La Plata: an advanced nineteenth century new town with ancient roots

Abstract

La Plata, the new capital of the Buenos Aires province was founded as a descendant of the rich and homogeneous family of new towns based on the Spanish American model. The Spaniards established hundreds of settlements in America according to the early rules that were soon officially acknowledged and imposed by the Crown. King Philip II established in 1573 his ‘Ordinances concerning discoveries, settlements and pacification’. This system worked for more than four centuries because the Spanish American countries accepted the colonial rules long after their independence.La Plata offered one of the last opportunities for the development of these ideas. The urban theories which were originated during the nineteenth century left clear traces in La Plata's layout. La Plata became one of the first cases in which the nineteenth century ‘progressist model’ – the hygienic city, as defined by Françoise Choay – was adopted and actually built. The fortunate combination of the two models turned La Plata, its qualities and elements into a complex and unique example in urban history.