Ebenezer Howard

Sir Ebenezer Howard (29 January 1850 – 1 May 1928) was an English urban planner and founder of the garden city movement, known for his publication To-Morrow: A Peaceful Path to Real Reform (1898), the description of a utopian city in which people live harmoniously together with nature. The publication resulted in the founding of the garden city movement, and the building of the first garden city, Letchworth Garden City, commenced in 1903.

The second true Garden City was Welwyn Garden City (1920) and the movement influenced the development of several model suburbs in other countries, such as Forest Hills Gardens designed by F. L. Olmsted Jr. in 1909, Radburn, New Jersey (1923), Pinelands, Cape Town, and the four Suburban Resettlement Program towns of the 1930s, Greenbelt, Maryland, Greenhills, Ohio, Greenbrook, New Jersey, and Greendale, Wisconsin.

Howard aimed to reduce the alienation of humans and society from nature, and hence advocated garden cities and Georgism. Howard is believed by many to be one of the great guides to the town planning movement, with many of his garden city principles being used in modern town planning.

Early life

Howard was born in Fore Street, City of London, the son of Ebenezer Howard (18171900), a baker, and Ann (née Tow, 18161900). He was sent to schools in Suffolk and Hertfordshire. Howard left school at 15 and began working as a stenographer in London. In the US he became acquainted with, and admired, poets Walt Whitman and Ralph Waldo Emerson. Howard began to ponder ways to improve the quality of life.

Later life

By 1876, he was back in England, where he found a job with Hansard company, which produces the official verbatim record of Parliament, and he spent the rest of his life in this occupation. Howard's time in parliament exposed him to ideas about social reform, and helped inspire his ideas for the Garden City. This book offered a vision of towns free of slums and enjoying the benefits of both town (such as opportunity, amusement and good 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'.

Garden Cities of Tomorrow proposed that society be reorganised with networks of garden cities that would break the strong hold of capitalism and lead to cooperative socialism. It proposed 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 the model for many suburbs. Howard believed that such Garden Cities were the perfect blend of city and nature. Howard believed that a new civilisation could be found by marrying the town and the country.

By his association with Henry Harvey Vivian and the co-partnership housing movement, his ideas attracted enough attention and funding to begin Letchworth Garden City, a suburban garden city north of London. In 1901, under the guidance of Henry Vivian, a new co-partnership housing development venture was started in the London Borough of Ealing that was to become the Brentham Garden Suburb, now a conservation area. A second garden city, Welwyn Garden City, was started after World War I.

His acquaintance with German architects Hermann Muthesius and Bruno Taut resulted in the application of humane design principles in many large housing projects built in the Weimar Republic. Hermann Muthesius also played an important role in the creation of Germany's first garden city of Hellerau 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 for the development of "New Towns" after World War II by the British government. This produced more than 30 communities, the first being Stevenage, Hertfordshire (about halfway between Letchworth and Welwyn), and the last (and largest) being Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire. Howard's ideas also influenced other planners such as Frederick Law Olmsted II and Clarence Perry. Walt Disney used elements of Howard's concepts in his original design for EPCOT (Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow).

In 1913, Howard founded the 'Garden Cities and Town Planning Association' – presently the International Federation for Housing and Planning.

Personal Life & Death

Howard was an enthusiastic speaker of Esperanto, often using the language for his speeches.

Death

Howard died on 1 May 1928 (aged 78) and is buried in a modest grave in Letchworth Cemetery with his second wife, Edith Annie, Lady Howard.

Letchworth Garden City

Letchworth was developed and owned by a company called First Garden City, Ltd. which was formed in 1903, based on the ideas of Howard. After Howard's book was published he worked to gain financial support to bring his ideas into reality, Howard ran lectures on Garden Cities and began the Garden City Association. Welwyn Garden City was Howard's second Garden City after Letchworth. Howard purchased the land with £5000 borrowed from friends. and a Knight Bachelor in 1927.

Howard Medal

The Howard medal was introduced after Howard's death, and takes the form of a bronze medal with the motif of an ideal city. The medal remains one of the most prestigious awards in the sector.

In almost 90 years, the medal has been awarded 11 times and the names are a stellar cast of Garden City giants beginning with Raymond Unwin in 1938 and ending with Colin Ward and Sir Peter Hall in 1999. It includes Barry Parker, Lewis Mumford, Clarence Stein, Richard Reiss, Patrick Abercrombie and Frederic Osborn but only one woman, Elizabeth Buchanan Mitchell in 1955.

Family members

Actress, dancer and TV personality Una Stubbs was Howard's great-granddaughter. Other direct descendants include his cricket manager grandson Geoffrey Howard, great-granddaughter poet and publisher Joy Bernadine Howard, and his great-great-grandson (Una Stubbs's son), television and film score composer Christian Henson.

Diagrams from the 1898 edition

File:Howard, Ebenezer, To-morrow.jpg | Ebenezer Howard, To-morrow: A Peaceful Path to Real Reform.

File:Diagram No.1 (Howard, Ebenezer, To-morrow.).jpg | Diagram No.1: The Three Magnets (Ebenezer Howard, To-morrow: A Peaceful Path to Real Reform.)

File:Diagram No.2 (Howard, Ebenezer, To-morrow.).jpg | Diagram No.2 (Ebenezer Howard, To-morrow: A Peaceful Path to Real Reform.)

File:Diagram No.3 (Howard, Ebenezer, To-morrow.).jpg | Diagram No.3 (Ebenezer Howard, To-morrow: A Peaceful Path to Real Reform.)

File:Diagram No.4 (Howard, Ebenezer, To-morrow.).jpg | Diagram No.4 (Ebenezer Howard, To-morrow: A Peaceful Path to Real Reform.)

File:Diagram No.5 (Howard, Ebenezer, To-morrow.).jpg | Diagram No.5 (Ebenezer Howard, To-morrow: A Peaceful Path to Real Reform.)

File:Diagram No.6 (Howard, Ebenezer, To-morrow.).jpg | Diagram No.6 (Ebenezer Howard, To-morrow: A Peaceful Path to Real Reform.)

File:Diagram No.7 (Howard, Ebenezer, To-morrow.).jpg | Diagram No.7 (Ebenezer Howard, To-morrow: A Peaceful Path to Real Reform.)

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Diagrams from the 1902 edition

File:ハワード『明日の田園都市』3版-01.jpg | Ebenezer Howard, Garden Cities of To-morrow.

File:ハワード『明日の田園都市』3版-02.jpg | Ebenezer Howard, Garden Cities of To-morrow.

File:ハワード『明日の田園都市』3版-03.jpg | Ebenezer Howard, Garden Cities of To-morrow.

File:ハワード『明日の田園都市』3版-04.jpg | Diagram No.1 (Ebenezer Howard, Garden Cities of To-morrow.)

File:ハワード『明日の田園都市』3版-05.jpg | Diagram No.2 (Ebenezer Howard, Garden Cities of To-morrow.)

File:ハワード『明日の田園都市』3版-06.jpg | Diagram No.3 (Ebenezer Howard, Garden Cities of To-morrow.)

File:ハワード『明日の田園都市』3版-07.jpg | Diagram No.4 y 5 (Ebenezer Howard, Garden Cities of To-morrow.)