World cities - Garden cities

Urban regeneration - garden cities

The garden city movement is a method of urban planning that was initiated in 1898 by Sir Ebenezer Howard in the United Kingdom. Garden cities were intended to be planned, self-contained communities surrounded by greenbelts, containing proportionate areas of residences, industry, and agriculture.

According to studies UK households living in greener urban environments are likely to have lower levels of mental distress and a higher level of wellbeing. It may also encourage light exercise like walking or cycling as there will be more green spaces to do so. It can also encourage more investment into the area and more businesses open creating more employment opportunities. Having more plants is also good for the environment, attracting a larger range of biodiversity.

Bicester, Oxfordshire

It has been announced that the small market town of Bicester, in north east Oxfordshire is to be the next new garden city. The statement comes as part of the £2.3 billion National Infrastructure Plan, a plan which aims to create three new garden cities each with at least fifteen thousand new homes. Bicester will receive £100 million in funding from central government in order to start building thirteen thousand new homes, £44 million of which will be spent on upgrading and building new public transport infrastructure. Part of Bicester is an eco-town where all the houses have solar panels and fruit trees. However, Local campaigners fear that so many new homes next door will damage the local wildlife site. Worse, 120 homes will still have to be built – either on the local wildlife site or over equally lovely adjacent meadows.