Garden Cities

by Sarah Rutherford

Garden the phrase is redolent of Arts and Crafts values and nineteenth-century utopianism. But despite being the culmination of a range of influential movements, and having global influence themselves, in fact there were only ever two true, self-contained Garden Cities in England - far more numerous were Garden Suburbs and Villages. Crystallised in England by social visionary Ebenezer Howard and executed in many cases by planners and architects Barry Parker and Raymond Unwin, the concept arose from nineteenth-century industrial settlements like Port Sunlight (and, earlier, Saltaire and Akroyden), and also from the City Beautiful movement in the US. The settlements were designed to promote healthy and comfortable individual and community life, as well as supporting commerce and industry, and were - and are - instantly and attractively recognisable. This book is a beautifully illustrated guide to the movement as a whole, from its earliest influences through practical difficulties in implementation to the continuing vitality of the communities which are its legacy.

80 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

There is more than one Sarah Rutherford in the Goodreads catalog. This entry is for Sarah^Rutherford, conservation expert.

Sarah Rutherford is an expert in the conservation of historic parks and gardens. She was head of the English Heritage Historic Parks and Gardens Register and is now a freelance consultant, creating conservation plans.