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P U B L I C SQUARES

A N ANALYSIS O F A N UR BA N SP AC E F O R M AN D ITS

F U N C T I O N A L D E T E R M I N A N T S

by

G E O R G E M I C H A E L P E T E R

B. A. , Univers i ty of B r i t i s h Columbia, 1963

A THESIS S U B M I T T E D IN PA R T I A L F U L F I L M E N T O F T H E

R E Q U I R E M E N T S F O R T H E D E G R E E O F

MA ST ER O F A RTS

IN THE SCHOOL

of

CO M MU N ITY A N D REG I O N A L PLA N N IN G

We accept this thesis as conforming to ther eq u i r ed standard.

T H E UNIVERSITY O F BRITISH C O L U M B I A

May, 1968

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In p r e s e n t i n g t h i s t h e s i s i n p a r t i a l f u l f i l m e n t o f t h e r e q u i r e m e n t s

f o r an a d v a n c e d d e g r e e a t t h e U n i v e r s i t y o f B r i t i s h C o l u m b i a , I a g r e e

t h a t t h e L i b r a r y s h a l l m ak e i t f r e e l y a v a i l a b l e f o r r e f e r e n c e and

S t u d y. I f u r t h e r a g r e e t h a t p e r m i s s i o n f o r e x t e n s i v e c o p y i n g o f t h i s

t h e s i s f o r s c h o l a r l y p u r p o s e s may be g r a n t e d b y t h e Head o f my

D e p a r t m e n t or by hits r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s . I t i s u n d e r s t o o d t h a t c o p y i n g

o r p u b l i c a t i o n o f t h i s t h e s i s f o r f i n a n c i a l g a i n s h a l l no t be a l l o w e d

w i t h o u t my w r i t t e n p e r m i s s i o n .

D e p a r t m e n t o f Co tVvmv / n ;ty Rg ^'vand PUn .'n

Th e U n i v e r s i t y o f B r i t i s h C o l u m b i aVa n c o u v e r 8, Canada

D a t e M a v 14- ;

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A B S T R A C T

Historically the "public square" has been an important

element in the physical design of cities drawing its functions from

the political, religious, commercial and leisure life of the community.

Research of literature has lead the author to conclude that historically

the ped estrian usage of public squares was determined by factors of

form,. internal development, adjoining land and building uses, and

the relationship of the square to the urban structure. The analysis

of these factors in an historical survey and in an investigation, by

field, re search of eighteen contemporary squares, is the subject of

the thes is.

Squares were classified according to form and function.

Paul Zucker's spatial analysis was used for the classification by. form.

This identifies: l);the closed square; 2);the dominated square;

3) the nuclear square; 4) grouped squares; and 5) the amorphous

square. The author's analysis of functional types identifies four

categories. These are: 1) the inter nal function square - it s use is

independent of its surroundings; 2} the associated function square -

its use is closely affiliated with the land and building uses that front

onto the square; 3) the arterial node square - this is p r imar i ly an

intersection within the urban communication system; 4);the multiple

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function squar e - this combi nes in one ur ba n space the functions of

the former functional types.

A s s u m e that the most useful type of publ ic square in the

cen tra l busin ess d is tr ict of a city is one which rec eiv es muc h continuous

use by the community for both formal and casual activities. Then the

study sets out to isolate the factors that determine the volumes of

square usage by ped est ri ans and the ways that pedes t r ians w i l l u t i l i ze

this community faci l i ty.

It was observed that many funct ions which were h is to ri ca l l y

as so ci at ed w ith the city square have either been discon tin ued or are

now rem ov ed to mo re speci al i zed urban struc tures . Nume rous other

functions continue to be a very significant aspect of publ ic squares.

The most prevalent type of square usage observed was for functions of

l e i s u r e . Thes e include in fo rm al casual usage for soci al recre at io n,

mee tin gs, and the enjoym ent of the urb an env iro nme nt, and fo rm al

or special usage for such functions as dram as and spec tacle s, mu si ca l

con certs , fes tiv als , some athletic events, and the dis pla y of art wor ks .

Some functions of po l i t ica l , rel i gio us and co mm er ci al o ri gi n cont inue

in v a ry ing degrees in some squ ares .

The people who use squ ares com e f r o m a wide sp ec tr um

of age gr oups and occ upa tio ns. Square s se em to have an appe al to the

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community as a whole. Some groups te nd to use squ are s at pa r t i cu la r

ti me s of the day; oth ers use squares throughout the day. The analysi

of the data l e a d to the fo l lowing conclusions.

F o r m The fo r m of a publ ic square was not de mons trat ed

to be a factor in f luencing the volume of pedestrian usage.

In ternal Development - The usage of squar es i s l i k e l y to

i n c r e a s e as

does the

ava i lab i l i ty of

amenable elements of

in te r na l

deve lopment such as poo ls, fountains, . sculp ture, seat ing, pavement,

l ava to r i e s , ref reshm ent sources. A l i m i t e d amount of v e h i c u l a r traffi

in squares does not adve rsely affect usage. The. pr es en ce of peop le

and other animate objects ( e spec ia l ly pigeons) ar e a pos i t ive influence

on pedestrian volum es.

Ad j o i n i n g Land and B u i l d in g Uses - The squares with the

broadest v a r ie ty of adjoining uses and the g rea t e s t total number of

adjoining uses t end to have the g rea t e s t usage. La nd uses with the

grea te s t continuous "tu rno ver " of clients are benef ic ia l generator s

of usage. Examples of adjoining l a n d uses that c o r r e l a t e with heavy-

usage of squar es are churches , museums, art gal ler ies , l i b r a r i e s ,

tour i s t facil i t ies, r e s t a u r a n t s , bars , cafes, hotels, and cer ta in

re ta i l shops. Low usage of squares was suggested , but not conc lus ive

shown, to c o r r e l a t e with governmental and inst i tut ional uses, and

thea t res , cinemas, and audi tor ia . In s om e specif ic times, the

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X V

adjoining land use s h ave no effect on the vol um e of usag e.

Urban Structu re - Pe de st ri an usage tends to be greater

when: the squ are is loca te d in the ap pr oxi ma te ce ntre of the C . B . D .

in an immediate area of high pedes tr ian lev e ls , the avai labi l i ty of

public o pen spac e i n the v ic in i ty is not abundant; the sq ua re is an

a r t e r i a l node in the urban transportation network with public t r a n s

portat ion fac i l i t ies avai lab le .

If the s qu are i s to be d ev elo pe d as a vi tal e lement within

the urban structure it should be planned so as to op ti mi ze the inf lue nce

of those factors which wi l l increase i ts amenity, des i r ab i l i ty and hence

the deg ree of its u se .

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iii

TA B L E O F CONTENTS

Page

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. . i

TA B L E O F CONTENTS iii

LIST O F TABLES

LIST OF FIGURES

CHAPTER I FOCUS

Introduction 1

The Hypothesis 4

Definitions 6

Limitations and Scope 9

Sources 10

Methods and Procedure 12

CHAPTER II T H E M E AND VARIATIONS; A N ANALYSISOF T H E HISTORICAL FORMS AN DFUNCTIONS

Introduction 19

The Spatial Classi fica tion 20

The Closed Square 21The Dominated Square 23The Nuclear Square 24Grouped Squares 27Amorphous Squares 28

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PageAdjoining land and building uses 127The squ are in the urb an s tructure 128The so ci al function s 130

P o l i t i c a l 131Religious 131Commercial 131Leisure 131

C H A P T E R I H T H E T R A N SP O S I TI O N A N D M A I N T E N A N C EO F FU N CTIO N S

Perspective 134

P o l i t i c a l Fu nc tio ns 137

Religious Fu nc tio ns 142

Co mm er ci al Functions 145

Le is ur e Function s 148

Summary 154

C H A P T E R IV A N A N A LY S I S O F T H E P E D E S T R I A NU S A G E O F C O N T E M P O R A RY S Q U AR E S

The Cla ss if i ca tio n of Squares A cc or di ng to thePe de str ian Volu me 158

Pe de str ian Usage 165

The age of ped est ria n users 165The occupation of square u sers 168

O r i g i n and de sti na tio n 172

F o r m and Pe de st ria n Vo lum e 175

Inte rnal Deve lopm ent and the Us er 178

Po ol s and Fou nta ins 181Sculpture 185

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PagePigeons 191Cafes 193A u x i l i a r y el emen ts 196Roadw ays i n the squ are 205

Dra ma tis Per son nae 211S u m m a r y 214

The Generation of Usage by Adjoining Lands andBuildings 216

Adjoining land uses and the pe de st ri anvolume ra ti o 216The co rre lat ion of adjoining uses andtimes of square usage 223

Thea tres , c inemas, audi toria , andgov ern men tal uses 226An exce pti on to the ru le 229S u m m a r y 230

The Inte gration of the Squ are with the Ur ba nStructure 231

The loca t ion within the C . B . D . andped estr ian lev els 232The avai labi l i ty of publ ic open space in thevic in i ty 233The sq ua re and the street sy s te m .. . . 239Summary. 241

C H A P T E R V A R E S P O N S E T O WA R D T H E D E V E L O P M E N TO F S Q U A R E S IN U R B A N P L A N N I N G

Introduction 242

Fu nct ion s of Squares 243

Pedestrian Usage Determinants - Restatement ofthe Hy pot hes is 245

F o r m 246Interna l Deve lopm ent 246Adjoining Land an d Bui ld ing Use s 247The Ur ba n Str uctu re 250

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Page

Planning the Mult iple Function Square inthe C . B . D 251

Ev al ua ti on of the Study . 254

B I B L I O G R A P H Y 256

A P P E N D I X 261

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vii i

LIS T O F TA B L E S

T A B L E Page

I Th e Squ are s i n the Ca se Studies 156

II The Cl as sif ic at i on of Squares by Volume ofPe de str ian Us er s and A r e a 161

