The Historical Evolution of Town and Country Planning in Australia and Internationally Essay Example for Free

The Historical Evolution of Town and Country Planning in Australia and Internationally Essay Despite the profession of planning being a relatively recent creation, Planning has existed in some form since the beginning of human settlement itself. Whether it is the ancient cities of the Old World or the global metropolises of today, every urban environments display some degree of planning in their design and function (Smith, 2007). However, just as cities have evolved over time, so to have the approaches taken to planning and the philosophies behind them. This evolution of Town and Country Planning forms a long and complex history which encompasses a wide breadth of ideas. Reflecting upon this history, several key movements can be identified: The origins of Planning in the 19th century, the Modernist era of the early 20th century and the Postmodernist era that followed. This paper will focus on these key movements. Historical Planning During the 19th century, cities were subject to increasing industrialization accompanied by rapid population growth and urban expansion. This lead to overcrowding, congestion, slums and lack of sanitation (Hall 1992). Growing public protest in the form of protests and labour strikes in countries like Britain led to the implementation of various reform measures such as the Public Health Act of 1848 and the Labouring Classes’ Dwellings Houses Act of 1866. These went some way to relieving these pressures (Maginn 2011) by setting minimal standards for health and housing, resulting in for increased living standards by the century’s end. During this time, planning was used mostly by private companies as a tool to increase productivity by improving the health of the working population (Cowan 2010). The higher living standards and economic prosperity this created lead to planning philosophy changing its focus from providing housing and improving cities to beautifying them (Bluestone M, 1988). This City Beautiful movement focused on civic beautification and the construction of monuments. The term ‘beautility’ was used to describe the theory that a beautiful city must also be functional one. (Freestone et al 2000) However, these changes led some to question if further improvements could be made. By the end of the 19th century, basic ideas about urban planning were well developed. These ideas had ‘underlying utopian aspirations that influenced the attitudes and procedures planners’ (Akoi, K 1993). The Garden City is possibly the best example of this, as an optimistic attempt to unite broad utopian ideals with the planning lessons of the past into a a specific plan. ( http://faculty. tamu-commerce. edu/jsun/racespaceplace. pdf) First outlined by Ebenezer Howard in To-Morrow (1898), the Garden City became a major force in the historical planning era that influenced planners worldwide. According to Hall 1992 (Hall 1992b), Howard argued that a new type of garden-city settlement could uniquely combine all the advantages of the town such as employment and access to services, as well as the advantages of country life, without any of the disadvantages of either. His proposal for creating such a settlement rested on the notion of decentralization, the movement of workers and their places of employment away from the city and into the new settlements isolated by wide greenbelts. Howard proposed the development of numerous Garden Cities, each with 30,000 inhabitants. Despite wide support from planners of the time, only two attempts were made at garden cities, Letchworth in 1903 and Welywyn in 1920, both of which never fully realized the goals of the movement. Mordernist Planning The Radiant City As the world entered the 20th century, planning philosophies evolved further. In Europe, Swiss-born architect Charles Edouard Jenneret, known as Le Corbusier, put forward radical planning proposals, which built on the ideas of Howard and his predecessors. Le Corbusier’s ideas and philosophies are contained in The City of tomorrow (1922) and The Radiant City (1933). These books outlined Le Courbuisers planning philosophies, centered around the idea of high density achieved through the construction of enormous skyscrapers, surrounded by open garden spaces and serviced by a highly efficient transport system of superhighways and railways grade separated from the inhabited realm (Hall 1993c). His proposals for a large-scale implementation of this phisosophy, outlined in his Plan Voisin Pour Paris, were never realized, though his ideas were implemented at a smaller scale around Europe in the postwar period following World War II, such as the Unite dHabitation in Marseilles. By the 1960’s many planners began to question the effectiveness of Le Corbusier’s proposals (Hall 1992d), and today many critics condemn his plans entirely, such as such as Dalrymple 2009 who views them as ‘soulless’ and ‘totalitarian’ in nature. However, it cannot be denied that his radical ideas had a major and lasting impact on the evolution of town and country planning (Hall 1992e). The Broadacre City While Le Corbusier was a proponent of density, American architect Frank Lloyd Wright was not. The two men were influenced by many of the same sources, but their visions were very different. Developed between 1932 and 1959, Broadacre City was a proposal for a sprawling city of large lots, farms and industry spread across the countryside serviced by network of superhighways (Brown 2007) While it was never built, Today’s critics have drawn parallels between it and the sprawling sub-urban expansion that defined the postwar reconstruction period in Australia and around the world. Postmodernist Planning Suburbia Thompson (2007) asserts that the postwar reconstruction of the 1950’s linked town and country planning with housing concerns to an extent not seen since planning’s beginnings in the 19th century. In Australia, master plans were created for cities, all of which reflected international planning philosophies of the time (Thompson 2007), supporting unlimited outward expansion, low-density residential development, car-oriented transport networks. In North America, this evolution was even more pronounced. Similar suburban developments were created, but on an unprecedented scale, with approximately 75 percent of North American housing stock built since World War II (Hirch 1983). These planning practices continued unabated until the 1970’s, when the effects of this planner began to be questioned (Thompson 2007). New Urbanism The end of the 20th century has seen the beginnings of yet another stage in the evolution of Town and Country Planning. Originating in the 1980’s, New Urbanism is a planning philosophy that promotes the construction of dense communities integrated with well-designed public spaces (Maginn 2011). According to Hikichi 2003, It promotes mixed residential unit types that are supportive of differing income levels, protection of the environment, less reliance on automobiles through he use of walking and bicycles for transport as well as the development of public transit and transit oriented development. In addition, New Urbanism supports having a town center that is within walking distance from all residential units that open space for public use. Conclusion It is clear that Town and Country Planning has a long and complex history, influenced by changing social, political, economic and environmental philosophies of both governments and private companies and planners. From its beginnings in 19th century Britain, through its modernist period and into its current postmodernist phase, planning has left both negative and positive impacts upon the urban environment. However, this history has not been ignored and planners of today utilize the lessons learnt from the planners of the past in order to plan as well as possible, as shown in the positive changes to planning practices as it has evolved. All approaches to planning have had a permanent impact on our urban environment, the results of which impact people today and will continue to do so into the future.

