HUMAN SETTLEMENTS – II

ASSIGNMENT – I

A STUDY ON THE PLANNING PRINCIPLES OF

SIR EBENEZER HOWARD AND
ARTURO SORIA Y MATA

SHEFALI P. MENDON
050901002
IX SEM. BARCH
MANIPAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
 ARTURO SORIA Y MATA

ARTURO SORIA Y M A T A (1844-1920) is a well known urban planner. His Linear City
ideas and model are often compared and contrasted with Ebenezer Howard's Garden City.

As an urban planner and designer, Soria y Mata explored new horizons by abandoning the
concentric for m of the crowded city in 1882 and by propounding the theory of the linear city, La
Ciudad Lineal.
He sought to expand the city along the spine of communication or transport, stretching along a
roadway, railroad, housing units etc. (Gallion,A; Simon, E).

“Ruralise the city and Uurbanise the countryside”

-Arturo Soria y Mata

T H E L I N E A R C I T Y C O N C E P T:

 The Linear City concept is as old as the village. Soria y Mata proposed it as a conscious
form of urban development with housing and industry growing along the highway
between existing cities and contained by the continuous open space of the rural
countryside. (Gallion,A; Simon, E).
 The main aim was to reduce the congestion within a city which developed in concentric
city plans.

PLAN OF THE CITY

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  He wanted to involve all the villages around Madrid in his Linear City – to bring the
country to the city and the city to the country.
 The plan consists of a central railroad with gridded slabs for houses and working areas on
both sides. While designing; he kept in mind that from every point of the linear city, a
new community could arise.

P L A N N I N G P R I N C I P L E S:

 The length of the proposed city was decided based on the need. The linearity of the city
was defined by a straight road (approximately 40m long) that passed through the middle.
 The width of the city was based on the pedestrian movement, the number of smaller areas
which could be connected to the central road and density of the town.
 The road networks were grid-like and simple as Soria was deeply concerned with the
problems of urban traffic and congestion.

VIEW OF THE CITY

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 SECTION THROUGH THE CITY

 The city was connected to the main cities by rails and roads which cut through the spine
of the city (main road) at different intervals.
 Only 1/4th of the total area of the city could be built; leaving the rest for open spaces and
parks. The maximum allowable coverage was 20%

MERITS AND D E M E R I T S:

 Growth of the city was possible from anywhere; without any major implications on the
settlements, land use, movement patterns etc.
 The city was not zoned; there were no segregated areas for development. This led to the
growth of industries and residences in close proximity.
 Another major demerit was that there was no centre or functional node, thus the
interaction between the residents was less.
 Also, the city was monotonous to some extent. (H, Peter)

R E F E R E N C E S:

 Gallion, A.B. and Simon E.1963. The Urban Pattern, New York.
 H, Peter. Urban and Regional Planning, New York
 http://www.arch.mcgill.ca/prof/sijpkes/arch528/fall2001/lecture12/soria.html
 http://web.tiscali.it/icaria/urbanistica/utopie/soria.htm
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arturo_Soria_y_Mata

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 SIR EBENEZER HOWARD
S I R E B E N E Z E R H O W A R D (Jan 1850 – May 1928) is
a well known urban planner of his time. He is famous for
the ideas he expressed in his publication
‘To-Morrow: A Peaceful Path to Real Reform‟ which was
later reprinted as ‘Garden Cities of To-morrow‟ in 1898.

In this publication he described a utopian city in which man

lives harmoniously with the rest of nature. This publication
was implemented in many areas; in and around Great
Britain in the early 20th century, and came to be the founder
of the ‘Garden City Movement‟.

Ebenezer Howard was deeply affected by the social issues prevailing in Britain at that time; and
did not like the direction in which the city was heading. He believed that people should live in
places that would combine the best aspects of towns and cities.

"Town and country must be married, and out of this joyous union will spring a new hope, a new
life, a new civilization." – Ebenezer Howard

T H E G A R D E N C I T Y M O V E M E N T:

 According to Sir Ebenezer Howard, garden cities were intended to be planned, self-
contained, communities surrounded by greenbelts, containing carefully balanced areas of
residences, industry and agriculture.
 Howard’s proposal emphasized the integration of the town and the country.
 He found out that both have advantages and function as magnets do. Therefore, his
solution was to develop a city structure which contains the advantages of a city and those
of the countryside. He expressed this in his image of „The Three Magnets‟.

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PLANNING PRINCIPLES

1. S E T T L E M E N T S T R U C T U R E:
 He started with discussions of the optimum size for towns in which a central city of
58,000 people was surrounded by smaller garden cities of 30,000 people each.
 Green spaces or a greenbelt and agricultural land would be a major component in the
garden city whereby the permanent green space would separate the city and towns
and serving as a horizontal fence of farmland.
 The requirement of the greenbelt or agricultural land for the Garden City in
Howard’s view was 5,000 acres of the total 6,000 acres (Gallion,A; Simon, E).

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 DEVELOPMENT OF SMALL CITIES A
ROUND LARGE GARDEN CITIES

2. C I T Y S T R U C T U R E:
 The Garden City consists for different zones, street types and green spaces.
 The core in the centre is about 4 km² and contains a central park, surrounded by
commercial, cultural and administrative zones.
 Six magnificent boulevards connect the centre with the circumference, dividing the
city into six parts.
 A wide (Grand Avenue) and some smaller (First to Fifth Avenue) ring roads are
arranged circular around the centre, and together with the radial roads, they form the
wards - living area.

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  Every family has a house of a minimum size of 6m x 30m with a shared or owned
garden.
 The outer ring is designed for small scale industries and factories to keep the
inhabitants away from emission and a green belt and a circle railway mark the border
to the countryside. (T, Lilian and Ismail, S)

3. C I T Y E X P A N S I O N:
 To avoid problems which occur in expanding cities, the concept limits the city
maximum population up to 32,000 people.
 Further growing of the Garden City is not possible; therefore a new city has to be
founded in a reasonable distance of about 7 km to the others to protect the
countryside.
 The cities are well connected through a railway system to exchange goods.
(Moughtin, C)

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 OPTIMUM DISTANCE BETWEEN CITIES
(S H O W I N G C O N N E C T I V I T Y)

4. V I S U A L Q U A L I T Y:
 Garden City concept should have a high visual quality toward green space including
garden. A Garden City should also possess high or scenic quality of garden; buildings
are well intergraded with the landform, water bodies and vegetation. (T, Lilian and
Ismail, S)

C O N C L U S I O N:
Taking into consideration The Garden City Concept and the implemented and functioning garden
cities; it was found that this concept has helped in ensuring a safe, comfortable and healthy living
environment.

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R E F E R E N C E S:

 The Garden City Movement:

http://www.tt.fh-koeln.de/semesterprojects_extern/reg_plan/garden.htm
 Gallion, A.B. and Simon E.1963. The Urban Pattern, New York.
 T, Lilian and Ismail, S. 2002. Planning Considerations of Garden City Concept towards
Achieving Sustainable Development, University of Technology, Malaysia.
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ebenezer_Howard
 Moughtin, C. 1996. Urban Design: Green Dimensions, Oxford.
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garden_city_movement

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