III A C om p ar is o n of the Ag e of Squ ares with theP e d e s t r i a n Volume Ra ti o. 163

IV Spatial F o r m and the Ped es tr ia n Volume Ra ti o. . . . 176

V Th e Re lat ion of the Intern al Dev elop men t to theP e d e s t r i a n Volume Ra tio 180

VI The Rela tions hip of the P . V . R. to Ve hi cu la rTr a f f i c 206

VII Adjoining Lan d U ses and the ir Re lat ion to thePedes t r i an Volume Ra tio 218

VIII Th e Square in the Urban Str uct ure . 236

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F I G U R E Page

XX I Fi la re te 's Pl an for Sfor zina 101

XXII Ei 'Avenue des C ha m ps - El ys ees , Pa r i s 105

X X n i P ia zz a del Cam pido glio 108

X X I V Pi a zz a San Pi etr o and vic ini ty, Rom e 109

X X V Grosv enor Square, London I l l

X X V I P l a c e de l a Co nc or de , P a r i s ; pla n of 1753 113

X X V H Place Roy ale, P ar is 115

XXVII I Ax is f r om the Lo uv re to P l a c e de l ' E t o i l e 117

XX IX Wr en ' s Pla n for Lond on;

L' En fa nt s' Pl an for Washington 119

X X X The Pa li o; Pi az za del Cam po, Siena 123

XX XI Pi az za Nav ona, . Rome 124

XX XI I P ia z z a del Me rc ato , Siena 145

X X X L U Kni tting in Pl az a de Esp ana 170

X X X I V Talking in P la za Ma yo r 170

X X X V Place du Te rt re , P ar is 171

X X X V I Nathan Ph il li ps Squ are, . Toro nto 181

X X X V I I Foun tain, Centenn ial Square, V ic to r ia 184

X X X V I H Scu lptu re in Squ ares 188

XX XI X He nr y Mo ore ' s Ar ch er , Nathan Ph i l l i ps Square ,

Toronto 189

X L Pig eo ns : Pl az a San M ar co 192

X L I Pi ge on s: Syntagma Square 192

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xi

FIGURE Page

X L H Syntagma Square, Athens 194

XLHI P iazza San Marco, Venice 194

XLIV Sleeping in the sun, Vic tory Square;

Bench warmers in San Francisco,. Civic Square. . 200

X L V Garden development, Union Square 201

XLVI "Fenced in" Squares 204

XLVII Place de la Concorde 210

XLVIII Chiesa San Marco and P iazza 214

XLIX P iazza San Pietro 215

L Sunday Afternoon in Union Square. 229

LI Piazza San Marco and vicinity 234

LII Grand ' Place and Town Hall 237

LILT Place de l'Etoile and vicinity 238

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i

P R E F A C E

In the su m me r of 1965 this stu dy was fi r st c on ce iv ed by

the autho r. Since that ti me devo tion and lab ou r on the wor k has

f lour ished and waned sev er al t i me s. Its final complet ion brings

relief to many and may res tore opt im is m to som e. The author hopes

s ince re ly that the contents of this thesis w i l l be us ef ul to students of

u r b a n i s m and bene fici al to pract i t i oner s of ci ty building an d those

for whom they plan.

The acknowledgement of ass is tance is gr ea tl y owed to a

numb er of per son s who have been instr ume nta l in pr ep ari ng the study.

F i r s t and fore mos t, the author wishes to express his gratitude to

Pro fes sor Br ah m Wiesman, o f the Uni vers i ty of Br i t i s h Colu mbia

School of Co mm un ity and Regio nal Pla nni ng. H is guidance, as a dvi sor

helped to bring together into a f o r m a jungl e of ide as and data, and then

to prun e much of the none ssen tia l and ir re le va nt throu gh the tedious

work of editin g. To D r . H . P. Ob erl an der , the author is indebted for

the in sp ir ati on of ideas, pa rt ic ul ar ly reg ard ing human needs in the

planning of cit ies . F o r their t ime and aid in the colle ctio n of data

thanks is due to Mi s s Sandra Wood, M es sr s Ke r r y Egd el l and Gordon

Angue, and se ve ra l now forgotte n acquaint ances who pati entl y enu mer ated

people in European squares. Mi s s M . Dwyer of the U . B . C . l i b ra r y is

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C H A P T E R I

F O C U S

The concept of the public square has been both i d ea l i zed and

c r i t i c i z e d by numerous learned an d experie nced authors on urb an form,

h i s to ry, an d cu l ture . Reference to their ins ights and thoughts on the

matter gives evidence of the s ignif icance of the publ ic square in par t icul ar

and publ ic open space g e n e r a l l y i n the "the ory an d p r a c t i c e " of city

planning today.

Paul Zucker, an au thor i ty on the squar e as an urb an art form,

has w r i t t e n that:

... i t i s the square which is the c en t ra l for mat ive element inthe town, which mak es a community and not me re ly an aggregate of individuals - ac tua l ly a p sy c h o l o g i c a l par kin g space inthe c i v i c landscape.'''

During the l a s t decades c i ty planners have been p r i m a r i l y concerned with such pro ble ms as the use of land, the improvemen tof t raff ic and ge ne ra l communic ation, zoning, the re la t ions hip

be twee n the res iden t ia l and indust r ia l areas, etc. T he considerations have somewhat over-shadowed the im po rt an ce of thesquare as a b a s i c fac tor i n town planning, as the ver y heart ofthe city. Only now^ does in teres t t u rn toward this centra lformative lement.

Paul Zucker, 'The Space Volume Re la t ion in the H i s t o r y of Tow nPlanning, " Journal of Aes the t ics , XIV. ( June , 1953),p439.

2Paul Zucker, Tow n and Square (New York: Columbia Un iver s i ty

Press , 1959), p. 1.

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2

Z u c k e r ' s est ima tio n of the city squar e as the dominant focus of ci vi c

identity seems jus tif ied if we con side r the pri de and civ ic hi st or y eng en

dered by and associated with the ' Pi az za San M a r co " in Ven ice,

"T raf a lg ar Square" in London or ' l a Place de l ' E t o i le " in Pa r i s . This pride

and hi st or y is demons trated by the ve ry existence of these squares which

would add new reven ue to city tr ea su ri es if taxable build ings were erec ted

on the sites ; by the mu seu ms, churc hes, and monuments that are loc ated

about the m; by the annual rep etit ion of hi st or ic public cerem oni es on them ;

by the spontaneous f locking of citizens to them in the great mom ent s of

civ ic hi st or y such as the ending of a war; and mo st im po rta nt of al l, in the

author's opinion, the pr id e whic h a city has tow ard its great square is

ref lec ted in the casu al eve ryd ay use of that square by great numbers of

ci t izens.

F r e d e r i c k Gutheim in his art icl e "U rb an Space and Ur ba n Design"

is equal ly con cern ed with the im por tanc e of main taini ng and creat ing the

finest of that elus ive quality "u rb an it y" through the design of space s. He

wri tes :

Where is the center? What do you do when you get there?Popu la r u rba n desi gn also involv es urban ity, the quality thegard en cit y forg ot. It is found in plazas and squar es, in corsosand bo ul ev ar ds , in the alam eda and the pr om ena de . It can befound in a rai l road stat ion, l ike "the street between two bui ldings"in Rome; in the "gal l eri as" in Mi l an or Naples, or in a mainstreet l ike the Kur ft i r sten dam m. When you find it, never let it go.It is the ha rd es t thi ng to create anew.^

F r e d e r i c k Gutheim, "U rb an Space and Urb an Des ig n , " Cities andSpace (Ba l t i mo re; Reso urce s fo r the Futu re, Inc. , 1963), p. 118.

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The difficulty in creat in g and maintainin g urb an spaces as community

assets rather than dull and somet imes dangerous pro bl em areas i s well

re co rd ed by the sh arp pen of Jane Jacobs. In her re ma rk ab le study

The Death and L i f e o f Grea t American Ci t ies she wri tes :

F o r ever y Rit tenhouse Square in Phi l adel phia , or Roc kef el le rPl az a or Washington Square in New Yo rk , or Boston Com mo n,or thei r lov ed equivalents in other citi es, there are dozens ofdispir i ted c i ty vacuums c al l ed parks eaten around with decay,li t t le used , unl ove d. As a woman in Indiana sai d when askedif she l iked the town squa re, "No bo dy there but dirty^o ld me nwho spit tobacco ju ice and tr y to look up your sk i rt . "

The cr i t er ia which ma y more successful ly, pred ict the development of

pleasant, active, and well used public squa res has app aren tly not bee n

communica ted in a l l areas of to day 's Indian a (as not ed i n the latter quote),

an d other unused or em pty squares of A m e r i c a even though app rox ima tel y

twenty-five hundred years of pr ac ti ca l exper ience in the planning and

building of squ are s is now and has bee n available for gu ida nce ! Th e

technical and art ist ic ski l ls of cont empo rary ci \ ic designers may cause

wide spread sat isfac t ion and pra ise for their prop osals of urba n bea ut i fi -

cation through the development of public squa res; the gen eral body of

cit ize ns is qu ick to approve and ha i l new pr op os al s for open space, in

the crowded city centres, without cri t i ca l l y asking i f commu nity needs will

be sat is fact ori ly met by such pro po sal s. But the comm unity planner m ust

assure h i m s e l f that even the finest arc hi tec tu ral conceptions of ur ba n open

spaces wi l l rece ive sufficient number s of use rs to warra nt the i rn ple men -

Jane Jacobs, Th e Death and L i f e o f Grea t American Ci t ies(New York: Vintage Books, 1961).

