Sir Ebenezer Howard - Early life, Influences and ideas, Action

Founder of the garden city movement, born in London, UK. He emigrated to Nebraska in 1872, but returned to England in 1877 and became a parliamentary shorthand-writer. His Tomorrow (1898) envisaged self-contained communities with both rural and urban amenities and green belts, and led to the formation in 1899 of the Garden City Association and to the laying out of Letchworth (1903) and Welwyn Garden City (1919) in Hertfordshire. He was knighted in 1927.

Ebenezer Howard (1850 - 1928) was a prominent British urban planner.

Early life

Howard travelled to America from England at the age of 21, moved to Nebraska, and soon discovered that he was not meant to be a farmer.

By 1876 he was back in England, where he found a job with Hansard, which produces the official verbatim record of Parliament, and he spent the rest of his life in this occupation.

Influences and ideas

Howard read widely, including Edward Bellamy's 1888 utopian novel Looking Backward and thought deeply about social issues.

One result was his book (1898) titled To-Morrow: A Peaceful Path to Real Reform, which was reprinted in 1902 as Garden Cities of To-Morrow.

It called for the creation of new suburban towns of limited size, planned in advance, and surrounded by a permanent belt of agricultural land. These Garden cities were used as a role model for many suburbs. Howard believed that such Garden Cities were the perfect blend of city and nature.

Action

In 1899 he founded the Garden Cities Association, now known as the Town and Country Planning Association and the oldest environmental charity in England.

His ideas attracted enough attention and financial backing to begin Letchworth Garden City, a suburban garden city north of London. A second garden city, Welwyn Garden City, was started after World War I.

The creation of Letchworth Garden City and Welwyn Garden City were influential in the development of "New Towns" after World War II by the British government.

Howard was an enthusiastic speaker of Esperanto, often using the language to give speeches.