Ebenezer Howard and The Garden City Movement
Many would say that Ebenezer Howard (1850-1928) is the most important
figure in the whole history of town-planning. He was born in London,
but grew up in small English towns like Sudbury and Ipswich. At 21 he
emigrated to America and tried to farm in Nebraska, but this was a
failure.
From 1872 – 1876 he was in Chicago, where he became a shorthand
writer. Chicago suffered a great fire in 1871, after which there was
much rebuilding. It was known as the Garden City. It seems probable
that he would have seen Frederick Law Olmsted’s garden suburb of
Riverside being built outside the city. The Penguin Dictionary says
that during his stay in America he read Walt Whitman and Ralph Waldo
Emerson and also Edward Bellamy’s utopian Looking Backward and began
to think about a better life and how it could be promoted.
Moving back to Britain he began to think town-planning through from
first principles and in 1898 he published Tomorrow: A Peaceful Path to
Real Reform. This was reissued in 1902 with the title Garden Cities of
Tomorrow. Howard is often seen as a physical planner, but really he
was a social visionary. His basic idea was decentralisation as an
answer to the congested industrial city.
There were all sorts of precedents and precursors for his ideas:
William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army had suggested the
colonisation of the destitute into small-holding communities. An
anarchist called Peter Kropotkin had suggested something similar.
There was also an alternative movement called Back to the Land which
flourished between 1880 and 1914.
Howard produced the world’s most ...
... middle of paper ...
...ork. It had irregular
curving streets, cul de sacs, and a variety of housing types. There
were two big churches and an institute designed by Edwin Lutyens in
the centre.
It was, however, infused with high social ideals; it was to be ‘a
place where the poor will teach the rich, and the rich shall help the
poor to help themselves’. It didn’t quite work that way – rising land
values forced the poor out. It has remained popular with the
liberal-minded middle classes.
Another suburb was Wythenshawe outside Manchester (begun 1927) , which
might also be described as a satellite town.
In 1919 Howard bought another tract of land to start Welwyn Garden
City. This was designed by Louis de Soissons in a Neo-Georgian style.
It is even more formal than Letchworth; it has a huge central open
space over a mile long.
From walkmans to CD players to iPods, technology has evolved over the succession of the years; humans have taken extensive steps towards a technological transformation that has revolutionized the manner in which several individuals communicate with one another. Likewise, various humans have opted for more modern methods to connect and contact their loved ones such as speaking on a cell phone, video chatting, e-mailing, instant messaging, and conversing through social media. With these contemporary methods of communication, global interaction has now been facilitated and easily accessible; conversing with individuals from across the world is as transparent and prompt as speaking with individuals within the same city. Nonetheless, these technological
Tomatoland is a book written by Barry Estabrook, an investigative food journalist. Throughout the pages of Tomatoland, Estabrook explores the path of tomatoes, from the seed in South America to the hands of migrant workers in the fields of Florida. Through his exploration he discovers several issues that exist within the fresh tomato industry in Florida. Two of the major issues that he discovers include the use of highly toxic chemicals that cause severe damage to the health of humans and the environment, and the exploitation of migrant workers. Estabrook directly blames the continuation of such issues on those who support the tomato industry, “it’s a world we’ve all made, and one we can fix”; this includes consumers, crew bosses, the government and the corporate farm owners, like the executives and those who work in the business side of farming. Although there are many who are at fault, Estabrook directs his blame more towards the government and the farms corporate owners. Estabrook’s assessment of blame is substantial because the government and owners of the tomato corporations are the ones who have the strongest power towards regulations and production.
In the middle of the nineteenth century, several factors contributed to the growth and expansion of cities in the United States. The 1850s saw a fantastic peak in the immigration of Europeans to America, and they quickly flocked to cities where they could form communities and hopefully find work1. The rushing industrialization of the entire country also helped to rapidly convert America from a primarily agrarian nation to an urban society.
Roberts, Robert. The Classic Slum: Salford Life in the First Quarter of the Century. Manchester: University of Manchester Press, 1971.
Poetry was a big part of the Harlem Renaissance, especially black poetry. Poetry helped people get their emotions out and provided an outlet for many new and old African-Americans, and for Africans just arriving in the United States in Harlem. The Renaissance was filled with great poets including the great Langston Hughes. Hughes is the author of his own book The Weary Blues and the writer of the poems Not without Laughter and The Way of the White Folks. He believed in the beauty of the Africans, as stated on Shmoop “Hughes knew that black was beautiful.” He won the Harlem gold medal for literature for his literary work and helped shape the artists of the Harlem Renaissances contributions to the movement. Hughes was also the founder of three theaters meant as outlets for black actors and dramatists. The names of these theaters are the New Negro Theater, Langston Hughes Preforming Arts, and Black Arts (“Langston Hughes Founded Theaters”). Langston Hughes was a very popular and
This essay will examine what was new about the new negro from 1920-1936. During the years 1920-1936 African Americans began to rebrand themselves and change their image. African Americans wanted to create an image of themselves that was more positive, educated, and cultured, with an emphasis on African culture, hence began the Harlem Renaissance and the New Negro movement.