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ta t ion of such proposals.

However, if such urb an open spaces as squ are s, do fu l f i l l a

genuine com mu ni ty need, and if this can be dem ons trat ed, then the ci ty

planner may wholeheartedly support the effective development and preser

vat ion of such community faci l i t ies.

I . T HE H Y P O T H E S I S

The goal of this study i s : fi rs t, to examin e the us es, to

ped est ria ns, of the public squ are, in the past and pre sen t, in or de r to

gain knowledge about this type of urban open space which w i l l be helpful

to city pl an ne rs ; and second, to examine se ve ra l ph ys ic al factors concerning

public squ ares to determ ine the relati ons hip of these factors to the ways

in whi ch peopl e use squ are s, to the fre que ncy of pe de st ri an usage , and to

the period of that usage . Fu r th erm ore , the iden t i f ied phy sica l factors

wi l l be evaluated to reveal any correlation that may exist with us e. It

may then be possible to predict how certain physical factors are l ikely

to inf lue nce the functionin g of squ are s, and hence, apply this in fo rm at io n

i n commun ity plannin g.

The vehic le for reaching this goal is the hypot hesis . The in ve st i

gation of the hy pot hes is, both i n its suppo rt and opp osi tion , r i s - intended

to provide a basis for deriving conclusions and recommendat ions. This i s

the ob jec tiv e of the stu dy.

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5

The statement of the hyp oth esi s i s the ch ief guide, to the

subjects di scu sse d in the thesis, and to the fram ewo rk of the re se ar ch .

The hypothesis has been formulated from readings into the historical

form s and soc ial funct ions of squar es. F r o m the bib l io gra phi cal sources

four dominant factors were noted. Thes e were each drawn from the

l i t e ra tu re because they suggested patterns and ass oc iat ion s, about squa res

an d the ir pl ace in the co mmu nit y, whic h see m to have had a stro ng

influence on the functio nal and ph ys ic al int egr ati on of the publ ic square

w ith the ci ty .

Each of the four factors to be examined is a physical cha rac t e r

is ti c of squares within the scope of city plann ing. The pr ob lem s which

they pos e, sin gly or in concert, are thus po ss ib le is su es i n the plan ning

and development of squ ares . Th ese four factors are discussed from the

per spe cti ve of his to ry, in Chapter II, where des crip tio ns, exampl es, and

analyses are prese nted in br oad surve y fo rm . To mor e fu l ly explain the

hypothesis the factors a re b r ie f ly stated below , (defin itions of t e rms fellow

in Sec tio n II). Th e four factors for investigation are:

i) the f o r m of the squ are;

ii) the in te rn al develop ment of the squ are ;

i i i) the la nd and building uses adjoini ng the squ are;

iv) the rel ati on shi p of the square to the sur rou nd in g

urban a rea and the gene ral phy si ca l s tructure of

the community.

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The research concentrates on the public square as an urban

area intended for use by people on foot - the pedestrians. (Parts of a

square may be set aside for buildings, parking lots, and vehicular

traffic movement, but the dominant functions of squares -will be shown

to have been hi stor ical ly dedicated to pedestrians, and it is to their use

that the hypothesis is directed.

The hypothesis is that:

THE PEDESTRIAN USAGE O F PUBLIC SQUARES IS A FUNCTION O F:

THE F ORM O F T H E SQUARE; T H E INTERNAL DEV ELO PMEN T O F

THE SQUARE; T H E LAND AND BUILDING USES ADJOINING T H E SQUARE;

THE AVAILABILITY O F OTHER TYPES O F PUBLIC OPEN SPACE IN

THE VICINITY O F TH E SQUARE, AND T H E L E V E L S O F PEDESTRIAN

ACTIVITY IN TH E VICINITY O F TH E SQUARE.

H. DEFINITIONS

To cl ar if y the meaning of the hypothesis and to prevent its

misinterpretation, the following terms are defined according to the

way in which the author intends them:

Public Square

The most immediate te rm requi ring definition is "public

square, " but any finite definition in verbal terms is likely to be inadequate

because the public square is a concept expressed phy sicall y. A

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sat is facto ry explanation and defini t ion may be der ive d fr o m a car efu l

exam inati on of the f or ms and so ci al functions through which the ide a

has hi st or ic al ly been re al iz ed . Chapter II is intended to prov ide a

clea r and de scr ip tiv e an alys is of both the for ms and functions of "public

squ ares. " Such foreig n words as the F re n ch "pla ce, "S pa ni sh "p la za ,"

and Italian " p i a z z a " are us ed in the study to mean the same as "public

sq ua re " or "s qu ar e. " But i t must be noted that in genera l usage these

terms havettaken on sp eci al and often confusin g me ani ng s. The only

meaning intended for each of these terms i s that one exp re sse d th rough

the examp les de scr ib ed, analyse d, and su m ma ri ze d in Chapter II.

Pedest r ian Usage

1 "P ed es tr ia n usa ge " re fe rs to each of: (1) the people who use

squar es, their or ig in and dest inat ion within the city, and any patterns

among the users that ma y be ide nti fie d such as age gro ups, or occup ation s;

(2) the pu rp os es fo r wh ich the ped est ria ns have come into the squar e, such

as to meet o ther per son s, to part icip ate i n some act ivi ty occu rr in g in

the squ are , or to enjoy the am eni ty of the sq uar e; (3) the va ri ou s ways

that ped estri ans once in a square use it (eg. talk ing, eating, sleepin g,

feeding pig eon s, etc. ); (4)Sthe times of the day or night when pedestrians

use square s and any pecu li ar it ie s of types of use s, t im es of use, and

durat ion of use.

F o r m

" F o r m " re fe rs to the ba si c p hy si ca l shape of the square - as if

the squ are w ere an open cont ainer whose volu me is d efined by its bo tto m

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8

(the ground)^ its sides (buildings, t rees, a h i l l s ide, a r i ve r ' s bank

etc .) and the open ce il in g (the sky)'*

Internal Development

"Internal development" refers to those physica l fu rn ish ings

within the open space of a square that are dist inct from the ' form. "

The in ter na l developm ent is the way in which such street furnishings

as benches, g rass , pavement, t rees, flo wer s, fountains, and sculp ture,

have been ut i l ize d; inte rnal development also refers to the ways in

which a square maybe divided into sectors for roadway, sidew alks,

a p a r k - l i k e area, and ope n-a ir cafes.

Adjoining Land and Bui lding Uses

"Adjoining land and bui lding uses, " refers to those land and

bui lding uses abutting di rec tl y onto the square and fo rm in g part of the

defining elements of the f o r m of the square. Th ese adjoining uses have

ac ces sib i l i ty to the square without dependency on in ter me di ary streets

or bu i ld ings .

Availabil i ty

"Av a i l ab i l i t y " of public open space refers to the co nd iti on when

public la nd is rea di l y ut i l izab le for open space.

Vicini ty

" Vi c i n i t y " is the indefinite area of a community surrounding

the squ are; i ts gen eral l i mi ts are within easy walking distance of the

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dedicated to use by pedes tr ians and have spe cif ic pedes tr ia n areas i n

addition to pe rim ete r sidew alks. Squares which ser ve p r inc ipa l ly as

a pa rk in g lot or tra ffi c interch ange s without com para tively l ar ge

pedest r ian sectors were excluded. Both the hi st or ic al re se ar ch and

the case studies were l imi ted geographically to nations of western

Europe , the United States, and Ca na da . But this ba si s was b ro ad enough

to suggest that the scope of the study and hence its ap pli ca tio n ma y be

useful to some extent in al l areas where Western c iv i l iza t ion is the c u l

t u ra l and ph ys ic al basis of urba n l i fe and form. Within the total group

of case studies there existed not only national differences, but also

se ve ra l cu ltur al groupings, i . e . An g lo -S axon, Me dite rran ean , North

West E uro pea n. The study did not re se ar ch cul tura l factors which influence

usa ge of sq ua re s, but sought, inste ad, to ide nti fy patter ns of usag e, and

fac to rs of usag e wh ich cut across cul tural ba r r ie rs and fo rm common

l inks among different cities of wes tern civil ization.

IV. SOURCES

The historical section of the thesis is based on an investigation

of lit era tur e and in some cases a f ield study. A l l available info rma tion

in the lit er atu re which was writte n in En g l i sh or Fr en ch , and was

relevant to community planning and squares was used as a possible

so ur ce . (Other li te ra ry sou rces wh ich are about squa res but are

con cer ned so lel y with design and lands cape were revi ewe d, but it was

concluded that they are be yon d the scope of this study bec au se they deal

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with the design of squares in iso lat io n fr o m the broad er aspects of the

square in rel ati on to the city and acti viti es of urb an l i fe .)

Only two books were found whose pr im e subject is public square

The f i rst of these 'C i t y Planning Acco rd in g to Art i s t ic Pr i nc ip l es ' by

Camil lo Sitte was pu bl is he d in 1889 and is today a c l a s s i c in planning

l i t e r a tu r e . G . R. Co l l in s , the t rans la to r of this work, wr i tes in his

preface ,

He extracted from the part iculars that he observed in oldtowns certain un ive rsa l statements that not only have sincebeen accepted as t ru ths , but have conditioned even to thisday the judgments whi ch all of us ma ke about what is goodor bad in our a r c h i t e c tu r a l environment. 5

The other work is Pa ul Zu ck er 's T own and Squ are; this is a detailed

hi st or ic al study of the for ms , or ig in s, and development of the pl az a as

an art f o r m in urb an desi gn. The book in sur vey f o r m is the pr in ci pl e

single source o f h i s to r ica l data on squa res . In scope it includes the

total geographical breadth of wes te rn c ivi l izat ion from the e a r l i e s t

urban settlements up to the beg inn ing of the nineteenth cen tur y. Th e

remain ing major sources o f h i s to r ica l data are Lew is Mu mfo rd ' s The

City in His tor y, Fr ed er ic k H io rn 's Town Build ing in His tor y, and Sigfrie

Giedion's Space Ti me and Arc hi t ectu re. A l i mi te d number of l i t era ry

sources which became known to the author in Italian and Greek, were

used when English sources did not pro vid e eq ually extensive information.

