Utopia Vs Neologism

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Introduction The concept of utopia was born in 380 b.C with Plato’s “The Republic” [VEG94], but the word did not actually exist until 1516 when it was coined by Sir Thomas Moore when he printed the text: " De optimu reipublicae statu deque nova insula Utopia libellus vere aureus " [MOO71]. Moore’s neologism stems from the double Greek etymology ou-topos, (οὐ, "not" and τόπος,"place"), or "non-place", and eu-topos, (εὖ, "good" or "well" and τόπος, "place"), or "good place". Utopia is, in fact, an island, that does not exist, regulated by justice, freedom and religious tolerance; then, a happy place. The term stands nowadays for any non-existent society or community possessing highly desirable or near perfect qualities. The ideological motivations …show more content…

Since the early stages of this contamination the link between urban planning and its impact on the inhabitants has been crucial, the new organization of the city was not intended just as a reflection of new ideals but also as a tool to form the new citizen, to the extent that some planners thought that planning itself could bring a social transformation. Probably the most influential of these planners have been Ebenezer Howard, Frank Lloyd Wright and Le Corbusier. As Robert Fisherman said in his analysis of these three architects’ vision: «Many people dream of a better world; Howard, Wright and Le Corbusier went a step further and planned one. Their social consciences took this rare and remarkable step because they believed that, more than any other goal, their societies needed new kinds of cities. They were deeply fearful of the consequences for civilization if the old cities, with all the social conflicts and miseries they embodied, were allowed to persist. They were also inspired by the prospect that a radical reconstruction of the cities would solve not only the urban crisis of their time, but the social crisis as well» Now I would like to analyse why utopian urban planning has been destined to fail, taking the utopian urban plans developed by Howard, Wright and Le Corbusier as examples, and, on the other hand, why this way of thinking …show more content…

the adjective Usonian in place of American to describe the New World character of the national landscape as distinct and free of previous architectural conventions. Wright imagined a home that would live in a quiet relationship with the ground, integral to site, to environment, to the life of the inhabitant who will take root and grow in it. The "Usonian Homes" were typically small, single-story dwellings without a garage or much storage. They were often L-shaped to fit around a garden terrace on unusual and inexpensive sites. Constructed with native materials and characterized in part by their clean lines, open floor plans, minimalist interior, flat roofs and large cantilevered overhangs for passive solar heating and natural cooling, natural lighting with clerestory windows, and radiant-floor heating. The word carport was coined by Wright to describe an overhang for sheltering a parked vehicle. A strong visual connection between the interior and exterior spaces is an important characteristic of all Usonian