Urban Topology of Car-Free Cities

Evolution Of Urban Planning Models

Jean-Paul Rodrigue, in his book “The geography of transport systems”, explains the historical evolution of transportation in five phases. Transportation in the Pre-Industrial era, pre-1800, can be characterized as limited transport technology with non-mechanized modes of transportation, animal labor, and limited long-distance trade. In the second phase, from 1800 to 1870, the Industrial Revolution started the mechanization of transportation with a steam engine and railways. The emergence of modern transport systems from 1870 to 1920 noted the growth in international transportation and the dominance of rail transport. Introduction to tramways in urban areas and bicycles provided cheap mobility for masses. Fordist era from 1920 to 1970, the era knows for the internal combustion engine and mass production system, which have changed the mobility habits of human beings. The last phase of evolution in transportation as per Jean-Paul Rodrigue is the post-Fordist era after 1970, where information technologies are merged with transportation systems, and IT has become a tool to manage transportation systems. With reference to the evolution of transportation by Jean-Paul Rodrigue, urban planning concepts are compared in terms of the communication system, and mobility patterns worked out. Urban models explaining different concepts of a settlement, the transition in these models along the timeline are correlated with the evolution of transportation (Jean-Paul Rodrigue, 2013).