IndexIntroductionHow utopia is defined/describedEbenezer HowardLe CorbusierSoria Y MataPatrick GeddesFrank Lloyd WrightCommon themesAfrican utopiasEko Atlantic, NigeriaHope City, GhanaKonza Technology City, KenyaKigali, RwandaCommon themesSimilarities and differences between planning utopias and African utopias: similaritiesdifferencesConclusionIntroduction productionUtopia: “an imaginary place or state of affairs where everything is perfect.” I will explain how Howard, Le Corbusier, Soria Y Mata, Patrick Geddes and Frank Lloyd Wright defined "Utopia" as their ideal place or state of life. I will also describe African utopias. After describing the utopias and then comparing the different definitions given by architects, urban planners and sociologists and African utopias, this is to highlight the similarities and differences that will show why these plans were made. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay How Utopia is Defined/Described Ebenezer Howard The editor of To-morrow: A Peaceful Path to Real Reform in 1898, better known as Garden Cities of To-morrow. He experienced the pollution, congestion and social dislocations of the modern industrial city. Howard's ideas of urban reorganization, spatial zoning, the inclusion of nature in cities, green belts, and the development of a new self-sustaining community outside the crowded central city, laid the foundation for the entire tradition of modern urban planning. He described his plan as a kind of human-based community on the “country-city magnet”, where we have the best of both worlds, the city magnet representing the modern city with a combination of jobs and services, and the opposite countryside magnet with natural features representing rural districts. As shown in its concentric ring diagram, the central park is located at the center of the Garden City with prominent municipal buildings and enclosed by a ring of "Crystal Palace" retail shops. The entire city must be surrounded by a permanent agricultural green belt and the new cities must be connected to the central “Social Cities” via a system of railway lines. The city and the countryside are two magnets that attract people to them. There are not only two alternatives, but a third will be introduced where all the active and lively city life will take place with all the attractions and pleasures of the countryside. Presenting a natural movement of people from crowded cities to the most expensive countries on earth. The City-Country is free from the disadvantages of each. (Howard, 1902)Le CorbusierDesigner of the “Radiant City”, which was to be a straight and orderly city for the future, was not only for a more balanced urban environment, but also for profound social improvement. Le Corbusier's design of the ideal city was inspired by the way the organs of the human body work, working together to function. The main tactic was to generate vertical buildings and leave a lot of common open space in the middle for people to use and enjoy. The horizontal zones would be traffic passages and public settings with lush vegetation. Cyclists, motorists, pedestrians and community transport vehicles have been assigned different routes to use to get around. In the center, the residential area separated from the commercial areas by business districts connected by subway. The apartments would have views of public spaces. Corbusier designed urban villages in the sky. (Curtis, 2006)Soria Y Mata“Soria theorized a single developed strip no more than 500 meters wide, with a dominant street and tram line and residential and commercial lots on bothsides of agreed dimensions and separated by smaller streets, at the connections of which there would be kiosks and shops, and in the center of which there would be schools, hospitals, courts. No point in the city would be more than a few hundred meters from the countryside." (Collins,1959)Patrick GeddesPatrick Geddes believed that every city had its own soul and therefore its own identity and uniqueness. He criticized the union of other cities to form one. He also believed that cities should grow naturally instead of creating a rigid form. He was against the massive planning approaches used by utopias, as he believed that the plans had almost nothing to do with the people living in those cities. Geddes said the grid street pattern has done more harm to the city than improvement. To implement a geometric plan it is necessary to demolish many houses and shops that stand in the way of large monumental buildings, which violates the spirit of the city. (Lesser, 1974)Frank Lloyd WrightHis utopian plan to create the perfect community: The Broadacre City. Wright announced that densely populated cities would soon begin to disappear, absorbed into a new city invisible as it spread across the nation. Therefore, his plan was to redistribute the population across the continent. “He proposed retaining all the diversity of urban life, scattering factories and skyscrapers across the landscape, providing regional markets and local centers of culture, entertainment and education. His plan also calls for diversity in the way of life: minimal housing on one-hectare plots, small and large condominiums. Broadacres is a town, he insisted; telecommunications and convenient automobile transportation have changed the scale by which we must measure proximity.” (Dougherty, 1981) Broadacres where men use machines to enhance their freedom. Common ThemesThe utopias planned or confidently called the ideal cities of the urban planners all had the interest of the people at heart, since they were designed for the people. Self-sustainable cities, advanced in every way. Most have a better and effective transportation system with one lined with trees, solving the problem of overpopulation in cities by designing raised apartments and shared communal kitchens and laundromats creating socialization in the community. Most planners wanted to maintain greenery, making the city ecologically sustainable. Separating the industrial from the residential.African utopiasEko Atlantic, Nigeria”Eko Atlantic City is a 10 square kilometer city built as an extension of Victoria Island. The city offers luxury housing to 250,000 people and employment opportunities for another 150,000 who will travel to and from the city daily. “(Lemanski & Oldfield, 2009). The development of the city provides a positive environmental impact, as it counteracts erosion.Hope City, GhanaHope is a city planned by technology. This is a major mixed-use development, integrating high-quality residential, corporate, leisure, commercial, hospitality, educational, social and recreational uses. A city in which different functions interact and different social classes and different tastes meet. This tactic will activate social interactions and more unestablished socialization between people. The city is developed to be environmentally sustainable and socially attractive. Konza Technology City, Kenya Konza is a technologically planned city. “The City of Konza was designed as a high-density, mixed-use walkable city that accommodates a variety of programs and districts. By avoiding superblocks and car-oriented streets, Konza will be a livable and sustainable urban environment that encourages.