Benefits and limitations of Garden Cities Plans - Essay Example

? Benefits and limitations of Garden cities plans Sir Ebenezer Howard was a great planner whose work was recognized at a tenderage. He was born in on the 29th day of January 1850 and died on 1st May 1929. Being the founder of English garden city movement was one of his greatest achievements. The movement greatly transformed urban planning in major parts of the world. He later wrote a book named ‘Tomorrow: A peaceful Path To Real Reform’, which was published in 1983. He proposed the construction of garden cities, which implied a self contained residential enclosed with a planted fence. He aimed at limiting the number of people moving from rural or small towns to major cities, he lamented that such migrations led to overpopulation in major cities, which in turn compromised accommodation and other social amenities. He also proposed that each rural district was to have a single garden town managed by private corporations. This would enable the middle or low class individuals in industrial estates have better residential spaces rather than staying in a dormitory suburb that could barely accommodate 30,000 people. It is worth clarifying that Howard was not a designer, he only did drawings which were clearly labeled ‘diagram only’ to avoid confusions. He stated in his book that such drawings would only be called plans after the site is already selected. And the drawings portrayed his personal beliefs on how a good city should be developed, but he incorporated his engineering and architectural skills in his thoughts (Howard, 1898). He tried to convince commercial developers that his idea was both economical and socially feasible. He later found Town and Country Planning Association that incorporated environmental conservation principles in construction designs and implementations. He combined efforts with Henry Harvey and co-partnership housing movement which attracted sufficient funding to start Letch worth Garden city in the northern part of London. Later Welwyn Garden city was started, immediately after World War II. His fame increased when he partnered with German architects to produce more human or social friendly designs in the residential construction sector. Germans also adopted the garden city plans and constructed one in Hellerau. Howards plans were used in several parts of developed nations. However, his idea was greatly opposed my some reporters due to some reasons. This work would discuss Times reporters objecting Howards planning ideas due to some reasons. Part 1: Limitations of Howard’s plans The times reporter thought Howard never included a population increase in his idea. Population rise is a common or natural phenomenon that should be incorporated into any project plan meant to serve human needs. The reported specifically argue that a single garden city can only handle about 32,000 people. This number is likely to be exceeded when more people migrate from rural to industrial estates in search of employment; furthermore, the industries are also likely to expand their operations to absorb more workers in both the companies and industrial estates. The reporter further argues the beauty of a residential estate is to accommodate all people in need and not the aesthetic beauty as taught by Howard. The reporter gives an example of Parkland and North Adelaide developments that were ruined by population overspill. From his drawings, Howard only focused on structures but nothing to do with the management both liquid and solid domestic wastes. In other words he only incorporated the engineering and architectural principles without considering the aspects of public health. The reporter laments that a normal human must produce some wastes that must be well managed for human health purposes. Howard plans need some amendments that would indicate the respective positions or locations of washroom facilities. The reporter who must consult some engineers, architectures and public health officers argue that it is recommended that a wash room should be placed some meters away from the living and kitchen spaces. Furthermore, the entrance to the washroom facilities should face away from common rooms which comprise of dining, sitting and entertainment rooms. Howard’s plans were likely to be rejected if some architectural amendments were done, and this is the reason, he collaborated with famous architectures from Germany and other parts of the developed world. Howard ought to have designed for septic tanks in case the sewer systems experienced some complications like spillage and blockages among other malfunctions. A good septic tank design should consider the current population plus additional population in the future. These limit chances of sewer bursts or spillage due to excess wastes. The reporter also thinks Howard had no respect for nature since his developmental plans would majorly target agricultural fields, however, one would defend Howards since he clearly states in his book that he never selected a specific site for constructions. The reporter argues that the 600 acres of construction were likely to be on the agricultural farms. The implementation of such plans would lead to loss of farming land yet a majority depended on farming. The plans were likely to be rejected since it was against the economic activity of majority in England. Howard suggested the use of local construction materials without giving room more advanced ones. Construction is dynamic fields that keep changing in terms of technology. His plans would only barely accommodate the use of heavy building materials like concrete pillars and columns, steel rods and ceilings among others. The writer thinks that the plans would limit further improvements to the structures. He ought to have considered technological changes in his plans or designs. Howard though his plans would be final without future renovations or demolitions. He should have sensitized the current developers and donors that those structures were likely to be demolished once their life span is over, in other words he did not specify the project life. A good project should specify its decommissioning phase to assist economist evaluate both the current and future value of such projects to aid in decision making. The writer specifies that there must be some alternatives before the majority of developers and architectures opted for the Howard’s plans or drawings. However, history indicates that Howard’s plans were the best in terms of aesthetic, durability and economical implications during that era. Furthermore, there were no computer programs to predict the life span of such projects. The reporter thinks Howard overlooked some socioeconomic issues. First, the structures would be expensive to maintain yet majority of residents would depend on their wages from the industries. The reporter thinks this was not wise since some were likely to be retrenched among other negatives in work places. Secondly, Howard never conducted a social study or survey before producing his plans. He records in his book that different people would come from different regions and marry