Life, death and disease in the city

Matt Mukhtar (699032)

Rarely, due to their seemingly contrasting natures, has town planning and public health become intertwined.  However, occurring in the 1840s and 1940s were two pivotal movements where design and health combined forces towards public good.  By learning from these examples, there is an argument for another convergence in today’s age and beyond (Hibbert, 1999).

The first paradigm was the relationship that Edwin Chadwick associated with disease and the living conditions of the poor.  Cities were not like they are in the modern world today, being mostly associated with decrepit living conditions where toilets were commonly shared between up to 100 people due to lack of infrastructure and rapidly growing populations (K, Munzer, 2015).  Unchanged air and meagre ventilation became associated with influenced health of the occupant, conditions only experience by the poor (Chadwick, 1842).  However, although Chadwick’s solutions to these studies were never realised, they lead to more practical remedies, namely urbanism.  Based around the Miasma theory, sanitation became crucial to reducing excess concentration of bad air, associated with sickness.  This was to be amended by wider and more open street layouts, contrary to the culs-du-sac, which reduced airflow.  Furthermore, zoning regulations were enforced to keep land uses away from one another to protect residential zones, a process still carried out to the modern day.  The author suggests that there was hard epidemiological evidence that closed-off streets had higher death rates irrespective of population density.  However, although many of these diseases may have been linked to poor urbanism, many of them may have occurred due to lack of medical knowledge or lack of economic access to medical amenities, not something that planners could simply remedy.  Despite these false scientific and medical premises (namely the Miasma theory), the first paradigm lead to expenditure on extensive sewerage systems and standardized street widths which contributed to the rise in life-expectancy for British urban dwellers.

Nearly 100 years later, town planning was catalysed for the development of preventative medicine and uniform welfare provision.  Originally based around The Eugenics Society’s beliefs in natural selection, which sought to encourage the natural increase of procreation in affluent families in Britain, while simultaneously discouraging those in poverty from procreating, who were at most risk to diseases and lower life expectancies by encouraging contraception.  Ironically however, Britain experienced a reversal by 31% in birth rate.  Therefore, preventative medicine began to form around social welfare and not social exclusion, which called on planners to localise health institutes within urban ‘hubs’ to increase access and therefore based on this belief, healthiness would spread naturally amongst society.  Similar practices exist today, with increased competition between insurance companies creating economic choice and better access to health insurance, eliminating wait times.  Many observers had little doubt that planned cellular development would reverse the drop in birth-rate as residential clusters would improve sociability and neighbourly interaction while simultaneously creating economic safety as neighbourhoods would provide collective welfare support to mothers giving economic security, encouraging procreation.  As Hibbert explains, this theory of a cellular city was the ‘most powerful synthesis of medical and architectural imagery in a hundred years’ (1999). 

However, this second paradigm proved unsuccessful, possibly following the precedent set by Ebenezer Howard.  When comparing these two urban ideas many similarities appear.  For example, Howard formulated the idea of a garden city based around the statutory town planning system that was introduced in 1909.  This had the intention of securing sanitary conditions and connections to amenities through the layout of land and direction of streets.  This idea similarly received wide criticism for interfering in natural selection, a reflection of the wide spread social Darwinism during the early 20^th century in conjunction with the advent of bacteriology at the expense of sanitation.  Furthermore, Howard’s novel plan was largely theoretical with its health benefits being dubious as well as having doubts cast about its ability to match social infrastructure to residential development.  Although these proved successful, their ideas of social harmony and equal access to amenities are still strived by for cities today and the idea of a garden city is still well renowned.

By drawing on and criticising these paradigms, public health may become stronger in the modern age.  Greater links, such as the works of McKeown (1979) are being praised by Hibbert, showing how life expectancy owes more to improved environmental hygiene than to the clinical interventions made by doctors and hospitals (1999).  The World Health Organisation, examining parallels between new and old sanitarianism, now focus less on urban morphology and more on providing more advanced health delivery systems, both financially and educationally.  Instead of forcing social cohesion in closed environments, like those experiences in cul-de-sacs, space is being opened up to create thoroughfares to create a desire for walkability.  These ideas to change the lifestyle of societies are taking roots in the modern day because they can ‘benefit all people exposed to the environment rather than focusing on changing the behavior of one-person at a time’ (Heath et al, 2006).  Strategies include the funding of public facilities, zoning and walking and bicycle trails. 

