Montgomery County, VA: Planning: Issues: Urban & Planning History

Urban/Planning History
& Theory

NOTE TO USERS: Most of the sites provided in the planning topic pages are either from government, non-profit, or educational agencies; however, some of the sites are commercial and are included because of the array of materials provided in the site. The planning topic pages are provided as a public service and are not meant to endorse one site over another nor to endorse any commercial enterprise. Site suggestions are welcome, although all suggestions will go through a screening process. In order to suggest a site for inclusion, email the Planning Department.

General Historical Resources

HISTORY OF PLANNING AND URBANISM.

University of California, Berkeley, Library Resource List. Includes Newspaper Indexes, Guides, Encyclopedias, Bibliographies, Indexes and Abstracts, General Plans, Journals, and Maps. Although the focus is California, There is a tremendous amount of useful material referenced in the site.

URBAN PLANNING: 1794-1918

An electronic anthology of books, articles, and conference proceedings compiled by John W. Reps (Cornell University). The listing of 185 selections includes links to the electronic texts and an extensive bibliography of historical texts.

LANDMARKS IN PLANNING HISTORY.

A series of short articles and lists highlighting people, places, events, legal landmarks, and movements central to the history of planning and urbanism.

PLANNING HISTORY TIMELINE.

Timeline provided by the American Planning Association.

CASE STUDIES IN THE HISTORY OF URBAN PLANNING

Produced by first-semester students in Planning History, Theory, and Ethics at the University of Texas. Case studies include Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Portland, and Washington D.C.

Organizations

SOCIETY FOR AMERICAN CITY AND REGIONAL PLANNING HISTORY

1880-1910 Progressive Reform

HOW THE OTHER HALF LIVES, Jacob Riis, 1890 --Hypertext version.

For Additional Information on Tenements and the Progressive Reform Movement, see also:

Progressive Impulse (a series of short lectures on tenements and the Progressive Reform Movement)

Child Labor in New York City Tenements (Mary Van Kleeck, Charities and the Commons, 18 January, 1908; although a bit outside of the timeframe, the article contributes to the understanding of existing conditions).

The Lower East Side Tenement Museum (museum site, includes online exhibitions)

On the Lower East Side: Observations of Life in Lower Manhattan at the Turn of the Century (collection of articles from 1890-1910)

TWENTY YEARS AT HULL-HOUSE, Jane Addams, 1912 (first published in 1910)

For additional information, see also:

Hull House Museum (University of Illinois at Chicago; the site includes links to biographical works on Addams, links to additional work by J. Addams, and occasional online exhibits)

1901-1915: City Beautiful

THE CITY BEAUTIFUL MOVEMENT

General introduction to Daniel Burnham's City Beautiful Movment. University of Virginia. Examines the impact of the movement, primarily, on Washington D.C. and environs and includes the 1901 plan.

THE CITY BEAUTIFUL. Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. (1911)

E-text of Olmstead's article from The Builder, 101 (July 7, 1911):15,17. Included in Rep's anthology (see above)

CITY BEAUTIFUL MOVEMENT--1897-1902

Excerpt from Jon A. Peterson's "The City Beautiful Movement: Forgotten Origins and Lost Meanings," Journal of Urban History vol.2, no.4, 415-34, 1976 in Krueckeberg, Donald A., Introduction to Planning History in the U.S. 1983)"

1960s

PATIO CULTURE

An odd look at the suburban phenomenon in the 1960s, including a brief article on "suburbia" that examines the cultural implications of Levittown and its spinoffs.