Anthony Flynt explores the motivations behind Robert A.M. Stern's recent revival of the Garden City as a model for future development. Among the benefits of the model proposed by Ebenezer Howard in 1902, according to Stern: equity and comfort.
"Stern has written many large books," writes Flynt, "but with Paradise Planned, he is on a particular mission: to celebrate the 19th century town planning movement, and suggest the century-old template holds useful lessons for 21st century development."
The book's archive of garden cities is embedded on 12 pounds and 1,000 pages, but the key question, according to Flynt, is whether the Garden City is a model that actually works.
Stern also provides instructions for making garden cities a model for future development: "Legacy cities such as Detroit may be perfect testing grounds, he argues, not least because the infrastructure is in place for a reinvention of the urban grid. The key ingredients in the recipe — a town square, a church, a transit station, a corner store, hotel, smaller houses (think Forest Hills in Queens) — need only be dispensed in quantities that are not as intensive as Midtown Manhattan."
Flynt's exploration of the topic also discusses Howard's mathematic approach to equity and another under-appreciated benefit of the neotraditional design components of garden cities: unlike much modernist design, historic forms provide comfort.
FULL STORY: Why the 'Garden City' Is Making an Unlikely Comeback

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Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Ken Jennings Launches Transit Web Series
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California has awarded $500 million to fund 1,000 zero-emission school buses and chargers for educational agencies as part of its effort to reduce pollution, improve student health, and accelerate the transition to clean transportation.

Congress Moves to End Reconnecting Communities and Related Grants
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee moved to rescind funding for the Neighborhood Equity and Access program, which funds highway removals, freeway caps, transit projects, pedestrian infrastructure, and more.

From Throughway to Public Space: Taking Back the American Street
How the Covid-19 pandemic taught us new ways to reclaim city streets from cars.
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