Built from Scratch: The Global History of Master-Planned Cities

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Have you ever visited a city that felt too organized to be accidental? In this episode of pplpod, we dive into the fascinating history of planned communities—settlements carefully designed from their inception on undeveloped land, standing in stark contrast to cities that evolve organically.

From the strategic grid systems of the Roman Empire to the high-tech "smart cities" of the 21st century, we explore why and how humanity attempts to engineer the perfect place to live.

Key topics in this episode include:

• The Capital Builders: Why nations move their seats of power to purpose-built cities. We discuss famous examples like Washington D.C., Canberra, and Brasília—the latter famously designed in the shape of an airplane to promote development in Brazil's interior. We also look at recent massive undertakings, such as Nigeria's Abuja, Myanmar's Naypyidaw, and Indonesia’s upcoming capital, Nusantara.

• Company Towns & Industrial Hubs: The settlements built solely for work, from Gary, Indiana (built for US Steel) to Henry Ford’s failed Amazonian rubber plantation, Fordlândia. We also cover the Soviet legacy of "Atomgrads" (nuclear cities) like Prypiat and industrial centers like Magnitogorsk.

• The "New Town" Movement: How the United Kingdom attempted to solve post-war housing shortages and urban sprawl with "Garden Cities" and new towns like Milton Keynes, known for its grid network and central park.

• De-Congesting the Megacity: How modern planners are fighting overpopulation today, including Egypt's construction of a New Administrative Capital outside Cairo and South Korea's administrative city, Sejong.

Join us as we tour the globe—from the star-shaped fortress of Palmanova in Italy to the reclaimed polders of Flevoland in the Netherlands—to understand the ambition behind the master plan.