View source for Ebenezer Howard

{{Short description|English writer and founder of the garden city movement}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2019}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2014}}
{{infobox person
|honorific_prefix = Sir
|name             = Ebenezer Howard
|honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|OBE|size=100%}}
|image            = Ebenezer Howard.jpg
|alt              = 
|caption          = 
|birth_date       = {{Birth date|1850|01|29|df=yes}}
|birth_place      = London, England
|death_date       = {{Death date and age|1928|05|01|1850|01|29|df=yes}}
|death_place      = [[Welwyn Garden City]], [[Hertfordshire]], England
|occupation       = 
| spouse = {{plainlist|
* Eliza Ann Bills (1879–1904, her death)
* {{marriage|Edith Annie Hayward|1907}}
}}
|known_for        = Founder of the [[garden city movement]] in England
|notable_works    = ''[[To-Morrow: A Peaceful Path to Real Reform]]''
|relatives        = [[Geoffrey Howard (cricketer)|Geoffrey Howard]] (grandson)<br/>[[Una Stubbs]] (great-granddaughter)<br/>[[Christian Henson]] (great-great-grandson)
}}
'''Sir Ebenezer Howard''' {{post-nominals|size=100%|OBE}} (29 January 1850<ref name="Pocket On This Day">{{cite book|title=Penguin Pocket On This Day|publisher=Penguin Reference Library|isbn=978-0-14-102715-9|year=2006}}</ref> – 1 May 1928)<ref>(1933) [http://www.freeweb.hu/eventoj/steb/gxenerala_naturscienco/enciklopedio-1/encikl-h.htm Enciklopedio de Esperanto] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070708173101/http://www.freeweb.hu/eventoj/steb/gxenerala_naturscienco/enciklopedio-1/encikl-h.htm |date=8 July 2007 }}</ref> 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|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, Queens|Forest Hills Gardens]] designed by [[Frederick Law Olmsted Jr.|F. L. Olmsted Jr.]] in 1909,<ref>{{cite book|last=Klaus|first=Susan|title=A Modern Arcadia|year=2002|publisher=The University of Massachusetts Press|isbn=978-1-55849-314-8|pages=Preface}}</ref> [[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]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Stern|first=Robert|title=The Anglo American Suburb|year=1981|publisher=Architectural Design Profile|location=London|isbn=978-0-312-03717-8|pages=84, 85}}</ref>

Howard aimed to reduce the alienation of humans and society from nature, and hence advocated garden cities<ref name="Clark 2003, pp. 87-97">Clark, B 2003, [http://oae.sagepub.com/content/16/1/87.abstract 'Ebenezer Howard and the marriage of town and country'] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160511231528/http://oae.sagepub.com/content/16/1/87.abstract |date=11 May 2016 }}, Archives of Organizational and Environmental Literature, vol. 16, no. 1, pp. 87–97.</ref> and [[Georgism]].<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Steuer|first1=Max|title=REVIEW ARTICLE A hundred years of town planning and the influence of Ebenezer Howard|journal=The British Journal of Sociology|date=June 2000|volume= 51|issue= 2|pages=377–386|doi=10.1111/j.1468-4446.2000.00377.x|pmid=10905006}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Meacham|first1=Standish|title=Regaining Paradise: Englishness and the Early Garden City Movement|date=1999|publisher=Yale University Press|pages=50–53|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uqa9S_E7ImQC|access-date=5 August 2014|isbn=978-0300075724}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Purdom|first1=Charles Benjamin|title=The Letchworth Achievement|date=1963|page=1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XWTaAAAAMAAJ|access-date=5 August 2014}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Clark 2003, pp. 87-97"/><ref name="March 2004, pp. 409-433">March, A 2004, 'Democratic dilemmas, planning and Ebenezer Howard's Garden City', Planning Perspectives, vol. 19, pp. 409–433.</ref>

