Sprawl as Strategy

Abstract

The extent to which the nuclear arms race may have played a role in the development of postwar urban form in the United States is explored through an examination of planning literature and government documents from the 1940s and 1950s. The project to disperse the urban form for civil defense reasons is followed from its emergence in the literature to the adoption of these principles by both the American Institute of Planners and the U.S. federal government. The ramifications of this movement, and the role it played in the social history of the cold war, are discussed.

Historical Development of Military Sites and Their Impact on Urban and Rural Land Use in the European Context

“…During this urban phase, which persisted into the Early Middle Ages, military demand for land is dominantly relat ed to the construction of city fortification. 11 The presence of walls physically separating the municipality from the countryside was one of the essential criteria for towns to at tain their coveted status (Childs, 1997: 86). Nonetheless, traces of military installations in rural areas, such as Roman frontier defenc es or temporary and marching camps, also emerge.…”

Cold War heritage and the planned community: Woomera Village in outback Australia

“…While the Cold War was a global phenomenon and one which unquestionably permeated popular consciousness and culture, countries experienced and responded to it in different ways (Dudley 2001;Farish 2003;Light 2003;Cocroft and Thomas 2004;Strange and Walley 2007). Factors such as political alliances, economics, and geography influenced specific involvements and led to a multiplicity of responses.…”