Leonardo da Vinci's ideal city was centuries ahead of its time 

达芬奇的理想城市超前了几个世纪

The word 'genius' is universally associated with the name of Leonardo da Vinci. A true Renaissance man, he embodied scientific spirit, artistic talent and humanist sensibilities. Five hundred years have passed since Leonardo died in his home at Château du Clos Lucé, outside Tours, France. Yet far from fading into insignificance, his thinking has carried down the centuries and still surprises today. 

天才 "一词普遍与达芬奇的名字联系在一起。他是真正的文艺复兴人，集科学精神、艺术才华和人文情怀于一身。自莱昂纳多在法国图尔郊外的 Clos Lucé 城堡家中去世以来，五百年已经过去了。然而，他的思想远没有消逝得无足轻重，而是流传了几个世纪，至今仍给人们带来惊喜。

The Renaissance marked the transition from the 15th century to modernity and took place after the spread of the plague in the 14th century, which caused a global crisis resulting in some 200 million deaths across Europe and Asia. Today, the world is on the cusp of a climate crisis, which is predicted to cause widespread displacement, extinctions and death, if left unaddressed. Then, as now, radical solutions were called for to revolutionise the way people lived and safeguard humanity against catastrophe. 

文艺复兴标志着 15 世纪向现代的过渡，它发生在 14 世纪瘟疫蔓延之后，瘟疫造成了一场全球性危机，导致欧洲和亚洲约 2 亿人死亡。如今，世界正处于气候危机的风口浪尖，如果不加以解决，预计将造成大范围的流离失所、物种灭绝和死亡。当时和现在一样，人们呼吁采取激进的解决方案，彻底改变人们的生活方式，保护人类免遭灾难。

Around 1486 – after a pestilence that killed half the population in Milan, Italy – Leonardo turned his thoughts to urban planning problems. Following a typical Renaissance trend, he began to work on an 'ideal city' project, which – due to its excessive costs – would remain unfulfilled. Yet given that unsustainable urban models are a key cause of global climate change today, it's only natural to wonder how Leonardo might have changed the shape of modern cities. 

大约在 1486 年，一场瘟疫夺走了意大利米兰半数人口的生命，此后莱昂纳多将目光转向了城市规划问题。按照文艺复兴时期的典型趋势，他开始着手一个 “理想城市 ”项目，但由于成本过高，该项目一直未能实现。然而，鉴于不可持续的城市模式是当今全球气候变化的主要原因，我们自然会想知道莱昂纳多会如何改变现代城市的形态。

Although the Renaissance is renowned as an era of incredible progress in art and architecture, it is rarely noted that the 15th century also marked the birth of urbanism as a true academic discipline. The rigour and method behind the conscious conception of a city had been largely missing in Western thought until the moment when prominent Renaissance men pushed forward large-scale urban projects in Italy, such as the reconfiguration of the town of Pienza and the expansion of the city of Ferrara. These works surely inspired Leonardo's decision to rethink the design of medieval cities, with their winding and overcrowded streets and with houses piled against one another.

尽管文艺复兴以艺术和建筑的惊人进步而闻名，但人们很少注意到，15 世纪也标志着城市学作为一门真正的学术学科的诞生。在文艺复兴时期的杰出人物在意大利推进大规模城市项目（如皮恩扎镇的重新配置和费拉拉城的扩建）之前，西方思想中基本没有关于有意识地构思城市背后的严谨性和方法。这些工程无疑启发了莱昂纳多重新思考中世纪城市设计的决定，中世纪城市的街道蜿蜒曲折、拥挤不堪，房屋之间相互堆叠。

It is not easy to identify a coordinated vision of Leonardo's ideal city because of his disordered way of working with notes and sketches. But from the largest collection of Leonardo's papers ever assembled, a series of innovative thoughts can be reconstructed regarding the foundation of a new city along the Ticino River, which runs from Switzerland into Italy and is 248 kilometres long. He designed the city for the easy transport of goods and clean urban spaces, and he wanted a comfortable and spacious city, with well-ordered streets and architecture. He recommended 'high, strong walls', with 'towers and battlements of all necessary and pleasant beauty'.

