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Text B. From the History of Urban Planning

As an organized profession, urban planning has only existed for the last 60 years. However, most settlements and cities show forethought and conscious design in their layout and functioning.

The pre-Classical and Classical ages saw a number of cities laid out according to fixed plans, though many tended to develop organically. Designed cities were characteristic of the totalitarian Mesopotamian, Harrapan, and Egyptian civilizations.

Distinct characteristics of urban planning from remains of the cities of Harappa, Lothal and Mohenjo-daro in the Indus Valley Civilization (in modern-day northwestern India and Pakistan) lead archeologists to conclude that they are the earliest examples of deliberately planned and managed cities. The streets of these early cities were often paved and laid out at right angles in a grid pattern, with hierarchy of streets from major boulevards to residential alleys. Archaeological evidence suggests that many Harrapan houses were laid out to protect from noise and enhance residential privacy; also, they often had their own water wells for probably both sanitary and ritual purposes. These ancient cities were unique in that they often had drainage systems, seemingly tied to a well-developed ideal of urban sanitation.

Ur, located near the Euphrates and Tigris rivers in modern day Iraq also had urban planning in later periods. The Greek Hippodamus (c. 407 BC) is widely considered the father of city planning in the West, for his design of Miletus; Alexander commissioned him to lay out his new city of Alexandria, the grandest example of idealized urban planning of the Mediterranean world, where regularity was aided in large part by its level site near a mouth of the Nile.

The ancient Romans used a consolidated scheme for city planning, developed for military defense and civil convenience. The basic plan is a central forum with city services, surrounded by a compact rectilinear grid of streets and wrapped in a wall for defense. To reduce travel times, two diagonal streets cross the square grid corner-to-corner, passing through the central square. A river usually flowed through the city, to provide water, transport, and sewage disposal. Many European towns, such as Turin, still preserve the remains of these schemes. The Romans had a very logical way of designing their cities. They laid out the streets at right angles, in the form of a square grid. All the roads were equal in width and length, except for two. These two roads formed the center of the grid and intersected in the middle. One went East/West, the other North/South. They were slightly wider than the others. All roads were made of carefully fitted stones and smaller hard packed stones. Bridges were also constructed where needed. Each square marked by four roads was called an insula, the Roman equivalent of modern city blocks. Each insula was 80 yards (73 m) square, with the land within each insula divided. As the city developed, each insula would eventually be filled with buildings of various shapes and sizes and would be crisscrossed with back roads and alleys. Most insulae were given to the first settlers of a budding new Roman city, but each person had to pay to construct their own house.

The city was surrounded by a wall to protect the city from invaders and other enemies, and to mark the city limits. Areas outside of the city limits were left open as farmland. At the end of each main road, there would be a large gateway with watchtowers. A portcullis covered the opening when the city was under siege, and additional watchtowers were constructed around the rest of the city's wall. A water aqueduct was built outside of the city's walls.

The collapse of Roman civilization saw the end of their urban planning, among many other arts.

3. Listen to the text again and answer the following questions:

1. How long has an organized profession of urban planning existed?

2. What did most settlements show?

3. Which cities are the earliest examples of deliberately planned and managed ones?

4. What were they like?

5. Who is considered the father of city planning in the West?

6. What were the ancient Romans’s cities like?

4. Discuss with your friend the peculiarities of town planning in ancient countries. Use the following phrases to express your opinion:

– As far as I know; I must disappoint you; Frankly speaking; In my opinion;

I’m afraid; To tell the truth; I think; The fact is; Unfortunately; I suppose; I must confess; Most (un)likely.

5. Annotate the text either in English or in Ukrainian. Use the following phrases:

The text is head-lined…

It/the text informs the reader about…

It/the text deals with…

It/the text considers the problem of...

The main idea of the text is…

It/the text describes…

It/the text gives comments on…

It/the text draws reader’s attention to…

It is pointed out that…

At the beginning/end…

Further…

The author points out/stresses/informs/considers…

The text is useful and interesting for…

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