Urban Green Areas – their functions under a changing lifestyle of ...

2 Urban green areas (UGAs)
UGAS are not only essential elements of a city, they also play an integral role in the living
conditions of the populace. The ways in which UGAs are regarded, managed and
maintained vary greatly across the world. This chapter deals with the historical
development of UGAs globally and describes how they contribute to the life of city
dwellers. Finally, the development of UGAs specifically in Hanoi will be briefly reviewed.
2.1 Historical development
The development of UGAs has a parallel history with urbanisation in the world. However,
there have been a number of theories regarding to the origin of urbanisation propounded by
scholars. The earliest urban area can be found in ancient Egypt in the fourth millennium BC
under Pharaoh Emperors. The urban area was located in the imperial city of Cairo
(TYLDESLEY 2011). In the meantime, COLLON (2011) states that the Mesopotamians
developed “the world's first cities and monumental architecture” in 3000 BC. In general,
imperial areas were first understood as the places where green areas, the precursors of
modern parks and gardens, were designed and constructed for religious purposes. They
were precursors of modern parks and gardens nowadays.
Parks and gardens have been established and developed in line with development of the
society. UGAs certainly originated from royal gardens where they provided for relaxation
in an artistically constructed setting. However, the questions of where and when the UGA
first developed are still matters of controversy.
The following historical review of UGAs with categorizes UGA development in the various
historical periods. This timeline can be divided into four periods and each period is further
sub-divided by different phases of specific styles or types of usage.
2.1.1 Ancient period
Gardens were constructed in ancient countries (ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Persian,
China). About 3000 years later, the garden-park appeared in western ancient countries
(Greece and Rome). Typical owners of parks and gardens in this period were kings and the
wealthy aristocracy.
There are seven main styles of gardens in the Ancient period. They are described roughly in
chronological order as follows:
2.1.1.1 Ancient Egyptian gardens
The earliest gardens recorded in literature are Ancient Egyptian gardens. According to
GALLERRY (1978: 47), they “were composed of planting beds divided into squares by
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