5Cam i l lo Sit te, Ci ty Planning Ac co rd in g to Ar t i st ic Pr in cip les ,

t rans. George R. Col lin s and Chri stia ne Cras em ann C ol lin s (New Yo rk :Random House, 1965), p. ix.

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Literature with relevant information about the contemporary-

usage of squares was quite l im ite d. Many authors deal with pla za s

f r o m the perspect ive of landscape and desig n. The se were not includ ed

in the bib lio gra phy although many were revi ewe d to insure that the

probabi l i ty of omitt ing importan t factors was m i n i m i z e d . F r o m the

planning perspective many authors have written about the success or

fa i lures of conte mpora ry squares and some of the act ivi t ies that occur

in them, but the empi r i ca l bas i s for their conclusions are frequently not

r e c o r d e d i n their l i ter ature (e. g. " D i s c u s s i o n on I ta li an P i az za s" i n

The Hear t of the City) ^ Useful insights of such authors as G . E . Kidder -

Smith, Kevin Ly n ch , and Jane Jacobs prov ide d info rma tion about the

con temporary usage of squares fo r a number of locations that were not

par t of the author 's case studies. The se were use ful both as a compar ison

of findings and as a "h in t " of what to look for .

V. M E T H O D S A N D P R O C E D U R E

The thesis i s organized into five chapters of individual lengths,

and unequal importance.

The task of the in i t ia l chapter i s : to introduce the reader to

International Congress for Modern Arch i t ec tu re , "Discuss ionon I ta l ian Piazzas, " The Hear t of the Ci ty : Towards the Humanizati onof Urban L i f e (London: Lund H u m p h r i e s , 1952), pp . 74-80.

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the subject of pl az as , and to com men t on the ir re le va nc e as a

community planning topic; state the goal and ob jec tiv e o f the study;

set out the hyp oth esi s and define its te r m s; outline the scope of the

r e sea rch and i ts l im ita t io ns; descr ibe the sources o f b ib l iogr aphi ca l

infor mation and the ori gin al re se ar ch ; and su mm ar ize the methods of

r e sea rch and the pr oc ed ur es foll owe d.

Chapter II is an essay i n h i s to ry. Using the survey method,

it de scr ib es and analy zes the ph ys ic al fo rm s and so ci al functions of

the pu bli c square f r o m its fi rs t known appearance through its development

in western cu l tu re . This chapter has three purposes :

i) F i r s t , the chapter is a defi nit ion , by exam ple , of what is

meant by the t e r m "sq uar e, " or "pu bli c square , " and the count erparts

in o ther languages such as "p la ce " (Fre nch) , "p la tz " (German ), "p la za "

(Spanish) "pl at ea " (G ree k). It defines the square as a ph ys ic al fo r m whi ch

is cl as si fi ed into types f r o m the per spe cti ve of spati al vol umes which a re

app lic abl e througho ut the hi st or y of the squ ares as an ur ba n open space.

i i) T r ac i n g the development of pub lic squares through the majo r

hi st or ic al pe ri od s of i ts evolution, this chapter estab lishes a patter n of

phys i ca l character i s t i cs pertaining to the square both as a distinct entity,

and as an integral part of the community (physically and functionally).

This i s a pat tern of ph ys ica l fo rm , inter nal development , adjoining

land us es, and a rela tio nsh ip to the ur ba n a rea i n the v ic in it y of the squa re;

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(in the s ma ll er citi es the whole of the ci ty ma y be the vici ni ty st ru ctu ral ly

rel ate d to the squa re). The des cri pti on of these patterns is an explanation

of the hyp oth esi s, and demonstrates i ts ve ry strong dependency upon

h i s to r i ca l p receden t s . Th is is the second purpose of Chapter II.

i i i ) Final ly, the chapter serves to describe and relate the

foregoing physica l character i s t i cs to the numerous social functions that

the square fu l f i l led through t ime. This is then, als o, a defi niti on by

exam ple of the square a cc or di ng to its functions i n the co mm uni ty, and is

the foundation for later co mp ar is on of the so ci al function which the pub lic

square play s in the com mun ity of our own ti me .

Chapter III, t i t led "Th e Tr an sp os it io n and Mainten ance of

Fu nc ti on s" has two pu rp os es . Th e fi rs t is to outline activ itie s now hous ed

in spec ia l iz ed bu i ld ings , . but which were as soc iat ed with the pu bli c

square i n differ ent t i me s, at different pla ces in the past. Un de r the

topics of government , rel igi on , co mm erc e, and lei su re, the chapter

is in ten de d to show that indoor spaces are more adequately able to

meet the pa rt ic ul ar needs of num erou s urb an acti viti es than is the

public square . Th is le ads to the ne ces sit y of dis co ver i ng what sp eci al

functions are left today for the square, and what sp ec ia l fo rm s, int ern al

development, adjoining lan d uses , and st ru ctu ral re la ti on sh ip to the

city , are m os t able to op ti mi ze the fun ctio ns.

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v) the col lec tio n of hi st or ic al data relevan t to the th esi s;

vi) the enumeration of square users;

vii), the des cr ip tio n of the activ ities of square us er s;

v i i i ) ;o ther comments .

The com ple tion of it em num ber six above was ext re me ly l imi ted by a

shortage of manp ower , tec hn ica l equipment, and tim e. It was not po ss ibl e

to maintain a twenty-four hour per day observation of activities and

pedestr ian count. Using three different "spot checks" estimates of the

volume of us er s were mad e. Fi gu re s used were fr om days of no rm al

use with plea sant s easo nal weather and cond ition s. The degree of

n u m e r i c a l e r r o r due to si mp le counting methods i s bel ie ve d (by the

author) Ito be co ns is ten t for eac h of the case stud ies, and of a type wh ich

does not adversely affect the findings and conclusions.

Pe de str ian in terview s were conducted with f if teen perso ns i n

each of the below listed squares:

C i v i c Square , San Francisco

Union Square , San Francisco

Vi c t o r y Square, Vanc ouver

F r o m the interviews the following data was collected:

i)d at e, t ime , and weather;

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i i ) residen ce, occupation, o r i g i n and destination;

iii) purpose f or coming to square;

iv) a c t iv i ty while i n the square;

v) approximate duration of v is i t to square;

vi) additional comments of intervie wee about the square .

Ti m e and language difficulties did not pe rm it the und ert aki ng of the

pedestrian inte rviews for a l l of the squ ares studied. Th i s sho rt comin g

of the pro ced ure causes l imita t ions of scope to be put upon the findings

of these inte rvie ws. Evide nce fr om the standard surve y and check l is t

fo rm was able to f i l l much of this gap where info rma tion was re cor de d

f r o m knowledgeable per son s who rela ted detailed de sc r ip t ions of the

pedestrian usage.

F r o m the survey data, patterns were identif ied wi th the a id of

tables . These re la te the volume of pedest rian usage of any gi ven squar e

wi th each of: form, i n t e rna l development, adjoining lan d and building

uses, and charac te r i s t i c s of the v ic in i ty. Conclusions about the

determinants of ped est ria n usage were than made and s u mma r i z e d at

the end of this chapter.

In the f ina l chapter (Chapter V), the conc lusi ons fr om each

chapter were combined and evaluated; these were analyzed and the

hypothesis re -f or mu la te d in ac co rd with the new evidence. Conc lusi ons

were then drawn from the study and recommendations fo r the plan ning

of squar es was propo sed.

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18

A n appendix following the m ai n body of the thesi s inc lud es

sample survey forms.

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C H A P T E R II

T H E M E A N D VARIATIONS

An Ana ly si s of the Hi st or ic al F or ms and Funct ions

of Public Squares

urban spaces have intrinsicqual itie s which must beunderstood before they canbe pro tect ed, enhanced andreproduced^

The "pu bli c squ are " is a spec ial type of pub lic open urb an space. In

western civ i l i zat ion i t is a re cu rr in g theme with archetypes in the ea rl y

cities of Aege an cult ures ; i t is a theme with unnum bered vari atio ns of

f o r m and function in the past and p resen t of urban l i fe.

The physical form of a square may be described by reference to its

l i m i t s . These are the defining e lements of the open space and also the

negative f o r m of the space contained within such l im i ts . The bounds may be

obvious and tacti le su ch as the gro und pave ment or a bui ldi ng' s facade; the

bounds of a square m ay b e the pie rce d scre en- l ik e w all created by a row of

t rees through which masses and space are perceived exterior to the

G r a dy clay, "Magnets Generators Feeders: The Necessities of OpenUrban Space," American Institute of Architecture Journal.XXXV.(March, 1961),

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volumetr ic l imi t s of the square ; a square's bounds m a y b e suggested b y

a road's curb o r a t r imme d hedge, a r i v e r bank or a row of columns.

The upper l i m i t of this open space i s only i m p l i e d b y roo f l ines or the sky;

the gestalt p ro ce ss of the m i n d i s needed here to identify, uni fy and com

prehend mental ly the spatial confi nes of the earthboun d ar ea beneath.

