Gardens in the city

 

Belief in a new form of community with all the advantages but none of the disadvantages of town and country evident in an industrialising England in the 19th century, led Ebenezer Howard to develop his Garden City ideas. He published his influential book, Tomorrow: A Peaceful Path to Reform, in 1898. It was reissued as Garden Cities of Tomorrow in 1902.

 

Howard had many influences, and called his work a ‘unique combination of proposals’. His design ideas were influenced by both dignified Georgian towns like Bath and moden park and community plans, including Frederick Law Olmsted’s model suburb of Riverside (1869), near Chicago. Australia also inspired Howard. He included in his book a sketch of the plan of Adelaide, designed in the 1830s by Colonel William Light. Splitting the city into smaller sections surrounded by parklands was a major influence on the idea of the green belt.

 

Howard’s Garden City ideas inspired the development of Letchworth in 1903. Located in Hertfordshire, outside London, it was Britain’s first planned garden city. Its designers, Raymond Unwin and Barry Parker, also planned Hampstead Garden Suburb in London in 1907.