Arturo Soria y Mata

A R T U R O ARTUR O

SO R I A SO R I A

Y Y

M A T A

M A T A   (1844-1920) is a

well known urban

planner. His Linear City ideas and model are often compared and contrasted with Ebenezer Howard's Garden City.  A s an urban planner and designer, Soria y Mata explored new horizons by 

abandoning the concentric form of the crowded city in 1882 and by propounding the theory of the linear city,  La Ciudad Lineal . He sought to expand the city along the spine of communication or transport, stretching along a roadway, railroad, housing units etc. (Gallion,  A; Simon, E). ³Ruralise the city and urbanise the countryside´

- A rturo rturo Soria y Mata TH E LI N E A R CI T Y CO N C E P T : The

Linear City concept is as old as the village. Soria y Mata proposed it as a

conscious form of urban development with housing and industry growing along the highway between existing cities and contained by the continuous open space of the rural countryside. (Gallion,  A; Simon, E). The

main aim was to reduce the congestion within a city which developed in

concentric city plans.

He wanted to involve all the villages around Madrid in his Linear City± to bring the Country to the city and the city to the country.

The

plan consists of a central railroad with gridded slabs for houses and working

areas on both sides. While designing; he kept in mind that from every point of the linear city, a new community could arise.

PL A N N I N G PR I N C I P L E S : The

length of the proposed city was decided based on the need. The linearity of the

city was defined by a straight road (approximately 40m long) that passed through the middle. The

width of the city was based on the pedestrian movement, the number of smaller

areas which could be connected to the central road and density of the town. The

road networks were grid-like and simple as Soria was deeply concerned with the

Problems of urban traffic and congestion.

The

city was connected to the main cities by rails and roads which cut through the

spine of the city (main road) at different intervals.

Only

1/4th of the total area of the city could be built ; leaving the rest for open spaces

and parks. The maximum allowable coverage was 20% ME R I T S

A N D DE M E R I T S :

Growth of the city was possible from anywhere ; without any major implications on the settlements, land use, movement patterns etc. The

city was not zoned; there were no segregated areas for development. This led to

the growth of industries and residences in close proximity.  A nother major demerit was that there was no centre or functional node, thus the

Interaction between the residents was less.  A lso, the city was monotonous to some extent. (H, Peter) RE F E R E N C E S :

Gallion, A .B. and Simon E.1963. The Urban Pattern , New York. H, Peter. Urban and Regional Planning, New York  http://www.arch.mcgill.ca/prof/sijpkes/arch528/fall2001/lecture12/soria.html http://web.tiscali.it/icaria/urbanistica/utopie/soria.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ A rturo_Soria_y_Mata