Some key aspects and ideas of studying colonial cities: (Robert Home – Of Planting and Planning. The Making of British Colonial Cities)
The “Grand Modell”
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a policy of deliberate urbanization or town planting
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a policy of controlling the land market
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town planning in advance of settlement
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wide streets and geometric forms
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aesthetics: Classical ideals of symmetry and order; Baroque grandeur and surface decoration
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public squares (providing: market, church, arsenal, courthouse)
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rectangular plots
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land reservations
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green belts (segregating, and protecting the central city)
thalassocracy (port cities, the idea of overseas network, naval power relying on colonies)
theory: world-city hypothesis (J. Friedman), colonial urban development theory (A. King)
“fractured” cities (central – margins)
effects of “sanitary” urbanization (surveillance, segregation)
hybrid forms ofurban life and urban culture
urban problems generated by colonial urbanism
racial minority dominance (White European)
urban renewal programs controlled by colonial authorities
blaming the cultural deficiencies of the locals, rather than the colonial
lack of investment (e.g. in housing)
superficial improvements (e.g. facades)
Some key aspects of postcolonial cities:
The legacy of colonial town planning
The postcolonial condition in relation with urban characteristics and urban issues
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urban economy and working in the city
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housing, education, sanitation
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public spaces and urban control today
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disparities, segregations
Rapid urban growth in the “Third World”
The touristification of the postcolonial city in the global context