Fr : version française / En: english version

Babel and Babylon

Babel and Babylon

Aztec cities

Aztec cities

Heavenly Jerusalem

Heavenly Jerusalem

The Fujian Tulou

The Fujian Tulou

Utopia

Utopia

Romorantin, capital of a kingdom...

Romorantin, capital of a kingdom...

The city of brotherly love

The city of brotherly love

Saint Petersburg, Peter's great city

Saint Petersburg, Peter's great city

Industry, socialism and utopia

Industry, socialism and utopia

Taking technology to new heights

Taking technology to new heights

Home sweet home

Home sweet home

A towering challenge...

A towering challenge...

New towns

New towns

Conjuring capitals

Conjuring capitals

Auroville: "divine anarchy"

Auroville: "divine anarchy"

Private cities

Private cities

Dubai: miracle or mirage?

Dubai: miracle or mirage?

All eyes on the horizon

All eyes on the horizon

Industry, socialism and utopia

The economy was increasingly becoming central to urban-planning solutions. Growing industrialization had led to a new influx of people into cities. Born of the Industrial Revolution, they had lapsed into less enticing places.

Cabet's Icaria

Pedestrians are protected even from inclement weather because all the streets have sidewalks, and all these sidewalks are covered in glass, to protect pedestrians from the rain without depriving them of light, and by moveable canvas, to shield them from heat. Some streets, in particular those that run between the big depot storehouses, are completely covered, as are all the street crossings. Concern for safety is so strong that it has led to the construction of covered shelters a certain distance apart on both sides of the street, under which the omnibuses stop, so that people can get on or off without having to fear either rain or mud. And so you see, my friend, that you can travel throughout the city of Icara by carriage if you are in a hurry, through gardens if it is good weather, and under arcades when the weather is inclement, without ever needing a parasol or an umbrella, and with no fears; on the other hand, the thousands of accidents and misfortunes that overwhelm the people of Paris and London every year point an accusing finger at the shameful impotence or barbaric indifference of those governments.

Extract from Travels in Icaria by Etienne Cabet (1845), translated by Leslie J  Roberts

Dark and insalubrious, cities were accused of spreading evils of a physical and moral nature: everything from alcoholism to cholera. Utopian thinkers came up with a range of projects designed to create new communities that were economically viable, socially progressive and clean.

Lenin's golden lavatories

"When we are victorious on a world scale I think we shall use gold for the purpose of building public lavatories in the streets of some of the largest cities of the world. This would be the most "just" and most educational way of utilizing gold for the benefit of these generations which have not forgotten how, for the sake of gold, ten million men were killed and thirty million maimed in the "great war for freedom", the war of 1914-18..."

Extract from Lenin's Importance of Gold now and after the Complete Victory of Socialism, probably inspired by Thomas More's Utopia, in which the author suggests using precious metals to make chamber pots and spittoons.

Drawing on some of the tenets of More's Utopia, the likes of Saint-Simon, Robert Owen, Charles Fourier, Etienne Cabet and Philippe Buchez began seeking ways to help the working classes achieve fulfillment, both physically and morally.

A number of initiatives were launched, all of which alas encountered no more than mitigated success. The Godin Familistère, named after its developer, a disciple of Fourier turned stove maker, can still be seen today. The undertaking remained a cooperative until 1968 and is still used as housing. Other utopian colonies, especially those set up on American soil, were less fortunate, rarely outliving the first squabbles between members of the community...

Perspective of the town of Chaux
Claude-Nicolas Ledoux

Much of the architect Claude-Nicolas Ledoux's fame stems from the success of his collection Architecture considered in relation to art, morals and legislation, the first volume of which was published in 1804. The amazing engravings featured in the work reveal a visionary approach to architecture, showing very clean, neo-classical designs. Ledoux's work was often described as architecture parlante (speaking architecture), reflected in his phallic plans for the Oikema brothel.

However, many overlook the fact that Ledoux, born in 1736, was first and foremost a successful architect. After classical studies, he led a brilliant career in the late 18th century in the service of a wealthy client, the famed Madame du Barry. He also worked on public projects, such as the Besançon Theatre and the Royal Saltworks at Arc-et-Senans. Just before the Revolution broke out, he oversaw work in Paris to build the Wall of the Farmers-General. Beaumarchais wrote that "the wall walling Paris renders Paris grumbling," reflecting the great hostility provoked by the project. Disgraced in 1789, Ledoux was imprisoned during the Revolution and forced into retirement during the Directoire. He died in 1806.

­­­­---
Aerial view of New Harmony
F. Bate

© BnF
© wikicommons

The town of Chaux

In 1773, Louis XV commissioned the architect Claude-Nicolas Ledoux to build the Arc-et-Senans saltworks in a bid to modernize the area's obsolete facilities. In addition to the saltworks itself, Ledoux provided plans for the neighboring town of Chaux.

Unlike the saltworks, the town was never built, largely because the saltworks proved less productive than expected, yet Ledoux designed all manner of buildings necessary to social and domestic life, including a covered market, public baths, church, gymnasium, boating area, schools, university, hospice, workshops, convalescent home and licensed brothel. The utopian values inherent in his plans are reflected in the absence of a prison: such an ideal society would not produce criminals!

New Harmony

New Harmony was the name given to a community devised by Robert Owen, the father of utopian socialism.

After successfully managing mills in the UK, where he promoted a social policy ahead of its time, Owen began to theorize on a utopian society based on cooperation. In 1825, he bought a community in the United States to put his ideas into practice.

His design involved the construction of a square-shaped town spanning 330 meters along each wall, able to hold 2,000 people. It included dwelling houses, dormitories for children and unmarried folk, baths, refectories, kitchens, public facilities for education, sports and culture, and gardens. Buildings would be heated, ventilated and well lit. The focus was to be on community life. New Harmony was eventually abandoned after four years of human and financial endeavor.