Urban Planning of Zagreb in the Age of Modernization

Abstract

The paper gives a detailed analysis of two general regulatory plans drafted in the age of modernization, in 1865 and 1887 respectively. The first provided a spatial and functional definition of the lower part of the city (Donji grad), which would later become the key element of Zagreb’s urban, architectural and cultural identity and remain the city’s centre to this day. The second regulatory plan envisaged a significant expansion of the city from the west and especially from the east, and the novelty was the introduction of zoning. The first zone comprised the Lower Town with extensions and represented the very centre, the second was intended for industry and the third as residential area with features of a garden city. The radical solution to the crucial problem of the so-called rail node as a pledge and legacy of both plans was proposed by Milan Lenuci in 1907, on the eve of modernism. This solution would have enabled the homogeneous and harmonious development of Zagreb as a metropolis – had it been accepted.

Keywords

• urban planning
• Zagreb, regulatory plan
• Milan Lenuci
• modernization
• 19th century