London is the perfect example of this school of thought.  It provides a livable example of how modern cities, associated with high density and population, can still boast lower mortality rates when compared to more open environments.  As Handy et al explore: as long as land use patterns vary and transportation systems promote walking and cycling, this will create a public perception focused around a healthier lifestyle and more livable communities (2002).  This debate now focuses less on high residential density as it did back in the 1840s, in fact quite the contrary, high densities tend to support amenities such as public transport as greater demand lends itself to better connections creating a sense of pride in using this form of transport in place of unhealthy use of private means of travel.  This is shown as London still boasts comparably low levels of car dependency (Hibbert, 1999).

The ideas surrounding public health and urban form have dramatically altered throughout the last two centuries.  However, they still remain a vital in ensuring the healthiness of urban dwellers.   

  

Reference List:

Chadwick, E. (1842). Report on the Sanitary Condition of the Labouring Population Og Great: Britain: Supplementary Report on the Results of Special Inquiry Into the Practice of Interment in Towns (Vol. 1). HM Stationery Office.

Handy, S. L., Boarnet, M. G., Ewing, R., & Killingsworth, R. E. (2002). How the built environment affects physical activity: views from urban planning. American journal of preventive medicine, 23(2), 64-73.

Heath, G. W., Brownson, R. C., Kruger, J., Miles, R., Powell, K. E., Ramsey, L. T., & Task Force on Community Preventive Services. (2006). The effectiveness of urban design and land use and transport policies and practices to increase physical activity: a systematic review. Journal of Physical Activity & Health, 3, S55.

Hibbert, M (1999). A City in Good Shape: Town Planning and Public Health Town Planning Review 70 (4), pp. 443-453

Munzer, K. (2015).  Lecture 4(a): Life, death and disease in the city.  Urban History: ABPL20034.  Monday 23^rd March 2015.  Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning, University of Melbourne, Parkville.

THE GRID - PHOEBE SNEP

A city’s primary aim is to meet the needs of its citizens. In terms of city design, this is often, and has often been for many centuries, realized through simple and rational planning. The grid is the quintessential and rational city design. It feeds into further development and the walkability of a city.

Stemming from a base design of an orthogonal plan, either as a gridiron of long rectangular blocks or a ‘checkerboard’ of square blocks, the grid can extend or vary to suit the needs of any establishment. From New York’s long, concrete blocks to ancient Chinese cities, such as Suzhou or the Forbidden City, the orthogonal pattern can be personalized and utilized to create varied public and private spaces. These early examples of the grid in action show its longevity, and although it has faced some adversity, it remains the most logical structure of development for new settlements and extensions alike.

Support for the grid comes in the form of arguments for its simplicity and logicality alike, or as was said by Craig et al. in 2008; the grid gives “clear structure, comprehensible order, modularity and expandability”, all qualities that allow one to better understand and move around their city. In the 1811 plan of New York, the grid was utilized for its convenience, but also for its ability to maximise land usage with the view that all land is of value and should not be wasted. Criticisms of this, such as Rose-Redwood’s scathing analysis in 2011 highlight the value of aesthetics and “national grandeur” as important factors of city design, factors that are lacking in the pragmatism of the grid. It is this view of aesthetics that has brought in much of the opposition to the grid, or the support for other designs. In the Middle Ages, after the grid had been used for centuries already, ‘organic’ street layouts came back into usage, although they only lasted a short time until fading back into the backdrop of urban design. Simon Steven’s alternative design, however, has lasted far longer and still sees some level of appreciation. His concentric, radial design was implemented in Amsterdam, a city that is known to this day for its beautiful layout and general aesthetics.

