The Image Of Emerging Countries’ Capital In The Early 20th Century

This paper discusses the capital images and their causes about New Delhi,Canberra and Nanjing in the capital planning of emerging countries at the beginning of the 20 th century,and tries to understand the reflection of ideal city in the capital construction at that time.Comparing the planning contents of the three capitals will expand the understanding of political power and capital space.This paper focus on capital’s physical forms and its causes from two aspects: From an international perspective,on the basis of the development about urban health and infrastructure,urban layout and urban public space in the early 20 th century.In order to understand the international background during that period and clarify the internal needs of the ideality and reality of urban construction.From the view of the planning content,this paper takes New Delhi India(1911),Canberra Australia(1913)and Nanjing China(1929)as examples.,and makes a comparative study about the site selection,capital structure and public space among the three countries,so as to show the relevance and difference in capital construction.The following findings are found: First,when the government decided to build a new capital,large-scale of intervention by the regime had already begun,and the official explanations on "ideal city" were actually political needs.New capital is guided by the "classic city " which represents the scientific progress in the early 20 th century,which shows the advanced of the new regime.Secondly,the capital is a manipulated material form.By comparing with the three emerging countries,we can find that nationalism can be seen in the urban structure,central political area,park plaza,residential area,architectural style and any other aspects of the plan.The regime has an important power of "interpretation" on the physical form.Finally,there are also planners’ personal ideals and the regime’s concerns about the reality behind the image.The game between planner and regime makes the capital’s physical space is not a response to the current people’s livelihood or site conditions,but a mixture of accommodating planning thoughts.This paper attempts to provide a new perspective for studying the planning of capitals around the world and the interaction between them through horizontal comparison of the planning and construction of three capitals in the early 20 th century.What’s more,re-examining the capital planning of emerging countries in the early 20 th century from the perspective of "capital image" is of enlightening significance to the breadth and depth of understanding of the capital construction activities that will continue to change in the present and future.The whole thesis contains about 60000 words,74 pictures and charts.