In the 1950s, the situation in the USA was not so easy and the feeling of always being in danger was constant, because of the “containment policy”, contrasts, tensions, the promulgation of the Marshall Plan and the birth of NATO. People lived with the fear of an imminent outbreak of an atomic war. That’s why Norbert Wiener, Karl Deutsh and Giorgio de Santillana wrote a project to prepare American cities in the event of an atomic war. The project, published in the magazine «Life» (December 18, 1950), was titled “How U.S. cities can prepare for atomic war - M.I.T. professors suggest a bold plan to prevent panic and limit destruction”. In that project the professors outlined their idea of “life belts” around the main cities. The idea was to create circular highways about ten miles from the city centre, with roads leading into the city like spokes on a wheel. The three men designated the perimeter of the life belts as evacuation points for city dwellers, also designing essential facilities and places. The paper aims to analyse the project, contextualizing it in the visions of the three professors of MIT attentive to the role of the scientist in political and social life.
Life belts intorno alle città : la voce degli scienziati del MIT nella vita politica e sociale degli anni Cinquanta
Loiodice Eleonora;
2020-01-01
Abstract
In the 1950s, the situation in the USA was not so easy and the feeling of always being in danger was constant, because of the “containment policy”, contrasts, tensions, the promulgation of the Marshall Plan and the birth of NATO. People lived with the fear of an imminent outbreak of an atomic war. That’s why Norbert Wiener, Karl Deutsh and Giorgio de Santillana wrote a project to prepare American cities in the event of an atomic war. The project, published in the magazine «Life» (December 18, 1950), was titled “How U.S. cities can prepare for atomic war - M.I.T. professors suggest a bold plan to prevent panic and limit destruction”. In that project the professors outlined their idea of “life belts” around the main cities. The idea was to create circular highways about ten miles from the city centre, with roads leading into the city like spokes on a wheel. The three men designated the perimeter of the life belts as evacuation points for city dwellers, also designing essential facilities and places. The paper aims to analyse the project, contextualizing it in the visions of the three professors of MIT attentive to the role of the scientist in political and social life.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
