The 18th And 19th Century Industrialization Process as The Main Aspect of City Creation and Its Impact On Contemporary City Structures: The Case of Lodz

摘要

The article analyses the 18th and 19th century industrial towns transformation and the development in their structures.Due to science and technological advancement occurring in the industrial era,medieval and renaissance methods of city planning became inefficient.Industrialization forced great changes in urban planning and usage of natural resources in the most of the European towns.The case of Lodz-little agricultural town which changed into one of the biggest textile production centers in continental Europe over less than a century-indicates the importance of industry-related developments on its unique appearance and local identity at present.Lodz was transforming from craftsman town into the metropolitan area with the use of semi-rural layout from the early stage of industrialization.As a result,the city developed into a mixture of public spaces with strict planning law of iron-grid pattern surrounded with independent production centers as well as suburban residential structures without unified urban plan.As a result,a large European city emerged.It urban structure was subject of further extensions and transformations,especially in the second half of the 20th century.The most important were the changes in usage of public spaces and the emergence of new means of transport.Due to these transformations streets had to be widened,causing demolition of buildings,which resulted in destroying the compact urban structure.Another reason of the city deterioration was economic problems connected with political issues.In 1962 Lodz was one of the biggest manufacturing center where 58,8% of employment was recorded in the textile industry which show how that part of economy was connected with city.Some thirty years later at the early stage of post-communist transformation the textile production decline and a lack of new investments led to regression.The city created by industry underwent a metamorphosis.The factory closures badly affected not only the local economy but also traditional urban structure,and as a result caused the loss of identity and destroyed emotional links of local society with the city.The main aspect of article is to discuss how spatial organization of the industrial city,its urban structure and its way of functioning affected urban planning after the deindustrialization process,and how these factors shape the existing as well future city structures.