Monday, February 12, 2007

Origins of Savannah's Urban Design

Savannah's historic district has been very well known and it has a very distinctive urban design that differs from all previous American towns. The grid street systems along with squares qualify Savannah as a landmark in American urban planning. What are the origins of Savannah's urban design? Are they originated from Italian, British or Chinesse roots? How many scholars or urban historians have attempted to investigate the origins of Savannah's urban design? The answers of above questions can be found in the following link:

Did Savannah spring from Italian roots? SavannahNow.com

The link shows my article appeared at Savannah Morning News on September 29, 2006. In this article I argued that various theories on origins of Savannah's urban design indicate that Savannah stands as a landmark in the history of urban planning in the nation and Savannahians should be proud.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

As a native of Savannah,I really appreciate Dr. Rukmana's studies of Savannah's origins. I find that he is very knowledgeable in urban studies and also has an intense interest in both the origin of various cities and how to make them better. I am proud that such a person as Dr. Rukmana shows such great desire to learn about this great city of Savannah, Georgia.

Anonymous said...

Being a native of Savannah, it great to witness the positive publicity we receive for our historic preservation. It's interesting to know that after all these years of assuming Savannah's architectural design is developed from English origins, Italian design may have been the driving force. I am rather impressed with the idea that so many people are interested in our fair city.

Unknown said...

The Lecture on Savannah's urban design was very informative. I thought it was a great idea to incorporate where we live as a part of or lecture so that we know the importance of Savannah to U.S. history . The next question I have would be: How do we help the economy without destroying the preservation of history and the earth? See, I'm learning and responding already!

Eric Orozco said...

What a marvelous plan! I just visited Savannah for the first time last week and I am still reflecting and learning from that experience.

Prof. Rukmana, what are some good books or resources on the Historic District's grid? I am not as concerned with the origins of the plan as I am with great analysis of the grid system (with hopefully some theoretical induction about the functionality and adaptability of its form). I'm an urban designer, so I'm also hoping that a book with details of the plan, (containing dimensioned plans and sections of the streets and so on) exists. I'm wondering if any resources like that exist.

Is your work attached with this matter? I'd be curious to hear about any theoretical work concerned with the virtues of Oglethorpe's grid.

Anonymous said...

Your wonderful site gave us much needed information prior to us visiting your great city, Savannah. Thank you, Prof. Rukmana. I have been trying to locate a poster of the Savannah City Plan in 1734, in color, that I saw in one of the historic houses I've visited, with no luck. Do you know where I may find one?