1 THE HISTORY OF CITY PLANNING FROM EARLY TIMES TO RENAISSANCE Do you know the history of the town or city where you live? If so, draw a brief timeline in your exercise book and write down periods or dates of the main historical events. Surf the net to get information about the main characteristics of the Greek polis. Early times Man began to live in long-lasting settlements between 8,000 to 10,000 years ago, when systematic cultivation of plants and the domestication of animals made more permanent settlements possible. Around 4,000 B.C., technological improvements such as the wheel, the plough, the loom, metallurgy, the production of storable food, led to a urban revolution . The first true urban settlements appeared around 3,000 B.C. in ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt and the Indus Valley. Linear perspective: Brunelleschi observed that with a fixed single point of view, parallel lines appear to converge at a single point in the distance, discovering a method for calculating depth. ONLINE RESOURCES Walled cities in Europe axial: assiale to beautify: abbellire city-dweller: abitante della città domestication: addomesticamento farther out: più lontano growth: crescita to knock down: abbattere loom: telaio overcrowded: sovrappopolato plough: aratro settlement: insediamento to spread (spread-spread): diffondersi wedge-shaped bastions: bastioni cuneiformi worship: culto 246 SETTLEMENTS Piazza Ducale, Vigevano Greeks and Romans It was in the Greek city-state, or polis , that the idea of city reached its peak. In the past, city-dwellers reserved certain areas for meetings, recreation, trade and worship. Athens and Rome were two great examples of this kind of urban organisation. Middle Ages Thick walls around cities provided protection to the city inhabitants and to rural people that could escape behind the walls during enemy attacks. A large number of cities became overcrowded because of population growth, but this problem was solved by knocking down the walls and rebuilding them farther out or building new cities nearby. Religion played an important role in medieval Europe so the church stood in the centre of the city and was the biggest and most expensive building. The Renaissance This was a period of great artistic development that began in Florence, Italy, in the early 15th century and spread to Rome, Milan and then the rest of Europe in the 16th century. Several famous artists of the period, such as Filippo Brunelleschi, who invented the theory of linear perspective , were involved in works to beautify cities. The research of symmetry and the creation of balanced axial compositions were central themes, as well as the placement of monumental buildings, obelisks and statues at the ends of long, straight streets. Rome s Palatine Hill