Architectural Planning in Cities

Choosing to be an architect is what I have dreamed of doing all my life. But when I chose my class schedule for this semester, I thought about other fields of study that relate to architecture. I found CRP 270: Forces Shaping the Metropolitan Environment. When looking at this class, it made me think of how it relates to architecture. For a city to grow, it needs buildings. This consists of commercial office buildings, residential apartment structures, and industrial sections of the city. These buildings are designed by architects, thus making architects a crucial part in the growth of cities.

Architecture has been around since the beginning of cities. From the early civilization around Stonehenge to the modern city of New York, the growth of cities has been affected greatly throughout the years. In early cities, Architecture shaped the way a city portrayed. When looking at Ancient Greek and Roman architecture, one can see that some of the great structures were built to honor and praise the great leaders or gods. This was a way of using persuasion to please the people of the city. These areas also function as a social area for people to set up markets and mingle amongst each other at the polis. The ancient civilizations helped to shape the way in which a city would be planned for the future.

The Renaissance was another time which architecture rose to greatness and helped shape the city. Renaissance means rebirth and during this time it was not only the rebirth of architecture but it made people think of other venues of art and of life. Also what became a large part of these new cities was the use of radial streets. These radial streets would allow access to central points in a city and allow for multiple exits as well.

The next great rise of city planning was done in the 19th century. This came with the industrial revolution in which the city was built around industrial areas. However, these areas were normally controlled by a powerful person, and controlled much of the land. They used this as a monopoly, a single provider selling products to the various other people. The architecture of this time reflected the industrial rise of the time. With the industrial age on the rise, this allowed for mass production of new elements in design. However, industrialization brought pollution to rise and made people rethink living in the smug cities of that time.

Around the beginning of the 20th century is when we see the rise of the green cities. With the rise of green cities, cities became cleaner than what had been in the past. Architecture also reflected this and continues to do this today. The LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building Rating System is a relatively new system that was brought about to