DESIGN SEMINAR AC902

Contribution of Ebenezer Howard in the field of Urban Design

An illustrative report
Group 3: Bhuvnesh, Kashyap,Mihir,Riddhi,Suketu,Neil 26th September 2012

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Contribution of Ebenezer Howard in the field of Urban Design

Sir Ebenezer Howard - Garden Cities The garden city philosophy is a method of urban planning that was initiated during 1898 by Sir Ebenezer Howard in the United Kingdom. Garden cities were intended to be planned, selfcontained, communities surrounded by "greenbelts" (parks), containing proportionate areas of residences, industry, and agriculture. Howard published his book To-morrow: a Peaceful Path to Real Reform during 1898 (which was reissued during 1902 as Garden Cities of To-morrow). His idealized garden city would house 32,000 people on a site of 6000 acres (2400 ha), planned on a concentric pattern with open spaces, public parks and six radial boulevards, 120 ft (37 m) wide, extending from the centre. The garden city would be self-sufficient and when it had full population, another garden city would be developed nearby. Howard envisaged a cluster of several garden cities as satellites of a central city of THE THREE MAGNETS 50,000 people, linked by road and rail.
THE PEOPLE Where will they go?

TownClosing out of nature. Social opportunity.

Isolation of crowds. Places of amusement. Distance from work. High money wages. High rents & prices. Chances of employment. Excessive hours. Army of unemployed. Fogs and droughts. Costly drainage. Foul air. Murky sky. Well-lit streets. Slums & gin palaces. Palatial edifices.

CountryLack of society. Beauty of nature.

Hands out of work. Land lying idle. Trespassers beware. Wood, meadow, forest. Long hours, low wages. Fresh air. Low rents.

This book offered a vision of towns free of slums and enjoying the benefits of both town (such as opportunity, amusement and high wages) and country (such as beauty, fresh air and low rents). Howard illustrated the idea with his "Three Magnets" diagram. His ideas were conceived for the context of a capitalist economic

Lack of drainage. Abundance of water. Lack of amusement. Bright sunshine. No public spirit. Need for reform. Crowded dwellings. Deserted villages.

Town-CountryBeauty of nature. Social opportunity.

Fields and parks of easy access. Low rents, high wages. Low rates, plenty to do. Low prices, no sweating. Field for enterprise, flow of capital.

Design Seminar, AC902

Pure air and water, good drainage.

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Bright homes & gardens, no smoke, no slums. Freedom. Co-operation.

Contribution of Ebenezer Howard in the field of Urban Design

system, and sought to balance individual andcommunity needs. Two English towns were built as garden cities, Letchworth and Welwyn. Though they did not completely measure up to the ideal, they provided a model for controlling urban sprawl.

In this concept, people can access easily through the rails and roads. Furthermore,

connections between towns for both people and goods can be by rail, the rapid transport of his day. The distance between the railway station and the town center will to be about one kilometer or a ten-minute walk. The time taken to cross from one side of the town to the other is about twenty to thirty- minute walk In Garden City concept, Howard has helped to reduce the need for movement in a number

of ways. Schools are located at the nucleus of residential wards. Each ward was large enough to be a complete segment of the town, which is containing a cross section of its population. The self- containment idea and community building and provision of ample green space can help to achieve the sustainable development through reducing the dependence of vehicle for movement. In addition, Howards proposal also may help to reduce the needs for movement of

agricultural produce. The city will be surrounded by agricultural land and green space, was capable of sustaining many of the needs of the town in terms of food supply and in turn absorbing some of the waste products of the town. Hence, the garden city concept

Design Seminar, AC902

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Contribution of Ebenezer Howard in the field of Urban Design

may help towards to achieve the sustainable development. In 1904, Raymond Unwin, a noted architect and town planner, along with his partner Barry Parker, won the competition run by the First Garden City, Limited to plan Letchworth, an area 34 miles outside of London. Unwin and Parker planned the town in the centre of the Letchworth estate with Howards large agricultural greenbelt surrounding the town and they shared Howards notion that the working class deserved better and more affordable housing options. However, the architects ignored Howards symmetrical design, instead replacing it with a more organic design. Letchworth slowly attracted more residents because it was able to attract manufacturers through low taxes, low rents and more space. Howard purchased land at Welwyn at auction, with no money of his own, to house the second garden city in 1919He desperately and successfully persuaded his friends to loan him the money. The Welwyn Garden City Corporation was formed to Welwyn failed to truly exist as self-sustaining because of its proximity to London of 20 miles Even until the end of the 1930s, Letchworth and Welwyn remained as the only existing garden cities. Though Howards efforts did not lead to a string of garden cities, the movement did succeed in emphasizing the need for urban planning policies that eventually led to the New Town movement.

Design Seminar, AC902

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