Urban and Regional Planning Intro

Introduction to Urban and Regional Planning

• Modern urban and regional planning emerged in response to social and economic issues.
• These issues were triggered by the Industrial Revolution in the late 18th century.
• Problems evolved over time, differing significantly for city dwellers between the 1840s and 1930s.
• Proposed solutions faced delays due to social and political inertia.
• Implementation often occurred long after initial proposals, by which time the original problems may have changed.

Social Issues of the Time

• Overcrowded slums lacked adequate housing, sanitation, and access to clean water in industrial cities.
• Child labor was common in factories due to children's small size and low wages.
• Workers worked extremely long hours in dangerous conditions for low wages.
• Many workers struggled to afford basic necessities due to low wages.
• A significant gap developed between wealthy factory owners and the poor working class.

Environmental Issues of the Time

• Air pollution from factory smoke and fumes was a significant problem.
• Industrial waste was dumped directly into rivers and streams, contaminating water sources.
• Mining and industrial activities damaged the landscape.

Health Issues of the Time

• Poor sanitation and overcrowding led to outbreaks of diseases like cholera and tuberculosis.
• Workers were exposed to harmful chemicals and dust in factories, causing respiratory diseases and other health issues.

Limitations of Planning History

• The vastness of the planning field requires selectivity in choosing major themes.
• Personal prejudices of historians can influence the portrayal of planning history.
• Historical events in planning do not always follow a clear chronological sequence.
• Planning is interdisciplinary, merging with economics, sociology, political science, and geography.
• Defining the scope of planning is challenging, particularly concerning regional relationships.
• Determining when to begin studying planning history is difficult due to its deep roots.
• Accounts of planning history can be Anglo-Americocentric, neglecting other important traditions.

Planning Before the Industrial Revolution

• Significant cities existed prior to the Industrial Revolution.
• Ancient Rome reached a population of 1,000,000 by 100 AD.
• Elizabethan London had a population of 200,000 people.
• These cities faced economic and social challenges such as water supply issues.
• Rome used aqueducts to transport water over considerable distances.
• London drew water from 35 miles (56 km) away via aqueduct.
• Traffic congestion was also a major issue.
• London relied on coalfields by the River Tyne (430 km away) for fuel in the 14th century.
• Noise pollution led Rome to ban chariot movement at night.
• Air pollution was addressed in London by hanging a man for burning 'sea coal'.
• Many ancient and medieval cities were consciously planned by rulers or merchants.
• Many also showcased formal ground plans with geometric designs.
• Baldock, a town on the Great North Road, was created by the Knights Templar.
• Winchelsea and towns like Flint, Conwy, and Caernarfon were fortified towns by Edward I in the late 13th century.
• The Baroque era was the greatest time for town planning prior to the Industrial Revolution.
• 18th-century Bath, England developed due to the popularity of spa treatments among the aristocracy.

The Impact of Industrialism

• Initially, the Industrial Revolution dispersed industry out of towns into the countryside.
• Coal changed this pattern, concentrating industry near coalfields and bulk transport options.
• Industry became freer to locate once the first steam-driven railway lines appeared.
• People migrated from the countryside to British industrial and port cities in the 19th century.
• These migrants came from the poorer sections of the rural population.
• Migration was due to a lack of work after the enclosure movement approved by Parliament.
• Some migrants, like the Irish, fled famine to Liverpool, Manchester, and Glasgow.
• The new industry provided economic opportunities for an unskilled labor force.
• Urban social arrangements were unable to provide shelter or public services for the population.
• Limited water supplies were increasingly contaminated by sewage.
• Disposal of waste was inadequate which led to filth.
• Water supplies were lacking and personal hygiene was very poor.
• Overcrowding grew with more dwellings per acre and people per room.
• Cellar dwellings became common in some cities such as Liverpool and Manchester.
• Medical treatment and public health controls were lacking.
• Mobility through trade coupled with polluted water led to cholera epidemics.
• Cholera epidemics swept Britain in 1832, 1848, and 1866.
• Reform efforts were hindered by the will to act from leaders.
• The views of those in the industrial towns were unrepresented in Parliament until 1832.
• Lack of germ theory knowledge delayed advancements to public health.
• Effective administrative machinery and financial backing was required amid laissez-faire policies.
• Regulations were enacted to achieve improvements.
• Regulations included the Municipal Corporations Act, the Public Health Act of 1848, and the Nuisance Removal Acts.

Urban Spread Patterns

• Post-1870, British cities changed significantly, according to the work of economist Colin Clark.
• British cities acquired cheap public transport between 1870 and 1914.
• First through horse trams and then electric trams.
• Larger cities like London ran commuter trains.
• London in 1801 (1 million people) remained compact with a radius of 2 miles (3.2 km).
• By 1851, London's population doubled but the radius only increased to 3 miles (4.8 km).
• The city spread in all directions by 1880, but especially to the south and northeast by 1914.
• The 1914 map is defined as the early public transport city.
• Steam trains gave easy access to middle-class commuters up to 15 miles (24 km) from the centre.

Reaction Against the Sprawl

• Town planners and rural conservationists were alarmed by the lack of planning control.
• Rural land was used at unprecedented rates.
• c. 60,000 acres each year of agricultural land in England and Wales was used for urban development by mid-1930s.
• Homes were becoming decentralised while jobs were not.
• As a result traffic congestion in cities appeared to be growing.
• A movement built up to limit urban growth through positive planning.
• It represented a working coalition between town planners and rural preservationists
• The CPRE (Council for the Protection of Rural England ) was organised in 1925.
• Patrick Abercrombie was a strong figure in both camps.
• Representatives of depressed industrial areas of northern England, south Wales, and central Scotland joined.