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Garden cities of to-morrow. Howard, Ebenezer, Sir, 1850-1928. London, S. Sonnenschein & co., ltd., 1902.

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GARDEN CITIES OF

TO-MORROW (being the third edition of "to-morrow: a peaceful path

to real reform")

BY

EBENEZER HOWARD

"New occasions teach new duties ; Time makes ancient good uncouth ; They must upward still, and onward, Who would keep abreast of Truth. Eo, before us, gleam her camp-fires ! We ourselves must Pilgrims be, Launch our 1Mayflower,' and steer boldly Through the desperate winter sea, Nor attempt the Future's portal With the Past's blood-rusted key," —" The Present Crisis."—/. R. Lowell.

LONDON

SWAN SONNENSCHEIN & CO., Ltd. PATERNOSTER SQUARE

1902

INTRODUCTION. *3

Mr. Tom Mann observes :

" The congestion of labour in the metropolis is caused mainly by the_inflnxjrpm the country districts of those who were needed there to cultivate the lantfc" .... .

All, then, are agreed on the pressing nature of this problem, all are bent on its solution, and though it would doubtless be quite Utopian to expect a similar agreement as to the value of any remedy thatmay be proposed, it is at least of immense importance that, on a subject thus

universally regarded as of supreme importance, we have such a consensus of opinion at the outset. This will be the more remarkable and the more hopeful sign when it is shown, as I believe will be conclusively shown in this work, that the answer to this, one of the most pressing questions of the day, makes of comparatively easy solu tion many other problems which have hitherto taxed the

ingenuity of the greatest thinkers and reformers of our

time. Yes, the key to the problem how to restore the

people to the land—that beautiful land of ours, with its canopy of sky, the air that blows upon it

,

the sun that

warms it, the rain and dew that moisten it—the very embodiment of Divine love for man— is indeed a Master- Key, for it is the key to a portal through which, even when scarce ajar, will be seen to pour a flood of light on the problems of intemperance, of excessive toil, of restless

anxiety, of grinding poverty—the true limits of Govern mental interference, ay, and even the relations of man to the Supreme Power.

It may perhaps be thought that the first step to be taken towards the solution of this question—how to restore the people to the land—would involve a careful

14 GARDEN CITIES OF TO-MORROW.

consideration of the very numerous causes which have

hitherto led to their aggregation in large cities. Were this the case, a very prolonged enquiry would be necessary

at the outset. Fortunately, alike for writer and for

reader, such an analysis is not, however, here requisite,

and for a very simple reason, which may be stated thus : —Whatever may have been the causes which have operated in the past, and are operating now, to draw the

people into the cities, those causes may all be summed up as attractions~^ ; and it is obvious, therefore, that no remedy can possibly be effective which will not present to the people, or at least to considerable portions of them,

greater " attractions " than our cities now possess, so that

the force of the old " attractions " shall be overcome by the force of new

" attractions " which are to be created.

f Each city may be regarded as a magnet, each person as a I needle; and, so viewed, it is at once seen that nothing . short of the discovery of a method for constructing

. magnets of yet greater power than our cities possess can

I be effective for re-distributing the population in a spon taneous and healthy manner.

So presented, the problem may appear at first sight to

be difficult, if not impossible, of solution. "What," some may be disposed to ask,

" can possibly be done to make

the country more attractive to a work-a-day people than

I the town—to make wages, or at least the standard of ' physical comfort, higher in the country than in the town ; ;. to.secu£e in the counjay ^quft1 possibilities of social inter

course, and tg_rnaiVft the* prospects of advancement for the

average man or woman equal, not to say superior, to those

', enjoyed in our large cities? " The issue one constantly

finds presented in a form very similar to that. The

INTRODUCTION. 1 5

subject is treated continually in the public press, and in

all forms of discussion, as though men, or at least

working-men, had not now, and never could have, any choice or alternative, but either, on the one hand, to stifle

their love for human society—at leasA, in wider relations than can be found vn a straggling village—or, on the other hand, to forego almost entirely all the keen and

pure delights of the country. The question is universally considered as though it were now, and for ever must remain, quite impossible for working people to live in the

country and yet be engaged in pursuits other than agri cultural ; as though crowded, unhealthy cities were the

last word of economic science ; and as if our present form of industry, in which sharp lines divide agricultural from

industrial pursuits, were necessarily an enduring one.

