However, whilst 19th Century intervention and legislation did much to improve the condition of the urban slums, it did not fully resolve the problems. Poor living conditions for the working class with respect to overcrowding, the continued high density of housing and less than adequate sanitary conditions were still perceived to be a problem. This perception was heightened with the outbreak of the Boer War when many of the recruits from urban areas were found to be physically unfit to fight. Th e claim that poor living conditions had resulted in a general physical deterioration of the population was unproven (ASHWORTH, 1954, p168). However, whatever its validity, this perception was effectively used by advocates of town planning. Towards the end of the 19th Century the trend was towards suburbanisation, that is, existing overcrowded towns were being developed outwards into the suburbs. Proponents of town planning argued that, due to inadequate governmental regulation, the poor housing and living conditions of the urban slums were merely being duplicated in the newer developments in the suburbs. Thus, the argument for greater planning control was put largely on public health grounds.
Underlying all Victorian thought was a fear of the Œmasses¹ (ALLISON, 1975, p35). The creation of an industrial proletariat aroused worries about the possibility of urban riots, the rise of Œmob rule¹, etc. Several alternative strategies to alleviate the condition of urban Victorian England emerged out of this concern for the stability of society and the desire to control the Œthreat¹ of the masses. The school of thought which ultimately became the most significant and had important consequences for environmental and housing development in the 20th Century was that of town planning.
The town planning movement argued that the government should intervene not only to ensure sanitary conditions but also to promote amenity and a pleasing appearance of the environment. Raymond Unwin, Patrick Geddes, William Morris, Ebenezer Howard, T. C. Horsfall, and others, all stressed the importance of attaining for towns not just better sanitary conditions but also "happier and nobler ones" (GEDDES, quoted by ASHWORTH, 1954, p175). By the beginning of the 20th Century the notion of physical or environmental determinism was becoming more influential. Links were proposed between poor housing and a depressing environment and poor health, unhappiness and moral degeneracy. George Godwin¹s observation in the mid-19th Century - "as the homes, so the people" - became very much the popular view (quoted by CHERRY, 1974, p15). In light of this, the town planning movement (which based its proposals on the assumption of environmental determinism) became increasingly influential given that it seemed to offer a way out of the poor housing conditions of the past whilst encompassing a cure for social evils.
The town planning movement further advanced its cause by making international comparisons. Horsfall¹s work at the beginning of the 20th Century contrasted Germany to England, pointing to the success of the German regulation of town extensions and expansion along the lines of garden suburbs. Horsfall¹s argument carried much weight as it compared Britain unfavourably to its most important commercial and military rival. The popular, emotive appeal of his work can clearly be seen in his warning that unless towns were improved in England "we may as well hand over our trade, our colonies, our whole influence in the world, to Germany..." (ASHWORTH, p1954, p169, p178).
Other responses to urban growth in Victorian England proved to be less influential in the long term. The doctrine of laissez-faire political economy had been the dominant ideology throughout the late 18th and early 19th Centuries. However, by the mid 18th Century the inability of the free market to ensure adequate sanitary and housing conditions had become clear to almost all. Whilst a few, for example Herbert Spencer, continued to voice philosophical objections to government intervention and regulation in public health matters, for the vast majority the dire living conditions and health problems of the urban slums proved evidence enough to override such considerations (BENEVELO, 1967, p98). In short, pragmatism and commonsense arguments won out over the prevailing ideology of the time, a trend that was to continue.
Another Œplant¹ to emerge from the problems of Victorian urban growth and squalor was that of eugenics. Strongly influenced by Darwin¹s theory of evolution, this school of thought was concerned primarily with the decline of the racial stock. It was argued that the major problem facing Victorian England was overproduction by Œinferior¹ genetic stock. A major reason cited for this was drinking and thus the solution was seen to be temperance. This theory was soon discredited and was, in any case, seen by many as inherently disreputable.
A further school of thought to emerge was that of Œnew liberalism¹, inspired by Hegelian idealism. This theory attached primary importance to the cultural and ethical ignorance of the lower classes and sought to remedy this through state education, social work, religious conversion, etc. By this view, the state was seen as a liberating force existing to promote the moral well-being of the citizens. However, like eugenics, this theory too failed to capture the imagination of politicians and the general population in the same way as town planning and had limited political influence.
By contrast, William Morris¹ romantic ideas did have an influence on the town planning movement. He denounced Victorian towns, rejected the industrial age completely and called for people to return to ancient crafts and return to the land. By denying the necessity of transformation to an industrial age, Morris offered no realistic practical solution to the urban growth (ALLISON, 1975, p36). However, despite their nostalgic impractical nature, Morris¹ ideas did indirectly influence the town planning movement. His concern for aesthetics and the defence of rural England can be seen to some extent in the Howard¹s ideas. The stated aim of garden cities was to marry town and country through such devices as gardens, parks, green belts, etc. The romantic influence of Morris upon Howard can clearly be seen as in Howard¹s statement of the problem facing Victorian England, "how to restore people to the land - that beautiful land of ours, with its canopy of sky, the air that blows upon it, the sun that warms it, the rain and dew that moisten it - the very embodiment of Divine love for man..." (HOWARD, 1898, p6).
