There exists a context and history of use in these public spaces which make them vital to cities. From his travels, he saw the work of the Renaissance and Baroque periods as exemplar in their use and manipulation of public space and as such he wanted to achieve a unity between modern methods and the artistic techniques of the past.Ĭity Planning according to Artistic Principles maintains that the key element of successful city planning is the plaza or public square. Sitte was concerned that impressive modern buildings were increasingly being seen against a backdrop of poor public space as all resources were poured into the architecture of a building, not its surroundings. Whilst Sitte laments the loss of these artistic methods and techniques witnessed during his frequent travels throughout Europe, he accepted that modern techniques were required in city planning with particular regard to increased levels of hygiene and motorised traffic. The book is mainly concerned with the increasingly technical way our cities were being designed at the expense of traditional artistic methods. These ideas were based primarily on the plaza and associated public space and were presented in City Planning according to Artistic Principles. Through his travels, Sitte observed how these cities had developed and established a set of principles by which he believed cities should be planned. He travelled extensively throughout Europe visiting cities in Italy, France and Germany as well as his native Austria. He worked in a time of intense change in European cities as economic factors, sanitation and transport were becoming the most important influences on city planning - planning was becoming an exercise undertaken in plan on the drafting board, not on site in the street or the square. Whilst Sitte trained as an Architect, he had a strong artistic background and found prominence as an academic. Upon its publication a new breed of theorists and practitioners developed who were concerned with the city and its planning.Ĭamillo Sitte was born in Vienna and it was here where he conducted the basis of his work. City Planning according to Artistic Principles is not purely an attack on the modern planning systems of the time, but an attempt to define a unity between modern and artistic methods through the creation of suitable public space. Despite being written over 120 years ago, Camillo Sitte’s most famous work is still seen as relevant today as it was when published in 1889.
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