This fallacy is the very common one of ignoring altogether the possibility of alternatives other than those presented to the mind. There are in reality not only, as is so con

stantly assumed, two alternatives—town life and country life—but a third alternative, in which all the advantages of the most energetic and active town life, with all the

beauty and delight of the country, may be secured in

perfect combination; and the certainty of being able to

live this life will be the magnet which will produce the effect for which we are all striving—the spontaneous movement of the people from our crowded cities to the

bosom of our kindly mother earth, at once the source of life, of happiness, of wealth, and of power. The town \ and the country may, therefore, be regarded as two

magnets, each striving to draw the people to itself—a rivalry which a new form of life, partaking of the nature of both, comes to take part in. This may be illustrated

16 GARDEN CITIES OF TO-MORROW.

s

by a diagram of " The Three Magnets," in which the

ciief advantages of the Town and of the Country are set forth :vith their corresponding drawbacks, while the ad

vantages of the Town-Country are seen to be free from

the disadvantages of either. The Town magnet, it will be seen, offers, as compared with the Country magnet, the advantages of high wages, opportunities for employment, tempting prospects of ad

vancement, but these are largely counterbalanced by high rents and prices. Its social opportunities and its places of amusement are very alluring, but excessive hours of toil, distance from work, and the " isolation of crowds "

tend greatly to reduce the value of these good things. ' The well-lit streets are a great attraction, especially in winter, but the sunlight is being more and more shut out,

, while the air is so vitiated that the fine public buildings, like the sparrows, rapidly become covered with soot, and the very statues are in despair. Palatial edifices and fearful slums are the strange, complementary features of modern cities.

The Country magnet declares herself to be the source of all beauty and wealth; but the Town magnet mockingly reminds her that she is very dull for lack ojl_ society, and very sparing of her gifts frtrhirk nf papit^' There are in the country beautiful vistas, lordly parks, violetrscented woods, fresh air, sounds of rippling water .

but too often one sees those threatening words, " Tres

passers will be prosecuted." Rents, if estimated by the acre, are certainly low, but such low rents are the natural fruit of_low wages rather than a cause of substantial^ comfort; while long hours and lack of amusements forbid the bright sunshine and the pute air to gladdtmthejiearta

I

INTRODUCTION. 17

of the people. Thg_one indaafayj tgwwritwe; roffgra-fewe^ quently from excessive rainfalls; but this wondrous harvest of the clouds is seldom properly ingathered, so

that, in times of drought, there is frequently, even for

drinking piirpnse^jijnnBt, insiifficjept, supply.i Even the natural healthfulness of the country is largely lost for lack of proper drainage and other sanitary conditions,

while, in parts almost deserted by the people, the few who remain are yet frequently huddled together as if in rivalry with the slums of our cities. But neither the Town magnet nor the Country magnet

represents the full plan and purpose of nature. Human society and the beauty of nature are meant to be enjoyed

together. The two magnets must be made one. 1 As man and woman by their varied gifts and faculties Bjaepjement each other, so should town and country. The towjpis the symbol of society-|-of mutual help and fnerTcuy co-

operailon,~offatherhood, motherhood, brotherhood, sister

hood, of wide relations between man and man—of broad,

expanding_sympathies —of science, art, culturg^jgligion.

And th^country}!

The counting_is_thej symKol nf find's}

rDr. Barwise, Medical Officer of Health for the County Council of Derbyshire, giving evidence before a Select Com mittee of the House of Commons, on 25th April, 1894, on the Chesterfield Gas and Water Bill, said, in answer to Question 1873 : "At Brimington Common School I saw some basins full of soapsuds, and it was all the water that the whole of the children had to wash in. They had to wash one after another in the same water. Of course, a child with ringworm or some thing of that kind might spread it through the whole of the children. . . . The schoolmistress told me that the children came in from the playground hot, and she had seen them actually drink this dirty water. In fact, when they were thirsty there was no other water for them to have."

18 GARDEN CITIES OF TO-MORROW.

love and care for man. All that we are and all that we have comes from it. Our bodies are formed of it; to it they return. We are fed by it, clothed by it, and by it

are we warmed and sheltered. On its bosom we rest.

