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American Perceptions Of German City Planning At The Turn Of The Century, John Mullin

Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Faculty Publication Series

The German city in the late 1800's was a victim of many of the malaises that had struck earlier in the century in Britain and the United States. Rapid industrialization, improved transportation networks, and massive urbanization contributed to the creation of overcrowded, slum-like, disease-ridden cities throughout the nation. The long-admired medieval centers were increasingly prone to epidemics and destruction by fire. In a cultural-political sense, they were perceived by the ruling authorities as being corrupt, anti-volklich and centers of the much feared socialist movement. For the greater part of the century, the city had been neglected by both the national …