Changes

Howard's model saw urban refugees building up a city until it reached a population of 32,000, whereupon a new city would be started nearby. Ultimately, Howard saw the creation of a network of such cities: six such surrounding a slightly larger city of 58,000, the settlements divided by green belt land and linked by high speed urban railways. Such a grouping of cities, he believed, would provide all the advantages of a single large city, and few, if any, of the drawbacks. His economic system drew on George: land would be municipally-owned, and revenue derived from the increasing value of this land as the cities developed would be used to provide public services, even old age pensions; the need for individuals to pay municipal rates would dwindle and disappear.

Howard's model saw urban refugees building up a city until it reached a population of 32,000, whereupon a new city would be started nearby. Ultimately, Howard saw the creation of a network of such cities: six such surrounding a slightly larger city of 58,000, the settlements divided by green belt land and linked by high speed urban railways. Such a grouping of cities, he believed, would provide all the advantages of a single large city, and few, if any, of the drawbacks. His economic system drew on George: land would be municipally-owned, and revenue derived from the increasing value of this land as the cities developed would be used to provide public services, even old age pensions; the need for individuals to pay municipal rates would dwindle and disappear.

In 1899 Howard founded the Garden Cities Association which survives as the Town & Country Planning Association (TCPA). With supporter, he managed to gather sufficient finance to start work on the first Garden City at [[Letchworth]], [[Hertfordshire]], in 1903. The town was designed by the architects [[Raymond Unwin]] and [[Barry Parker]], broadly along the lines suggested in Howard's book. Most of the housing was provided by [[co-partnership]] housing associations; employment was provided by radically-minded businessmen who had been persuaded to support the project, like the publisher Dent, but the largest single employer was Spirola, a corset manufacturer, very much at odds with the sandal-wearing, rational dress, Esperantist and folk-dancing ethos of the new town.

In 1899 Howard founded the Garden Cities Association which survives as the Town & Country Planning Association (TCPA). With supporters, he managed to gather sufficient finance to start work on the first Garden City at [[Letchworth]], [[Hertfordshire]], in 1903. The town was designed by the architects [[Raymond Unwin]] and [[Barry Parker]], broadly along the lines suggested in Howard's book. Most of the housing was provided by [[co-partnership]] housing associations; employment was provided by radically-minded businessmen who had been persuaded to support the project, like the publisher Dent, but the largest single employer was Spirola, a corset manufacturer, very much at odds with the sandal-wearing, rational dress, Esperantist and folk-dancing ethos of the new town.

Howard was unable to gain support for further new town foundations after 1903 until 1920, when he acquired an estate near Welwyn in Hertfordshire and commenced construction of [[Welwyn Garden City]].

Howard was unable to gain support for further new town foundations after 1903 until 1920, when he acquired an estate near Welwyn in Hertfordshire and commenced construction of [[Welwyn Garden City]].