Cities as planning models

Abstract

A key feature of modern planning history has been the identification of cities admired for their ‘good planning’. In varying degrees, they have stimulated emulation, selective or partial borrowing, or even direct copying of their admired planning features. Model cities at different phases of planning history include Paris, Frankfurt, Vienna, Moscow, London, Stockholm, Barcelona, Chicago, New York, Portland and Vancouver. In recent years, new models have emerged, such as Singapore or Curitiba. The article considers how such cities became or are becoming models. It examines the methods by which the knowledge and reputation of the ‘model’ are promoted and disseminated. The importance of key actors, and visits, conferences and exhibitions focused on planning issues are considered. So too are less specific factors which help draw the gaze of a wider world. The article also considers whether such cities were/are places where new planning approaches have been invented or where they were implemented on a larger scale. Overall the paper discusses a key and strengthening feature in the circulation of contemporary planning knowledge. It does not answer all the surrounding questions in any definitive sense but opens up new debates about planning and the processes behind its historical evolution.

Keywords:

• planning models
• model cities
• internationalization of planning
• planning diffusion
• cross-national learning

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Cities as planning models

Notes

This article was originally published with errors. This version has been corrected. Please see Erratum (http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02665433.2013.794053)

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What follows is based on information from John Griffiths on Dan Smith and from Sergio Fagerlande on Lucio Costa's father. Sergio's grandfather was a Brazilian naval officer based in Newcastle with Costa's father. I am grateful to both John and Sergio for sharing their knowledge with me.