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Multiple Choice

City Functional gained prominence in which decade?

This item tests understanding of when the idea of a city designed around distinct functions—living, working, commerce, and transport—became a dominant approach in planning. The functional city idea gained prominence in the 1940s, as countries undertook postwar reconstruction and search for efficient, rational ways to rebuild urban areas. Modernist planning emphasized separating uses and aligning infrastructure to support those functions, and this approach was widely adopted in redevelopment and new-town designs during that decade. While traces of functional planning exist earlier, the 1940s is when it clearly became a mainstream, widely discussed framework in urban planning discourse and practice.

This item tests understanding of when the idea of a city designed around distinct functions—living, working, commerce, and transport—became a dominant approach in planning. The functional city idea gained prominence in the 1940s, as countries undertook postwar reconstruction and search for efficient, rational ways to rebuild urban areas. Modernist planning emphasized separating uses and aligning infrastructure to support those functions, and this approach was widely adopted in redevelopment and new-town designs during that decade. While traces of functional planning exist earlier, the 1940s is when it clearly became a mainstream, widely discussed framework in urban planning discourse and practice.