3 ms·

How Cities have been Shaped by Defense

33 points by robdoherty2 12y ago

jacquesm 12y ago
http://www.starforts.com/bourtange.html http://www.starforts.com/bourtange.html http://erfgoedstem.nl/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/naarden-vesting.jpeg http://erfgoedstem.nl/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/naarden-ves...
- Someone 12y ago
  Very nice, but http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palmanova http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palmanova beats both in the symmetry department (rounder than Naarden. Also note the symmetrical outgoing roads on the 17th century map)
  - jacquesm 12y ago
    Oh, that's beautiful, thank you. I really should go visit that.
dang 12y ago
Url changed from http://gizmodo.com/how-defense-has-shaped-our-cities-1674200753 http://gizmodo.com/how-defense-has-shaped-our-cities-1674200..., which points to this.
glesica 12y ago
One of the best-preserved urban walls is in Tallinn, Estonia, in fact, the entire old section of Tallinn is really amazing... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walls_of_Tallinn https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walls_of_Tallinn
huac 12y ago
Even though we may not build overt, physical defense mechanisms into our cities, our cities are still in many ways engineered for defense. Drones, SWAT, surveillance, checkpoints, security zones - all of these techniques are employed, from Baghdad to New York, to exert control. So while we don't build walls to keep people out anymore, we certainly still build defenses to protect us from the people already inside the city. What I disagree with the author on is scale - all of these countermeasures are still on a larger scale - it makes more sense for a city government to enact safeguards, than it does for individual buildings. There really hasn't been a disappearance of large, city-wide protection systems, you just can't see them as obviously.
ginko 12y ago
Not only can you see where the fortifications of Vienna were, you can even make out the rectangular structure of Vindobona, the old Roman military camp in the city's inner district: http://www.livius.org/place/vindobona-vienna/ http://www.livius.org/place/vindobona-vienna/
yincrash 12y ago
Chiang mai's old city http://www.nikdaum.com/news/mai231.jpg http://www.nikdaum.com/news/mai231.jpg

33 points by robdoherty2 12y ago

http://www.starforts.com/bourtange.html http://www.starforts.com/bourtange.html http://erfgoedstem.nl/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/naarden-vesting.jpeg http://erfgoedstem.nl/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/naarden-ves...

Someone 12y ago
Very nice, but http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palmanova http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palmanova beats both in the symmetry department (rounder than Naarden. Also note the symmetrical outgoing roads on the 17th century map)
- jacquesm 12y ago
  Oh, that's beautiful, thank you. I really should go visit that.

dang 12y ago

Url changed from http://gizmodo.com/how-defense-has-shaped-our-cities-1674200753 http://gizmodo.com/how-defense-has-shaped-our-cities-1674200..., which points to this.

glesica 12y ago

One of the best-preserved urban walls is in Tallinn, Estonia, in fact, the entire old section of Tallinn is really amazing... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walls_of_Tallinn https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walls_of_Tallinn

huac 12y ago

Even though we may not build overt, physical defense mechanisms into our cities, our cities are still in many ways engineered for defense. Drones, SWAT, surveillance, checkpoints, security zones - all of these techniques are employed, from Baghdad to New York, to exert control. So while we don't build walls to keep people out anymore, we certainly still build defenses to protect us from the people already inside the city. What I disagree with the author on is scale - all of these countermeasures are still on a larger scale - it makes more sense for a city government to enact safeguards, than it does for individual buildings. There really hasn't been a disappearance of large, city-wide protection systems, you just can't see them as obviously.

ginko 12y ago

Not only can you see where the fortifications of Vienna were, you can even make out the rectangular structure of Vindobona, the old Roman military camp in the city's inner district: http://www.livius.org/place/vindobona-vienna/ http://www.livius.org/place/vindobona-vienna/

yincrash 12y ago

Chiang mai's old city http://www.nikdaum.com/news/mai231.jpg http://www.nikdaum.com/news/mai231.jpg