(by lewis mumford)

Swapnil, Nakul, Tushi & ShivanjaliProf. Omkar Parishwad

Evolution of Aesthetics, Culture and Technology

Index

1. Protection and The Medieval Town

2. Court, Parade, and Capital

3. The Insensate Industrial Town

4. Rise and Fall of Megalopolis

5. The Regional Framework of Civilization

6. The Politics of Regional Development

7. Social Basis of The New Urban Order

1. Protection and The Medieval Town

1. Protection and The Medieval Town

a) stripping off the medieval myth

b) the need for protection

c) the "increase of population and wealth“

d) domination of the church

e) the service of the guild

f) medieval domesticity

g) hygiene and sanitation

h) principles of medieval town planning

Stripping off the medieval mythIt was believed that the medieval agewas described as an age of poverty,brutality, insensitiveness and filth.Life back then was filled withignorance and superstitions.Although these factors existed, theywere not as prominent to describeand characterise the civilisation.

Describing the reality, Medieval Agewas very rich in managing industries,building cities, art of laying towns andthe perfection of the same. Therewas social bondage in all sectors ofthe civilisation.

The Need for protection

Life grew and expanded rapidlyafter the development ofvarious social institutions.However, along with progress,increased the insecurity amongpeople. Slavery began on a widescale. Attacks from outside ledto increased fear amongst thepeople.

One solution to this buildingwooden palisades or a stonewall around the village andmonasteries to protect themfrom attack.

The "Increase of Population and wealth“

The centre of urban progress during the medieval age wasnot the isolated markets but the monastery.Initially, a regular market would work under the influenceof feudal lords. However, later, these market regulationscame under the monastery and finally, special marketlaws came into being with a proper jurisdiction over thetraders.As supply and demand increased due to rising trade,settlements became secure and commerce helpedstimulate growth, luxuries had to be paid in form ofmoney.All these factors, including wide extension of theagricultural bases and enormous increase in power led topopulation growth.The region between the Rhine and the Moselle increasedits population tenfold between the tenth and thethirteenth century.

Domination of the church

In Western Europe after the fallof Rome, the church was animportant and universalinstitution. By itself, the localchurch would often be a"museum of Christian faith," aswell as a house of worship.

Medieval culture, constantly "inretreat," had its claustrum,where the inner life couldflourish. One withdrew atnight: one withdrew onSundays and on fast days.

Medieval church

Throughout The Middle Ages, the Christian churches of Europe advanced both art andarchitecture by building larger, grander churches called cathedrals

The Service of the GuildIt is said that man is a social animal. He alwaysrequires a company to survive.

To exist even during the middle ages, he had tobelong to some association, manor,monastery,

or a guild.

The guild was the universal representative ofthe society. They ate and drank together,formulated regulations to conduct their crafts,made schools and built chapels.

There were two types of guilds:

a) The merchant guild – it was a generalbody which looked at the organizing andcontrolling of the town as a whole.

b) The craft guild – they were an associationof masters who worked together andestablished the standards ofworkmanship.

The merchant guildThe members of the guild would holdmeetings and discuss the organizingand controlling of the town as a whole.

Medieval Domesticity

The medieval family unit did not consist of only thepeople having a blood relation, but also the industrialworkers whose relationship was that of the secondarymembers of the family. The members ate together,worked together, slept in the same dormitory.

Family then was not just a private unit.

Houses were built in rows. They constructedcourtyards too.

The materials required for the construction came fromlocal soil and they differed from region to region.

Initially the houses consisted of small windows coveredwith cloth. And later, they were changed to glasswindows as the people began manufacturing it.

As time passed, the radical change of developing asense of privacy was introduced.

This desire for privacy marked the beginning of classes.

Hygiene and SanitationAs cities and its population density increased, new sanitationdifficulties arose.

During the twelfth and thirteenth century, breeding places fordisease were more congested than the city itself.

Leftovers were eaten by dogs, chickens and pigs which wereconsidered to be the local scavengers.

Non-edible waste was difficult to dispose.

Therefore, as early as the sixteenth century, sanitation.

Other important issues were the drinking water supply andbathing.

Public baths appeared since as early as the thirteenth century.

Supply of drinking water to the town was a collective function.

However, as city size increased, there was increased demandof water and thus collection had to be done on a larger scale.