==Early life==
Howard was born in [[Fore Street, London|Fore Street, City of London]], the son of Ebenezer Howard (1817{{ndash}}1900), a baker, and Ann (née Tow, 1816{{ndash}}1900).<ref name=EncylLon>{{cite book|author1=Hibbert, Christopher|author1-link=Christopher Hibbert|author2=Ben Weinreb|author3=John Keay|author4=Julia Keay|title=The London Encyclopaedia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xa0D0PqiwfEC&pg=PA304|year=2010|location=London|publisher=Pan Macmillan|isbn=978-0-230-73878-2|pages=304}}</ref><ref name=father>Death Certificate, General Register Office (Southport): Ann Howard wife of Ebenezer Howard, pastrycook (master), died 23 November 1900, aged 84, at 127 Evering Road, Hackney.</ref><ref name=mother>Death Certificate, General Register Office (Southport): Ebenezer Howard, pastrycook (master), died 24 November 1900, aged 83, at 127 Evering Road, Hackney.</ref> He was sent to schools in Suffolk and Hertfordshire. Howard left school at 15 and began working as a stenographer in London.<ref name="Clark 2003, pp. 87-97"/> Howard subsequently had several clerical jobs, including one with [[Joseph Parker (theologian)|Dr Parker]] of the [[City Temple, London|City Temple]].

In 1871, at the age of 21, influenced partly by a farming uncle, Howard emigrated with two friends to America. He went to [[Nebraska]], and after his farming efforts failed, discovered he did not wish to be a farmer.<ref name="Clark 2003, pp. 87-97"/> He then relocated to [[Chicago]] and worked as a reporter for the courts and newspapers. Howard arrived in Chicago just after the [[Great Chicago Fire|great fire]] of 1871, which destroyed most of the central business district, and witnessed the regeneration of the city and the growth of its suburbs.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Encyclopedia of the City|last=Caves|first=R. W.|publisher=Routledge|year=2004|pages=362}}</ref> 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 [[wikt:verbatim|verbatim]] record of [[Parliament of the United Kingdom|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.<ref name="Clark 2003, pp. 87-97"/> In August 1879, he married Eliza Ann Bills. [[Sociology|Sociologist]] [[Brett Clark (sociologist)|Brett Clark]] describes Howard as a "humble and practical" inventor who used his spare time to create outlines of new cities.<ref name="Clark 2003, pp. 87-97"/> It was the social milieu of the 1800s which led Howard to consider the social problems of the time and try to find alternatives. Howard mingled with free thinkers, anarchists and socialists, whose revolutionary and reforming ideas greatly influenced him.<ref name="Clark 2003, pp. 87-97"/>

Howard's parents died on consecutive days in 1900, after he had published the first edition of his book, but before work had started on the first garden city: his mother died on 23 November 1900 from pneumonia and his father died on 24 November 1900 from [[gastritis]].<ref name=father/><ref name=mother/>

Howard's wife, Eliza Ann Bills (1853–1904), died in November 1904, shortly after work on the first garden city at Letchworth had begun. Howard married again in 1907 to Edith Annie Hayward (1864–1941), who became Edith, Lady Howard when Howard was knighted in 1927, and with whom he is buried in [[Letchworth Cemetery]].{{citation needed|date=January 2023}}

==Influences and ideas==
{{Template:Georgism|activists}}
[[File:Garden City Concept by Howard.jpg|thumb|The original ''Garden City'' concept by Ebenezer Howard, 1902.]]
Howard read widely, including [[Edward Bellamy]]'s 1888 utopian novel, ''[[Looking Backward]]'', and [[Henry George]]'s economic treatise, ''[[Progress and Poverty]]'', and thought much about social issues. He disliked the way modern cities were being developed and thought people should live in places that should combine the best aspects of both cities and the countryside.<ref name="Clark 2003, pp. 87-97"/>

== Publications ==
The only publication he wrote in his life was titled ''[[To-Morrow: A Peaceful Path to Real Reform]]'', which was significantly revised in 1902 as ''[[Garden Cities of To-morrow]]''. Garden Cities of To-morrow was based on ideas of social and urban reform.<ref name="Clark 2003, pp. 87-97"/> Garden Cities were to avoid the downfalls of industrial cities of the time such as urban poverty, overcrowding, low wages, dirty alleys with no drainage, poorly ventilated houses, toxic substances, dust, carbon gases, infectious disease and lack of interaction with nature.<ref name="Clark 2003, pp. 87-97"/><ref>Livesey, G 2011, 'Assemblage theory, gardens and the legacy of the early Garden City movement', Urbanism, vol. 15, no. 3, pp.271–278.</ref> 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.<ref>Fishman, R 1977, Urban utopias in the twentieth century: Ebenezer Howard, Frank Lloyd
Wright, and Le Corbusier, Basic Books, New York.</ref> 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 city movement|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.<ref name="Clark 2003, pp. 87-97"/> The towns would be largely independent, managed by the citizens who had an economic interest in them, and financed by [[Land Value Tax|ground rents]] on the [[Georgism|Georgist]] model. The land on which they were to be built was to be owned by a group of trustees and leased to the citizens.

