While some of our modern cities are built over haphazard cowpaths, others are marvels of urban planning, with carefully plotted grids and streets radiating from the center. And we can see just how remarkable these cities are when we look down at them from above.


Heusden, the Netherlands, with a fortification built during the Eighty Years War, between 1579 and 1597. – Google Maps


Palmanova, the ideal city of Renaissance Italy, built between 1592 and 1813. – Google Maps

Hellevoetsluis, the Netherlands, with a 17th century fortress. – Google Maps



Karlsruhe, Germany, founded in 1715, also known as the Fächerstadt (Fan City), planned with the palace at the center and 32 streets radiating out. – Google Maps



La Plata, Argentina, founded by Dardo Rocha in 1882, planned by Pedro Benoit. – Google Maps


(via Gindelis and zonu)

Canberra, Australia, designed by Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin, established in 1913. – Google Maps


(via Martyman)

Emmeloord, the Netherlands, stands on land reclaimed from the sea in 1943. – Google Maps



(via Janwillemvanaalst)

Ciudad Jardin Lomas del Palomar, near Buenos Aires, Argentina, founded in 1944, conceived by Doctor Erich Zeyen. – Google Maps



(via Wikimedia Commons)

Sasolburg, Free State Province, South Africa, established in 1954, to provide housing for the employees of Sasol, a energy and chemical company based in Johannesburg. – Google Maps


Cianorte, planned and founded by the Company for the Improvement of the North of Paraná (Companhia Melhoramentos Norte do Paraná) in 1955. – Google Maps


The parabolically shaped city of Brasilia, Brazil, developed by Lúcio Costa and Oscar Niemeyer in 1956. – Google Maps


(via Pinterest)

Sun City, Arizona, opened in 1960 as a future retirement community. – Google Maps



Purmerend, the Netherlands, expanded from the 1960s. – Google Maps



Belmopan, the capital city of Belize, founded in 1970. – Google Maps


Abuja, Nigeria, a city founded in 1828, redeveloped in 1979 by International Planning Associates (IPA), a consortium of Wallace, McHarg, Roberts and Todd, Planning Research Corporation and Archisystems. – Google Maps


(via Wallace, Roberts and Todd)

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The additional images above are from Google Maps.