scholarly journals Urban Environment during Post-War Reconstruction: Architectural Dominants and Nodal Points as Measures of Changes in an Urban Landscape

Author(s):  
Bartosz Czarnecki ◽  
Michal Pawel Chodorowski

Modernist planners were given the opportunity to apply the idea of ​​the Modern Movement in the implementation of cities transforming after World War II, which was not possible before in long-term evolving structures. Usually, however, it was impossible to change everything: some urban and even architectural elements were necessary to be preserved. As a result, the elements of the ancient landscapes of these cities - historical objects and spaces - necessary for the continuity of evidence of history and identity have been preserved, sometimes through reconstruction. Finally, in some of these cities, both old and new elements contribute to the contemporary urban landscape. The aim of the research is to examine two key categories of urban structure in this perspective: 1. landmarks 2. urban network nodes. For this purpose: 1. the changes in the number and rank of the space with which the landmarks exhibition was carried out were compared; 2. the changes in the rank of nodes in the urban structure functioning both in the pre-war and in the present structure, as well as changes in their distribution and concentration areas were analyzed. The numbers of individual elements were balanced and the changes in the structure of their arrangement were analyzed with the use of a polygon grid. The analyzes were based on the case of a medium-scale European city (Białystok). Research shows that as a result of post-war reconstruction, the number of elements of the urban grid decreased, especially those of lower rank, the rank of others decreased.

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 1083
Author(s):  
Bartosz Czarnecki ◽  
Michał Pawel Chodorowski

Modernist planners were given the opportunity to apply the idea of the Modern Movement in the implementation of cities transforming after the World War II blitz, which was not possible before in long-term evolving structures. However, they could not alter everything: some urban and even architectural elements were necessary to be preserved. As a result, the elements of the ancient landscapes of these cities—historical objects and spaces—necessary for the continuity of evidence of history and identity were preserved, often being completely reconstructed. Finally, in some of these cities, both old and new elements contribute to the contemporary urban landscape. The aim of the research is to examine two key categories of urban structure in this perspective: (1) architectural dominants (landmarks) and (2) urban network nodes. For this purpose, (1) the changes in the number and rank of the spaces through which the landmarks expositions were carried out are compared, and (2) the changes in the rank of nodes in the urban structure, both these in the pre-war and in the present structures, as well as changes in their distribution and concentration areas are analyzed. The number of individual elements is compared and the changes in the structure of their arrangement are analyzed with the use of a polygon grid. A medium-scale European city (Bialystok) is used as the case study. Results of our analysis indicate that the post-war reconstruction led to a decrease in the number of elements of the urban grid (streets, nodal points), especially those of low rank. The rank of many others also decreased: 57% of all nodal points within the historical grid of the selected area does not exist in the post-war structure. The number of main rank directions of exposition decreased by 18% and in the subordinate group by 38%. The research is an attempt to construct a new criteria of evaluating changes in the quality of the cityscape, which is described in the article.


Author(s):  
Oskar Stanisław Czarnik

The subject of this article is an overview of Polish publishing in the exile during the World War II and first post-war years. The literary activity was mostly linked to the cultural tradition of the Second Polish Republic. The author describes this phenomenon quantitatively and presents the number of books published in the respective years. He also tries to explain which external factors, not only political and military, but also financial and organizational, affected publications of Polish books around the world. The subject of the debate is also geography of the Polish publishing. It is connected with a long term migration of different groups of people living in exile. The author not only points out the areas where Polish editorial activity was just temporary, but also the areas where it was long-lasting. The book output was a great assistance to Polish people living in diasporas, as well as to readers living in Poland. The following text is an excerpt of the book which is currently being prepared by the author. The book is devoted to the history of Polish publishing in exile.


2019 ◽  
pp. 141-160
Author(s):  
Catherine E. Clark ◽  
Brian R. Jacobson

This chapter reads the French television hit Les Revenants (The Returned, Canal+, 2012-2015) as a parable of the uneasy legacy of France’s “Trente glorieuses,” the period of rapid economic growth that followed World War II. Situating the show’s fictional city and its story of failing dams in the history of the real dam that inspired it—the dam that displaced the village of Tignes in 1952—the chapter argues that Les Revenants encourages us to re-think the Trente glorieuses and its long-term effects and to ask both what became of the projects that defined these years and what has re-emerged from the shadows of their glories—from failing infrastructure and a police surveillance state to the environmental consequences now associated with the Anthropocene.


Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 541
Author(s):  
Łukasz Musiaka ◽  
Paweł Sudra ◽  
Tomasz Spórna

World War II’s military activities and the post-war devastation period destroyed many European cities and towns. One of the areas that was struck the most was former East Prussia, currently located in Poland and the Kaliningrad Region (the Russian Federation). In addition to the destruction of cities, which are strategically and economically important, small towns have also suffered. An example of such a town is Węgorzewo, where the scale of destruction of the pre-war urban tissue exceeded 80%, and the old town’s built-up area practically ceased to exist. This town magnifies most of the processes and spatial problems characteristic of Central and Eastern Europe’s towns of the “metamorphic” type. Post-war zoning during the Polish People’s Republic period, in the spirit of constructing a socialist town and bypassing the original spatial arrangement, brought about irreversible changes in the urban tissue. This was reflected in the break with the town’s original layout and the creation of modernist buildings. The changes were solidified or even deepened during the economic and political transition of the 1990s in Poland. Today, decades after the end of World War II, despite taking corrective measures, the town is still facing the problem of spatial chaos. Its morphological and physiognomic manifestations in the lack of a central public space, the loss of its historic character, the disharmonization of the urban landscape, and the dispersed development are the main subjects of this article’s analysis. This study uses a diverse methodological apparatus consisting of an analysis of the town’s morphological transformations, an analysis of the physiognomy of the urban landscape and architecture, in situ studies, and an analysis of municipal documents and expert interviews. In the discussion, the study results are embedded in the context of the cases of other European cities and towns. The conclusions indicate the risks to the formation of spatial order in Węgorzewo and possible paths of action.


