This thesis examines how Neo-traditional Planning has been formed and influenced by
European Rationalism and why Christopher Alexander's "New Theory of Urban Design"
should be referred to in the literature pertaining to Neo-traditional Planning. There are
two rationales for conducting a literature review of Rationalism, Neo-traditional Planning,
and " A New Theory of Urban Design". The first rationale is that the current literature is
inadequate in explaining the important influence that European Rationalism has had on
North American Neo-traditional Planning. The second rationale is that the literature is
deficient in that it does not cite Christopher Alexander's "New Theory of Urban Design"
as an alternative to Neo-traditional 'Master Planning.'
The thesis provides the theoretical basis of Rationalism, Neo-traditional Planning , and " A
New Theory of Urban Design" by examining the main proponents of the various theories:
Leon Krier and Aldo Rossi with regard to Rationalism; Andres Duany, Elizabeth Plater
-Zyberk and Peter Calthorpe with regard to Neo-traditional Planning; and Christopher
Alexander with regard to a "New Theory of Urban Design." Academic literature in
planning, architecture, and urban design were sources used to gather information on the
above theorists.
The thesis shows how Neo-traditional Planning has been formed and influenced by
Rationalism by examining four specific topics: the influence of Leon Krier and Aldo Rossi,
mixed-use development, Andres Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk's traditional
neighborhood development codes, and Aldo Rossi's typological theory. Lastly, after
describing Christopher Alexander's "New Theory" and its basis in both Rationalist and
Empiricist theory, the thesis compares Alexander's work with that of the
Rationalists/Neo-traditionalists.
With an ever increasing number of Neo-traditional developments being built, this thesis
suggests that if the planning and design literature made planners more aware of all the
influences and theories that Neo-traditional planning is based on, as well as all the
alternatives to Neo-traditional Planning, more informed decisions could be made as to
what is the appropriate design strategy for a particular community. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UBC/oai:circle.library.ubc.ca:2429/5836 |
| Date | 05 1900 |
| Creators | Watson, Erik David |
| Source Sets | University of British Columbia |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, Thesis/Dissertation |
| Format | 17471585 bytes, application/pdf |
| Rights | For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use. |
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