Contemporary urbanism and architectural heritage: Retrospective and perspectives

Abstract

Functionalist town planning, as formulated in the first half of the 20th century and applied massively in the second, is characterized by the priority given to mechanical flows and rejection of the enclosed block and the street to promote living in the green spaces of maximum sunlight. The Athens Charter principles and their derivates are all directed against the traditional city and its architectural heritage and they found a fertile breading ground in the psychological and social context of the post-war years. We feel that today architecture and urbanism are at a crossroads This study present some theoretical aspects and cactuyal achievements of the alternative to functionalist theory and the quasi-universal condemnation of the Athens Charter. The surviving traditional city and its architectural heritage present an alternative model that is rooted in and embodies civic and democratic life.

Keywords

• Athens Charter
• collapse
• ideology
• zonning
• traditional city
• architectural heritage
• alternatives
• suistainble urban development
• urban renewal
• continuity of identity