Finally, as Melbourne’s sprawl will tell you, the era of the car has taken roads to vastly longer distances to create crescents and cul de sacs for the idyllic suburban home. Consistently, new plans are created for prettier, quieter streets and varied directions but, as Kostof proclaimed, the grid has always won the war. In America, Washington’s organic street form was soon overwhelmed by the gridded cities surrounding it, and in fact by its own gridded expansion. Acknowledged by Speck (2012), early baby boomers are moving from the once idyllic leafy suburbia to more dense urban areas where amenities are all walkable distances. While the grid is not necessarily a walkability requirement, it is easy to see the usefulness of straight and regular streets to increase accessibility on foot and confidence in getting around the city.

This is perhaps the most valuable result of the grid design in the current day. As cars are flooding cities and sustainability is increasingly becoming an important part of day to day life, the ability to walk or cycle between home, work, shops and other regular use areas is becoming more and more valuable (A Forsyth and K Krizek, 2010). Not only this, but the health benefits of these modes of transport and the culture created by constant human interaction are the largest factors in making a place liveable.  As the proportion of young people getting their licenses is dropping (Speck, 2012) and congestion is still causing huge waits in getting to work, it seems impractical to continue creating these large, spread out suburbs. The grid as an orthogonal structure doesn’t change, however the shape and size of blocks can change, becoming more or less permeable by people travelling on foot or by car, and can be used to create city centres, central squares and similar elements of a settlement.

The orthogonal layout and varying size of blocks are what makes the grid so useful for every city across the board. Got a city on the side of a mountain? All good, just turn that grid to an angle so you’re not travelling straight uphill and you’re set for a good city. Want to create a giant public park for your citizens? Just combine a couple of squares from your grid and this park will fit perfectly. Want to create a busy pedestrian hub with a quieter edge to the south? With a gradual increase in block size, pedestrians will become fewer toward the south, as the walkability of a city also depends on the easy of getting to the other side of a block in decent time. As seen in San Diego (Adams, 2014), however, blocks that are too small can cause similar frustrations to large blocks, with the number of streets pedestrians must cross to get anywhere, and the amount of waiting at traffic lights that entails. As with oversized blocks, small blocks give priority to the car giving it increased access at the impediment to the pedestrian.

In terms of sustainability, in terms of health and efficiency, in terms of liveability, all points call for a simple answer. In fact, the most simple of all options. The grid is more walkable than any other design, and thus more sustainable as it requires less cars; it’s more efficient to use to travel from A to B and can be designed to fit any agendas. Of any and all options to help Melbourne’s development and that of cities around the world, the grid has been shown to be the most effective. Plus, you’re way less likely to get lost.

Forsyth, Ann and Krizek, Kevin, “Promoting Walking and Bicycling: Assessing the Evidence to Assist Planners”, Built Environments 36, no. 4 (2010), 429-446.

Craig, Barry et al., “The Hippodamian Grid: Its Evolution and Role in Planning Walkable Communities”, Journal of Urban Design 12, no. 13 (2008), 163-176.

Speck, Jeff Walkable City: How Downtown Can Save America, One Step at a Time (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2012).

Rose-Redwood, Reuben, “Mythologies of the Grid in the Empire City”, Geographical Review 101, no. 3 (2011), 396-413.

Kostof, Spiro “The Grid”, The City Shaped (London: Thames and Hudson, 1991), 95-123

“Why Downtown San Diego Pedestrians Stop for Cars More Than Any Other City and What to do About it,” Bill Adams, San Diego Free Press, 1/2/2014, http://sandiegofreepress.org/2014/02/why-downtown-san-diego-pedestrians-stop-for-cars-more-than-any-other-city-and-what-to-do-about-it/.

 

 

Urban History (ABPL20034)

Second Assignment: Class Paper/Blog

Kyle Huxley (ID: 640 812)

Topic 3A: Transport and its impact on cities

Throughout the history of modern cities, development has been inextricably connected to technological innovation in the field of transport. Transport developments have been a massive driver of growth, with the development of railways, shipping channels and later, roads, connecting cities like never before for the purposes of lifestyle and commerce.