Principles of Medieval Town Planning

The layout of the medieval townfollowed the same general patterns asthe village. There were street villagesand street towns: there werecrossroads villages and crossroadstowns; there were circular villages andcircular towns.The plans of houses varied fromregion to region.There were more interior rooms, akitchen and small room on the groundfloor, a heating room above thekitchen and the toilets were placedone above the other on differentfloors.

Court, parade and capital1: The Afterglow of the Middle Ages2: Territory and City3: Instruments of Coercion4: War as City-Builder5: The Ideology of Power6: Movement and the Avenue7: The Shopping Parade8: The New Divinity9: Bedroom and Salon10: The Muddle of Speculative Overcrowding

The Afterglow of the Middle Ages• Between 15th & 18th century new

cultural traits took place. The new pattern of existence sprang out of new economy that of mercantilist capitalism, new political framework of despotism .

• But all changes were taking place only in EUROPE.

Territory and City• From the beginning of middle ages

two powers had been jockeying forleadership in western Europe.

• One was Royal & other Municipal• To achieve despotic power over

neighbours , the cities allowed theloss of their own internal freedom

• In early middle ages the court wasmobile camp, the Royal ministers,the whole apparatus of govt wasmobile, authority was maintained bypersonal supervision

• But during 14th personal supervisionbecame difficult and so cameparliamentary system

• This system gave rise to Capitalism

Instruments of Coercion

• The reason for rise of despotism was Gunpowder

• The old city was divided into blocks and squares and then surrounded by wall

• Due to growth in population the city had to expand to a great extent & then it started to expand vertically

• This increased the land values in capital cities

• This resulted the population in slum

War as City-BuilderIn the middle ages the soldier had been forced to share his power with the craftsman, the merchant, the priest But now due to MARTIAL LAW whoever could finance the city was capable of becoming master of city.The army recruited for permanent soldiers who in turn demanded special forms of housing With their residence comes parade grounds and requires a lot of space.So this led to replanning of city.

The Ideology of Power

• To increase the boundaries of the state , was to increase the taxable population, increasing population of the capital city resulted in the increase of the rent.

• Capitalism in turn became militaristic , it relied on arms when it could no longer no bargain.

• Behind the immediate interests of new capitalism, with its abstract love of money an power , a change in entire conceptual framework took place.

• At first ,new conception of space and second ,use of time for research and patent.

Movement and the Avenue• The avenue is the most important symbol of the

Baroque city.

• It was during 16th century that carts and wagons came into more general use within cities. This introduction of wheeled vehicles was registered.

• Nevertheless , the spirit in society was on the side of rapid transportation.

• Thus the urgent demand of wheeled traffic in 17th

century raised the need off avenues in the city.

• Alberti , the chief of baroque city distinguished between main and subordinate streets.

• The first he called Viace military or military streets, he required that to be straight.

• Palladio after Alberti proposed the avenues to be wide and regular to show their richness and so that there is enough space for carts.

• He distinguished them from non military roads by pointing out that they pass through the middle of the city and lead from one city to another and that they serve for the common use of the passengers.

• The building stand on each side so that spectators can have a nice view if the parade on the street.

• In medieval town upper and lower class had to adjust on this street but now the dissociation of upper and lower class was very easy.

• Rich road along access of avenues while poor are off-centre. Eventually a separate strip is provided for pedestrians.

THE MAIN STREET

THE SIMPLE ROADS

The Shopping Parade

• Military parade had its feminine counterpart.

• The old open market restricted itself only in the poorer quarters

• Market squares had no longer place in new urban layout

• The open air shops tended to disappear. The new type of shops took shape with glass windows.

• People started to hang display to impression their taste.

• Fashion was also important for parade

The New Divinity

• The number of churches grew in medieval period.

• The worship was started by aristocrats & slowly whole population started.

• Religious festivals became important, birthdays and weddings were celebrated in church.

• And slowly it gained power.

• The Nave was selected by King.

• Aristocrats were given preference and they in turn started exploiting.

Bedroom and Salon• The influence of court was effective

in the city.• The change in constitution of

household manifested itself in various ways.

• 1st by gradual divorce at home.• Furniture was also very important in

baroque period.• Privacy was considered luxury• With all this luxurious look city was

unable to maintain hygiene. Dirt diseases flourished in this period

• With crowding water shortage became a major problem in 18th

century

The Muddle of Speculative Overcrowding• Expansion of upper class was at the

expense of lower class.• This over congestion would have

stopped, if rural economic conditions have been improved, if new cities have been found, if upper class have been deprived of their monopoly.