An Analysis of the Form and Ideology of Hedgehog in the Fog :: Film Movie Hedgehog Fog Essays

An Analysis of the Form and Ideology of Hedgehog in the Fog The animation, ?Hedgehog in the Fog?, tells the story of an inquisitive hedgehog passing through a wood to visit his friend the bear cub to count the stars. It has won numerous awards for it?s style and originality after it?s release by Yuri Bonsovich Norstein (1941 - to date) and his small crew at the Soyuzmultfilm studios in Moscow in 1975. ?Hedgehog in the Fog? is the fifth of Norstein?s six completed works. All have a deceptive simplicity, a faux naivetà ®ehat begs a deeper understanding of their origins and implications. Norstein has a very original, particular style to his animations and the purpose of this essay is to critically analyse the form and ideology of one of his animations with the intention of discovering what it is that makes his artwork so unique and has led to him being regarded as one of the greatest animators in history?. The method by which this will be done will be to firstly report the elements and functions that went into forming Norstein?s animations and ?Hedgehog in the Fog? in particular, then to analyse how these elements .mix with his personal influences to imply further meaning within his work. The hedgehog?s journey begins as he enters the wood carrying a bag of sweets for the bear, and unknowingly stalked by an owl. He pauses for a moment to entertain himself by calling into a well and listening to his echo, the owl does the same. Continuing he sees a white horse standing in the fog and is concerThed~~s to whether it might suffocate should it lie down, and so enters the fo~ff~.i*eIf just to ?see what it was like?. Once within, the fog itself becomes a great part of the plot, revealing and hiding a number of characters that amaze, help or alarm him, or all three. All the while the bear cub is heard calling the hedgehog, with great concern, in the distance. At one point, becoming enthralled with a large tree, the hedgehog loses his sweets, only to have them returned to him by a dog. Finally after accidentally slipping into a stream and being saved from drowning by a fish the hedgehog finds his friend the bear who fusses over him incessantly having been worried as to his whe reabouts. The film ends with the hedgehog deep in thought about everything that had happened.