One particular example of this is seen in the first reading from this week, which talked about the impact that transport infrastructure had in France under Louis XIV. At this time, in seventeenth-century France, the development of projects such as roads, canals and bridges was contracted out by government to private enterprise, much in the way that public-private partnerships (PPPs) operate today. In particular, the example of the Canal du Midi was given, a shipping canal  constructed between the Atlantic and Mediterranean, designed to open up trade routes between the two very different sides of the continent (Mukerji, 2013). However, due to the enormous engineering effort required in order to finish the canal, the entrepreneurs who underwrote the project took on a significant level of risk in proceeding with the project, and left themselves exposed to massive losses if they failed. Ultimately, they succeeded in constructing the canal, highlighting the benefits that can be sometimes found in entrepreneurial partnerships with infrastructure, as a task that seemed impossible for a government to complete could be achieved through the will and collective efforts of private enterprise.

Similarly, on the other side of the Channel, early Victorian cities such as Manchester, Liverpool and London were also transformed by the introduction of modern railway connections (Kellett, 1969), often constructed by keen entrepreneurs looking to leverage developments located along the path of the railway line. As such, the idea of commuting later became a major selling point for the Underground railway in London, as the introduction of the railway offered lifestyle choices not previously available to those who worked in the inner city. People could now live well outside of the city centre, and commute to work on a daily basis, forever shaping the way that we live our lives. This was an issue also picked up on in the Kellett reading, where it was noted the way in which the development of these railways blurred the lines between city and rural areas, as they allowed for swift and convenient movement between locations that were previously considered to be a vast distance apart. However, while the effect of these early steam railways was in many cases a positive for those outside the inner city, it created complications within cities, as railway viaducts were viewed negatively by residents, because they believed that such viaducts adversely affected the character of their properties. However, these connections opened new opportunities for commerce, as firms could build factories along the railway lines to send their goods between cities.

Locally too, we can also see how massively transport has shaped the development of Australian cities, particularly in the case of Melbourne. Here, in the early days of the mid to late 19th century, the infrastructure in place was well ahead of the population sprawl, meaning that people were adequately serviced by public transport right from the point where they moved into their homes, rather than what we see today, where infrastructure is often promised as ‘coming soon’. In these early days, the railways were all private enterprises, designed to turn a profit for investors, which meant that they were not necessarily in the business of providing connectivity, and that as a consequence, station locations and alignments were often based upon areas of intense land speculation. However, these problems were later alleviated by the public acquisition of the private railways, and later the continued expansion of the network, which created more opportunities for the quick and easy transport of goods across and between the colonies, as well as leading to patronage levels booming to levels equivalent to other major cities around the world.

In summary, the examples given in the readings and lecture from this week provide an insight into the ways in which cities have been shaped by transport infrastructure. Whether it be a railway, a canal or otherwise, transport networks have the potential to truly revolutionise the way that cities function. In terms of their creation, while allowing entrepreneurs to lead the development of transport can have a number of benefits, it can sometimes become problematic in ensuring that the right infrastructure is built for cities. This is a problem that we still face today in planning for the future, however, if we learn from the experiences of the past, we can ensure that we built the right kinds of transport infrastructure to meet out future needs.

References:

Kellett, JR 1969, ‘The railway as an agent of internal change in Victorian cities: the districts and the suburbs’, The Impact of Railways on Victorian Cities, Routledge Publishing, Oxon, United Kingdom, pp. 337-353

Mukerji, C 2013, ‘Cartography, Entrepeneurialism, and Power in the Reign of Louis XIV’, in P Smith & P Findlen (eds), Merchants and Marvels: Commerce, Science and Art in Early Modern Europe, Taylor and Frances Publishing, Hoboken, USA, pp. 248-276

Nichols, D 2015, ‘Lecture 3A: Transport and its impact on cities’, Urban History: ABPL20034, Tuesday 17th March 2015, Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning, University of Melbourne, Parkville