由于莱昂纳多使用笔记和草图的工作方式杂乱无章，要确定他对理想城市的协调构想并不容易。但是，从迄今为止收集到的莱昂纳多最大规模的文件中，我们可以重构出一系列关于在提契诺河沿岸（从瑞士流入意大利，全长 248 公里）建立一座新城市的创新想法。他设计的城市便于货物运输，城市空间干净整洁，他希望城市舒适宽敞，街道和建筑井然有序。他建议建造 “高大坚固的城墙”，以及 “必要的、美观的塔楼和垛口”。

His plans for a modern and 'rational' city were consistent with Renaissance ideals. But, in keeping with his personality, Leonardo included several innovations in his urban design. Leonardo wanted the city to be built on several levels, linked with vertical outdoor staircases. This design can be seen in some of today's high-rise buildings but was unconventional at the time. Indeed, this idea of taking full advantage of the interior spaces wasn't implemented until the 1920s and 1930s, with the birth of the Modernist movement.

他对现代和 “理性 ”城市的规划符合文艺复兴时期的理想。但莱昂纳多根据自己的个性，在城市设计中加入了一些创新。莱昂纳多希望城市建在几个楼层上，通过垂直的室外楼梯连接起来。这种设计可以在今天的一些高层建筑中看到，但在当时是非常规的。事实上，这种充分利用内部空间的想法直到 20 世纪二三十年代现代主义运动诞生后才得以实现。

While in the upper layers of the city, people could walk undisturbed between elegant palaces and streets, the lower layer was the place for services, trade, transport and industry. But the true originality of Leonardo's vision was its fusion of architecture and engineering. Leonardo designed extensive hydraulic plants to create artificial canals throughout the city. The canals, regulated by clocks and basins, were supposed to make it easier for boats to navigate inland. Leonardo also thought that the width of the streets ought to match the average height of the adjacent houses: a rule still followed in many contemporary cities across Italy, to allow access to sun and reduce the risk of damage from earthquakes.

在城市的上层，人们可以不受干扰地穿行于优雅的宫殿和街道之间，而下层则是服务、贸易、运输和工业的场所。但莱昂纳多设想的真正独创性在于将建筑与工程相结合。莱昂纳多设计了大量水力设备，在整个城市修建人工运河。这些运河由钟表和水池调节，目的是方便船只在内陆航行。莱昂纳多还认为，街道的宽度应与相邻房屋的平均高度相匹配：意大利许多当代城市仍然遵循这一规则，以方便日照和减少地震造成的损坏风险。

Although some of these features existed in Roman cities, before Leonardo's drawings there had never been a multi-level, compact modern city which was thoroughly technically conceived. Indeed, it wasn't until the 19th century that some of his ideas were applied. For example, the subdivision of the city by function – with services and infrastructures located in the lower levels and wide and well-ventilated boulevards and walkways above for residents – is an idea that can be found in Georges-Eugène Haussmann's renovation of Paris under Emperor Napoleon III between 1853 and 1870.

虽然罗马城市也有一些这样的特点，但在莱昂纳多绘制这幅图之前，还从未有过一座在技术上构思精巧的多层紧凑型现代城市。事实上，直到 19 世纪，莱昂纳多的一些想法才得以应用。例如，按功能划分城市--服务设施和基础设施位于低层，宽阔通风的林荫大道和人行道位于高层供居民使用--这一理念可以在乔治-欧仁-奥斯曼（Georges-Eugène Haussmann）在拿破仑三世时期于 1853 年至 1870 年对巴黎进行的改造中找到。

Today, Leonardo's ideas are not simply valid, they actually suggest a way forward for urban planning. Many scholars think that the compact city, built upwards instead of outwards, integrated with nature (especially water systems), with efficient transport infrastructure, could help modern cities become more efficient and sustainable. This is yet another reason why Leonardo was aligned so closely with modern urban planning and centuries ahead of his time.

今天，莱昂纳多的想法不仅有效，而且实际上为城市规划指明了方向。许多学者认为，紧凑型城市向上而非向外建设，与自然（尤其是水系）融为一体，并配备高效的交通基础设施，可以帮助现代城市变得更加高效和可持续。这也是莱昂纳多与现代城市规划如此紧密结合，并领先于他的时代数百年的另一个原因。