Its beauty is the inspiration of art, of music, of poetry. Its forces propel all the wheels of industry. It is the source of all health, all wealth, all knowledge. J3ut_its

^ fulness of JOJ^and YJ?!1—Tnjhan-nflt. T-ftraalqd itfftlf to man.

Nor can it ever, so long as this unholy, unnatural separa tion of society and nature endures. Town and country must be married, and out of this joyous union will spring a new hope, a new life, a new civilisation. It is the purpose of this work to show how a first step can be taken

in this direction by the construction of a Town-country

magnet; and I hope to convince the reader that this is practicable, here and now, and that on principles which

are the very soundest, whether viewed from the ethical

or the economic standpoint. I

| I will undertake, then, to show how in " Town-

country " equal, nay better^opportunities of social inter-

nr«irRR-rpa.y he p.njnyen thglLare-enjoyed in any crowaed

city-,-while yet the beauties of nature may encompassTand

-^^o2d-j^ch-djsveUer ^therein j how higher wages are~ com patible _wifch- reduced rents and rates; how abundant

opportunities for- employment and bright prospects of advancemenj/jnayia-seeured for all; how capital"may be attracted and w.ealth- created j how the most admirable sanitary conditions may be ensured; how beautiful homes and gardens may be seen on every hand ; hpw the bounds of freedom may be widened, and yet all the best results of concert and co-operation gathered in by a happy people.

INTRODUCTION. Ig

The construction of such a magnet, could it be effected, followed, as it would be, by the construction of many more, would certainly afford a solution of the

burning question set before us by Sir John Gorst, " how

to back the tide of migration of the people into the towns,

and to get them back upon the land." A fuller description of such a magnet and itsmode of

construction will form the theme of subsequent chapters.

/

CHAPTER I.

THE TOWN-COUNTRY MAGNET.

" I will not cease from mental strife, Nor shall my sword sleep in my hand, Till we have built Jerusalem In England's green and pleasant land."

—Blake.

" Thorough sanitary and remedial action in the houses that we have ; and then the building of more, strongly, beautifully, and in groups of limited extent, kept in proportion to their streams and walled round, so that there may be no festering and wretched suburb anywhere, but clean and busy street within and the open country without, with a belt of beautiful garden and orchard round the walls, so that from any part of the city perfectly fresh air and grass and sight of far horizon might be reachable in a few minutes' walk. This the final aim."—John Ruskin, "Sesame and Lilies."

The reader is asked to imagine an estate embracing an

area of 6,000 acres, which is at present purely agricul

tural, and has been obtained by purchase in the open market at a cost of £40* an acre, or £240,000. The pur chase money is supposed to have been raised on mortgage

debentures, bearing interest at an average rate not ex-

iThis was the average price paid for agricultural land in 1898 : and, though this estimate may prove far more than su.'fc- cient, it is hardly likely to be much exceeded.

THE TOWN-COUNTRY MAGNET. 21

ceeding £4 per cent.1 The estate is legally vested in the names of four gentlemen of responsible position and of undoubted probity and honour, ^h^holdjLin-twist, first, as a security for the debenture-holders, and, secondly, in trust for the people of Garden City, the Town-country magnet, which it is intended to build thereon. One essential feature of the plan is that all ground rents, which are to be based upon the annual value of the land, shall be paid to the trustees, who, after providing for interest and sinking fund, will hand the balance to the Central Council of the new municipality,2 to be employed by such Council in the creation and maintenance of all

necessary public works—roads, schools, parks, etc. The objects of this land purchase may be stated in

various ways, but it is sufficient here to say that some of the chief objects are these: To find for our industrial

population work at wages of higher -purchasing power, and to secure healthier surroundings and more regular employment. To enterprising manufacturers, co-opera tive societies, architects, engineers, builders, and mechanicians of all kinds, as well as to many engaged in various professions, it is intended to offer a means of securing new and better employment for their capital and talents, while to the agriculturists at present on the estate, as well as to those who may migrate

