Plans imposed on colonial lands

 

Towns and cities in the Antl and other 19th-century British colonies were often planned in distant London. The Colonial Office produced plans to be imposed on the land, regardless of how well (or badly) they suited a site.

 

Planning to instil pride

Creating beauty in towns and cities to inspire civic pride was also a feature of 19th-century park and city plans. Parks and recreational spaces were set aside for citizens’ leisure. An example is New York’s Central Park, designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux.

Reforms for industry and society

 

Town plans also took on broader social ideals in the 1800s in response to the industrial revolution. Workers in factory towns lived in crowded slums with poor drainage and little access to light and air. Social reformers in England proposed solutions ranging from public health improvements to utopian communities. Some factory owners built model towns for their workers, to improve their wellbeing and productivity.

Town planning – the profession

 

By the early 20th century, town planning was developing as a profession in its own right. Several schools of thought about civic design became influential. They included the Garden City and City Beautiful movements, and the modern revival of historic place-making associated with Viennese planner Camillo Sitte.