EBENENZER HOWARD

INTRODUCTION

Sir Ebenezer Howard was born as the son of a shopkeeper in the City
of London, on 29th of January 1850.
He is known for his publication To Morrow: A Peaceful Path to Real
Reform (1898), the description of a utopian city in which people live
harmoniously together with nature.
The publication resulted in the founding of the garden city
movement, and the building of the first garden city, Letchworth
Garden City,
1903 Commenced in 1 • Howard aimed to reduce the alienation of
humans and society from nature, and hence advocated garden cities.
Howard is believed by many to be one of the great guides to the town
planning movement, with many of his garden city principles being
used in modern town planning

THE THREE MAGNENTS

He offered a vision of towns free of slums and enjoying the benefits

of both town (such as opportunity, amusement and good wages) and
country (such as beauty, fresh air and low rents)
he believed that "Human society and the beauty of nature are meant
to be enjoyed together" - hence giving his solution "the two magnets
must be made one."
"Town and country must be united.
He illustrated the idea with his famous Three Magnets diagram
(pictured), which addressed the question 'Where will the people
go?', the choices being 'Town', 'Country' or 'Town-Country'.

GARDEN CITY

In three magnets diagram, people preferred the third magnet and it was named as garden city.
"A Garden City is a Town designed for healthy living and industry.
Therefore, The garden city movement is a method of urban planning in which self-contained communities are
surrounded by "greenbelts", containing proportionate areas of residences, industry, and agriculture.
The idea was initiated in 1898 in the United Kingdom
The whole of the land being in public ownership or held in trust for the community
 CONCEPTUAL LAYOUT
Circular city growing in a radial manner or pattern.
Divided into six equal wards, by six main

Boulevards that radiated from the central

park/garden.
Civic institutions (Town Hall, Library, Hospital,

Theatre, Museum etc.) are placed around the

central garden.
The central park enclosed by a crystal palace acts

as an arcade for indoor shops and winter gardens.

The streets for houses are formed by a series of

concentric ringed tree lined avenues. Distance

between each ring vary between 3-5km..

A 420 feet wide, 3 mile long. Grand avenue which

run in the center of concentric rings, houses the

schools and churches and acts as a continuous

public park.
All the industries, factories and warehouses were

placed at the peripheral ring of the city.

The municipal railway was placed in another ring

closer to the industrial ring, so that the pressure of

excess transport on the city streets are reduced

and the city is connected to the rest of the nation.

Letchworth Garden City

Letchworth, officially Letchworth Garden City, is a

town in Hertfordshire, England.
Land of 3822 acres.
Reserved Green belt- 1300 acres.
Designed for a maximum of 35,000 population.
In 30 years-developed with 15000 population &
150 shops, industries.
 NEW ERA OF

COMMUNITY PLANNING
JANE JACOBS

INTRODUCTION
American and Canadian writer and activist Jane Jacobs
transformed the field of urban planning with her writing about
American cities and her grass-roots organizing.
She led resistance to the wholesale replacement of urban
communities with high rise buildings and the loss of
community to expressways.
Along with Lewis Mumford, she is considered a founder of the
New Urbanist movement.
She linked up with the New School in New York, and after three
years, published the book for which she is most renowned, The
Death and Life of Great American Cities.
The impact of Jane Jacobs's observation, activism, and writing
has led to a 'planning blueprint' for generations of architects,
planners, politicians and activists to practice.

Jacobs saw cities as integrated systems that had their own

logic and dynamism which would change over time according
to how they were used.
With an eye for detail, she wrote eloquently about sidewalks,
parks, retail design and self-organization.
She saw cities as living ecosystems .
NEW URBANISM
New Urbanism is an urban planning and design movement that
began in the United States in the early 1980s. Its goals are to
reduce dependence on the car, and to create livable and
walkable, neighborhoods with a densely packed array of
housing, jobs, and commercial sites.
New Urbanism also promotes a return to the traditional town
planning seen in places such as downtown Charleston, South
Carolina and Georgetown in Washington, D.C. These locations
are ideal for New Urbanists because in each one there is an
easily walkable "Main Street," a downtown park, shopping
districts and a gridded street system.

CORE NEW URBANIST IDEAS

Within the concept of New Urbanism today, there are four key
ideas. The first of these is to ensure that a city is walkable.
This means that no resident should need a car to get anywhere
in the community and they should be no more than a five-
minute walk from any basic good or service.
To achieve this, communities should invest in sidewalks and
narrow streets.

The urban pattern

In addition to actively promoting walking, cities should also de-emphasize the car by placing garages
behind homes or in alleys.
There should also only be on-street parking, instead of large parking lots .

SEASIDE FLORIDA
The first city designed and developed based on New Urbanism was Seaside located on the Florida
Panhandle
Designed by architect Andres Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk .
Now, Seaside is known as the symbol of New Urbanism and famous for its architecture, public spaces and
quality of streets. Seaside is privately owned, so not governments but the urban developers could write
their own zoning codes.
Seaside contains a town center with shopping places and restaurants (SEASIDE n.d.). The town center is
located within walkable distance to residential areas and offices (SEASIDE, n.d.).
Seaside's commercial hub is located at the town center. In the center area, there is a huge park and green
area where people can use as a public open space and have some public social events.
URBAN ELEMENTS
Seaside's urban elements, its layout and the design of its streets, appear
in nearly all American and European small towns. Other qualities, such as
its front porches and native vegetation, singularly place it in the
Northwest Florida region. This combination of local and widespread
ingredients, of particularity and universality, make Seaside emulable but
never replicable.

STREETS
The streets are designed in a radiating street pattern with pedestrian
alleys and open spaces located throughout the town. There is a mix of
uses and residential types throughout the community. Hence, Seaside
reflects the two major characteristics of New Urbanism: pedestrian-
oriented sidewalks and mix of uses and residential types.

TOWN CENTER
From inception, Seaside’s downtown has been an important part of its
plan. All of its residences are within a five minute stroll of the town
center, so that the necessities and the pleasures of daily existence
can be easily accessed by foot.

HOUSES

FSeaside’s houses are different from one another, but by using similar building
forms and materials they speak a common language. Adherence to indigenous
materials and to the region’s building tradition gives the town coherence and a
strong sense of place.