2017 ◽  
Vol 20 (7) ◽  
pp. 161-172
Author(s):  
Kamil Kowalski

As a conceptual framework, UNRRA referred to one of the four freedoms (freedom from want) mentioned by Franklin D. Roosevelt in a speech given in Congress on January 6, 1946. In the first section, the article presents early attempts to coordinate assistance for the civilian population during World War II (The Committee of Supplies and The Inter-Allied Committee on European Post-War Requirements). The scale of actions taken was very small and insufficient. In January 1942, the USSR proposed the creation of an international organization that would collect information on raw materials and food. This initiative prompted Washington and London to launch a separate competitive project. The organization’s task was to bring help until the state gained economic independence. Therefore, the organization’s goal was not to rebuild the areas affected by war damage in the long term (rehabilitation not reconstruction). In the main part, the article presents the basic issues in dispute when creating the principle of allocating aid, for example, the requirement of consent of the receiving state to receive gifts or the composition of organs of the organization. For this purpose, the exchange of notes between Washington and London was analyzed. Differences of opinions delayed the signing of the contract which did not take place until November 1943.


2006 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-94
Author(s):  
Suminao Murakami ◽  

This review presents historical transformation on urban planning approaches in the Tokyo metropolitan area. Urban areas in Japan have always been threated by urban conflagrations due to the high number of wooden structures. The Tokyo metropolitan area which was previously known as Edo until the Meiji Revolution in 1864. Dramatic changes in power was successful but few urban structure reformation occurred, and Tokyo was damaged by urban conflagrations in the Meiji, Taisho, and Showa Eras. The fervent wishes of Japanese urban planners centered on construction of fireproof urban areas. Such wishes accounted for little in actual policy, however, as witnessed to by the failure of Tokyo officials to construct fireproof urban architectures following the massive destruction left by World War II. In September 1959, the Ise-Wan (Ise Bay) Typhoon caused tremendous damage and left over 5,000 dead. As measures against such disasters, the Japanese government enacted the Disaster Countermeasures Basic Act in 1961. Howevers, measure against Earthquake-induced disasters were yet far from sufficient although Japan experienced hit by the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923. In 1964, the Niigata Earthquake clearly demonstrated modern Niigata City's vulnerability to earthquakes despite its facilities for the National Sports Festival were equipped with modern technology, all of these facilities were destroyed. Reflecting such disasters, reexamination of measure against earthquake disaster began at coastal cities of Japan, which were constructed in post war time. This paper tracks developments in Japanese urban planning movement that the author took part in for about 20 years from 1964.


1996 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 425-435 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pál Péter Tóth

A direct consequence of World War I was the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy and the establishment of new states in its place. This has had far-reaching consequences for both regional and world politics. The existing balance of power as well as social, economic and political problems within the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, including the nationality conflicts, led to this result. In spite of the unavoidable collapse, the successors, the new states, were not the result of a natural evolution, but were the creations of the major powers—France, Great Britain, the United States and Italy—who through the creation of their new post-war order ignored the long-term interests of the region and the actual ethnic composition of the land.


2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (6) ◽  
pp. 49-65
Author(s):  
Marta Kubiszyn ◽  
Stephanie Weismann

For several hundred years, Lublin has developed as a multiethnic city. As a result of World War II and the destruction of the local Jewish community, its urban structure and its cultural landscape were significantly altered. The image of pre-war Lublin emerging from archival documents, pictures, newspaper articles, and individual memories is multilayered. Studies of the oral testimonies of local inhabitants reveal the deeply sensory and cultural components of spatial experiences characteristic of the cultural landscape of pre-war Lublin. This aspect will be presented as a reference point to conduct analyses concerning cultural and social aspects of the perception of Lublin’s urban landscape.


2008 ◽  
pp. 177-205
Author(s):  
Adam Kopciowski

In the early years following World War II, the Lublin region was one of the most important centres of Jewish life. At the same time, during 1944-1946 it was the scene of anti-Jewish incidents: from anti-Semitic propaganda, accusation of ritual murder, economic boycott, to cases of individual or collective murder. The wave of anti-Jewish that lasted until autumn of 1946 resulted in a lengthy and, no doubt incomplete, list of 118 murdered Jews. Escalating anti-Jewish violence in the immediate post-war years was one of the main factors, albeit not the only one, to affect the demography (mass emigration) and the socio-political condition of the Jewish population in the Lublin region


2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 193-213 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elaine Morley

Independent of each other, though contemporaneous, the Anglo-American occupiers of Germany and the newly founded United Nations Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization employed culture to foster greater intercultural and international understanding in 1945. Both enterprises separately saw culture as offering a means of securing the peace in the long term. This article compares the stated intentions and activities of the Anglo-American occupiers and UNESCO vis-à-vis transforming morals and public opinion in Germany for the better after World War II. It reconceptualizes the mobilization of culture to transform Germany through engaging theories of cultural diplomacy and propaganda. It argues that rather than merely engaging in propaganda in the negative sense, elements of these efforts can also be viewed as propaganda in the earlier, morally neutral sense of the term, despite the fact that clear geopolitical aims lay at the heart of the cultural activities of both the occupiers and UNESCO.


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