Precolonial City Planning and its Legacy on Modern Latin America

    The precolonial architecture and street planning of the indigenous peoples in and around the cities of Tenochtitlan, Teotihuacan, and Cuzco were largely utilized in the construction of the colonial cities and Modern cities. For example, in the street plans of Cuzco, Peru, there is an area in the city where the streets create the image of a Puma. These streets are still incorporated into the city planning. Many instances of indigenous city planning, and architecture are still prevalent in the modern-day cities. In Teotihuacan, the city is mapped out in a largely gridded pattern. The precolonial city planning features prominently in the cityscape of Teotihuacan today and became a defining feature of Latin American city planning through the Laws of the Indies, established after Spanish voyages to Latin America. This led to a defining style of urban planning in the colonial cities of the Spanish Empire. 

    The architectural style of precolonial empires such as the Aztec and Inca empires are still featured in the architecture of modern-day Cuzco and in Mexico City. In Cuzco, the original architecture of the city featured a style of varying sizes and shapes of bricks which were stacked in non-repetitive patterns to allow the shift of the stones in the event of an earthquake. No grout was applied to the bricks which allowed the bricks to settle back into place after an earthquake. This architectural style is seen in many of the colonial buildings of Cuzco, which were built on top of previous Inca foundations. The buildings feature the Inca style architecture at the base of the building, while featuring the Spanish architectural style of carefully laid bricks that are plastered over and painted white. 

    The impact that the precolonial architecture and city planning has on the modern cities of Teotihuacan, Mexico City, and Cuzco, is that these cities are laid over foundations of previous indigenous cities. While the Spanish made sure to establish their own style on the city through the Laws of the Indies, many of these city planning ordinances align with the previous city planning of the Aztec, Inca, and other indigenous populations. With the large merchant center in the middle of Mexico City, to the Puma layout of Cuzco, and the indigenous grid pattern of Teotihuacan, these cities may have been built by the Spanish, but they were designed by the indigenous populations that came before them.