The second decade of the twentieth contrite saw urban planning become increasingly codified and professionalized. Here are some key events:

Wacker’s Manual of the Plan of Chicago 1912

Charles Henry Wacker was a second generation German American who was a businessman and philanthropist. In 1909 was appointed Chairman of the Chicago Plan Commission by Mayor Busse. He held the position until 1926. As chairman, he championed the Burnham Plan for improving Chicago. He also believed that Chicago would fulfill its destiny as “the center of the modern world,” only if its youth were well-educated in the far-reaching goals of the city’s plan.*

As such, in 1912, Wacker published Wacker’s Manual of the Plan of Chicago (by Walter D. Moody) for use in public schools. The text was adopted as an eighth-grade textbook by the Chicago Board of Education and was required reading for all eighth-grade public school students until 1924. This is the first known formal instruction in city planning below the college level. It offered students a basic understanding of the history and function of cities and taught the importance of planning as a civic responsibility.

 

Hadacheck v. Sebastian 1915

In Hadacheck v. Sebastian, 239 U.S. 394 (1915), the Supreme Court of the United States held that an ordinance of Los Angeles prohibiting the manufacturing of bricks within specified limits of the city did not unconstitutionally deprive the petitioner of his property without due process of law, or deny him equal protection of the laws.

The case is significant because it is the first time the Supreme Court approved the regulation of the location of land uses. The brickyard was prohibited because it was causing adverse health effects in LA. In its decision the Court noted that: “There must be progress, and if in its march private interests are in the way they must yield to the good of the community.”

 

Cities in Evolution 1915

Sir Patrick Geddes was a Scottish biologist, sociologist, philanthropist and pioneering town planner. He is known for his innovative thinking in the fields of urban planning and education. Geddes is also considered by some to be the father of regional planning for introducing the concept of ‘region’ to architecture and planning. He is also known to have coined the term conurbation.

In 1915 he wrote Cities in Evolution : An Introduction to the Town Planning Movement and to the Study of Civics. The book was an essay on the growth of cities emphasizing preservation of historical traditions, involvement of the people in their own betterment and the rediscovery of past traditions of city building.

Eutopia, then, lies in the city around us; and it must be planned and realised, here or nowhere, by us as its citizens—each a citizen of both the actual and the ideal city seen increasingly as one.

—Cities in Evolution

 

First Full-Time City Planner 1916

Harland Bartholomew was the first full-time planner employed by an American city: St. Louis. Although a civil engineer by training and disposition, Harland’s career started just as automobile production was taking off, industrial development was booming and urban population was rapidly growing. The challenges and opportunities brought about by these factors inspired the invention of new community concepts and required the development of new approaches to planning transportation in cities. These challenges called for a hybrid of engineering and sociological skills. Bartholomew possessed both.

Bartholomew created new methodologies and new designs and concepts known as comprehensive planning which made contributions that remain relevant to urban planning in North America today—for good and for bad. Due to his groundbreaking work he is often described as the father of North American city planning. His legacy in urbanist circles is mixed, however, as he pushed for widened streets and strict Euclidean zoning.

Bartholomew passed away in 1989, a few months after his 100th birthday.