I. T H E S PAT I A L C L A S S I F I C AT I O N

In o rd e r to understand m o r e e a s i ly the p h y s i c a l fo rm s of the

square i t i s u se fu l to es tab l ish a general c l a s s i f i c a t i o n of types whic h may

be b road ly appl icable . Th e identif icat ion of such ge ner al types all ows

considerable freedom depending upon the p a r t i c u l a r asp ect which is to be

the bas i s of the c l a s s i f i c a t i o n . P u b l i c squares cou ld thus be c l a s s i f i e d

by geometr ic ground plan, b y s ize, b y location, by function, or any

number o f other aspects r e la ted to fo rm i n some degree.

Pa ul Zucker h as chosen the aspe ct of space and how it is aes the t i

c a l l y uni f ied as a b a s i s for c l a s s i f i c a t i o n . As the square is a spatial con

cept and because th e square may be h i s t o r i c a l l y r e sea r ch ed as a spatial

f o rm the author has chosen to accept the termi nol ogy e s t ab l i shed b y

Zucker. Although no t without ce r ta in complexit ies o f m u l t i p l e c l a s s i f i c a t i o n

for p a r t i c u l a r squares, the types as identif ied a re c lear a nd fundamental.

Fur thermore , (a s is demonst rated in succeed ing pages o f this chapter)

a funct ional c l a s s i f i c a t i on of a square has the disadvantage of r e q u i r

ing r ec l as s i f i ca t i o n as the uses of a square m ay change through

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time: a c iv ic center may b eco m e a slum ; a market square may become

a park ing lot. The spat ial f o r m tends to continue i n spiteof the changes

of use wi thin and about the square. The f o r m i s as permanent as thosei

elements that create it ; u s u a l l y these elements are bui ldings and so

remain for many years . P u b l i c squa res may then be c l a s s i f i e d as

fol lows usin g Zucker's c a t egor i e s :

1. The c l o se d square

2. The dominate d square

3. The nuc le ar square

4. Grouped squares8

5. The amorphous square

A. The C los ed Square

A simple g eometric f igure such as the square, c i r c l e , t r iangle,

or quadrangle is the shape i n pl an of the c l o se d square; i t is a sim ple "

c l o se d geom etri c form . Its walls are u s u a l l y defined by a repe ate d

a r c h i t e c t u r a l facade of a s ingle buildi ng or many s t ruc tu res . The abutting

bu i ld ings a re thus desi gned both for their i nd iv idua l use, and in con fo rmi ty

wi th a spat ial concep t which the bu i ld ings themselves make con cre te and

v i s ib l e . The only s ignificant openings i n the closed squa re a re the

s treets that l e a d into i t and the sky. Th e in ter io r groun d space may be

developed in numerous ways and may i nc lude such s t ree t fu rn i ture as

decorative sculpture , fountains, pavement, planted areas, trees,

or g ras s and a lso roadways. These- developments are inc identa l

gPau l Zucker, Town and Square (New Yor k: Colum bia U n iv e r s i t y

P r e s s , 1959), pp.8-17.

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fi rs t ap pe are d in the planned towns of fifth ce ntury B . C . i n Gr ee k

civ i l iza t ion . Num erou s examples of th e m may be found in each of the

wes tern cul tura l peri ods since then (e. g. H ell en ist ic, Roman , Medieval,

Renaissance. )

B . The Dom inate d Square '

T h e "D om in at ed Sq ua re " direc ts the view to a single building or

group of buildings or some other ph ys ic al thing such as a la rg e scul pture ,

or perh aps a specta cul ar view; in a domina ted square the domi natin g

element v i sua l ly contr ols the space of the squ are be for e it. Th e

dominant feature m ay be a chu rch , a pala ce, a city ha l l , or an open

vista which acts l ike a magnet to attract the pe rsp ec tiv es of the squar e,

cr ea tin g a mo tio n and ten sio n between the open space and the dom ina tin g

element, hence a res ult ing aesthetic coh esio n. The Dom inat ed Square

thus contains specific elements which v i sua l ly outwei gh the othe r

l imi t ing fea tures . This v isual preponderance may be the result of the

siz e of the do minati ng element or pe rhap s its loc atio n or desig n

relat ionship to the other elements of the squar e. The " p a rv is " ,

or ig ina l ly an enclosed open space before the medieval church was often

such a Dominate d Square. The photograph of "No tre Dame Cat hed ral

and P a r v is " ( F i g u r e II), depicts this space with i ts l imi ted perspect ive

conc entrate d on the cathe dral facad e.

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24

Notre Dame Edit . Chantal, Pa r i s .

Cathedral and P a r v i s ,

P a r i s .

Figure II

C. The Nuclear Square

Th e spatial un i ty of publ ic squa res is not n e c e s s a r i l y dependent

upon the i r a r ch i t ec tu ra l or natural bou nda rie s. Indeed any element

which i s v i sua l l y stro ng and l a rge enough in s ize to f o rm a focus within

the space of the square b y acting as a nucle us to the square , may resul t

in an a r t i s t i c wholeness i n d i rec t contras t to the apparent n on- co- ord in

ation of the su rroun ding s. London's Tr a f a l g a r Square i s an example

of this type of nuc lea r square. ( F i g u r e HI).

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Trafalgar Square,London

J . A. Dixon, Newport, En g.

Figure III

He re the Ne ls on monument produ ces a sense of order and inte

gration amidst unequal size d build ings, uneven street width s, an

ir re gu la r ground plan of open space and buildings and a visually-

confusing meeting of streets on the south sid e. Without the colu mn

Tr af alg ar Square brea ks down as an org aniz ed spatial volu me.

In contrast to "Nelson 's Column, " the " A r c h of Tr i u m p h " in

Pa ri s i s so over whel ming in relat ion to the su rrou ndin g elements of

the P lace de l 'Etoi le that it creates not on ly a nu cle ar squa re of this

geometr ical ly circular open space but also a dom inat ed sq ua re . A

ped est ria n i n the square is only conscious of the buildin gs and t rees,

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26

Place de 1 'Etoi le , Par is . Yvon, P a r i s .

F igure IV

arranged i n concen t r i c c i r c l e s about the r adi at i ng stre ets, as a mino r

aspe ct of the square's total design. (F ig ur e IV) . But a nucl ear square

is not created with each statue, obe lis k, or fount ain pl ac ed in a square.

These focal inte res ts may only contr ibute to the fu rni shi ng of the square

while the spatial c l a s s i f i c a t i o n of the square i s determined by other

elements. Th is i s the case with the Pl az a Mayor, (Figure I ) , which is

a "closed square" even though it contains a c en t ra l ly loca ted eq uest r i an

statue.

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S c o l l a y S q u ar e , f r o m L y n c h 1 sI m a g e o f the C i t y.

F I G U R E V I

f o r m l e s s . Ye t , i n o r d e r t o c l a r i f y t h e m e a n i n g o f t h e t e r m " s q u a r e "

a s u s e d i n t h i s s t u d y t h i s v a r i a t i o n m u s t b e m e n t i o n e d t o i n d i c a t e t h at

m a n y o p e n s p a c e s f o r m a l l y b e a r t h e t i t l e o f " s q u a r e " e v e n t h o u g h t h e y

a r e b u t a c r o s s r o a d s s u c h a s N e w Yo r k ' s " T i m e s S q u a r e , " B o s t o n ' s

*" S c o l l a y S q u a r e " ( F i g u r e V I ) , a n d Va n c o u v e r ' s P i o n e e r P l a c e .

E a c h s q u a r e m a y n o t b e e a s i l y c a t e g o r i z e d a s c l o s e d , d o m i n a t e d ,

n u c l e a r , o r g r o u p e d ; t h i s q u e s t i o n i s o f t e n m o r e c o m p l e x a n d r e q u i r e s

what m a y b e t e r m e d as " m u l t i p l e c l a s s i f i c a t io n . " C o n s i d e r t h e c a s e o f

t he P i a z z a S a n P i e t r o . T h e e t c h i n g b y P i r a n e s i ( F i g u r e VIT) s h o w s how

t he P i a z z a m a y r e a s o n a b l y b e c l a s s i f i e d as each o f : c l o s e d , n u c l e a r ,

d o m i n a t e d , a n d g r o u p e d . L o o k i n g i n to t h e s q u a r e f r o m t h e m a j o r

e n t r a n c e p o i n t i t i s a c l o s e d s q u a r e b o u n d e d b y l a t e r a l c o l o n a d e s a n d t h e

*A s p a r t o f t h e r e d e v e l o p m e n t o f B o s t o n , S c o l l a y Sq u a r e a n d

p a r t s o f t h e s u r r o u n d i n g a r e a h a v e b e e n c l e a r e d . T h i s a m o r p h o u s s q u a r eno l o n g e r e x i s t s .

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30

.Piazza San P i e t r o fr om Zucker'sRome Town an d Square/ 7

F I G U R E VII

bas i l ica ' s facade. The t a l l obel isk erect ed in the centre, and emphasiz ed

by the pavement's pattern, i s a s t rong nuclear element. The monument a l

front of San P i e t r o backed by cupola ar e the greatest aesthetic weights of

the p iazza and so create what i s essen t ia l ly a dominated square. The

"p iazza retta, " the rhomboidal area that f o rm s a parvis before the churc h

facade, an d the "p iaz za obliqua, " the e l l i p t i c a l a r e a of the space,so

n am ed by the square's des igner Giovanni Lorenzo B e r n in i , f o r m two

i n t e r- r e l a t ed units both i n p lan and th ree dimensional observation. The

r a i s e d a r ea of the p i a z z a ret ta i s about four yards h igher than the averag e

l eve l and the p ia zza obl iqua s inks about two yards towards the obelisk ;

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separate axes which are per pe nd ic ul ar to each other also create grouped

squares of the Pi az za di San Pi etr o. The pos sib i l i ty of mult iple cl as si -

f ication of squares is in part a result of different values being attributed

to different design factors by the person or persons who are viewing the

square.

