Migration, translation, and transformation of western urban planning models

Abstract

People, ideas, lifestyles, cultures, architecture and urban planning models have invariably traversed the world as a consequence of military compulsions, political goals, commercial motivations, or aspirational values. Western models in particular have spread widely, first through colonization and, recently, as a consequence of globalization. It is well-known that many cities around the world have been impacted by western urban planning models but, curiously no comprehensive comparative study of these influences has so far been attempted. This essay stems from 5 years of teaching and research in the field of urban history and presents a series of examples from non-western contexts such as India, China, Africa, South America, and elsewhere to showcase the direct or indirect impact of several western urban planning models. The aim is to analyse how differently these models, such as the English garden city, Le Corbusier’s plan voisin concept, and Haussmann’s plan for Paris have been adopted by a number of non-western cities and the degree to which they have been transformed by local contexts. Indeed, frequently, the original concept of the exported model has been completely modified. The essay also identifies those western urban models which have spread most widely. There are, indeed, a series of western models which have proved more popular than others and it is worth attempting to understand why they have proved to be so.