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Ebenezer Howard

 
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Sir Ebenezer Howard (29 January 1850 –May 1 1928) was a prominent British urban planner
Urban planner

An urban planner is a professional who works in the field of urban planning for the purpose of maximizing the effectiveness of a community's land use and infrastructure....
.
rd travelled from England to America at the age of 21, moved to Nebraska
Nebraska

Nebraska is a U.S. state located on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States and Western United States.Nebraska probably gets its name from the archaic Chiwere language words ?? Br?sge or the Omaha-Ponca language N? Bth?ska meaning "flat water," after the Platte River that flows through the state....
, and soon discovered that he was not meant to be a farmer
Farmer

A farmer is a person who raises living organisms for food or raw materials....
. He moved to Chicago
Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the U.S. state of Illinois and the Midwestern United States, as well as the List of United States cities by population city in the United States with more than 2.8 million residents....
 and worked as a reporter for the courts and newspapers. In the U.S. he became acquainted with, and admired, poets Walt Whitman
Walt Whitman

Walter Whitman was an United States Poetry of the United States, essayist, journalism, and humanism. He was a part of the transition between Transcendentalism and literary realism, incorporating both views in his works....
 and Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ralph Waldo Emerson was an American essayist, philosopher, poet, and leader of the transcendentalism movement in the early 19th century. His teachings directly influenced the growing New Thought movement of the mid 1800s....
. Howard began to ponder ways to improve the quality of life.

By 1876 he was back in England, where he found a job with Hansard
Hansard

Hansard is the traditional name for the printed Transcription of parliamentary debates in the Westminster system of government. In addition to the Parliament of the United Kingdom and the UK's devolved institutions, a Hansard is maintained for the Parliament of Canada and the Canadian provincial legislatures, the Parliament of Australia and...
, which produces the official verbatim record of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom

The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislature in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories....
, and he spent the rest of his life in this occupation.






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Sir Ebenezer Howard (29 January 1850 –May 1 1928) was a prominent British urban planner
Urban planner

An urban planner is a professional who works in the field of urban planning for the purpose of maximizing the effectiveness of a community's land use and infrastructure....
.

Early life

Howard travelled from England to America at the age of 21, moved to Nebraska
Nebraska

Nebraska is a U.S. state located on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States and Western United States.Nebraska probably gets its name from the archaic Chiwere language words ?? Br?sge or the Omaha-Ponca language N? Bth?ska meaning "flat water," after the Platte River that flows through the state....
, and soon discovered that he was not meant to be a farmer
Farmer

A farmer is a person who raises living organisms for food or raw materials....
. He moved to Chicago
Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the U.S. state of Illinois and the Midwestern United States, as well as the List of United States cities by population city in the United States with more than 2.8 million residents....
 and worked as a reporter for the courts and newspapers. In the U.S. he became acquainted with, and admired, poets Walt Whitman
Walt Whitman

Walter Whitman was an United States Poetry of the United States, essayist, journalism, and humanism. He was a part of the transition between Transcendentalism and literary realism, incorporating both views in his works....
 and Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ralph Waldo Emerson was an American essayist, philosopher, poet, and leader of the transcendentalism movement in the early 19th century. His teachings directly influenced the growing New Thought movement of the mid 1800s....
. Howard began to ponder ways to improve the quality of life.

By 1876 he was back in England, where he found a job with Hansard
Hansard

Hansard is the traditional name for the printed Transcription of parliamentary debates in the Westminster system of government. In addition to the Parliament of the United Kingdom and the UK's devolved institutions, a Hansard is maintained for the Parliament of Canada and the Canadian provincial legislatures, the Parliament of Australia and...
, which produces the official verbatim record of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom

The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislature in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories....
, and he spent the rest of his life in this occupation. Direct descendants of Ebenezer Howard include his cricket manager grandson Geoffrey Howard as well as his great great grandson, the pedagogue George Colin Howard and his daughter Leah Elisabeth Howard.

Influences and ideas

Howard read widely, including Edward Bellamy
Edward Bellamy

Edward Bellamy was an United States author and socialist, most famous for his utopia novel, Looking Backward, set in the year 2000....
's 1888 utopian novel Looking Backward
Looking Backward

Looking Backward: 2000-1887 is a utopian novel by Edward Bellamy, a lawyer and writer from Western Massachusetts, and was first published in 1888 in literature....
 and thought deeply about social issues.

One result was his book (1898) titled , which was reprinted in 1902 as Garden Cities of To-Morrow. This book offered a vision of towns free of slums and enjoying the benefits of both town (such as opportunity, amusement and high wages) and country (such as beauty, fresh air and low rents). 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' - the Three Magnets.

It called for the creation of new suburb
Suburb

Suburbs are commonly defined as the residential areas which surround the central area of the urban area of a town or city. In the United States, suburbs have a prevalence of usually detached single-family homes.....
an towns of limited size, planned in advance, and surrounded by a permanent belt of agricultural land. These Garden cities
Garden city movement

The garden city movement is an approach to urban planning that was founded in 1898 by Sir Ebenezer Howard in the United Kingdom. Garden cities were to be planned, self-contained communities surrounded by greenbelts, and containing carefully balanced areas of residences, industry, and agriculture....
 were used as a role model for many suburbs. Howard believed that such Garden Cities were the perfect blend of city and nature. The towns would be largely independent, and managed and financed by the citizens who had an economic interest in them.

