What is the name of Le Corbusier's concept for a utopian city?

Le Corbusier’s concept for a utopian city was called Ville Radieuse, or the “Radiant City.”

He developed the idea around 1930 as a new model for urban life. Ville Radieuse proposed high-rise housing blocks arranged in long, orderly lines, with buildings lifted on pilotis and surrounded by open green space. Roads and pedestrian movement were separated, while housing, industry, commerce, and administration were planned in distinct zones.

Unlike his earlier Ville Contemporaine, which featured a more centralized and radial arrangement, Ville Radieuse emphasized a linear city. Le Corbusier presented it as a blueprint for social reform: standardized housing and carefully organized surroundings were meant to improve living conditions for large populations.

The project was never built as a complete city, but its principles shaped later planning schemes and influenced the Unité d’Habitation in Marseille, completed in 1952. The concept remains controversial because its rigid separation, monumental blocks, and reliance on centralized planning inspired both admiration and criticism.