The Demise of Zeelandia

In the mid-16^th century European colonial missions were becoming commonplace on the Asian coast lines in an effort to secure profitable control of Asian trade routes (Spice Trade, 2015).  The drive was led by the Portuguese and Spanish, and later followed by the Dutch who joined the battle for territory.  The Dutch established the port of Batavia in 1619, which was to serve as the new headquarters of the Dutch East India Company; VOC (Fitzsimons, 2011).  In pursuing more territory, they tried unsuccessfully to take the established Spanish and Portuguese trading post at Macau (Oosterhoff, 1984). In retreat, they established a post on a small island sand bar named Tayouan on the south west island of Formosa (now Taiwan) subsequently establishing the Castle of Zeelandia in 1624.  J.L. Oosterhoff in his work Zeelandia, a Dutch Colonial City on Formosa (1624-1662) tells the story of the foundation and eventual demise of the VOC colony.  This paper will attempt to deconstruct the failures of Zeelandia whilst drawing comparison to the colonising methods of other “successful” colonies.

Figure 1: Fort Zeelandia [painting on parchment]. (1625 - 1660). Anonymous.  Retrieved from Atlas of Mutual Heritage, http://www.atlasofmutualheritage.nl/en/View-fort-Zeelandia.5657.

Most often colonial cities are grouped into two categories. The first type consists of an outside administration becoming established in an area that had no prior settlement.  Here, the colonizers most often outnumber existing populations.  An example of this is the British settlement of Australia.  The second type of colony is established by an outside administration in an existing settlement, often assuming a control of a geographically advantaged site with an ample supply of available labour (Knox & Marston, 2009).  The settlement of Formosa is somewhat of an anomaly.  It suits the first category in the sense that it was only sparsely populated by indigenous peoples and Chinese fisherman, allowing the Dutch to create the new colony ex nihilio, out of nothing.  However the Formosan settlement strays from this category in its sourcing of the ample supply of “poor laborious people” from the Chinese empire to serve its colony (Oosterhoff 1984, p.54).  Imported slave labour was not a novel idea in colonialism although African slaves of course were crucial to the colonization of the Americas (Bernstein, 2000).  Where the Formosan experience differs is that the Chinese labourers were not persuaded by force.  

It is important to distinguish that this colony was valuable to the Dutch primarily for its prime geographical location between Japan, China and the Philippines (Oosterhoff, 1984). Of course, the need for subsistence farming was a necessity on any colony, but it was only after early successes of sugar and rice crops that the Dutch saw the opportunity to cultivate the land for profit.  Working in association with Chinese businessmen, they posted signs to attract the Chinese, guaranteeing land for farming, payment for sugar and rice crops, and exemption from taxes for four years (Andrade, 2006).  The Chinese settled the island in great numbers, and a city was established next to the castle.  By 1648, over 20,000 Chinese residents lived on Formosa.  At first the Dutch worked with Chinese merchants to facilitate tax collection, but over time the traditional Chinese system of rural organization emerged and cabessas, men of wealth and authority, were appointed from within the farming community.  These cabessas were responsible for the welfare of their people as well as tax collection to be remitted to the Dutch.  The collection of real estate taxes, duties on fishing, rice and sugar, and poll taxes proved profitable to both the Chinese merchants and the Dutch, who amassed their profits with little direct involvement in the management of the land (Oosterhoff, 1984).  It is this Chinese organisation of people on Dutch controlled territory by which Tonio Andrade (2006) argues that Formosa developed a system of “cooperative colonisation”, a Chinese colony held under Dutch rule.

