners and People
Porfyriou Heleni;
2014
Abstract
New towns have a unique interest in urban planning history. In Europe, most of the process of mass urbanization has taken place around the core of established towns, always transforming them in the process but never offering a tabula rasa to modern planners. New towns on the other hand, were exciting in that they offered a chance to break free from history and the 'detritus' of the past (supposedly a modernist ideal). Breaking free from the past is a natural human instinct of the next generation and in the twentieth century, between the two World Wars, hopes were high that new beginnings could be made that would lead to a better future. Politics, especially of the extremes of Fascism and Communism, but not exclusively, since there were democratic countries where planners sought to change the urban future with equal enthusiasm and, naturally, many of the new European countries set up under the Treaty of Versailles nurtured such longings. New Towns built in Europe, from the Scandinavian countries to the new democracies in Central Europe, from the Fascist, Nazi and Communist countries, to the Imperial nations, had one thing in common: they came into being to meet social and economic needs. There was a chance to marry ideas on urban design with "progressive" ideas on society that may, or may not have been, stronger than the political dictates of any government. The debate on interwar new towns has been confined mostly on a national level and has strongly emphasized the role of architecture and town planning as tools for political legitimization and ideological representation of the regime's aims and power. The aim of this session is to broaden comparative research and to evaluate what was achieved in this period, specifically in the complex context of Europe, by exploring how well established ideas about what constitutes good urban design, ways of integrating social needs and aspirations within an orderly framework, worked out in practice. It is hoped to raise issues about the relationship between different political structures, and the practitioners and citizens who worked to shape the urban environment. Keywords: European New Towns; Interwar Period; Urban Design; Politics; Social Aspects Period: 20th Century Type: Main SessionI documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
