The 19th century was a fascinating period in the Western world, that was transitioning from the time of Renaissance, Romantic, and other significant revolutionist movements to urbanism and industrialization. The increased demand for manufactured, and factory-made produce, created jobs in cities which encouraged people to move into these central civilisations where these jobs could provide better living standards. This was particularly for members of the lower class who would otherwise work in the countryside. As such, the rising population of proletariats puts pressure on cities to perform and be safe and efficient places for people to live. As such many cities were completely demolished to provide for better living standards. This added a lot of Baroque character to the streetscape.
Much of the history that comes from the 19th century is written about France, as the French Revolution is crucial to the changing culture and attitude toward the urban landscape of the time and thus had significant impacts on plans and creations of the time. Following the French Revolution in the late 18th century, where proletariat members of society overthrew the monarchy to create a government-run as a republic. Napoleon however was an Imperialist and drew many enemies with neighbouring countries, and this resulted in the Napoleonic Wars, a series of conflicts throughout Europe. This essentially destroyed Napoleon's empire and damaged the economy of France. However, the influence of the revolution is essential to changing culture not just in France, but across Europe. It was a constitutional system, it lowered the influence of the Catholic Church, and it created democracy. Essentially ridding the monarchy was the biggest change and this influenced many other proletariat groups throughout the Western World. Thus a lot of the design in the 19th century, as seen in the reconstruction of Paris, is influenced by the rising power of the lower class. Closing sewage systems was done in response to typhoid outbreaks which killed tens of thousands of people. Also, the widening of streets seen in many 19th-century Urbanism projects, designed to simplify the containment of riots and lower the impact of barricading, is a specific detail employed in response to the context of the time for Haussmann. (B, Chapman, 1953, pg.178)
The Napoleonic Wars also increased the notions of nationalism and liberty, particularly within the Prussian (Germany today) and British Empires. Throughout the continent, Germans (people who spoke German) in particular were strong in pushing for a centralized country for themselves, and held many nationalist traits. They were pushing for liberalism particularly a constitutionalized system that allowed for democracy. However, due to conflict and constant change of rulers and identity, nationalism was a significant destabilizing force, and as such many riots were pursued.
The political motifs of the time, as well as requirements for easy circulation, are reflected throughout the neoclassic/modernist theme in many of the 19th Century Urbanism city plans, where the need for space and width in streets was essential for functionality and provided a cleaner aesthetic. The plans also reflected the need for improvement from the medieval cities, which lacked light and air. These can be seen in Impressionist artworks, for example, many paintings done by Pissaro, set in Paris. (B, Ladd, 2014)
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This critical evaluation scrutinizes Brian Ladd’s article, THE CLOSED VERSUS THE OPEN CITYSCAPE: Rival Traditions from Nineteenth-Century Europe, written in volume 4, issue 1 in the ‘Change Over Time’ journals created by the University of Pennsylvania. The piece points out the major urbanism projects over the 19th century. Specifically, it debates the topic of having open, breathing streets, such as those found in Paris, Berlin, Cologne, and other modernist styles compared to the more preservationist ideology of keeping intimate enclosed streetscapes found in more medieval cities that weren’t redeveloped in this period. Ladd delivers clear literature with an interesting and creative discussion of different interpretations of design choices made in the given era and whether the destruction of medieval cities is good or bad from an architectural point of view. There are many time-relevant case studies to provide support, however, while Ladd doesn’t support either discussion, he states that the contemporary cities we appreciate today acknowledge both forms of urbanism. He does however suggest that for cities to be progressive and socially reformed, they must undertake the ideology of a modernist ‘open cityscape’.
Ladd’s text is written in a somewhat chronological order. The text is introduced with a historical analysis of the origin of the modernist city. The reconstruction of Paris by Baron Haussmann, which was essentially the first open cityscape, is used as an example first development of the open cityscape, using Haussmann’s as a clear case study. This contextualizes the reader, who is then presented with the juxtaposing side of the argument from urban theorists of the same era, Camillo Sitte. Site was a conservationist, who despised Haussmann's view, and the modernist ideology that cities shouldn’t be enclosed. He emphasizes the aesthetic beauty of “crooked, narrow, crooked streets, and old neighborhoods” (B, Ladd, 2014). The text uses the two examples throughout and develops the discussion of the post-industrialization era invention of the automobile, which significantly changed urbanist design. The big wide streets, as seen in Haussmanns’ Paris today, were seen by modernists as essential for the facilitation of rapid circulation throughout cities, and Sitte’s preservationist ideas as “an appalling and paradoxical misconception in an age of motor cars. Sitte however states the lasting value of ‘islands of traditions’ within cities, to provide a nostalgic aesthetic to the new age city which didn’t admire its surroundings. Ladd goes on to say that in the post-war era, after so many medieval traditional cities had been destroyed through conflict, attitudes were not so negative against Sitte, and contemporary urbanism became a conjunction of both styles that appreciated and hosted closed and open streets.
The text created by Ladd is clear and very effective in giving the reader a good understanding of the topic presented. It comes across as an interesting journal article. The text lacks a clear introduction of a thesis, which makes it difficult to recognize the author's ideologies and beliefs on the topic. Having this base knowledge of the writer's intention makes it easier to understand what they are trying to communicate, and gives more perspective. This perspective is clear in the conclusion, where Ladd identifies the contemporary attitude toward open and closed streets as for cities to have a blend. This outcome of research needs to be stated in the introduction. Apart from the lack of clarity in the introduction, the text’s body is extremely effective in showing an engaging discussion that has been prominent in urbanism for the last two to three centuries. The contextualization toward the beginning of the article develops the tone and encapsulates the history and setting of the arguments, so it's easy to understand, for example, the impact of the French Revolution and the conflicts that precluded it. Using two examples of juxtaposing opinions, one of Georges Haussmann’s modernist views, and one from Camillo Sitte’s preservationist views, demonstrates to the reader both sides of the argument. Using alternation from paragraph to paragraph to develop these perspectives, structures the discussion in a way that's enticing for the audience. Being neutral in this discussion, Ladd allows the reader to develop their own opinions, by drawing upon similar arguments of our context, to preserve enclosed, cultural but inefficient laneways or to create large open, and economical plazas. Furthermore, the chronological structure of the text makes for a logical argument and evolves the discussion becoming more relevant to the reader as it becomes closer to our time. For example, the invention of the automobile, and its impact on urbanism is a major plot point in the article. The reasoning for and against having wide streets for rapidly circulating cities or on the other hand, to have more pedestrianized public spaces instead is a conversation still prominent today in city planning. As previously stated, the journal entry concludes with a clear summary, that identifies how the contemporary city and general urban planning undertake a more conjunctive approach to the two arguments.
In summary, Ladd’s text effectively discusses the studied topic in a way that's intriguing and communicated to the reader. To improve, Ladd needs to integrate a clearer thesis into the introduction. There is no clear outcome given in the introduction, which would help give perspective to the audience. However, the use of chronological order in the journal article’s structure progresses the argument cohesively. The emphasis on establishing a setting, and contextualizing by Ladd is executed well and delivers relevant history for the viewer to understand easily. Overall the text has been a helpful resource for studying 19th-century urbanism.
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