• Due to this overcrowding the land prices raised & this created poverty.

• Overbuilding of lands & over occupation of houses caused sanitary problems.

• Slum properties earned much higher returns than investments.

The insensate industrial

town

The Displacement Of Population

• The major influence on cities were that of bankers, the industrialists and the mechanical inventors. They were responsible for what was good and almost all that was bad.

• Most cities had characteristics similar to the town described by Charles Dickens in his book known as Coketown.

• There was high rate of insecurity amongst the labour class, establishment of open market for labour class and goods and foreign dependency for raw materials.

• In 1900s the population in countries like England,

Germany and USA increased five fold.

• Urbanisation increased in direct proportion to industrialisation.

• The movement of people and colonisation of territories had two forms ;land pioneering and industry pioneering.

• This land migration brought new energy crops like maize, potato and tobacco.

• But congestion denied even progressive metropolises light and air which even backward villages possessed.

• In this era of mechanisation people lost an essential connection with the social complex.

• The spread of mining was accompanied by general loss of form throughout society.

• In mining towns the characteristic of ‘abbau’ –mining or unbuilding was at its purest form.

• Along with the invention of universal postal system, fast locomotion and telegraph system, forests were being slaughtered, soils were mined and animal species were being decimated.

Mechanisation and Abbau

• It was considered that utilitarians had taken over who sought to reduce governmental functions and have a free hand in making investments , building industries and buying land and workers.

• Business classes continued to exploit the workers and labour class wand were often scared of uprising.

• Water was important for any industry to flourish and hence woollen industry flourished in Yorkshire.

• By the end of the 18th century London , Paris and Berlin provided ideal conditions . Hence people piled up in these places and showed human tolerance for this obnoxious environment.

• The two main elements of any urban settlement were factories and slums both of which together formed a town.

• The transformation of rivers into open sewers was a characteristic of paleotechnic economy which poisoned aquatic life and destructed food.

• Living quarters were often placed between factories and sheds amongst the filth and dirt . Housing for poor was on land filled with ashes or on a permanent pile of coal and slag.

• Houses had no direct sunlight. Rubbish was thrown in the streets and it remained there no matter how vile and filthy.

• There was a dire lack of toilets. 1 toilet was used by 212 people.

• Cellars were used as dwelling places. Even in the present decade there are 20,000 basement dwellings in London marked by doctors as medically unfit human occupation.

• Evolution of cities was measured by slum, semi slum and super slum.

• After the age of in invention facilities like iron piping and improved water closet reached the upper classes .

• Now the middle class got used to dirt and filth and even in his new housing carried a little of his filth , confusion and chaos.

• This was a major problem to decentralisation.

• Lack of food had caused various diseases in people. Things improved with better and enough supply of food.

• Wider use of soaps made possible personal hygiene in people.

• Children were taught to eat fruits.

• But still the gap between rich and the poor was very high which led to many revolts and uprisings from the labour class.

• In bleak industrial towns , national politics became drama , battle and sport.

• The workers utmost success still meant only a life possible in this paleotechnic prison.

• Cities were slowly planned . They were in the shape of rectangular blocks which proved out to be inefficient.

• Traffic arteries were not wide enough and others were excessively wide.

• The engineers streets often swept through swamps and dump-heaps. Ventilation was not kept in mind.

• There was no separation between commercial, residential, industrial and civic sections in plan.

• There was no open space left for schools, universities and offices.

RISE AND FALL

OF MEGALOPOLIS

SUB TOPICS

The New Coalition

The Tentacular Bureaucracy

Shapeless Giantism

Amsterdam – Organic Planning

The Blighted Area

Defacement of Nature

The Paper Dream City

Routine and Relaxation

The Poison of Vicarious Vitality

Phenomena of the End

The New Coalition

• The point of maximum accumulation, the focus of past achievements and present activities, is the metropolis.

• One may distinguish roughly between producing cities and consuming cities(New York, Paris, Berlin). Beginning in the third quarter of the nineteenth century, the center of gravity shifted from the producing towns to the capital cities.

• A coalition of land, industry, finance, and officialdom was formed in almost every country in order to effect the maximum amount of financial exploitation.