The classification of squares according to the spatial form is

hence a method of comprehending the way in which a particular space i s

made into an artistic whole, that it is articulated by a combination of

phys ica l ly del imi tin g eleme nts. Zuc ker says, "the above outlined scheme

of principal and basic categories shou ld be taken rather as a starting

point for aesthetic and hi st or ic al analy sis than as a r i g id and dogmatic

system. "

II. A F U N C T I O N A L C L A S S I F I C AT I O N

E v e r y squar e has a num ber of pu rp os es ; in man y squar es the

number of functions may be ve ry comp lex. Th ese so ci al functions

of a square i n its comm unity are its "r ai so n d 'et re" ~- the

just ifica tion to the comm unit y for bei ng. The so ci al functions

of squares relate to the very ethos of community touching upon such

a broad aspect of urb an lif e as to inc lud e: po lit ics , rel igi on,

_

Ibid. , p . 9.

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3 2

econ omic s, defense, urba n traf f ic circ ulat ion, agricultu re, aesthetics,

and l e i s u re . Be ca us e the so ci al funct ion of the squa re extends to such a

comp rehen sive range of urban act ivi ty, i t m a y b e term ed the f i rst

communi ty centre.

A function al cla ss ifi ca tio n has been de vis ed by the author to

analy t ica l ly de scr ibe the s oc ia l function of squ are s. This c lassi f icat ion

establishes three types which are ca lle d the "in te rn al func tion" square,

the "a ss oc ia te d f unc tion " square, the "a rt e ri a l node function, " and the

"mult ip le function" square.

A . Th e int ern al function square is the mos t ru dim en tar y of the three

type s. The activ ities for which it has evolved, or been est abl ish ed take

place ent i re ly upon the open space of the squa re without this ac ti vi ty

having a dependence upon the land or building uses that adjoin the squ are .

Its functi on, re la tiv e to the other types o utli ned below, is independent and

se l f - cen te red . Th i s is the ea rl ie st type of sq ua re . It is the site for a

single, or com bination of act iv i t ies; these include:

i) a meeting place for a formal assembly of members of

the comm unity - - act ing as leg isl ato rs, adm inis trat ors

or judiciary;

ii) a public gathering place for the performance of religious

rit es, ce rem on ies , and affil iate d dra mat ic, athletic, and

commemorative events;

i i i) a market place for the exchange or sel l ing of goods;

iv) a fount ain pl ac e for the public well or fountain whi ch

supplies the daily water needs of a co mm un ity or its pa rt s;

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3 4

but instead, they set up the i r d i sp l ay of mer cha ndi se each day, on a

table or car t . People com e to the square for a speci f ic purpose -- the

buying an d s e l l i n g of goods. T h i s dominant function i s fu l ly accompl ished

in te rna l ly, without a d i rec t dependency upon surrounding s t ruc tu r e s .

In a s i m i l a r way, eac h of the sev en ca tegor ies o f i n t e rna l functions

l i s t e d i s at the tim e of it s per for man ce, independent of the sur rou ndi ng

bu i ld ing and l and uses .

B. The a s s o c i a t e d funct ion square is one whos e purpose is d i re ct ly

r e la ted and dependent upon a l and or bu i ld ing u s e that adjoins the square.

It i s dependent to the extent that if the adjoining uses with which it i s

a s s o c i a t e d change, the n the funct ion of the squa re would a lso change, (but

not n e c e s s a r i l y the form ). T h e a s s o c i a t e d funct ion square is mos t

eas i ly r ecognized due to som e dominant bu i ld ing or landscape featur e.

Severa l sub-categories within this functional c l a s s i f i c a t i o n type are:

i) Th e c i v i c square which provides an open publ ic space

before the c i ty ha ll or other governmen tal bui ldings

and ma y be use d for off ic ia l c iv ic ceremonies, recept ions ,

and ce lebra t ions, (e . g. Nathan P h i l l i p s Sq. , Toronto),

ii ) Th e church square is an aesthe t ic space befo re the church.

It wa s o r ig inal ly an open courtyard or " p a r v i s " f or the

gathering of the non -ba pti zed . It cam e to be use d for

re l ig ious ceremonies, processions, an d d r a m a whic h the

church was inadequate to house. A n outstanding example

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iii) T he pala ce square is the great open yard before the

entrance to a pa lac e. Its principle function is a r c h i -

tec tu ral but with impo rtant mi li ta ry uses in tim e of

c i v i l s trife or natio nal em erg enc y, (e. g. Red Square,

. Moscow. )

Numerous other va ria tio ns of the ass oci ate d function square inc lud e:

the square at the entranc e to a ci ty (e. g. P ia z z a del Po po lo , Rom e),

the square before a public audi tor iu m or theatre (e. g. Quee n El iz ab et h

P l a z a , Van cou ver) the square with a pa no ra mi c view (e. g. Pi az za le

Michelangiolo, Flo ren ce ) the square in a city par k (e .g . Zapiou Sq . ,

Athens) . In ea ch case the square is fu nctio nally ass oci ate d with a

contiguous land or building use.

C. The ar te ri al node function square is a cr os sr oa ds . It is

developed not only as the intersection of streets, but also as a public

sq ua re . It is fun cti ona lly dependent upon the circulat ion routes that

meet there and may also include larg e p edes tr ian a reas . A most str i king

example is the Pla ce de l ' Et oi le (F igu re IV). This nuclear square,

with the A r c h of Tr iu m p h comm emora t ive of Napoleon ' s v ic t or ie s ,

is the hub of twelve radiating streets.

The mul tip le functio n squa re is the mo st com ple x, the mo st

com pre hen siv e, and the mos t elusive to define. It co mp ri se s the qualit ies

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of the in te rn al func tion squ are, and the as so cia ted functi on sq uar e; and

the ar te ri al node square , but it sy mb oli ze s mu ch m or e. Its inte rna l

functions are not the reg ula r fo rm al iz ed activit y of a ma rke t pla ce, but:

the ir re gu la r sp eci al functions, the reg ula r inf or ma l functions of cas ual

gatherings, a site of spontaneous a ctivity , a plac e of civ ic con scio usne ss

a sy mb ol of the c omm uni ty. It is a gene ral purpo se public open space in

the heart and core of the c omm unit y. This is the fun ction al type to whi ch

this thes is is pre dom ina ntly dire cte d; it is perh aps mo re e as ily defined

by exa mpl e. Syntagm a (Constitutio n) Square in Athen s is a mu lti pl e

function s qua re des ign ed in the 1830's as a p ri nc ip le focus of the

baro que pl an for the mo de rn cit y. It was in i t ia l ly a pal ace squ are with

the pala ce situa ted on a ris e on the east sid e; the pal ace is now the seat

of the Gre ek pa rli am en t. But Syntagma is mor e than a fore cou rt for this

go ver nm en tal e di fi ce . It contains the gua rded tomb of the unknown

so ld i e r where the Royal Guard are ceremoniously changed each day;

the square i s thus in par t a nationa l shri ne and a co mm em ora tiv e

associa ted square . E ight s treets , of whic h four are a rt er ia l t raf fic

routes , conver ge at the square mak ing it a "c ar re fo ur "; one half of

the central a rea is a sm al l par k (the G ard en of the M us es) , the rem aind e

is an open air cafe opera ted by four hotels on the pe ri m et er of the squa re

This is a v e ry heav ily us ed square, in an urba n area of high pedestr ian

le ve ls ; it is a meet ing centre, a plac e of le is ur e for Athenians and

tour is ts f r om morn ing unt i l late night. F o r mo de rn Athe ns, Syntagma

is the principle focus of civic l i fe as the A g o ra was in the ancient pe ri od .

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38

Lik e the Agora it is a general purpose public open space in the ur ba n

core a mul tipl e function squ are .

Other exam ples of the multip le function square ar e: II Cam po

in Seina; Tra fal ga r Square , London; Union Square , San Fr an ci sc o;

and P i a z z a d e l Duomo, Mi lan , and the ancient Ro ma n F o r u m and

Athenian Agora.

ILL A G O RA

A . Origins

The p u b l i c* square is not an urb an f o r m ch ar ac te ris tic to all

citi es, nor is it found in every c iv i l iza t ion or cul ture . Archaeologis ts

have unearthed the ruins of Mohenjo-Daro, Babylon, and Kahun, i n

India, Me sopo tami a and Egypt resp ecti vely , and these very ancient urban

sites reveal streets, ho use s, tem ple s and pa la ce s, but not one open

space which may be acc lai me d 'a square . 1 Ev en towns in these

cultures l a id out in a g r id patte rn did not set as ide land for such public

use as a ma rke t pla ce distin ct f r o m the arc hi te ct ur al com ple x of the

palac e or temple pre ci nc ts , and yet situated within the settle men t

confines. The ear l ies t squares repo rted in a sea rch of l i te ratu re are

found in Aeg ean cul ture , as reg ard s the squa res developmen t in wes tern

culture.

* owned and mai ntai ned by a gov ernm enta l body or agency fo r fr ee useby the community.

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39

Zucker wr i tes :

Only after 500 B . C . d id genuine square s develop in G re ec e.

