Garden Cities - Why Not?

Abstract

Here is a conundrum. Garden Cities are almost universally seen as a good idea, but we seem to have difficulties creating any new ones. Why is this the case? That question forms the basis of this paper. We want to know what is preventing us from doing so? Why is it that we have not managed to build any real Garden Cities since Letchworth and Welwyn Garden Cities were established in the early 20th century? Although some new developments - badged as Garden Cities and Garden Towns - are in the pipeline, do they deliver the key elements that conform to and bolster the brand? Why is it that we seem to be unable to fund successfully, nor come to that, build and govern places that follow Garden City principles anymore? How can we work out what is stopping us from achieving these goals? And how can we overcome these impediments so that we can start building proper Garden Cities again? So, in this paper, we ask: Garden Cities – Why Not?