While many believe the diagrams and designs in Howard's Garden Cities of Tomorrow to be a physical plan for the perfect garden city, Howard notes these to be merely suggestive as each city should be planned to be organised as per the needs of the people and their environment.<ref name="Clark 2003, pp. 87-97"/> Howard never intended for garden cities to be circular like his diagrams.<ref name="Clark 2003, pp. 87-97"/>

==Action==
{{Unreferenced section|date=August 2023}}
[[File:Ebenezer Howard Grave.jpg|thumb|right|The grave of Ebenezer Howard in [[Letchworth Cemetery]]]]
In 1899, he founded the Garden Cities Association, known now as the [[Town and Country Planning Association]].

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 movement|garden city]] {{convert|37|miles}} 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 in the United Kingdom|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 Jr.|Frederick Law Olmsted II]] and [[Neighbourhood unit|Clarence Perry]]. [[Walt Disney]] used elements of Howard's concepts in his original design for [[Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow (concept)|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]].

==Other==
Howard was an enthusiastic speaker of [[Esperanto]], often using the language for his speeches.<ref>[http://www.esperanto-gb.org/eab/eab_news/1904-10-00_creation_BEA.htm "The creation of Esperanto Association of Britain"], esperanto-gb.org. Accessed 3 August 2023.</ref>

==Death==
{{Unreferenced section|date=August 2023}}
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==
{{main|Letchworth}}
Letchworth was developed and owned by a company called First Garden City, Ltd. which was formed in 1903, based on the ideas of Howard.<ref name="Bonham-Carter 1951, pp. 362-376">Bonham-Carter, E 1951, 'Planning and development of Letchworth garden city', Town Planning Review, vol. 21, no. 4, pp. 362–376.</ref> 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.<ref name="Bonham-Carter 1951, pp. 362-376"/> The Garden City Association collected money from supporters, his supporters tended to be people who were impressed by the social justice element of the Garden City.<ref name="Bonham-Carter 1951, pp. 362-376"/> The Letchworth estate which was agricultural land, was purchased from 15 individual owners.<ref name="Bonham-Carter 1951, pp. 362-376"/> The Letchworth estate lies on a train line and is only {{convert|35|miles}} from London, making commuting possible.<ref name="Bonham-Carter 1951, pp. 362-376"/>

The original land on which Letchworth was built cost the First Garden City, Ltd. £160,378 and covered {{convert|3826|acres}}. However, more land was purchased and the property increased to {{convert|4710|acres}}.<ref name="Bonham-Carter 1951, pp. 362-376"/> The Letchworth garden city was to sustain a population of between 30,000 and 35,000 people, and would be laid out as Howard explained in his book.<ref name="Bonham-Carter 1951, pp. 362-376"/> There would be a central town, agricultural belt, shops, factories, residences, civic centres and open spaces, this division of land for specific purposes is now referred to as zoning and is an important practice within town planning.<ref name="Bonham-Carter 1951, pp. 362-376"/>

Howard constructed Letchworth as an example of how the Garden City could be achieved, and hoped that in its success many other towns would be built emulating the same ideals.<ref name="Bonham-Carter 1951, pp. 362-376"/> Some criticisms of Letchworth exist, claims that it is too spacious and there are few architecturally impressive designs. However, it can be argued the space is what makes Letchworth pleasant, and the architecture, while not highly impressive and uniform, has consistency of colour and is satisfying to the needs of the people.<ref name="Bonham-Carter 1951, pp. 362-376"/>

==Welwyn Garden City==
{{main|Welwyn Garden City}}
Welwyn Garden City was an area of woodlands and open fields before the garden city was constructed.<ref name="The British Medical Journal 1184">British Medical Journal 1930, 'Ten years of Welwyn Garden City', The British Medical Journal, vol. 1, no. 3625, pp. 1184.</ref> Welwyn Garden City was Howard's second Garden City after Letchworth.<ref>British Medical Journal 1930</ref> Howard purchased the land with £5000 borrowed from friends.<ref name="The British Medical Journal 1184"/> Welwyn Garden City is only {{convert|20|miles}} from London, and captured the charm of the countryside and managed to stay unspoiled by urbanisation.<ref name="The British Medical Journal 1184"/> The architecture in Welwyn has been described as pleasant, and the residential cottages with their wide roads and open spaces make Welwyn Garden City a refreshing picture when compared to London of the time.<ref name="The British Medical Journal 1184"/>

