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St. Peter’s Basilica and St. Peter’s Square
Artist / Origin: Michelangelo Buonarroti (Italian, 1475–1564), Carlo Moderno (Italian, 1556–1629), Gian Lorenzo Bernini (Italian, 1598–1680), et al.
Region: Europe
Date: ca. 1506–1667
Period: 1400 CE – 1800 CE
Material: Travertine marble
Medium: Architecture and Planning
Location: Vatican City, Rome, Italy
Credit: Courtesy of Alinari Archives/CORBIS
Benjamin Franklin Parkway
Artist / Origin: Paul Philippe Cret (French, 1876–1945) and Jacques Greber (French, 1882–1962) (designers)
Region: North America
Date: 1917–1926
Period: 1900 CE – 2010 CE
Material: Pavement and trees
Medium: Architecture and Planning
Dimensions: L: approx. 1 mi. (1.6 km.)
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Credit: © Alan Schein Photography/CORBIS
Urban planning shares many elements in common with the traditional fine arts of painting and sculpture—it can play with light and texture, mold positive and negative space, and communicate with an audience in ways that are both visceral and intellectual. Of course, it is also quite different from those arts in terms of both scale and complexity. The shape, form, and aesthetic of the urban environment can, moreover, only be realized through the collaboration of multiple parties. Both St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia are examples of concerted, grand-scale efforts to shape the city landscape in meaningful ways.