How the city formed?

ROME…
Abstract:
• The city is a community with a stable and defined territorial basis,Since its origin grows ground above itself.
• Where the parts that are being built are juxtapose to interpose and overlap the ancient city nucleus.
• The city has an evolutionary inner character, a strong inclination to metabolize the novelty.
• At the same time it is characterized by inherent resilience ensuring its tendency towards stability.
• City was got overlapped and are interposed In hybrid and unprincipled ways.
• This had led to instance of recent mutation as pathologies.
• The uncontrolled expansion, the realization of infrastructure , the intangible networks and the instability of community
have changed the meaning and the role of the historical city.
The Spatial Evolution of Rome:

• Rome is more than just the vast Ancient Rome. It is termed "The
Eternal City" for a reason.
• Throughout the ups and downs of history, Rome has prevailed and continues on,
and is considered one of the major birth places of the western civilization.
• Rome has endured over the ages from one major aspect (though many other
factors have shaped it's evolution over the millennia). The primary reason for
Rome's existence is its status as a capital.
• It grew as the seat of the Roman Empire, continued after the empire's fall
because of its seat of the Catholic Church, and grew exponentially after Italy was
Ancient Rome at height of unified in 1871 and once again assumed its capital status.
Empire circa 100 AD
(Source: National Roman
Museum - Crypta Balbi)
FACTORS FOR DEVELOPMENT:
Founding Location:
The city was created in its current location because of geographic and trade route
influences.
Growth Seen in City Walls:
The growth of the city during the Empire can be seen through the expansion of the city
walls.
Loss of Population:
As the empire declined, population dropped from over 1.6 million to below 50,000. See the
population chart and learn more about why the city declined.
City Abandoned, Church Assumes Power:
When Rome lost its status as capital of the empire after Constantine moved it to Byzantine,
Rome was taken over in a vacuum and was kept alive through the middle ages (barely) by the
Catholic Church.
Dictator With Grand Plans:
Mussolini. A dictator with grand plans and the political will to make huge spatial changes in
the city takes over in 1921.
City Sprawls:
The city continues to expand with the increased impact of automobiles, post World War II
reconstruction funds, a number of special events, and new technology.
 MASTERPLAN DEVELOPMENT IN VARIOUS TIMELINE:
City Planning:

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After Italy was unified in 1871, Rome needed serious The 2008 plan was designed to coordinate the work of
Mussolini had grand plans for Rome and its urban both municipal planning (land use) and transportation
restoration and development to assume its new role as
renewal. He conceived the idea to address the impact planning. It has a strong focus on open space
a capital city. A large rail station was planned to serve
of the automobile by removing all activity from the preservation (light green areas are agriculture, dark
as a hub outside the historic city center, and many
historic center. green are parks and natural areas) and traffic
government structures and residences were planned alleviation. Most notably, this new plan boldly states
around this new station (shown in red on the map at that no new development will be permitted unless
right). Other pockets of building occurred near the access to transit is already in place. Whether this new
Vatican area in the northwest section of the city progressive policy will actually be enforced remains to
be seen. (Gualdi, 2004) (Comune di Roma, 2013)
Expansion of City Walls

• After Rome was founded in 753 B.C., the first city wall was built on the Capitoline Hill shown in light blue below. As the city began to
conquer its neighbors, its population expanded and so the city walls expanded as well.
 REASONS BEHIND DEVELOPMENT:
• The natural features of Rome's location had an impact on all stages of its development. The river and topography
determined the location and "layering" of the city, the volcanic history of the area led to a stronger building material for
the empire, and the marshes and hills affected the direction of Roman expansion in the 1900s.
• The location of the city is almost wholly based on the river and the place where the river was most crossable
(Tiber Island).
• The river is also responsible for the "layering" of the city. The Campo Marzio area (flat peninsula area in center of Image 1,
which is the historic core of Rome) has flooded many times throughout history and is deeply layered (up to 25' in some
locations). Layers were built up over 1000s of years from a combination of alluvial deposits (especially in medieval times
when the city was all but abandoned), and the fact that many buildings in Rome collapsed on themselves and were
later used as foundations for new buildings.
• The flood of 1870, just as Rome was again becoming the capital of Italy, spurred the building of the four-story walls that
now line the Tevere (built 1876-1926). No significant flooding has occurred since that time.

Flood of 1900 at Pantheon before river walls were built Flood at Tiber Island before river walls were built
ROME AN ARCHITECTURE MARVEL:
The Aqueducts
• During the time of the empire, access to adequate supply of clean water was one of the largest constraints on a city. The
system built by Rome used 11 aqueducts running into the city from nearby springs and reservoirs, crossing 46 miles of hills
and valleys to create the first ever flowing municipal water supply.
• Concrete:
• The main ingredient in this concrete was volcanic ash, and while less durable than today's concrete, it had an amazing
resilience over time. It is believed that the ash’s unique mix of minerals helped the concrete withstand chemical decay
and damage.
• Concrete structures were seldom built during the Middle Ages, suggesting volcanic ash wasn’t the only secret to the
durability of Roman concrete.
• Even today, Rome has a large amount of agricultural land inside the ring road and within the city in general.
• Rome is Europe’s largest agricultural municipality with 517 square meters of
agriculture accounting for 40% of its total surface.
MODERN ROME:
ADMINISTRATIVE STRUCTURE:
• The Commune of Rome is divided into 19 Districts (Municipi). District 1 holds the original 22 Rioni (neighborhoods, originally 14)
within the historic city walls.
OPEN SPACE:
• The Commune of Rome covers an area three times larger than area within the ring road. Along with urban development, this land
includes large areas of marsh land which is not usable for agriculture or development, and areas designated as parks, nature
reserves, and for agricultural use. Rome's open space constitutes 73% of its land
RESIDENTIAL:
• Most Romans live in apartments, in fact very few single family homes exist within the ring road. (Morassut, 2008) This is very
different than the dynamic in the US of equating moving to an urban area with giving up the single family home. For Italians, there
is no difference in housing types between urban core and suburban areas.
TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE:
• Like many cities, Rome has a ring road, and secondary arterial roads in a radial pattern, however, there is no main highway into
the city center. Despite the fact that the Roman's have a well-used bus system, regional and international rail, trams and an ever-
increasing subway system, traffic in Rome is terrible and one of its most critical issues. This system is designed in a radial pattern
which makes using the existing public transport difficult.

Residential pattern of romans