Kauno miesto gatvių infrastruktūros plėtra XX a. 3-4 dešimtmečiais

Abstract

This article analyzes the evolution of street infrastructure in Kaunas during the 1920s and 1930s. It examines this topic in the context of urban evolution, with an emphasis on the urban development processes. The author describes the main streets that were built and paved in Kaunas during this period and discusses street paving methods and the organization of paving labor. The article provides statistical information on the volume and dynamics of street paving, as well as on the main trends of street infrastructure development. It also introduces the main problems of street infrastructure during that time period. During the period of the first Republic of Lithuania (1918–1940), Kaunas experienced a significant urban transformation. The city’s territory grew sevenfold. The annexed regions were not urbanized and had hardly any street infrastructure. Therefore, their integration into the urban whole of the city was a long-term process that required many financial resources and was still not finished at the end of the 1930s. In the beginning of the 1920s, several streets in Kaunas were still paved with simple stones; the former fortress roads were covered with macadam; and sidewalks were made of wood. Until 1927, proprietors of premises in the city of Kaunas had to perform yearly repairs of street paving. In 1927, responsibility for paving the streets of Kaunas was given to the municipality. As a result, street paving labor quality improved, modern materials (stone setts, bitumen, silicate bricks, asphalt and others) began to be used, and the extent of paving activities increased. At the end of the 1930s, about 50 % of the total street network was paved in the city and pavements made of cement bricks began to replace wooden sidewalks. However, most of the streets still remained paved with simple field stones.