What are the attributes of a well planned city? We check
out a few examples and find that they are a blend of
convenience, style and aesthetics
Washington
The city's plan was largely the work of Peter Charles L'Enfant, a French-born architect. The layout owes much to the Baroque style – the dominant style in many North American and European cities of the day. The city has broad avenues and major streets which radiate out from traffic circles, providing vistas towards important landmarks and monuments. These circles were conceived to confuse invading ground forces and put them into positions where they could be fired on from any direction.
Over the years Washington has maintained its user-friendly nature. The city boasts of grand boulevards, monumental art, open spaces, long vistas and parkland. One of the most important developments in bringing people back downtown was the building of the subway system. The first 4.6 miles (7.4km) of the Washington Metro subway system opened on March 27, 1976. Today the system knits together Washington and its suburbs with a network of 86 stations and 106.3 miles of track.
Amsterdam
Amsterdam, probably the best-planned city of northern Europe, has had a rich heritage. The city was the centre of the world economy in the 17th century and it is now known for its tolerant character. The city was founded in the late 12th century as a small fishing village. The historical centre with its concentric canals was largely built during the Dutch Golden Age in the 17th century.
Amsterdam is where modern architecture developed organically between facades of historical buildings. Since it is not a big city, all sites of interest are in close proximity to each other. The name Amsterdam literally means Amstel dam. Amsterdam is renowned for its canals (grachten), many of which exist within the city centre. The principal canals are three similar waterways; each of these canals mark the line of the city walls and moats at different periods. Lesser canals intersect the others radially, dividing the city into a number of islands. The city is often compared to Venice due to its myriad canals.
Although the seat of the Netherlands government is in The Hague, Amsterdam is the nominal capital. It is also the country's largest city, with a population of almost 750,000, and the most visited, with over 3.5mn foreign visitors a year.
Portland
Portland is a city at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the US state of Oregon. It is the third most populous city in the Pacific Northwest, after Seattle, Washing-ton and Vancouver, British Columbia.
Portland’s public transportation system is a model for other cities around the world. The city and region are noted for strong land-use planning and investment in public transit, supported by metro and a distinctive regional government scheme. It’s easy to walk around. The urban growth boundary has kept the city and its suburbs from becoming an ugly urban sprawl. It’s one of the greenest cities in the US. Its climate is ideal for growing roses, and for more than a century Portland has been known as ‘The City of Roses’, and has many rose gardens – most prominently the International Rose Test Garden. Portland lies in the Marine West Coast climate region, which is marked by warm summers and rainy but temperate winters. Portland is also known for its large number of microbreweries, and as the home of the Trail Blazers NBA basketball team.
Adelaide
A cosmopolitan and cultural city bordered by the enchanted hills of the Mt. Lofty Ranges and the long sandy beaches of the gulf at St. Vincent, Adelaide is a famous tourist destination in Australia. The capital of southern Australia, its founders Colonel William light and former premier Don Dunstan are till date applauded for their vision in shaping Adelaide into what it is today.
In 1836 Colonel Light laid out the city in a grid pattern, interspersed with squares and surrounded by the necklace of parklands. The city was named after Queen Adelaide, wife of the British King, William IV. The North Terrace of the city is a concourse of galleries and museums, flowing into the serene, green botanic gardens that include the celebrated International Rose Garden. Located just adjacent to River Torrens, Adelaide is blessed with two crystal like waterfalls.
Adelaide boasts of an efficient public transport system linking the city with its suburbs and coastal areas. Adelaide's famous Guided Busway, the O-Bahn, is the fastest suburban bus service in the world, travelling at up to 100 km an hour along dedicated tracks. Buses travel along an inner city route, making it convenient to move around the central business district, accessing major venues as well as shopping facilities.
Nicknamed the 'Festival City' of Australia, the Adelaide Festival of Arts and the Festival Fringe are celebrated with great pomp and show throughout the city.
Canberra
Canberra was designed by Walter Burley Griffin, a 20th century American architect. The city's design was heavily influenced by the
garden city movement and incorporates significant areas of natural vegetation that have earned Canberra the title ‘bush capital’. Although the growth and development of Canberra were hindered by the world wars and the great depression, it emerged as a thriving city after World War II. The city centre is laid out on two perpendicular axes, a water axis stretching along Lake Burley Griffin, and a ceremonial land axis stretching from Parliament House on Capital Hill north-eastward along ANZAC Parade to the Australian War Memorial at the foot of Mt Ainslie.
The area known as the Parliamentary Triangle is formed by three of Burley Griffin's axes, stretching from Capital Hill along Commonwealth Avenue to the Civic Centre around City Hill, along Constitution Avenue to the Defence precinct on Russell Hill, and along Kings Avenue back to Capital Hill. The urban areas of Canberra are organised into a hierarchy of districts, town centres, group centres, local suburbs as well as other industrial areas and villages. There are seven districts, each of which is divided into smaller suburbs, and most of which have a town centre, which is the focus of commercial and social activities.
Chandigarh
Chandigarh is the first 'planned' city of India. It lies on the edge of the Shivalik Hills, the outermost edge of the Himalayas. Le Corbusier, Europe’s modern architect, conceived the city in the 1950s. The then prime minister of India, Pandit Nehru, wanted Chandigarh to be "a new city of free India, totally fresh and wholly responsive to the aspirations of the future generations of this great country."
Divided into sectors, the city is separated by broad avenues and has neatly laid out roads and parks, buildings, boulevards and streets lined by endless rows of trees and shrubs. The city is based on a rectangular grid based pattern using the metaphor of a human body. The capitol complex at the top resembles the head, the intellectual base, reflecting Le Corbusier’s conviction that government should rule a city as the head rules the body. The industrial and educational belts on either side of the city symbolise the limbs. The city centre with
commercial buildings, shopping, and offices represented the heart.
The ‘Radiant City’ design has led to a decongested city centre, filled with sun, space, and greenery. The city provides clean hygienic environments, ample green open space, and the basic amenities of civic life – schools, hospitals, and parks. The buildings of the Capitol Complex, some of whose murals Le Corbusier painted himself double up as wonderful pieces of architecture and art.
businesstoday is Oman's number one business
magazine, keeping readers updated on the happenings in Oman's business
world with incisive and insightful reports.
)
)
