One
of the best planners, I think of the 19th and 20th
Centuries was Ebenezer Howard. Howard was influential in beginning modern
planning as we know today. Without his contribution modern planning would not
be like it is today. One of the major concepts that he created was the Garden
City. The concept was influenced by the effect of the industrial revolution had
on society, majorly on the health impacts of the pollution created by this new
form of industry that had swept over England. Howard saw this as an issue that
needed to be fixed and came up with idea of the Garden City. The plan of a
Garden City was that it created a city that was also connected with the country
(Halland & Tewdwr-Jones 2011). Therefore it can be seen as blend of both an
urban and natural space to create a more liveable city. The first demonstration
of his ideas was the building of the first Garden City, Letchworth in England.
This town built in the early 1900s is a testament to Howard’s ideas of the city
within the country. Howard also inspired other cities to be built with the same
principles, around the world. A prime example is the city that we live in;
Canberra. This city was very much influenced by Howard’s concept. I think the
most interesting thing about Howard’s concept of Garden City is that it still
influences us today in planning. His idea of green spaces with the urban
environment intertwined is still powerful concept used to today’s planning (UCBerkley
2009). Although today’s planning has a much more technical way of looking at
sustainability then back in the early 1900s. Therefore I think that Ebenezer
Howard was one of the most influential planners of the last two centuries.
Bibliography
Hall, P. and
Tewdwr-Jones, M. 2011. Urban and regional planning. London: Routledge.
UCBerkley. 2009. Planning
Past and Future: Early 21st Century Reflections. [video online] Available
at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7V63cTMbrHE [Accessed: 24 Feb 2014].
Also the urban health issue has different context today, from the Howard's age. The lack of physical activities and associated obese/overweight are the major urban health concern now.
ReplyDeleteA key point of the Garden city was that it was sustainable with a dense urban core so people could live close to facilities along with green open spaces and greenbelt areas for agriculture.
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