Action

In 1899 he founded the Garden Cities Association, now known as the Town and Country Planning Association
Town and Country Planning Association

The Town and Country Planning Association is England oldest environmental charity. It was founded as the Garden Cities Association in 1899 by Ebenezer Howard, initially to promote the development of Garden city movement....
 and the oldest environmental charity in England
England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
.

His ideas attracted enough attention and financial backing to begin Letchworth Garden City, a suburban garden city
Garden city movement

The garden city movement is an approach to urban planning that was founded in 1898 by Sir Ebenezer Howard in the United Kingdom. Garden cities were to be planned, self-contained communities surrounded by greenbelts, and containing carefully balanced areas of residences, industry, and agriculture....
 north of London
London

London is the capital of both England and the United Kingdom, and the most populous municipality in the European Union. An important settlement for two millennia, History of London goes back to its founding by the Roman Empire....
. A second garden city, Welwyn Garden City
Welwyn Garden City

Welwyn Garden City is a town in Hertfordshire, England. Welwyn Garden City is also referred to as WGC or, less correctly, as "Welwyn" ....
, was started after World War I
World War I

World War I, or the First World War , was a global military conflict which involved the Great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War I and the Central Powers....
. His contacts with German architects Hermann Muthesius
Hermann Muthesius

Adam Gottlieb Hermann Muthesius , known as Hermann Muthesius, was a Germany architect, author and diplomat, perhaps best known for promoting many of the ideas of the England Arts and Crafts movement within Germany and for his subsequent influence on early pioneers of German Modern architecture such as the Bauhaus....
 and Bruno Taut
Bruno Taut

Bruno Julius Florian Taut , was a prolific German architect, urban planner and author active in the Weimar culture period.Taut is best known for his theoretical work, speculative writings and a handful of exhibition buildings....
 resulted in the application of humane design principles in many large housing projects built in the Weimar
Weimar Republic

The Weimar Republic was the democracy and republican period of Germany from 1919 to 1933. Following World War I, the republic emerged from the German Revolution in November 1918....
 years. Hermann Muthesius also played an important role in the creation of Germany's first garden city of Hellerau
Hellerau

Hellerau is a quarter in the City of Dresden, Germany. It was the first garden city movement in Germany.Based on the ideas of Ebenezer Howard, businessman Karl Schmidt-Hellerau founded Hellerau near Dresden in 1909....
 in 1909, the only German garden city where Howard's ideas were thoroughly adopted.

The creation of Letchworth Garden City and Welwyn Garden City were influential in the development of "New Town
New town

A new town, planned community or planned city is a city, town, or community that was carefully planned from its inception and is typically constructed in a previously undeveloped area....
s" after World War II
World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
 by the British government. This movement produced more than 30 communities, the first being Stevenage
Stevenage

Stevenage is a town and Non-metropolitan district in Hertfordshire, England. It is to the east of junctions 7 and 8 of the A1 road , and is between Letchworth to the north, and Welwyn Garden City to the south....
, Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire

Hertfordshire is a Ceremonial counties of England and Metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England Counties of England in the East of England region of England....
 (about halfway between Letchworth and Welwyn), and the last (and largest) being Milton Keynes
Milton Keynes

Milton Keynes , often abbreviated to MK, is a large town in South East England, about north-west of London. It is also the principal town of the Milton Keynes , within the ceremonial counties of England of Buckinghamshire....
, Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire

Buckinghamshire is a Ceremonial counties of England and Metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England home counties Counties of England in South East England England....
. Howard's ideas also inspired other planners such as Frederick Law Olmsted II
Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr.

Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. was an United States landscape architect best known for his wildlife conservation efforts. He had a lifetime commitment to national parks, and worked on projects in Acadia National Park, the Everglades and Yosemite National Park....
 and Clarence Perry. Walt Disney
Walt Disney

Walter Elias Disney was a multiple Academy Award-winning American film producer, film director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur and philanthropist....
 used elements of Howards's concepts in his original design for EPCOT
Epcot

Epcot is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort. The park is dedicated to international culture and technological innovation. The second park built at the resort, it opened on October 1, 1982 and was named EPCOT Center until 1994....
 (Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow).

Howard was an enthusiastic speaker of Esperanto
Esperanto

is the most widely spoken constructed language international auxiliary language in the world. Its name derives from Doktoro Esperanto, the pseudonym under which L....
, often using the language to give speeches.

See also

  • Garden city movement
    Garden city movement

    The garden city movement is an approach to urban planning that was founded in 1898 by Sir Ebenezer Howard in the United Kingdom. Garden cities were to be planned, self-contained communities surrounded by greenbelts, and containing carefully balanced areas of residences, industry, and agriculture....
  • Garden real estate
    Garden real estate

    A category in the Niche real estate market containing property with good gardens. The market can be sub-classified as follows:* Property with gardens by well-known designers....


External links