Centered around Theme 1 of the ISC20C Historic Thematic Framework “Rapid Urbanization and the Growth of Large Cities”, this seminar focuses on urban development and diversity. Worldwide dramatic changes in the built environment accompanied this urban growth, as cities densified and new forms of living, working, producing and getting from place to place emerged. The new, emerging profession of urban planning delivered new towns and cities, extensive public housing estates, and urban redevelopment proposals that showcased new zoning, urban design concepts,public parks, civic landscapes and building technologies and forms. In turn, some of these zones lost their novelty and use rapidly and became obsolete and/or transformed within the 20th century.
Rapid urbanization is a local issue with different parameters and dates in each country and city. World War I was the first breaking point in Europe. Rapid urbanization in Central Europe and Russia was the result of industrial development whereas for new nation states such as Turkey, building a new capital and the goal of establishing planned and modern cities caused countrywide urbanization. World War II became the second breaking point for Europe. The wide scale destruction in Europe, brought the need for rapid development in city centers and suburbs. For peripheral countries, such as Turkey, rapid urbanization due to mass migration to cities as a result of industrialization and mechanization of agricultural production, was another important factor. In each case, each country or state provided their local solutions to the problem presented by rapid urbanization.
The seminar expands the subject, presenting examples from the different geographical areas, focusing on Europe and its peripheries, such as the Eastern Block, Mediterranean countries, and Turkey. The case studies would present the diversity of subthemes and types of places, in terms of approach, urban and architectural design and preservation, which will be discussed with reference to the keywords concerning the use of the Historic Thematic Framework as a tool to identify/survey/asses, interpret/promote/record and connect/ protect/conserve.