Towards a New Urbanism

Research Paper # 62912

Architecture > European
Architecture > Modern

This paper describes the evolution of modern architecture and presents an analysis of its benefits and loopholes.

3,958 words () | 12 sources | MLA | 2005 Bhutan

Paper Summary:

This paper examines how modernist architecture became popular during the mid-twentieth century and how it was thought that its gleaming glass, steel and concrete buildings could help spread the faith that technology and planning could replace the slums with hygienic housing projects and create affluence for all. In contrast, it looks at how the New Urbanist movement is a tangible response to the failed modernist planning that has resulted in unchecked suburban sprawl, dependence on the automobile, and the abandonment and decay of cities.

From the Paper:

"Although the New Urbanists claim that traditional towns and urban neighbourhoods are more conducive to developing community and provide more life choices than contemporary suburban living, their critics counter that the New Urbanist designs are artificial, elitist, and open the door to increased intervention by government. Regardless of which view one takes, the interdisciplinary nature of the New Urbanist project coupled with the fact that the movement raises important issues concerning the theological and ethical dimensions of market activity and human anthropology, makes Markets & Morality an ideal forum in which to explore further the possible promises and potential perils of the New Urbanism."