Urban Planning Flashcards
What appear to be the three motivations behind classical city planning ?
aesthetics and trends
community cohesion
functional considerations (sectors)
When and where does the Greek grid planning appear first in the evidence?
Greek colonies of Sicily
What did the popularity of the strict orthogonal full city organisation coincide with architecturally?
classical monumentalisation and idealised, mathematical execution
What was the grid planning of a community intended to encourage?
sense of orderliness and unity
How were houses arranged in orthogonal city plans?
placed within rectangular insulae that were surrounded by the straight intersecting roads
What was the usual plan for classical houses?
inclusion of a courtyard
What was the trend in house plans over the 5th cent BCE?
courtyard shifted from front of house to a central position around which the rooms were arranged
What practical functions did a courtyard serve in a classical house? Social benefits?
air circulation, let light in, open space for domestic tasks
residents could regulate movement of people in house, reception area
What are the types of rooms that have been archaeologically identified? Their evidence?
andron - sympotic and/or dining room. Wall paintings, large size, kline fixings, off-centre door
histeion (term used by Xenophon) - weaving room. Loom weights.
hearth room (kitchen/living room) - charring, paving, burnt substances.
Why should a strict ID of rooms in classical houses be avoided?
there was a fluidity in the use of space
Where is Hippodamus of Miletos known to have planned? What is he NOT to be attributed with?
Peiraeus, and possibly Ath colony Thurii all c mid-5th cent
Inventing the plan AND Strabo says there is a tradition of him planning new Rhodes city in 408 but this would likely have been too late
Term for theatre seating?
coilon
Names for types of roads in orthogonal plans?
stenopoi: smaller N-S streets
plateia: larger, often fewer E-W streets
(orientation may not be consistent)