Leonard Blusée (1979, p.211) argues that the “mercantilist policy of the VOC emphasising agricultural development of export crops” led to significant demographic changes in Asia, yet it seems that on Formosa, the Chinese maintained their own sophisticated systems of agricultural management.  With the similarities in the grid plans of Chinese and Dutch towns, both on a chessboard pattern, it would be easy for the Dutch to wrongly assume that the Chinese had similar commercial motivations to themselves.  The Dutch espoused the grid plan as the most ideal form for growth and economic prosperity, and early explorations had revealed thriving commerce within the Chinese grid.  However the Dutch failed to observe the greater role of the Chinese grid as a tool of administrative and political regulation (Kostoff, 1991).
Unlike the Dutch cities where merchants had become the ruling class, the Chinese city was one of unwavering hierarchy focused on sovereign authority.  Trade and commerce were of little concern in the Chinese system, where merchants predominantly held low social rank and were strictly governed by the state (Kostoff, 1991; Oosterhoff, 1984).  The Dutch, in interpreting the commonalities in urban form, may have wrongly assumed a likeness in mercantile motivations of the Chinese people, based on their past knowledge and experiences.  As Kevin Lynch notes, “so various are the individual meanings of a city” (1960, p.9).

For some time the Dutch were under the misconception that they were heading a peaceful colony of obedient peoples (Strydom, 2003).  This is not to imply that there was no use of force or coercion to maintain this peace.  Early on, the local Aborigines had been subdued by military action.  The rule of the Dutch was further imposed on the native Formosans by missionary work and education, and the fabrication of rituals such which served to inflate and assert the Dutch authority.  Through this allegiance, the Dutch were also able to impose a divide between the Aborigines and the Chinese, in an effort to eliminate alliances.  The Dutch had few tools in place to control the Chinese and in 1652 they revolted.  The deaths of 3000 to 4000 Chinese, the colony was brought back under control, but the end of Dutch rule was imminent.  In 1661 when Chinese warrior Zheng Cheng-Zong of the Ming Dynasty came to overthrow Formosa he was strongly supported by the Chinese who had been so long repressed by the Dutch (Strydom, 2003).

Oosterhoff argues that the success of Zeelandia was in part to blame for its failure, and to this point I disagree.  If the colony of Zeelandia was successful, the Dutch would have asserted control over their colonized populations.  But rather than becoming a captive and submissive workforce, the Chinese maintained strong family relations, and an ongoing connection to their homeland.  In the end, the Dutch did not have sufficient military defence or control over their colonized people to prevent them from supporting an alternative ruler.

Reference List

Andrade, T. (2006). The Rise and Fall of Dutch Taiwan, 1624-1662: Cooperative

Colonization and the Statist Model of European Expansion. Journal of World History, 17(4), 429-450.

Bernstein, H. (2000). ‘Colonialism, capitalism, development’ in (Eds.) T. Allen & A.

Thomas, Poverty and Development into the 21st Century, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Blusee, L. (1979). The Source Publications of the Daghregisters (Journals) of Zeelandia

Castle at Taiwan (Formosa) 1629 - 1662: An Interim Report. Cina 2, pp. 204-212.

Fitzsimons, P. (2011). Batavia: Betrayal, Shipwreck, Murder, Sexual Slavery, Courage: a

Spine-Chilling Chapter in Australian History. North Sydney, N.S.W.: William

Heinemann.

Fort Zeelandia [painting on parchment]. (1625 - 1660). Anonymous.  Retrieved from

Atlas of Mutual Heritage, http://www.atlasofmutualheritage.nl/en/View-fort-Zeelandia.5657.

Knox, P.L. & Marston S.A. (2009). Urbanisation. In P.L. Knox & S.A. Marston Human

Geography: Places and Regions in a Global Context (pp. 389-421). New Jersey:

Prentice Hall.

Kostoff, S. (1991). The Grid. In S. Kostoff, The City Shaped (pp. 95-123). London:

Thames and Hudson.

Oosterhoff, J.L. (1984). Zeelandia, a Dutch Colonial City on Formosa (1624 - 1662). In

R. R. Ross and G.J. Telkamp (eds) Colonial Cities Dordrecht (pp. 51 - 63). Netherlands: Springer.

Spice Trade. Encyclopaedia Britannica. (2015). Retrieved from

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/559803/spice-trade.

Strydom, M. (2003). Pride and Prejudice: The Role of Policy and Perception Creation in

the Chinese Revolt of 1652 on Dutch Formosa. Itinerario, 27(2), 17-36.