City planning as such, cons cious col lect ive and integratedaction beyond me re cons truct ion of individual houses , existe dalready in India and Egypt in the third mi l l en ium B . C . , butne ve r the imp ul se to shape a void within the town into a three-dimensional a rea which we cal l a "s qu ar e. " Th is may beexplained soc iol ogi ca lly : only within a civ il iz at io n where theanonymous human being had becom e a "c i t iz en ," wheredem ocr acy had unfolded to some extent, cou ld the gathe ringpla ce beco me i mp ort ant enough to take on a specific shape.This soc iolo gic al development was pa ral le le d by an aesthetic

pheno meno n: onl y when a fu l l consciousness of space evolvedand at least a certain sensitive perception of spatial expansionbegan to spr ea d - - one ma y compa re the ess ent ial ly frontalscul pture of Egyp t and Me so pot am ia with the roun dness of Gre ekcl as si ca l sculpture - - o nly then could the void before,, around,and within a struc ture b ecom e mor e than a me re counte rpartto ar t ic ulate d volu me. ^

Zucker sees the square as a form of Greek origin after 500 B . C . and he

suggests a connection between this ori gi n and the de mo cra tic p ol it ic al

sy st em and the de velop ment of a three d imensional aesthetic awareness.

But examining these three points leads to con fli cti ng opinio ns of other

wr it er s and a lim ita tio n on the c onc lusi ven ess of his findings.

F ir s t , with reg ard s to the Gre ek or ig in and date, aes theti call y

organ ized and develope d squares exis ted in Minoan culture much earl ier

than 500 B . C . acc ord ing to both Rob ert Scra nton the arch aeol ogis t,

and h is tor ians F re de r i ck Hio rns and R. H . Wyc her l ey. The example

Ib id . , p.19

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40

10 I* MfMl f

I 1 ' " . ' ton I r- +Palace of Minos, f rom ScullyCrete Temp le Ea rth and Gods.

FIGURE X

of this is fr om Knossos in Cr ete . The map of the Pala ce of Minos

(Fi gure X) , shows a cen tral court of approxi mately twenty thousand

square feet. A palac e court y ard is not a public square ; but in the case

of this par tic ula r centr al court, it was not always a palace court ya rd.

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41

The Palace of Minos was or ig in al ly an entire townsite. The cen tra l

court was the public square for this s m a ll com mun ity. It was a clo se d

square surro undin g by buildings of va ryi ng heights. At a later pe rio d of

Minoan civilization, the townsite was consolidated into a single architect

tur al com plex used as the roy al household and governm ental adm inis trat i on

centre - in this way a public square in a sma ll comm unity beca me a

court yar d in a pala ce. Scranton and Hi or ns attest to this; Wy ch erl ey

sites other Mino an ex am pl es ; other w ri te rs have not contradicted? "tit,

an d Z u c k e r seems unaware of this pr oto -ty pe . Th e Minoan city of

Knossos came to an abrupt and my st er iou s end at app rox ima tel y 1450 B ^ C .

The central court was the public squar e even ea rl ie r than th is . So the

square as an ur ba n -f o rm existed at least 1000 years before Zucker notes,

and i t originated in the Minoan civ i l iz at i on which preda ted the in vasio n of

the Aegean a r ea by the Hellenes.

As reg ar ds the rela tion shi p of de mo cr ac y and the or ig in of the

square , . Knoss os was ru led by a K ing ; de mo cra cy was not yet develo ped.

Fu r th erm or e, in Zu ck er ' s own book Town and Square, he re fe rs to temple

plazas in Mayan ci t ies of Chichen Itza an d Tu l u m i n Yu ca tan in the four th

11and fifth centuries B. O; In the pr e- co lu mb ia n em pir e of the Incas in

P e r u , Zuc ker admits ci t ies with "st reets l a id out in a rec tan gul ar

12patt ern center ed around a pl az a. " Nei ther the May ans nor the Incas

1 1 I b i d . , p. 13812

Ib id . , p.139

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42

had a democrat ic for m of government, ye t each of them develope d pub lic

squares . In view of this evidenc e, the o r ig in of the public square i s neither

Greek nor dependent upon a democrat ic governing system. But it is

true, that fo r western culture, the public square der ive d fr o m its

development as an element of city planning fr o m sixth century B . C . i n

Greece.

King Cyrus of P e r s i a i s quoted b y Herodotus as having said,

"I never ye t feared the kind of men who have a place set apart in the

middle of the city i n which they get together and tell one another l ies

13

under oath. " La te r events showed h is lack of fear mistaken. But

R. E . Wycher ley wr i tes; "Like other despots he ha d a mi sp la ce d contempt

for f r e e r institutions; but at least he had suffic ient insig ht into Gre ek14

l ife to r egard the agora as pa r t i cu la r ly character ist ic of the people. "

The A g o r a was the ear ly c omm erc ia l and pol i t ica l center of

the Greek 'polis ' . * It developed from i ts simple origins i n the a rcha ic

pe r iod (700-500) as a broadening of a ma in street as in Th er a into a

planned open space of the ancient G ree k and Roman ci t ies. The Ago ra

was owned b y the community - - the polis for public functions - - formal

and i n f o r m a l . In numerous cities i t underwent considera ble phy sic al

13 RE. Wycherly. How the Greeks Built Cities (London: MacMillanand Co.Ltd., 1949), p.50.

14R. E . Wycher ley, How the Gree ks B uilt Cities (Lond on:

M a c M i l l a n & C o . L t d . , 1949), p. 50.F o r an explanation of the t e r m " p o l i s " see page 48.

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change in an evolution that ma y have taken centuri es. New buildi ngs

wer e set up in the Ag o r a to re pl ac e old , statues were raised and torn

down, fountains flowed and d r ied . The space i t se l f came to be an

ar t i s t ical ly organized uni t only after 500 B . 0 . Unt i l then, public

buildings were scattered about it with littl e apparent i nt er -r el at io ns hi p

of loca tion , t em po ra ry stalls were erect ed between these.

The A g o r a was a mu lti ple functio n sq ua re. It was an off ic ial

mee ting pla ce for as se mb lie s or com mit tee s; rel igi ous gatherings at

festi vals c ould use the A go ra ; it se rv ed as ai. imark et pla ce ; it was the

site of civic government bui ldings, of rel igi ous shr ine s, of ma rke t

buildings. The pr in cipl e bui ld ings usual ly found in the Agora of Greek

cities were:

. i) Th e "pr yt an eu m, " the home of the chi ef or he ad men of

the city a vestig e of the pala ce during the mo na rc hi al

periods of govenment.

ii ) Th e "bo ule ut eri on , * the home of the Counci l , a l im i te d

body of me n was appointed by the people to c a r r y out

day to day work of city rule and organization in the

15"bouleu ter ion . "

i i i) A fountain house not a m er el y deco rative fountain - -

16was often an important element. "

B r i a n Hackett, Ma n, Society and Env iro nm ent (Lon don :P e r c i v a l M a r s h a l l , 1950), p. 34.

15

16Wycher l ey, op . ci t. , p . 53

"bouleuterion" sometimes spelle* 11 d "boulouterion 11 or

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through the square to the A c ro po li s ; other major streets also came

together at this core of the ci ty. Th e area about the Agora was

developed extre mely densely. The streets were i r re gul ar, nar row,

and d i r ty. Only such public open space as the Agora, Acropolis, and

the "gymnasia" , gave reli ef fr o m the crowd ed quart ers of Ath ens .

This tended to in cr ea se the ne ce ss it y and hence the value of the A g o ra

as a pede str ian pr eci nct in full open ai r. The re su lt was a v er y st rong

relationship of the Agora to the physical structure of Ath ens . A lar ge

audi tor ium the Odeo n, buil t by Agr ippa in the fi rs t century A . D. ,

and the T em pl e of A r e s (re buil t c ir c a 100 A . D. in the pos iti on on the

plan) broke the space up to make the Athe nia n A go ra a grou ped squ are .

Be fo re the er ec tio n of this temple and the Odeo n, the Ag o ra sur rou nd ed

by the Stoai of Attalos, Poik i le , He rm es , and Zeus Ele uthe rios , plus

the Th olo s, M etr oan , B oul ete rion , and the Middle Stoa, formed a

closed quadrangle with four major streets enter ing at the co rn er s. A

continuous view throu gh the Ag o r a was not po ss ib le due to groves of

t rees , and the ere cti on of these i nte rnal bu ildin gs, b eginning with the

Middle Stoa ( c i r ca 150 B. C ) ; The Athenian A go ra evolved slowly

without a pre co nc ei ve d pla n. Its continuous change per mit ted a li be ra l

adaptation to alter atio ns of func tion . Hen ce at any give n pe ri od the

f o r m and in te rn al developm ent of the Ag or a was a re fl ec ti on of its so ci al

function.

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46

L e wi s Mu m fo rd says of the A g o r a that ' i ts oldest and mos t

20

persistent function was that of a communal meeting place. " He

goes on to relate a Homer ic desc r ip t ion to this meeting place function.

In an image f ro m A c h i l l e ' s sh ie ld i n The I l iad Ho me r speaks of a "place

of assembly" where the inhabitants of a town have gathered to hold a

2 1

public t r i a l . This governmental ut i l izat ion o f the A g o r a seems to

have preceded any functions of commerce , r e l ig ion o r even le isure . In

his book T he Nature of C i t i e s , H i l b e r se i m e r no t only aff irms the pol i t i ca l

aspect of the Greek Square, he also empha tical ly excludes the c o m m e r c i a l

aspect. H e writes:It was be l i eved that the A g o r a was also a mar ket plac e.This is not t rue. Th ere were marke ts in Gree k ci t ies,bu t not on the A g o r a . T he A g o r a was a poli t ical meeting

place fo r the d i scuss ion of public affairs and a gatheringplace fo r the free m en of the c it y. F r o m it, Ar i s to t l er e m a r k s , " a l l trade should be excluded and no mechanic,husbandman, or any such pe rs on allowed to enter unless

22he be summoned b y the magi s t r a t es . "

Bu t H i l b e r se i m e r ' s opinion is not supported by most h is tor ians or

archaeologis t , (i . e. Hackett , Zu cke r, Mumford, Haml in , H io rns) .

