Urbanie & Urbanus
Issue 2025 Jan
Counter-Urbanization
Issue 11, P. - P.
Abstract
The emergence of urban green networks—interconnected parks and tree-lined avenues—is often linked to late 19th-century urban planning, epitomized by Paris’s systematic parks and boulevards (from 1854) and the park systems of Frederick Law Olmsted (from 1868). This article challenges this narrative by tracing the earlier development of such networks between 1791 and 1854. Drawing on examples from European cities, colonial territories, and the United States, it examines the socio-political, hygienic, and aesthetic objectives that shaped their creation.
Three typologies of early green networks are analyzed: baroque-inspired radial avenues in cities like Washington, D.C.; picturesque thoroughfares connecting royal parks, as seen in London; and green belts repurposed from fortifications in cities like Frankfurt, or designed around new settlements, as in Adelaide. These networks prefigured later innovations by blending natural and pastoral elements into urban environments, embodying the concept of rus in urbe.
Grounded in landscape studies and urban planning history, this article shows how early green networks anticipated urban expansion by creating green backbones that structured growth while offering spaces of retreat. Through archival research and comparative methodologies, it sheds light on their historical foundations and enduring relevance for contemporary urban challenges.