colonial cities

1. Some key aspects and ideas ofstudying colonial cities:
(Robert Home – Of Planting and Planning. The Making of British Colonial Cities)
 The “Grand Modell”
o a policy ofdeliberateurbanization or town planting
o a policy ofcontrolling the land market
o town planning in advance ofsettlement
o wide streets and geometric forms
o aesthetics:Classical ideals ofsymmetry and order;Baroquegrandeur and surface
decoration
o public squares (providing:market, church, arsenal, courthouse)
o rectangular plots
o land reservations
o green belts (segregating, and protecting the central city)
 thalassocracy(port cities, the idea ofoverseas network, naval power relying on colonies)
 theory:world-city hypothesis (J. Friedman), colonial urban development theory (A. King)
 “fractured” cities (central –margins)
 effects of“sanitary” urbanization (surveillance, segregation)
 hybrid forms ofurban life and urban culture
 urban problems generated by colonial urbanism
 racial minority dominance (White European)
 urban renewal programs controlled by colonial authorities
 blaming the cultural deficiencies ofthe locals, ratherthan the colonial
 lack of investment (e.g.in housing)
 superficial improvements (e.g. facades)
Some key aspects of postcolonial cities:
 The legacy ofcolonial town planning

2.  The postcolonial condition in relation with urban characteristics and urban issues
o urban economy and working in the city
o housing, education, sanitation
o public spaces and urban control today
o disparities, segregations
 Rapid urban growth in the “Third World”
 The touristification ofthe postcolonial city in the global context