The Making of Urban Places



The Making of Urban Places

Essay Question: “Lessons from history may help us tackle the problems of contemporary cities.” Discuss whether you agree or disagree with this statement, using examples of contemporary urban issues and historical attempts to tackle urban problems.

Introduction

Lessons from the past assist in planning future. We always learn from our past. This is fact of history and proved from the political, legal, social, and cultural perspectives that past practices play a major in future development. It provides guidance and preventions by examples of past mistakes. It also assists in looking for the solution of various problems (Wagner, 2008). One of the most important factor is that history assist in identifying the complete rule and system of developing civilization and governance of state. In the same way urban history assist in resolving various problems associated with the different matters of contemporary urbanization.

Urbanization is a process for the development of cities and process is a continuous mechanism and system which cannot be separated from the past and future. It has its roots in the past and it moves towards future. This provides that the past practices of urbanization assist in looking for the solutions of problems with urbanization in modern world (Wagner, 2008). There are various examples of developed and developing countries, which use assistance from their past and urban history and implement these to resolve their present issues and use these lessons for the future sustainability.

Thesis Statement

Lessons from history may help us tackle the problems of contemporary cities and urban issues

Discussion

This is one of the major concerns associated with the urbanization is that it deals with the process of development of the city. The study of historical development of cities and urbanization assists in learning and defining different perspectives associated with the maintenance of city and population. There are various problems which create difficulty in providing solutions for the various problems of urbanization (Wagner, 2008). In all such circumstances historical study assists in learning and understanding different perspectives associated with these problems.

Growing Population

With the passage of growth and increase in population is the major concern for almost all the states. It creates problem for the accommodation and maintenance of these people. This creates problems for the solution to deal with this major concern. The solution of this problem was available from the historical evidences of the time when after industrialization and beginning of urban development in western world thousands of people from rural areas were shifting to towards urban areas. At that time the concept of vertical houses was developed. This concept provides solution for the accommodation for thousands of people as government is looking for several stories houses for the proper accommodation of these people. There are also plans for multi-storey plazas and housing solution for the increased population.

Hygiene Maintenance and Waste Disposal

Another major problem with the increase in population is to maintain the increase amount of waste disposal and hygiene ...