Cities as Arenas of Social Change (S01-EP04)
The fourth episode Cities as Arenas for Social Change will explore the connection between urban design, social transformation, and political ideologies, drawing from historical examples to understand how cities have been reshaped to reflect and influence the societies that inhabit them. Cities and built environments aren’t just backdrops for daily life; they’re battlegrounds for ideas, power, and progress. For social transformation, from utopian experiments to authoritarian spectacles, from radical housing models to grand infrastructure projects meant to shape human behaviour. From the grand utopian visions of Garden Cities to the authoritarian spectacle of Nazi Berlin, urban planning has long been a tool for social transformation. We’ll explore radical plans like Le Corbusier’s "machines for living," Soviet Moscow’s collectivist cityscapes, and the sprawling baroque metro stations of Stalinist Russia—all designed to shape how people live, move, and think. But these lessons don't just belong to the past.
As cities today continue to evolve under pressures like climate change, inequality, and technological advancement, the question of how urban spaces can foster social change is more relevant than ever. In this episode, we'll connect these historical precedents to the contemporary conditions in cities, examining how today’s urban planners and architects are grappling with similar questions: How can cities be designed to create more equitable, sustainable, and inclusive societies? Stay tuned as we unpack how the legacy of these past urban visions still echoes in today’s cities—and how they can help us navigate the challenges of the future.
‘SUP is hosted by Ian Nazareth, Graham Crist and Christine Phillips
This podcast is produced with support from the Alastair Swayn Foundation and the RMIT University School of Architecture & Urban Design.
Show Notes and References
1. Modernist Visions and Utopian Planning
Le Corbusier – The Modern City
Advocated for order, efficiency, and strict zoning (living, working, recreation).
The City of Tomorrow and Its Planning – Urban Design Lab
“Contemporary City for Three Million” – Urban Utopias | Tumblr Post
Chandigarh, India
Planned by Le Corbusier – epitome of the modernist city.
Emphasised zoning and efficiency but criticised for lack of organic growth.
Auguste Perret
French architect blending modernism and neoclassicism, pioneering concrete use.
Rem Koolhaas – The Culture of Congestion
Argued cities thrive on density and energy.
Delirious New York PDF – Monoskop
Tom Verebes – Adaptive City
Critiques of master planning and advocacy for flexibility.
2. Australian Urban Projects
Melbourne Arts Precinct
Cultural heart including the Conservatorium of Music, College of the Arts, and NGV.
Sir John Overall and Canberra
Key planner of Australia’s capital (1958–72), ex-paratrooper.
Garden City Movement
Ebenezer Howard’s vision of balanced urban-rural life.
Examples: Camberwell & Box Hill | Changing Face of Box Hill
Housing Commission Towers (1960s)
Public housing aiming to uplift living standards.
3. Political Urbanism and Spectacle
Moscow and Soviet Planning
Architecture as political instrument; 1930s urban realignments.
Germania – Hitler’s Megacity
Symbolic Nazi architecture.
Tiananmen Square, Beijing
Political symbolism and monumental scale.
The Kremlin and Moscow’s Icons
Kremlin, St. Basil’s Cathedral, and religious monuments.
Tempelhof Airport, Berlin (1930)
Monument of authoritarian architecture.
1936 Berlin Olympics – Authoritarian Urbanism
Urban spectacle as propaganda.
Esposizione Universale di Roma 1942 (E42)
Mussolini’s vision of monumental fascist Rome.
4. Urban Events and Transformation
World Expositions
Melbourne, Brisbane (Expo ’88) – catalysts for urban renewal.
Olympics and Urban Renewal
Major driver of slum clearance and infrastructure redevelopment.
5. Historical and Cultural Anchors
Walter Burley Griffin & Marion Mahony Griffin
Designers of Canberra; pioneers in early 20th-century landscape architecture.
Charles Garnier – Palais Garnier, Paris
Grand opera house symbolising 19th-century cultural prestige.
Charles Jencks
Architectural historian and theorist of the cosmic and landscape architecture.
Urban Forest Movement
Integrating greenery and sustainability into urban design.
Sprawl – A Compact History
Analysis of suburbanisation and its impacts.
History of Urban Planning
Overview of 20th-century planning ideologies.