Granada vs. Santa Fe de Granada

In terms of urbanism, changes had been occurring throughout the fifteenth century due to the rise of Renaissance architecture. Thus, many new concepts were being developed and structural and organizational ideologies were challenged as a result. After the "re-conquering" of Grenada by the Spanish Catholics, the Christians built Santa Fe de Granada which was a grid-planned city. Like was mentioned in the blog from last week, the best way to show your dominance over another region is to rebuild a city; thus, the consecration of Santa Fe de Granada began.                                                                                                   
          [Fig. 1] Granada, Spain.                                     [Fig. 2] Santa Fe de Granada, Spain

After looking on Google Maps of Granada and Santa Fe de Granada it is quite evident that after the conquering of Granada by the Spanish Catholics, the new urban forms were applied when the building of Santa Fe commenced - that new building form was the grid plan. Granada, Spain is a more organic based city in terms of its organization, whereas Santa Fe is more compartmentalized, similar to a place like Timgad [Fig. 3] With this compartmentalization, it is easier to control a city because it is more organized and easier to establish where everything is in the layout, including the central area where a temple or a central plaza most likely would be setup. With a more organic and chaotically organized city, it is not as easy to keep track. Thus, the "re-conquering" of Granada allowed for the Spanish to build in a setup that gave them the most power and sense of order, through the grid plan that we see even today is the most common organization for new towns or settlements.

    [Fig. 3] Timgad, Algeria

Additionally, you can see from the aerial view of Santa Fe that it has a very fortified setup around it. Like earlier works we saw where structures were built in such a way that they could see if their enemies were approaching, for example at Tiyrns the Citadel with also only the one entranceway and the many fortified walls, Santa Fe is modelled in a similar way for defensive purposes. As I mentioned before, Santa Fe is in a grid-form layout which is significant because it gives structure and allows for a logical construction of protective walls to protect the city against invaders. All in all, it seemed appropriate for the Spanish to model their new city based on previous cities with the grid plan and fortification because this organization allowed them to maintain control over the city and prevent outsiders from taking over. The Spanish knew that what they conquered might be "re-conquered" yet again.