Urban and Regional Planning
GEO 321 Spring 2008
Planning History Timeline

Here is the Planning history timeline that we created in class.

Planning History Timeline

Urbanization in America

  • Industrial Revolution and Increased Ag prod. Freed people working the land
  • Mass production-workers had to live near factories.
  • No mechanized transport.
  • Increase in Urban population
  • 1893 Colombia exposition--showed people how cities could be better.
  • Late 19th century streetcar doubles radius of cities.
  • First suburbs.
  • Automobile increased radius of the city.
  • Till great depression/WWII halted suburbanization
  • Extreme suburbanization-high income, low cost, Interstate highways
  • The whole thing reverses basically-businesses start moving to suburbs, downtowns/central cities abandoned.
  • Poverty in the city. High incomes in suburbs.
  • 1990s some central cities start growing again-New York and Chicago. -Era of gentrification, central city redevelopment.
  • Rustbelt to sunbelt migration. Growing cities in south and west, declining cities in the northeast

Early History of Planning

  • European tradition. Some plans for cities really early on but then as more and more people moved to America they ignored the early plans.
  • Independent corporations-land deeded to individuals.
  • Space between buildings, town square, gridiron.
  • American Revolution-Ended royal grants to individuals.
  • Power to plan no longer private-becomes a function of the state, government.
  • Health and sanitation problems-tenements in NYC.
  • Building codes, other limits on private property.
  • More parks-central park, Fredrick Law Olmstead.
  • Zoning-1920s New York(?)
  • Civic improvement movement-Columbia exposition 1893
  • Municipal art movement and City beautiful movement
  • Plan of Chicago-Daniel Burnham-Merchant's club
  • Practical, advertise, doesn't include social and economic aspects.
  • Ebenezer Howard-The garden city


Modern Planning History

  • Federal funding because of depression-for plans, but not for implementation.
  • Establishes the profession.
  • NRPB developed through New Deal, Also TVA-brought power,
  • 30s not a great decade for planning, or much else really.
  • WWII-baby boomers-increased population
  • 1949 housing act for returning GIs
  • Planning localized-grew on local level.
  • Urban renewal-getting rid of slums
  • EPA 1960s Environmental planning-Envi. Impact statements
  • Growth control and management -late 60s still around today.
  • Smart Growth 1990s Maryland-
  • Terrorism and security-tall buildings?