Ancient Urban Design: Roman and Islamic City Structures

Roman Urban Planning and Legacy

Roman cities, influenced by Etruscan culture, developed unique ways of life. Inhabitants founded their cities based on religious customs, reflected in an orthogonal layout structured around two main streets, oriented with the sun's course.

Adopting technical elegance from Hellenistic civilizations, Roman cities featured sewers, running water, public baths, paved streets, and markets. Many new cities originated as military camps, which, upon becoming permanent facilities, attracted a military population that eventually formed the city.

Notable Roman City Foundations

• Turin
• Vienna
• Lyon
• Cologne
• Strasbourg

Other cities were founded to support political, economic, and administrative colonization:

• London
• Barcelona
• Paris
• Timgad

The Roman City Layout: Timgad Example

Timgad is an excellent surviving example of Roman urban planning. These towns were typically laid out with a rectangular perimeter, often surrounded by a fence or wall. The inner zone was bisected by two large main roads, often porticoed streets.

• Cardo: The north-south axis
• Decumanus: The east-west axis

At their intersection, the Forum was typically located, surrounded by temples, the Curia (senate house), and the Basilica (public building for legal and commercial activities). The rest of the city blocks usually followed a perfectly regular Hippodamian pattern.

The Forum served as a singular hub for civic, political, commercial, and religious functions for the Roman people. Romans, more engineers than architects, lacked the artistic refinement of the Hellenes. When they utilized art, it was primarily to impress with majesty and power, rather than aesthetic emotion.

The city of Rome itself is notable, having reached an estimated 1.5 million inhabitants by the 2nd century BCE.

Islamic Urban Development

During the second quarter of the 7th century, Muhammad, the last of the prophets, established a new religion based on the Quran, its holy book. This faith rapidly spread from Arabia to India, North Africa, and across almost the entire Iberian Peninsula, establishing concrete and specific patterns of behavior.

Characteristics of Islamic Cities

New cities founded during this period shared a remarkably similar, often indifferent and monotonous appearance. This represented a regression compared to the urban planning of the classical world.

The Muslim city lacked the public assembly buildings, circuses, and theaters found in classical cities. The primary public space was the Medina, typically located at the city's entrance, where trade areas and souks (markets) were established.

From the Medina, a series of streets with a heterogeneous, often winding, route emerged. Muslims did not display wealth on their facades; instead, luxuries were kept behind doors, out of a desire not to offend those with less wealth.

Key Islamic Urban Features

Within the Medina, the Mosque, Madrasa (religious school), and Alcaicería (commercial complex) were situated. These Medina-originating streets wove into the urban fabric, eventually extending into the suburbs.