J.Harris, 1994. The palladian Revival: Lord Burlington, His Villa and Garden at Chiswick. New Heaven and London.
Segregation and racism in the 1920s was mundane for the average African American, but as they put that aside they were respected by many whites. The rise of the jazz age was due to the prohibition of alcohol. People were selling alcohol illegally and many African Americans began playing music known as the jazz age. Many white folks came to watch famous African musicians play in secret clubs called the cotton club. In the 1920s when there was prohibition and racism, many African Americans had to deal with discrimination, and segregation between the whites. During that time the Klu Klux Klan population was at an all-time high. Being colored was dangerous because the KKK members were out to hunt for people who weren’t white. Africans were driven out of the South from the whites and also the bot weevil. They were forced to migrate to the north. These areas had poverty. Luckily, African Americans could overcome this hatred by creating a new age called the Harlem Renaissance. Making the North well known for its gargantuan transformation and making it a success. The connection towards Gatsby is that Gatsby had hired a band that played jazz. This came from African Americans as jazz influenced many people throughout the world. The Harlem Renaissance was an era of where African Americans became famous, well known, and respected for their music and literature.
The Great Depression from 1929 to 1933 was perhaps one of the darkest times in the United States. The desperation had spread to every single corner of the nation. Millions of people had lost their jobs and savings, parents were not able to provide food for their children. In the meantime, this greatest despair was to become the best opportunity for many outstanding artists and their works to sparkle.
The Harlem Renaissance Poets consist of: James Weldon Johnson, Countee Cullen, Claude McKay, Jean (Eugene) Toomer, Langston Hughes, Sterling Brown, Robert Hayden, and Gwendolyn Brooks. These eight poets contributed to modern day poetry in three ways. One: they all wrote marvelous poems that inspired our poets of modern times. Two: they contributed to literature to let us know what went on in there times, and how much we now have changed. And last but not least they all have written poems that people can sit down and relate to and what people are writing about and take time out to let the people of their families know that they were living in those times. And these people should receive such recognition because of the effort, and the time that was put fourth to doing this great work for the people of their generation and ours.
Over a significant time frame, African Americans have been forced to endure numerous hardships – one of which being the negatives stigmas that unfairly generalize their people, culture and way of life. Therese stereotypes of a whole nationality label Blacks as, “superstitious, lazy, ignorant, dirty, unreliable, (and even) criminal,” (“Stereotypes”). Such generalizations are products of the public’s perception, which has been diluted by rooted historic and current prejudice as well as the media’s conveyance of a well-known African American cultural center: Harlem. Despite negative connotations associated with it, Harlem stands as a community that strives to flourish and maintain its strong cultural status. George Canada, the founder of the Harlem Children’s Zone, states, “People think kids are all violent, and they’re all out fighting and shooting. Most of our children want to grow up in a peaceful community where they can live their lives and become successful adults” (“Your City”). Because this area has been subject to consistent historic change, its past is rocky, which accurately mirrors the struggle of the African American people. In order to achieve a better understanding of both the African American community and its cultural hub, it is essential to know the area’s unique cultural history. From Renaissance to riots; drugs wars, violence and poverty, Harlem’s history as the cultural epicenter of America’s Black community may shed some light on the evolution of its current culture, people and stereotypes.
During the span of the 1920s, The Harlem Renaissance was starting to take off. The development and expansion of the Harlem neighborhood in New York City are what gave this renaissance its name. The Harlem Renaissance was a cultural stand up for African-Americans that involved black writers, artists, and musicians to embrace their black heritage and show others across the nation what blacks are capable of.
Salt, Sir Titus. Industrial Revolution: Saltaire Housing Development near Bradford. 1850. Photograph. England. ArtStor. Web. 3 Feb. 2010.
Le Corbusier. The City of Tomorrow and Its Planning. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1987
“In contrast with London, where homes are built and torn down according to the whims of capitalism, Howards End is understood to be part of that old, infinitely more authentic England” (Alghamdi 173). The countryside of England becomes more deserted as people move towards areas of industry and money-making. English people like Mrs. Wilcox remain attached to the earth and their heritage, not ready to embrace the emerging world. The pull of Howards End and all its history, enchants the sentimental characters in the novel, especially Margaret. This connection to nature is a part of English heritage that changes, but is not destroyed by the new