1 The financial arrangements described in this book are likely to be departed from in form, but not in essential principle. And until a definite scheme has been agreed upon, I think it better to repeat them precisely as they appeared in " To-Morrow," the original title of this book—the book which led to the formation of the Garden City Association. See Appendix. .z This word, "municipality," is not used in a technical sense.

if

22 GARDEN CITIES OF TO-MORROW.

i •

thither, it is designed to open a new market for their

produce close to their doors. Its object is, in short, to

raise the standard of health and comfort of all true

workers of whatever grade—the means by which these

objects are to be achieved being a healthy, natural, and

economic combination of town and country life, and this

on land owned by the municipality. Garden City, which is to be built near the centre of

the 6,000 acres, covers an area of 1,000 acres, or a sixth -

part of the 6,000 acres, and might be of circular form,

1,240 yards (or nearly three-quarters of a mile) from

centre to circumference. (Diagram 2 is a ground-plan of

the whole municipal area, showing the town in the centre; and Diagram 3, which represents one section or ward of the town, will be useful in following the descrip tion of the town itself—a description which is, how ever, merely suggestive, and will probably bemuch departed from.) Six magnificent boulevards—each 120 feet wide—

traverse the city from centre to circumference, dividing it into six equal parts or wards. In the centre is a circular space containing about five and a half acres, laid out as a beautiful and well-watered garden; and, sur

rounding this garden, each standing in its own ample grounds, are the larger public buildings—town hall, principal concert and lecture hall, theatre, library, museum, picture-gallery, and hospital.

The rest of the large space encircled by the " Crystal

Palace " is a public park, containing 145 acres, which

includes ample recreation grounds within very easy access of all the people. Running all round the Central Park (except where tit

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THE TOWN-COUNTRY MAGNET. 23

is intersected by the boulevards) is a wide glass arcade

called the " Crystal Palace," opening on to the park. This building is in wet weather one of the favourite

resorts of the people, whilst the knowledge that its bright shelter is ever close at hand tempts people into Central

Park, even in the most doubtful of weathers. Here manufactured goods are exposed for sale, and here most

of that class of shopping which requires the- joy of

deliberation and selection is done. The space enclosed by the Crystal Palace is

,

however, a good deal larger than is

required for these purposes, and a considerable part of it

is used as a Winter Garden—the whole forming a per manent exhibition of a most attractive character, whilst

its circular form brings it near to every dweller in the town—the furthest removed inhabitant being within 600 yards.

Passing out of the Crystal Palace on our way to the

outer ring of the town,^ we cross Fifth Avenue—lined,, as are all the roads of the town, with trees—fronting which, and looking on to the Crystal Palace, we find a ring; of

very excellently-built houses, each standing in its own

ample grounds ; and, as we continue our walk, we observe

that the houses are for the most part built either in con centric rings, facing the various avenues (as the circular roads are termed), or fronting the boulevards and roads, which all converge to the centre of the town. Asking the friend who accompanies us on our journey what the

population of this little city may be, we are told about 30,000 in the city itself, and about 2,000 in the agricul tural estate, and that there are in the town 5,500

building lots of an average size of 20 feet x 130 feet—the minimum space allotted for the purpose being 20 x 100.

24 GARDEN CITIES OF TO-MORROW.

Noticing the very varied architecture and design which

the houses and groups of houses display—some having common gardens and co-operative kitchens—we learn that general observance of street line or harmonious

departure from it are the chief points as to house-building over which themunicipal authorities exercise control, for,

though proper sanitary arrangements are strictly en

forced, the fullest measure of individual taste and pre ference is encouraged.

Walking still toward the outskirts of the town, we come upon

" Grand Avenue." This avenue is fully en titled to the name it bears, for it is 420 feet wide,1 and, forming a belt of green upwards of three miles long,

divides that part of the town which lies outside Central— Park into two belts. It really constitutes an additional park of 115 acres—a park which is within 240 yards of the furthest removed inhabitant. In this splendid avenue six sites, each of four acres, are occupied by

public schools and their surrounding play-grounds and

gardens, while other sites are reserved for churches, of such denominations as the religious beliefs of the people

may determine, to be erected and maintained out of the

funds of the worshippers and their friends. We observe that the houses fronting on Grand Avenue have departed

(at least in one of the wards—that of which Diagram 3 is a representation)—from the general plan of concentric rings, and, in order to ensure a longer line of frontage on Grand Avenue, are arranged in crescents—thus also to the eye yet further enlarging the already splendid width of Grand Avenue.