MHCC is just for Me Essay

When I graduated high school, I knew that if I wanted to get ahead in life I was going to have to get into college. Not knowing exactly what I wanted to be when I grew up, made me worry about spending money on a traditional four year university. I realized that there were several cheaper options for a higher education were around my area. Starting my education at a community college seemed like the right step for me once I understood that the credits would all transfer to a university that I could choose at a later date. This was my first sensible step towards furthering my education. The problem was trying to decide which college to go to. I had to choose from Portland community college (PCC), Clackamas (CCC) or Mount Hood (MHCC). After sorting through the pros and cons, some of which were proximity to home and work, class availability and, helpful resources, it became clear which college was right for me. MHCC was my choice because it convenient for me. When choosing which community college to attend, the first thought was the distance from both work and home. I knew that I needed a place that was close enough to where I work so that I could take as many classes as I needed and not have to worry that I am going to be late for work because of traffic or some other distraction. Another reason that I need a place that was close is to save gas, as I am currently paying my own tuition and saving money is essential for a financially deprived student. It turns out Mt. Hood is only five miles away from my house, and even more convenient was that it was right down the street from where I work. With MHCC being so close to my work and home and I am only late to class because of my oversleeping. I have also been able to fit in extra classes every semester because of the time I save to squeeze it in without having to ask for any additional time off from work. I am currently working part time job at Bi-Mart so flexibility with scheduling is necessity for my schooling. My current situation for school is that I get to decide which two days I am off, and with those two days I can create my school schedule. MHCC scheduling is so convenient because that the same class that I may need could be taught by several different instructors which all have different times and different days allowing me to shape a schedule that will fit. This has really allowed me to appreciate the classes that are held twice a week for that reason. My usually schedule for school can sometimes take me all day. It starts with a morning class around eight all the way through the day until an evening course till around eight. Without the classes held only two days a week I don’t know how long it would take for me to graduate. One of the resources that I keep constantly using at Mt. Hood is the Learning Center’s tutors up on the second floor of the main campus l ibrary. I know that I am not the only student in the class room, so when I cannot get a meeting with the teacher to go over class items that I do not understand clearly I go to the tutor center. When I am up there I can receive all the help that I need for any school work that I am behind in. I know this because I go to the math tutor all the time for help just to get help that I need. I also have gone to the writing tutor in the past to help with papers that I get stuck on. I know that I am not a very strong writer and not all the rules of grammar stick with me, so knowing that there is a person that can help me makes me a more confident student and it makes me feel like I can achieve more. The convenience of the tutoring center has allowed me to be a better student. To be honest without MHCC, I don’t know if I would have the drive to go to another school. When thinking about the future it makes me cringe sometimes. If anything I have learned from working at Bi-Mart, I know that working dead end jobs as a lifestyle is not going to be in my best interest if I want to achieve something in my life. For that I consider Mount Hood to be a great school to attend. I am glad that I could find a school that could fit into my life and my future goals. At MHCC I have learned so much, and have improved both my writing and math. I know that furthering myself with an education is only going to benefit me in the time ahead and with the education at Mt. Hood I know that when I am able to transfer to that four year university I know that I will have the tools to be able to succeed not only there but beyond the university as well.

Socioeconomic Status And Low Achievement For African...

While studies have shown there’s a correlation between socioeconomic status and low achievement for African American Teens. There are valuable resources that can be used to help improve Urban Education including mentoring programs, after school programs, peer-to-peer activities, skill building career development, and cultural activities. After school programs have always been a staple in the lives of students living in Urban Communities providing different opportunities inside and outside of the school. Many programs have used mentoring and afterschool programs to help bridge the gap between secondary education and higher education. But, the effects of socioeconomic status has continued to contribute to the prevention of African Americans entering postsecondary institutions (NCES 2007). It seems that the issues preventing African American students are deeper than statistics and need a different approach to tackle this issue. It’s common knowledge that people who have h igher education are more likely to succeed, having better paying jobs. African Americans have one of lowest higher education graduation rate in the country, the NCES reported in 2009-2010 that the number of African American graduates was 164,844 compared to their Caucasian counterparts with 1,167,499. African Americans made up 10% of all graduates in 2010 (NCES 2012). Although the statistics show a huge gap between African Americans and Caucasian, African Americans are progressing and increasingShow MoreRelatedEducational Issue Involving Adolescents . Many People Blame1695 Words   |  7 Pagesstereotyping, racial judgements, and socioeconomic status. According to a study conducted by Aprile D. Benner, Alaina E. Boyle, and Sydney Sadler, American youth have made major strides in progressing in education in recent years. They also note that high school dropout rates are at an all-time low. 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