Exploring the Idea of Sustainability Through Three Early Modern Urbanism Movements

Date

2026-3-24

Author

Şimşek, Onur

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In an era where the sustainability term is becoming increasingly widespread, defining this concept with varying frameworks has led to a disconnect from its essence. The sustainability idea has existed for thousands of years as a way of life that respects natural resources. Yet, in today's growth-oriented world, it has been presented as an optimistic equilibrium point to reverse the problems caused by intensive industrialisation. However, rather than being an intended equilibrium point, the concept of sustainability is a continuously evolving collection of ideas in response to the ecological dynamics of our world. This thesis argues that urbanism movements have influenced the constantly evolving nature of the sustainability idea. This hypothesis is reinforced by the fact that urbanism movements existed before the term sustainability appeared in contemporary discourse. Within this framework, urbanism movements that developed in the early modern period were examined to reveal how these movements shaped the sustainability idea. This period includes the Garden City, the Radiant City, and the Broadacre City Movement. By comparing the environmental, social, and economic visions presented by these movements with the key concepts of the contemporary sustainability idea, the study reveals how and to what extent the idea of sustainability and urbanism are interrelated. Furthermore, the framework of this thesis provides a basis for revealing how contemporary urbanism movements interact with the concept of sustainability. This framework will highlight the ongoing interaction between urbanism and the sustainability idea that has continued to develop since the early modern movements.

Subject Keywords

Sustainability, Urbanism, Garden City, Radiant City, Broadacre City

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11511/119047

Collections

Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences, Thesis