1Portland Place, London, is only 100 feet wide.

THE TOWN-COUNTRY MAGNET. 25

On the outer ring of the town are factories, ware

houses, dairies, markets, coal yards, timber yards, etc.,

all fronting on the circle railway, which encompasses the

whole town, and which has sidings connecting it with a main line of railway which passes through the estate.

This arrangement enables goods to be loaded direct into

trucks from the warehouses and workshops, and so sent

by railway to distantmarkets, or to be taken direct from

the trucks into the warehouses or factories ; thus not only

effecting a very great saving in regard to packing and

cartage, and reducing to a minimum loss from breakage,

but also, by reducing the traffic on the roads of the town,

lessening to a very marked extent the cost of their

maintenance. The smoke fiend is kept well within

bounds in—Garden-City ;. for all machinery is driven by electric energy, with the result that the cost of electricity for lighting and other purposes is greatly reduced. The refuse of the town is utilised on the agricultural portions of the estate, which are held by various in

dividuals in large farms, small holdings, allotments, cow

pastures, etc. ; the natural competition of these various methods of agriculture, tested by the willingness of

occupiers to offer the highest rent to the municipality, tending to bring about the best system of husbandry, or, what is more probable, the best systems adapted for

various purposes. Thus it is easily conceivable that it may prove advantageous to grow wheat in very large fields, involving united action under a capitalist farmer,

or by a body of co-operators; while the cultivation of

vegetables, fruits, and flowers, which requires closer and more personal care, and more of the artistic and inventive

faculty, may possibly be best dealt with by individuals, or

3

26 GARDEN CITIES OF TO-MORROW.

by small groups of individuals having a common belief in

the efficacy and value of certain dressings, methods of

culture, or artificial and natural surroundings.

This plan, or, if the reader be pleased to so term it,

this absence of plan, avoids the dangers of stagnation or

dead level, and, though encouraging individual initiative,

permits of the fullest co-operation, while the increased

rents which follow from this form of competition are

common or municipal property, and by far the larger

part of them are expended in permanent improvementa. While the town proper, with its population engaged in various trades, callings, and professions, and with a

store or depot in each ward, offers the most natural

market to the people engaged on the agricultural estate,

inasmuch as to the extent to which the townspeople

demand their produce they escape altogether any railway rates and charges; yet the farmers and others are not

by any means limited to the town as their only market,

but have the fullest right to dispose of their produce to whomsoever they please. Here, as in every feature of the experiment, it will be seen that it is not the area of rights which is contracted, but the area of choice which is enlarged.

This principle of freedom holds good with regard to manufacturers and others who have established them selves in the town. These manage their affairs in their own way, subject, of course, to the general law of the land, and subject to the provision of sufficient space for workmen and reasonable sanitary conditions. Even in regard to such matters as water, lighting, and telephonic communication—which a municipality, if efficient and honest, is certainly the best and most natural body to

THE TOWN-COUNTRY MAGNET. 27

supply—no rigid or absolute monopoly is sought ; and if any private corporation or any body of individuals

proved itself capable of supplying on more advantageous terms, either the whole town or a section of it, with these

or any commodities the supply of which was taken up by the corporation, this would be allowed. No really sound system of action is in more need of artificial support than is any sound system of thought. The area of municipal and corporate action is probably destined to become

greatly enlarged ; but, if it is to be so, itwill be because the people possess faith in such action, and that faith can be best shown by a wide extension of the area of

freedom.

Dotted about the estate are seen various charitable ,

and philanthropic institutions. These are not under the I

control of the municipality, but are supported and

managed by various public-spirited people who have been I

invited by themunicipality to establish these institutions \ \ / in an open healthy district, and on land let to them at a

pepper-corn rent, it occurring to the authorities that they can the better afford to be thus generous, as the spending

power of these institutions greatly benefits the whole

community. Besides, as those persons who migrate to

theJjown-are among its most energetic and resourceful

members, it is but just and right that their more helpless brethren should be able to enjoy the benefits of an experi

ment which is designed for humanity at large.