The Evolution of the Modern City: From Renaissance to Garden City
The Modern City
Early Modern Nation-States and Mercantile Capitalism
The early modern period saw the rise of nation-states and absolute monarchy, leading to the extension of legal systems across territories. The birth of mercantile capitalism, fueled by the discovery of America and the sea route around the Cape of Good Hope, transformed cities into centers of socialization and regional organization. While cities became hubs for trade, they lost some of the political power they held during the Middle Ages.
Rationalism and Urban Design
The rationalism of the modern age influenced urban planning, with a focus on wider and more stable streets. In Spain, main squares (plazas mayores) emerged as central open spaces, often created after fires or disasters, providing areas for markets, festivals, public executions, and social interaction. These squares often featured porches and municipal buildings.
Renaissance and Ideal Cities
During the Renaissance, ideal city designs based on Vitruvius’s ideas and the new art of war (including artillery) were developed. These designs featured geometric, orthogonal, or radial layouts and star-shaped walls for defense. However, few cities were built entirely based on these principles. Palmanova in Italy stands as a notable example. New walls were primarily constructed in border cities, and fortifications in these cities did not allow for slum neighborhoods, unlike medieval towns.
Colonial Cities
Later, in the Americas and Africa, new cities were established, particularly in Spanish and Portuguese territories. These cities followed grid plans with wide streets. Coastal cities, especially major ports, were walled, although some were fortified later than others. Large American cities adopted the Spanish model of a central square, but these squares were planned from the outset and often created by removing blocks from the grid. They typically lacked porches and had entrances from the middle of their sides. These squares served similar functions as those in Spain but also acted as military strongholds due to the presence of indigenous populations.
Urban Life in the Modern Age
Throughout the modern age, villages remained poor, with large indoor gardens. Religious orders became urbanized and controlled significant land. Guilds held considerable power, regulating production, quality, sales, and access to professions. Cities in the 16th century largely retained their medieval character.
Baroque Transformations
During the Baroque period, cities underwent radical changes. Urban surgery operations widened streets, created vistas, and added public spaces, trees, and promenades. Cities reflected the grandeur of the state and monarchy, with distinctive buildings and spaces designed to stand out. Cities developed facades and incorporated unique, enclosed spaces that played with light and shadow, characteristic of the Baroque style. Versailles served as a universal model for this type of city, influencing Spanish cities like Aranjuez and new towns in the Sierra Morena, such as Carolina, built on orthogonal plans.
Proposals for Ideal Cities
The Garden City
Ebenezer Howard’s garden city aimed to synthesize utopian socialist ideas. It envisioned a city without a true center, featuring small, single-family homes, abundant green spaces, and a design intended for the working class. The goal was to foster a sense of ownership and provide a healthy environment. While several cities were built based on these principles, the model differed significantly from the reality of industrial cities, and many garden cities eventually became small towns or were absorbed by larger urban areas.
The Linear City
that was to design Arturo Soria. His project is more in line with what is really a modern city. It’s model is based on the communication lines, roads and railways, and at the nodes, which can become the city center. The housing provision would be made on these routes, and all using the same access. Behind them would be nature. In addition, this model should be a real urban continuum between existing cities. With this pattern a section built in Madrid, but did not spread. The best example is linear city developed Volgograd (Stalingrad.) But the price of land is not distributed linearly, thereby preventing linear construction of cities.