Howard¹s ideas and the construction of Letchworth, the first garden city, were significant for both the widespread acceptance of the town planning movement and the direction it took. Howard assumed that an improvement in the conditions in which people live was a necessary, if not always sufficient, condition for dealing with social problems. He argued that migration to cities must be stemmed and that this could be done by creating new, more powerful magnets - the garden city. In crude terms, Howard envisaged that garden cities would have all the advantages of both towns and the country but none of the disadvantages. With an ideal population of 32,000 each garden city would have large public gardens and parks, tree-lined roads and well-built, low-density housing with gardens (HOWARD, 1898, pp1-17). In his model of the ideal city, Howard envisaged the town being laid out in concentric rings of different functions such that all inhabitants were within easy reach of open, green spaces. As a garden city reached its optimum population, it was not to expand onto the agricultural zone of land around it (as old cities had done), for this would deprive inhabitants of the sense of being in the country and all the attractions that would bring. Instead, Howard argued that another garden city should be built some distance beyond the zone of Œcountry¹ of the original city. What would eventually emerge would be a cluster of satellite cities grouped around a central city with each having its own industry, efficient transport links between all, and permanent belts of agricultural land between all urban areas (HOWARD, 1898, pp101-9).
Howard¹s work built on the Œutopian¹ tradition, that is the creation of models of totally planned environments believed to engender sound morals and physical and mental well-being (SUTCLIFFE, 1981, p6). From Robert Owen¹s creation of New Lanark in 1784 through to the creation of Port Sunlight, Rowntree and Bourneville in the late 1800s, enlightened capitalists had sought to improve the living conditions of their workers. The good results of these experiments gave credence to the notion of environmental determinism. As Cherry remarks of Port Sunlight, "Cleanliness, temperance and open spaces were seen to be causally related to both general well-being and to physique" (1974, p19). Moreover, these towns incorporated many elements of what Howard was later to advocate, for example gardens, tree-lined roads, well-built and airy houses. However, it was not until Howard¹s work was published in 1898 that a coherent, comprehensive statement of these ideas was presented and it was the notion of the garden city which, in a simpler diluted form, captured the imagination of professionals and intellectuals and popularised the town planning movement.
The Garden City Association was established in 1899 to promote Howard¹s ideas and begin work on putting them into practice. This was the first body/society in Britain to make a coherent pronouncement in favour of town planning (CHERRY, 1974, p36). It formed a Pioneer Company in 1902 which went on to purchase the Letchworth estate and build the first garden city. This had a great impact on town planning in England. Many new developments, based on a diluted version of Howard¹s ideas, followed the ideals of the garden suburb. Virtually all new housing developments adhered to some degree to the ideal of low-density housing with concern for more pleasing surroundings and access to both the country and the city. The influence of Howard can clearly be seen in the early 20th Century in Hampstead Garden Suburb (form 1907), Alkrington Hall Estate (from 1911), Bristol Garden Suburb (1909), and also in Cardiff, Coventry, Romford Ilford, Methyr, Oldham Southampton, Warrington, etc (CHERRY, 1974, p39). Indeed, for much of the 20th Century the main ideals embodied in Howard¹s work have influenced planners. Moreover, the Garden City Association provided valuable support for the town planning movement and was an important pressure group in lobbying for greater planning legislation. Its most significant contribution however was demonstrating that town planning ideals could be successfully applied in practice.
In conclusion, I would argue that the emergence of a town planning movement was essentially a reactive development. It was primarily a response to the ugliness, squalor, poor health and social deprivation prevalent in the rapidly expanding urban areas of Victorian England. Prompted by fears for the stability of society given the poor conditions endured by the new massive industrial proletariat and spurred on by the example of other countries which seemed to be coping with the problem considerably better, the town planning movement developed. However, the goal of the planning movement - more comprehensive planning legislation and control by government - was only made a realistic one by the 19th Century public health legislation which had already challenged the laissez-faire tradition and familiarised people with government regulation in similar areas. I would argue too that although other writers, practical proponents and movements (for example, Geddes, Nettlefold, Thompson, National Housing Reform Council, RIBA and other professional bodies, etc) influenced the town planning movement, the practical examples of the success of planned towns in the 19th Century and the ideas of Howard and their subsequent implementation by the Garden City Association were vital in gaining widespread acceptance of the need for and benefits of town planning. These examples were crucial in the early development of the town planning movement and, indeed, the influence of Howard¹s ideas continued throughout the 20th Century and can still be seen today.
Bibliography
W. Ashworth, The Genesis of Modern British Town Planning, 1954, Routledge & Kegan Paul
L. Allison, Environmental Planning, 1975, George Allen & Unwin
A. Sutcliffe ed., British Town Planning: The Formative Years, 1981, Leicester University Press
E. Howard, Garden Cities of To-morrow, 1985, Attic Books (first published as ŒTo-morrow: A Peaceful Path to Real Reform¹, 1898)
L. Benevelo, The Origins of Modern Town Planning, 1967, Routledge & Kegan Paul
G. E. Cherry, The Evolution of British Town Planning, 1974, Leonard Hill Books
L. Allison, ŒWhat Is Urban Planning For?¹, Town Planning Review, 1986
A. Sutcliffe, The Rise of Modern Urban Planning 1800 - 1914, 1980, Mansell