• The agents of power, the aristocracy, the political bureaucracy, and the army began to direct "national interests" toward the service of the industrialist.

• The basis for metropolitan agglomeration lay in the tremendous increase of population that took place during the nineteenth century. By 1900 ,after London and Paris, eleven metropolises with more than a million inhabitants had come into existence, including Berlin, Chicago, New York, Calcutta etc.

The Tentacular Bureaucracy

• What changes and developments furthered the process of urbanisation?

• Development of transportation which brought an endless flow of raw materials and foods into the metropolis.

• New Inventions - Remote control, Typewriter, means of instantaneous communication etc.

• Everyone experienced, throughout the financial and political world, the difficulty of getting things done by direct action.

• The formation of offices and the residential suburbs caused transportation back and forth transportation to work, within a limited time-span, raised one of the difficult technical problems that confronted the city planner and the engineer.

The Tentacular Bureaucracy

• A new trinity dominated the metropolitan scene:| Finance | Insurance | Advertising |

• Many financial changes happened in this period. Bankers got a powerful position in the society.

• Insurance companies entered the stage and started to control a large amount of pecuniary resources.

• Advertisement becomes the “ spiritual power “ of this regime.

• Land rents also increased in this era.

The Tentacular Bureaucracy

Shapeless Giantism

• Circle over big cities in an airplane. As the eye stretches toward the hazy periphery one can pick out no definite shape, except that formed by nature.

• The growth of a great city is amoeboid.

• The city has absorbed villages and little towns and reduced them to place names.

• Here and there in the mass one may partly trace the outline of a city: hut the mass itself is not a city, in a functional sense, any more than the immediate countryside that surrounds it is a rural area.

• To conclude, big cities expanded organically with hazy boundaries , still the concentration at the centre kept increasing.

Amsterdam –Organic Planning

S T A G E O N E

S T A G E T W O

S T A G E T H R E E

S T A G E F O U R

The Blighted Area

• The land which was once a green land, was now crowded with low economic strata who used this land to live.

• Then the blight starts, everything gets more and more congested and unhygienic.

• Green grounds get converted in either slum or get covered with torn paper, discarded boxes, broken iron etc.

• All working class neighborhoods are by sheer poverty in a state of blight because, in the more outlying areas, the cost of the utilities that connect them with the center has have increased

Defacement of Nature

• Meanwhile, the urban agglomeration produces a similar depletion in the natural environment.

• The cement jungle kept on increasing and it increased up to the rural hinterlands causing a drastic effect in the culture.

• The metropolitan life affected the rural life cycle in many ways.

• Though the physical radius of the metropolis may be only twenty or thirty miles, its effective radius is much greater.

The Paper Dream City

• Paper became an inevitable resource of the metropolitan lifestyle.

• All the major activities of the metropolis are directly connected with paper; and printing and packaging are among its principal industries.

• In every domain of society like literature, drama, official work etc. paper became the most important commodity.

• Mutual direct contact between people reduced.

Routine and Relaxation

• The early definition of relaxation and pleasure completely changed in the new metropolis.

• The restaurants, the cafes, the saloons and pubs came into picture.

• The concrete jungle also nurtured many rackets and criminal activities in its heart.

• This era saw different heights of drug addiction and prostitution.

• Hence, a professional form of surveillance by an organized police grew in the city of strangers.

The Poison of Vicarious Vitality

• People began to see their happiness in other people or in other things rather than concentrating on themselves.

• This was the time when the modes of entertainment such as boxing matches, wrestling bouts bicycle races and dance marathons etc. came into picture.

Phenomena of the End

• The metropolis is economically weakened by the fact of growth and its own magnified expenses which gives rise to the threat of bankruptcy.

• There is always a military vulnerability. Conditions afterthe first World War presented almost unbearable difficulties to the harassed and starving metropolises, while out in the countryside, in many regions, the peasant remained relatively secure and well-fed.

• In recreation, there is a serious lack of sufficient space for play, and for lack of play areas

• As every aspect of a city grew, its fare also increased. After a certain point, one may say that urban growth penalized itself.

• Immigration of people can also be a cause of death of the city. After a certain degree of concentration, the community fails to cope up with its members.

• But in actual life, these threats they come together and reinforce each they can easily be the cause of the end of the entire civilization.

Thank you