Abstract
Among all forms of city planning, the grid plan appears, historically, to be the most measurable and recognizable system of civic geography. This paper will explore how and why different social groups have been able to define the symbolism of the grid to suit their own political purposes and how governments and patrons have utilized the grid as the spatial manifestation for their political ideologies. This paper will be based on case studies of cities operating under very dissimilar political systems, i.e., the cities of ancient China and the city of Chicago in the Unites States. I argue that the American grid plan focuses on its peripheries, and that the expansive instinct of the American grid was effective in building a coherent American nation, transcending regional and class divisions. By contrast, the Chinese grid plan emphasizes the center, and the practices of urban planning in ancient China symbolized the evaluative tactics of the elite.
Highlights
City planning is the deployment of the political machine and its symbolic localization
The American used grid as a means of understanding the border region as potential or actual site of occupation; the ancient Chinese understood it as universal discipline and hierarchy
For Chinese, strategic geographical thinking usually proved more important than mathematical accuracy
Summary
Received September 7th, 2013; revised October 7th, 2013; accepted October 15th, 2013. Among all forms of city planning, the grid plan appears, historically, to be the most measurable and recognizable system of civic geography. This paper will explore how and why different social groups have been able to define the symbolism of the grid to suit their own political purposes and how governments and patrons have utilized the grid as the spatial manifestation for their political ideologies. This paper will be based on case studies of cities operating under very dissimilar political systems, i.e., the cities of ancient China and the city of Chicago in the Unites States. The Chinese grid plan emphasizes the center, and the practices of urban planning in ancient China symbolized the evaluative tactics of the elite
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have