After 10 years of existence, Welwyn Garden City had a population of 10,000, with well-established residential, industrial and commercial zones.<ref name="The British Medical Journal 1184"/> In 1930, the health of Welwyn Garden City inhabitants was considered greater than those living in London, as Welwyn Garden City recorded lower death rates and infant mortality rates.<ref name="The British Medical Journal 1184"/> The increased health in Welwyn Garden City was understood to be due to the principles of the Garden City.<ref name="The British Medical Journal 1184"/>

It could be argued that Welwyn Garden City fell short of Howard's ideals, Howard wanted investors to invest for the sake of philanthropy, but investors wanted returns and local democracy failed with an exclusive government group formed.<ref name="March 2004, pp. 409-433"/> Finally, Welwyn Garden City was marketed as a middle class commuter suburb, entirely disrespecting the garden city ideals of a self-reliant city.<ref name="March 2004, pp. 409-433"/>

==Honours==
Howard was appointed an [[Officer of the Order of the British Empire]] in 1924<ref>[http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/32941/supplements/4415 ''London Gazette'' (supplement), No. 32941, 30 May 1924]. Retrieved 22 April 2013.</ref> and a [[Knight Bachelor]] in 1927.<ref>[http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/33235/supplements/2 ''London Gazette'' (supplement), No. 33235, 31 December 1926]. Retrieved 22 April 2013.</ref>

== 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 [[Richard Barry Parker|Barry Parker]], [[Lewis Mumford]], [[Clarence Stein]], [[Richard Reiss]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=January–March - Town & Country Planning Association |url=https://archive.tcpa.org.uk/archive/journals/1950-1959/1956/january-march-34/1541025 |access-date=2022-04-28 |website=archive.tcpa.org.uk |language=en}}</ref> [[Patrick Abercrombie]] and [[Frederic Osborn]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=July–September - Town & Country Planning Association |url=https://archive.tcpa.org.uk/archive/journals/1960-1969/1968/july-september-49/1605580-tcpa-journal-no-7-8-july-august-page-0016 |access-date=2022-04-28 |website=archive.tcpa.org.uk |language=en}}</ref> but only one woman, [[Elizabeth Buchanan Mitchell]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=January–March - Town & Country Planning Association |url=https://archive.tcpa.org.uk/archive/journals/1950-1959/1956/january-march-34/1541026 |access-date=2022-04-28 |website=archive.tcpa.org.uk |language=en}}</ref> in 1955.

==Family members==
{{More citations needed|section|date=August 2023}}
Actress, dancer and TV personality [[Una Stubbs]] was Howard's great-granddaughter.<ref name="WDYTYA">{{Cite episode | title = Una Stubbs | series = Who Do You Think You Are? | series-link = Who Do You Think You Are? (UK TV series) |url = https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b037lfg6 | access-date = 24 July 2013 | network = [[BBC Television]] | date = 24 July 2013 | series-no = 10 | number = 1 }}</ref> Other direct descendants include his cricket manager grandson [[Geoffrey Howard (cricketer and administrator)|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==
<gallery>
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.)
</gallery>

==Diagrams from the 1902 edition==
<gallery>
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.)
</gallery>

==See also==
*[[Clarence Stein]]
*[[Garden city movement]]
*[[Letchworth Garden City]]
*[[Welwyn Garden City]]
*[[Sutton, London#The Sutton Garden Suburb Conservation Area|Sutton Garden Suburb]]
*[[International Federation for Housing and Planning]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
{{Wikiquote}}
*[http://www.rickmansworthherts.com/howard1.htm Sir Ebenezer Howard and the Garden City Movement]
*[http://www.tcpa.org.uk Town and Country Planning Association]
*''[https://archive.org/details/gardencitiestom00howagoog Garden Cities of Tomorrow]'' at archive.org
*[http://www.ifhp.org International Federation for Housing and Planning]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Howard, Ebenezer}}
[[Category:1850 births]]
[[Category:1928 deaths]]
[[Category:Burials in Hertfordshire]]
[[Category:City founders]]
[[Category:English urban planners]]
[[Category:English Esperantists]]
[[Category:Georgist activists]]
[[Category:Knights Bachelor]]
[[Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:People from the City of London]]
[[Category:Urban theorists]]