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The garden city as a sustainable community

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Barcelona rather than Letchworth or Welwyn Garden City ... Strong and active sense of local community, especially in Letchworth ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: The garden city as a sustainable community


1
The garden city as asustainable community
  • Stephen V. Ward
  • Department of Planning
  • Oxford Brookes University
  • svward_at_brookes.ac.uk

2
Introduction
  • The concept of sustainable development occupies a
    central position in planning of human settlements
  • But not used when Ebenezer Howard invented garden
    city idea in 1890s
  • Also Howards garden city vision not central to
    most UK and European thinking about what a
    sustainable urban community is
  • Perceived negatively as inspiration for rigid
    single use zoning and soulless suburbs

3
  • Favoured European model is a medium-high density
    mixed-use pattern (eg EC Green Paper on Urban
    Environment, 1990 UK Rogers Report, 1999)
  • Barcelona rather than Letchworth or Welwyn Garden
    City
  • Garden City more favourably regarded in USA and
    some other countries
  • Also may be set to become more significant in UK
    thinking within new Sustainable Communities
    programme (2003-)
  • It is therefore particularly appropriate to
    evaluate the garden city in light of current
    thinking about what makes a sustainable community

4
Key characteristics of asustainable community
  • UK government now says these are
  • A flourishing local economy to provide jobs and
    wealth
  • Strong leadership to respond positively to change
  • Effective engagement and participation by local
    people, groups and businesses, especially in the
    planning, design and long term stewardship of
    their community, and an active voluntary and
    community sector
  • A safe and healthy local environment with
    well-designed public and green space

5
  • Sufficient size, scale and density, and the right
    layout to support basic amenities in the
    neighbourhood and minimise use of resources
    (including land)
  • Good public transport and other transport
    infrastructure both within the community and
    linking it to urban, rural and regional centres
  • Buildings - both individually and collectively -
    that can meet different needs over time, and that
    minimise the use of resources
  • A well-integrated mix of decent homes of
    different types and tenures to support a range of
    household sizes, ages and incomes

6
  • Good quality local public services, including
    education and training opportunities, health care
    and community facilities, especially for leisure
  • A diverse, vibrant and creative local culture,
    encouraging pride in the community and cohesion
    within it
  • A sense of place
  • The right links with the wider regional, national
    and international community

7
How far then does the garden cityhave these
characteristics?
  • Must be examined at several stages in the garden
    citys evolution
  • First Howards original concept, as developed in
    his 1898 book,
  • To-Morrow A Peaceful Path to Real Reform
  • Second at the realities of the two garden
    cities, Letchworth and Welwyn Garden City, as
    they took shape from 1903 and 1920
  • Third at the way they function as settlements
    today

8
The vision
  • The garden city based on co-operation
  • Land bought at agricultural value
  • Owned and managed collectively
  • Business development both collectively and
    privately funded
  • But citizens, not land speculators, would benefit
  • Development carefully planned
  • Limited to 30,000 population

9
  • Combined best features of town and country
  • Nature preserved
  • Private and public open spaces
  • Agricultural belt protected around garden city
  • Clean air, fresh water
  • Public transport, walking, cycling
  • Good quality affordable houses for everyone at
    moderately low densities
  • Good social facilities

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Letchworth and Welwyn Garden City during
development
  • Many aspects broadly followed the vision
  • All land was bought at agricultural values
  • Garden city companies gave strong leadership,
    generally in public interest
  • Operated on limited profit basis
  • Beyond that financial benefit to go to community
    (but long delayed)
  • Local employment (eventually) allowed high degree
    of self-containment

13
  • Walking, cycling and public transport, especially
    rail
  • Development in both was very carefully planned
  • Size of the garden cities was limited to roughly
    30,000
  • Development combined best of town and country
  • Nature was preserved in open spaces and
    agricultural belt
  • Healthy, smoke-free, clean air
  • Slightly lower densities than in original vision

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  • Mixture of hosing types and wide social mix
  • Housing quality high by contemporary standards
  • Good collective facilities were provided from an
    early stage
  • Strong and active sense of local community,
    especially in Letchworth

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  • But there were some difficulties and weaknesses
  • Shortage of capital meant slow development
  • Not easy to attract employers to the garden
    cities initially
  • Eventually enough firms decentralising from
    London and new light manufacturing industries set
    up in Letchworth and Welwyn GC
  • Both, especially Welwyn GC, adopted industrial
    marketing
  • Some employers deterred by experimental nature of
    Howards vision

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  • Slow growth of housing also severely limited the
    size of local workforce
  • Shortage of working class housing also a factor
    in early days
  • Significant commuting in early years - in and out
    - but using rail or cycle
  • Some tensions between companies and local
    communities
  • Companies sometimes too overpowering, especially
    in Welwyn GC
  • No local community financial benefit until much
    later
  • Segregation between richer and poorer areas in
    Welwyn GC

24
Letchworth and Welwyn Garden Cityin the long term
  • Public corporations created (for Welwyn GC 1948
    Letchworth 1963)
  • Not-for-profit heritage foundation formed in
    Letchworth (1995)
  • Only in Letchworth were funds ever transferred to
    local community
  • Welwyn GC only gave a return to central funds
  • In the long term both adapted well to economic
    changes
  • In a very buoyant region of Britain
  • Some original industries have provided basis for
    subsequent growth

25
  • New sources of employment eg office development
    in Letchworth
  • More car-based commuting (in and out)
  • Most housing popular and adaptable little
    redevelopment needed
  • Some cuts in local schools as population ages
    and densities decline
  • Other services have survived well, especially in
    centres
  • Remain popular places to live with strong though
    not very diverse communities
  • Conservation policies help protect special
    qualities

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Are the garden citiessustainable communities?
  • Measured against the criteria indicated at the
    outset, they
  • have succeeded in delivering
  • Flourishing local economies
  • Strong leadership (especially Letchworth)
  • Active communities with strong local
    participation (especially Letchworth)
  • Safe and healthy local environments with many
    green spaces
  • Sizes and layouts which support good range of
    local services in centres (in walkable distance
    for many residents)

29
  • Good rail links to London and neighbouring towns
  • Buildings that have been adaptable
  • A range of housing types and tenures
  • Generally good public services
  • Strong local culture (especially Letchworth)
  • Strong sense of place
  • Good links with the wider world

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31
  • They have been less successful in
  • Maintaining non-central services, especially as
    population ages and household sizes decline
  • Providing a high standard of local bus services
  • Preventing a general shift to car-based travel
  • Avoiding significant social class segregation in
    residential areas (especially Welwyn GC)
  • Avoiding decline in some local public services
  • Having a narrower local culture than in core city
    areas
  • Sense of place may not appeal to everyone

32
  • Overall though,
  • The successful outweigh the less successful
    aspects
  • Both garden cities have a strong claim to be
    considered as sustainable communities
  • But can the model be widely applied?
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