8

So while there is a plethora of words regarding features of urban planning in Latin, is there an actual term or phrase for the act of planning a city? "Urbs designans" and "inventio urbica" seem like poor fits to me, and I feel like a culture with such a civil engineering bent would have had a dedicated word for the urban planning field, but I just can't find any.

In addition, within the field, was there a term for the city grid? I am aware of the terms for the various streets, buildings, etc., but "reticulum urbicum" strikes me as incorrect, as I was under the impression "reticulum" meant more of a "net" than a "grid," and "cancellus" seems to be more associated with literal bars than cities. Again, I find it hard to believe, given the nature of the Romans, that they would not have had a word for a city grid, but I simply can't seem to find it.

1
  • I like your question. You might like to consult a book called Ancient Rome: City Planning and Administration by Olivia F. Robinson. Her scholarly work comes up on searches of articles about aqueducts and other public works.
    – user1466
    May 23, 2017 at 1:42

1 Answer 1

5

Vitruvius discusses some aspects of urban planning in the first book of his famous De architectura. However, I do not seem to find a term for "urban planning" there. He discusses the topic but does not seem to give it a name.

This is the closest hit that I found:

arearum divisiones platearumque (Vitr. 1.6.1)
the apportionment of house lots (translation by Morris Hicky Morgan)

If there is no good attested expression in the literature, you should consider coining a new one in classical style. I would suggest designatio urbis or urbs designanda. (Urbs designans implies that the city is the one that plans instead of the one being planned. An active participle sounds like a bad fit here.)

There might be something better, but it missed my eye. At any rate, digging through De architectura is what I suggest doing first in the search for such a word.

There is probably something for a "city grid" too, but I found nothing better than angiportorum divisiones, "the directions of the different alleys" (1.6.13, see the two links above). If I were to coin a new expression for it, I would probably choose rete viarum, "network of roads".

2
  • 1
    Reading through 1.6.12 gave me an interesting word: vicus. Apparently it technically means quarter, neighborhood, row of houses, municipal section, or ward, which, while not exactly the same thing, is certainly a bit more convenient than angiportorum divisiones. I think its close enough to use for grid, as it has the municipal nature missing from the words I listed in my question. Perhaps used exclusively in the plural, so as to refer to the collection of wards. Insofar as urban planning goes, I think your suggested designatio urbis is suitable. Thanks for the source!
    – James
    May 22, 2017 at 21:51
  • @James You are welcome! Vicus (L&S link) is a good word, but it can mean a number of things. If there is a risk of confusion, something more concrete like rete viarum (road network) might be better.
    – Joonas Ilmavirta
    May 22, 2017 at 22:42

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.