to be one community, he talks about the city marrying the country. However, he never considered that there are some cultures or beliefs that do not allow their subjects to stay together or marry from different ethnicities. Howard terms marriage a joyous union that creates new life and hope but to some people, marriage kills the initial or parent identities of the two partners, furthermore, produced children in a certain marriage are hardly associated with a specific culture or belief hence majority of children would grow the modern away which has low moral values. The planner or author has no respect for people with disability. He suggests an outcast space for the epileptics. Howard lost respect the moment he suggested the disabled to stay away from the normal people. This is an issue no human rights activist would welcome; furthermore, this would against some policies and legislations in major States or Nations. He suggests that epileptics should stay in the forested end of the garden city not knowing the disease is not contagious and quarantine is not a remedy. In terms of economic, Howard suggest the city to occupy about 1/6 of the farmland, but the plan is still not feasible, first it got a lot of open space that would be used for farming. Howard placed the rail line and station on the outer part of the city since he thought the residents were unlikely to travel or commute outside of the city. He thought they would rely on their jobs without depending on other cities. The reporter thinks this was an overlook. A good city should have a good transport network for developmental purposes. First, there were insufficient health care facilities; hence the residents were likely to travel to neighboring towns for better health care. Secondly, he incorporated some business malls in his plans without considering that goods or products would be transported from several parts of the country to the garden cities. He also thought that good residential spaces would limit movement of people from London to its neighboring cities, he categorically states that London would be left to wither from the inside should its people move to seek better living conditions in its neighboring cities. Howard ought to understand that there are several reasons that would compel one to migrate to new towns other than good accommodations. One may move for leisure among other factors. Part 2: Howard’s idea in the modern world Howard’s diagrams or idea is greatly incorporated in the modern planning. Several towns or cities in Britain and major parts of England were developed in accordance with such plans. Currently, plans ensure that there is available space for future expansions. Howard suggested that another garden city would be developed once the previous one was completely occupied. The proposed space for future development should have good transport and communication networks, water supply and security. The majority of city councils would only approve construction plans with adequate expansion spaces. The majority of workers or employees in major parts of England reside in residences owned by cooperatives who seek loans from different avenues to construct such structures for subsidized rates. This is a kind of motivational scheme since workers are allowed to pay low rent compared to tenants in privately owned premises. Furthermore, such employees are likely to be easily picked and dropped by companies’ trucks since they reside in a common point. Good health care facilities are incorporated in the residential spaces to ensure both the workers and their family members are in good health. This idea is incorporated in plans in all most parts of the World, developing nations included. However some amendments must be included to ensure there is sufficient transport network within the garden cities. This is meant to enable easy mobility of people and products to and from the certain estate or garden city. It is worth noting that currently, the garden cities are termed as estates since they exist in larger numbers but within common cities. After the success of the first two garden cities in London, the idea spread to almost every corner of England. Major towns were established in accordance with Howard’s plans, furthermore, the plans were considered when residential development policies were made in major parts of England. For instance, the ratio of 1:6, developmental space and farmland space still applies in major parts of the world. Agriculture remains the main economic activity in both developed and developing nations; hence it is wise to set a good portion of land for food production. Furthermore, major cities have got the transport system on the outer region since the majority commute to work to their workplaces or have transport provided by respective companies. Major transport routes are meant to transport raw materials from neighboring cities and transport finished products to the outer regions, however, the vice-versa applies. After the Second World War, England enacted New Town’s Act that is active to date, the Act comprise of Howard’s ideas of city planning. United States were influenced in their city planning and major cities used Howard’s ideas. Such cities include Garden City, Jackson Heights, Queens and Virginia’s Hilton Village among others. The aspect of sustainable development is incorporated in development strategies in major nations or states in the universe. Howard opted for a green fence to protect or conserve the environment. The residentials were to be developed on agricultural fields, hence it would be better if some trees or plants would enclose the fields, and trees acted as wind breakers, held the soil particle together which reduce the chances of soil erosion. The trees also traps run off or storm water than flows from the residential sites to surface water sources. One would say that enclosing the sites with trees was kind of mitigation measures to the likely negative environmental impacts. In the modern world, it is required that a pre-study which comprise of both Social Environmental Assessment (SEA) and Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) be conducted before any major project is executed. To conclude, Howard’s plans remain helpful in the modern world after some amendments to meet the advanced technology. The idea spread from Britain to almost every part of the world. Some nations or States promulgated the idea into full law. This indicates that the plans are satisfactory in terms of socio-economics. However, it had some limitations which had to be addressed before being implemented in the urban planning. Howards is respected for coming up with organized and environmental friendly developmental plans. It would be relevant to mention that Howard actually knew that his plans were not 100% accurate or feasible and that is why he joined hand with major architectures and architectures to produce the plans. To be safe with the rich politicians, he never selected specific development sites but instead just gave mere drawings but no plans. Reference Howard, E. (1898). Tomorrow: A peaceful path to Real Reform. Sonneinchein: Germany. Read More