The A g o r a was a strong symbol of the po l i t i ca l l i fe of the " p o l i s " and

it gained a special dist inct ion among the citi zen s, this would i n part

20Lewis Mumford, T he City i n Hi st or y (New Yo rk : Harco ur t ,

B r a c e & Wor ld , I n c . , 1961),. p . 148.2 1

E . V . Rieu, (trans. ), H o m e r : T he I l iad (Harmondsw orth,Middlesex Penguin Books Ltd . , 1950), p. 350.

22Ludwig, H i l b e r s e i m e r , The Nature of Cit i es (Chicago: P . O .

Theobold , 1 9 5 5 , p. 42.

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47

A i f l LM OPLAh OF THE. AhClthT

Athenian Agora,Second Century A . D.

American School ofClassical Studies,

Athens.

FIGURE XI

account for Ar is to tl e' s advocating the exclusion of manual labourers

and the lower classes from being present. This semi-religious

sanctity of the Agora was connected with the idea of the "polis" as a

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48

fo rm of communi ty. Hi lb er se im er describ es this connect ion:

So far as we know, the Po li s was the re su lt of the process

of sy no ec is m; the condensation of a clan into a cit y. Ini ts terri tory no other independent community was allowedto exist . Syn oeci sm involv ed a corporate decision to livetogether po li t i ca ll y which had as i ts co ro ll ar y the abolitio nof lo ca l gover nment s in favor of one. The seat of the newunified government might be at a place se lec ted from amongthose a l ready in existence; or it mi gh t be new ly founde d asthe center for the governm ent whi ch had just come into being.He re was the Ag or a, the government of fices , the gymn asiu ms,the theater, the fountain with flowing water. Peopl e might

st i l l be allowed to live in their old vi ll ag es ,. but their rightsand obligations now had to be e x e r c i s e d in the Polis. ^3

The Ag o ra as a sy mb ol of the " p o l is " was f urther re in fo rc ed by the

common pract ice of cons ecrat ing the "pr yt ane um " or city ha ll as i t may

be called to Hestia whose s a c r e d fire represented the home of the

" p o l i s . 1 , 2 4

The fo rm al gathering of the popular as sem bl y oc cu rr ed i n this

prime open space not on the near by Athenian A cr op ol is where the

mundane tr an sac ti on of ci vi c af fai rs was below the digni ty of this

rel igi ous site. (The acr opo lis of Gre ek cities was the for tif ied hil l

which had been a roy al place with tem ple s and pa lace) . The business

of legis lat io n, jurispru dence , admini strat io n, and other fo rmal c iv ic

Ibid. ,24

Josep h W ard Swain, The Anc ient Wo rl d (New Yo rk ; Ha rp er

and Row, 1962), I, p . 299.

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functions were pro per functions for the A g o ra . The nume rous

magistrates of the city had a working a rea i n the s out h-w es t of the

A g o r a ca lle d ' the of fic es ' ; an impo rtant court the He lea ea met he re;

the Ar eo pa gu s, the highe st Ath en ian law court met in the Roy al Stoa

25

of the A go ra . Th es e courts were clo se ly al l ied to the political life

of the city. The po lit ic al activ ities and al l the in fo rm al dis cu ssi on ,

lobbying and elect io neering connected with secular demo cratic gov ern

ment focused on the open areas, counci l building, and "ci ty h a l l " of the

Agora .

In the fr es h air of the s um me r heat or the warming sun of

the winter, cit ize ns gathe red da ily for talk with fri end s and acquai ntance s

as wel l as strangers to the city. This common person to person social

com mun ica tion s hould not be und erra ted, for, in a civ ili za tio n without

tec hn olo gic al advantages to speed the news of w or ld and com mun ity,

d i rect contact was nec es sa ry for by far the greater r-rrportion of

communicat ion. Lewis Mumford writes of the ancient G ree k A g o ra :

The A g o ra was above all a plac e for pal av er; and thereis prob abl y no urb an ma rke t place w here the intercha ngeof news and opin ions d id not, at least in the pa rt, pla y ^alm ost as im po rta nt a pa rt as the inte rcha nge of goods .

A s the trade and co m me rc e betwee n citie s and colo nies expanded the

co m m er ci a l function of the A g o ra as an open air mar ket pl ace also grew.

A l l m anner of agr icu ltu ral produce and manufactured ar t i cles were sold

' 25Wy ch er le y, op. cit . p. 65.

2 6Mumford , op . ci t. , p . 149-

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f r o m te mp or ar y stalls set up in the Ag or a f r o m at least the fifth

century B. C. Off ic ia ls cal led 'agoro nom oi ' su per vise d the sel l ing

to ensure fair dealing; there were also inspectors of grain, weights

27

and m e a s u r e s . Many craf tsm en were loc ated in simp le buildings

along streets which spe ci al iz ed in the prod uct ion of ce rta in goods but

peop le with me rc ha nd is e fo r sale on a les s freque nt ba si s without the

need of a perm ane nt shop could be acc omm oda ted within the Agora or

one of the "s to a i" bo rd er in g it . The lar ge st and mos t imp orta nt of

these was the Stoa of At ta lo s, n am ed after King Attalos of Pergamon

(159-138 B. C ) who contributed the cost of its c ons truc tion . Th e two

f l oo red stru ct ure contain ed twenty -one shops but the greatest amount

of its floor space was for prom en adi ng ; it afforded a good view of

28

p r o c e s s i o n s . Kimon , an Ath enia n statesman , ( c i r ca 450 B . C . ) ,

had a dorne d the A g or a with grove s of plane t rees , whic h pr ov id ed good

cove r f r o m the su mm er sun. for men who gathere d to talk of phil oso phy

an d such matters, but it was the stoa which gave its name to the

philosophic school of Zeno who taught under the colonnades as did29

Socrates and other ea rly ph ilo so ph er s. F o r both con sum er and vendo

the " st oa i" were a mo re pleasant locatio n than the over crow ded maz e

of nar row i r re gu la r streets w hic h la ck ed the advantage of air and sun27 , ,Wycher ley, op._c it. , p . 66.28

Ho m e r A . T ho mp so n, " Th e A go ra at Athens and the Gre ekMarke t P la ce , " Journa l of the Socie ty of Ar ch i te ctu ral His tor ian s,Vo l . XIII, D ec em be r, 1954, p. 11.

29Ib id . , pp . 9 - H .

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to cleanse the constant coo king odo rs and other sm el ls and the threat

of disease fr om im pro per sanitation.

Befo re more s pec ial i zed locations were esta blish ed athletic

an d dra ma tic prese ntations cente red on the A go ra ; but this was be fore

the great per iod of fifth cen tury Athe ns and he ld litt le sig nif ica nce to

the functions of the Agora from that t ime onward.

This great open squ are , the heart of classical Greek ci t ies

combined in one location the pol i t ic al , rel ig ious , and c om me rc ia l

character of a ci ty, and the ethos of a natio n. It was itse lf no ar c h i

tec tur al t riu mp h, even though the glor y of the Pe ri cl ea n Acr op ol is was

in nearby view as an example of aesthetic genius. M or e importa nt, it

was a successful urban open space for the dail y so ci al interac tions of

Athenians inv olv ed in a great varie ty of community affa irs . The phy sic al

development, of this Ag or a, like others in ol d cit ies of the time suc h

as Cori nth, Ae so s, and E l i a , is a Gre ek prot o-ty pe of squa re. It evolve d

slowly without a pre co nc eiv ed pl an. The place ment of each new building

furthe r enc lose d its fo r m along an ir re gu la r ge ome tric ground pla n.

Its multiple functions were accommod ated within a no n-s pe cia l iz ed

communi ty area.

C. Mi le t ian Ag or a - - the 'new' type

The Hipp odam ic gr id sys tem of streets that originated in Ionia

became the dominant "new town" 1 pattern fr o m the fifth century B. C. on

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52

through to the Rom an pe ri od . Hippo damus , best known city planner

of his time, fo rm al iz ed the Ag or a by setting aside s peci fic areas for it

in the rec tangula r blocks of land created by the new sys te m. The follow ing

development of the Agora was hence regul ari zed as an easi ly cl ass if ie d

geo me t r i c open space which is the "ne w" type of A g o r a explaine d below

in the ex amp le of the Ionian city of Mil et us .

The fo rm of the Mil et ia n Ag or a is that of a gro upe d squ are

with a north and south section which are l inked by the "bouLeuterion, "

a theatre and a colonnaded walk. Th e nor the rn sect ion was developed

first with the erection of a long stoa fac ing the ha rb ou r. It serv ed the

ma ri ti me needs of this por t city and concentra ted merca nti le act ivi ty

in this sect ion. Th is stoa was the fir st archite ctua lly importan t structure

The mos t famous personality in Greek town planning, Hippodamus, wasa Mi l e s i an . . . . We c an be su re that he planned Pe ir ae us for the At henia nstowa rds the mid dl e of the fifth centu ry. A s a young ma n he had experienceat the r eb ui ld in g of his own city be for e he broug ht the new ide as toAthens . We cannot doubt that he used the rectangular plan; . . . i t isreasonable to suppose that the methods which se em to have been n or m alin his own time and the fourth century were those of the mos t notable exponent of Greek town-planning. Not that he inv ent ed th em or was thefi rs t to use the m in Gr ee ce - - mo re p rob abl y he developed the m andmade them mor e wid ely known. . . . Refe ren ce to his 'a llo cat ion ' ofground ma y point to the fact that he showed real ingenuity in arranginghis ci ties and allottin g sect ions for different purpo ses. (R .W . Wych erleyHow the Greek s Bu ilt Ci ti es . Lo ndon, M a c M i l l a n and Co . L t d . , 1962,p.17-18 .

Miletus was d es tro ye d by the Pe rs ia ns in 494 B . C . , and was refou ndedin 479 af