Sofia Qureshi

7th semester
Architecture
Synopsis: How to Build A City

All cities in the world vary from one another yet they are all built around certain basic principles. What
makes these cities different from each other is the difference in culture, politics and the geographical
location.

Cities are built based on some basic principles which are the key elements into developing a generic city.
All cities have certain requirements which need to be fulfilled. Since the Roman Empire is one of the
oldest and largest empires of the world, we can see how they had divided their empire into many cities
and created a network between them so that each city had some relation with another. This created the
unity in an empire which was spread across many miles

As we see in the roman empire one of the most important points in designing a city is to first decide its
location and to see if the site is fit to have a city established there,. The city should have access to trade
water as well as transporation. It should have soil that can support agriculture and an appropriate terrain
which does not hinder the development of a city. Once the site has been selected a grid work needs to be
decided. In the roman cities this is referred to as cardo et decumanus (which includes the primary
perpendicular axes). This is also known as centuratio which is the gridding of the city. Once the basic grid
layout has been decided then certain public buildings need to be placed which house some of the most
important functions such as the governance, entertainment, a trade center, a religious centre and other
public gatherings. These buildings are essential for the running of the city and therefore their placement is
extremely important. In the case of the Romans, the forum was the centre of all trade activities and was
the main public space. It is for these reasons that it was placed in the centre. Around the forum other
important buildings such as the capitolium, the basilica as well as the baths were located. These buildings
had a common architectural language and expressed the strength of the empire. A common architectural
language for all public buildings also created a feeling of unity not only within a city but between
different cities of the empire.

As we move away from the city centre, and reach the limits of the city, the outside land also needs to be
planned for agriculture use .Also it is this land which connects one city with another and acts as a
transitional space which is why it’s planning becomes even more important.

When the basic city structure has been resolved one needs to think about how to proliferate the city so as
to multiply it. This is simply done by repeating the basic steps required to develop a city. It is by
multiplying this model that you will be able to connect this city with others.

Once the basic layout of the city has been sorted then the movement within a city and between cities
needs to be facilitated with the use of roads or any other medium. In the Roman Empire cities were
connected via aqueducts which not only assisted in transportation of people and goods but also water.
Trade is very important for the development of a city and therefore provisions need to be made to
facilitate trade. These are some of the basic ideas which considered when designing a city.