Date of Publication :27th October 2020

Abstract: Le Corbusier's Radiant City (1930) was often perceived as a futuristic utopia. If this is the case, however, it is obvious that The Radiant City is not the perfect standard model of exclusivity. The Other town plans developed by Le Corbusier over that same period, in which the generating framework is different, promote a broad territorial and landscaping approach. Also notable is the gradual appearance, after World War II, of the predominance of plastic design, with the toning down of utopian ideology opening the door for prototype copying, in the manner of the de-centralized APAURBAL plan for Expo 64 in Lausanne. Also, this Modern City of Three Million Inhabitants' for central Paris is a myth in modern urban planning literature. According to Le Corbusier, the plan would improve urban ability while improving the urban environment and the city's performance. Ville Radieuse (The Radiant City) is an unrealized urban masterplan by Le Corbusier, first presented in 1924 and published in a book of the same name in 1933. Designed to contain effective means of transportation, as well as an abundance of green space and sunlight, Le Corbusier’s city of the future would not only provide residents with a better lifestyle, but would contribute to creating a better society. Though radical, strict and nearly totalitarian in its order, symmetry and standardization, Le Corbusier’s proposed principles had an extensive influence on modern urban planning and led to the development of new high-density housing typologies.

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