The TCPA has produced a vast suite of research on Garden Cities, New Towns, and New Communities from across the UK. The research ranges from the history of the Garden City Movement and New Towns Programme to guidance on creating new large-scale developments in the 21st century.
An introduction to Garden Cities and New Towns
The Art of Building a Garden City: Designing new communities for the 21st Century (2017)
The Art of Building a Garden City traces the extraordinary journey of the Garden City movement from its utopian origins to the delivery of a new generation of communities for the 21st century. Drawing on lessons from the first Garden Cities, the new towns programme, and other large-scale developments, it identifies the approach that needs to be taken in order to deliver the highest standards of design and placemaking today. This book is essential reading for anyone involved in planning, designing or delivering new, Garden City-inspired communities at a range of scales.
Written by Kate Henderson, Hugh Ellis and Katy Lock
New Towns: The Rise, Fall and Rebirth (2020)
Often misunderstood, the New Towns story is a fascinating one of anarchists, artists, visionaries, and the promise of a new beginning for millions of people. New Towns: The Rise, Fall and Rebirth offers a new perspective on the New Towns record and uses case-studies to address the myths and realities of the programme. It provides valuable lessons for the growth and renewal of the existing New Towns and post-war housing estates and town centres, including recommendations for practitioners, politicians and communities interested in the renewal of existing New Towns and the creation of new communities for the 21st century.
Written by Hugh Ellis and Katy Lock.
Garden City Myth-buster (2023)
The Garden City is a radical but practical approach to creating and renewing places which enable people, and the wider natural environment, to thrive.
Over a century of misuse of the term makes this confusion understandable but is blinding us to a far more impressive and urgent reality: that the Garden City idea is one of the strongest tools we have available to enable a healthy, affordable and zero-carbon future.
To tackle the many misconceptions surrounding the term ‘Garden City’, the TCPA published this ‘Myth-buster’ pamphlet in April 2023 as part of the Tomorrow 125 project.
Understanding Garden Villages: An Introductory Guide (2017)
This publication highlights the key characteristics of historical ‘model’ and garden villages, to help inform the design and delivery of new garden villages. It is designed to provide inspiration for the planning, design and long-term management of new places, and to help local authorities and private sector delivery partners to understand what makes a successful garden village and what distinguishes it from a larger new community.
New Towns and Garden Cities: Lessons for Tomorrow – Stage One: An Introduction to the UK’s New Towns and Garden Cities (2014)
With Garden Cities firmly on the political agenda in England (and as Scotland and Wales explore the opportunities for new communities to help meet their housing needs), it is important to learn the lessons – good and bad – from what has been done before. To help inform the debate and to respond to issues identified in successive House of Commons Select Committee reports, the TCPA undertook a research study to identify transferable lessons from the Garden Cities and the New Towns programme. The research was undertaken in two stages:
Stage 1: An Introduction to the UK’s New Towns and Garden Cities
The first part of the project involved collecting data about the UK’s 32 New Towns and Letchworth Garden City in order to provide a snapshot of these communities today. The Stage 1 report – An Introduction to the UK’s New Towns and Garden Cities, published in December 2014 – tells the story of the Garden Cities and New Towns movement and includes a set of ‘five-minute fact sheets’ on each of the New Towns.
Stage 1 Report: An Introduction to the UK’s New Towns and Garden Cities (2014)
Stage 1 Report Appendices: The New Towns -‘Five-Minute Fact Sheets’ (2014)
The Forgotten Pioneers: Celebrating the women of the Garden City Movement
The Garden City movement was one of collaboration and collective action and would not have been possible without a coalition of countless voices. However, in the telling of its history, many of these voices have been omitted. Among the least recognised are those of the female campaigners, practitioners and politicians who worked to make the Garden City vision a reality.
This paper is presents an initial historical survey – drawing on the recently digitised TCPA journal archives – of just some of those who were directly involved.
The TCPA Archive
The TCPA archive hosts a range of content, including the digitalised Town and Country Planning journal from 1904 to 2005, a collection of Fredric Osborn’s correspondence, and the association’s minute books.
The archive contains a wide range of material related to the Garden Cities and New Towns, from regular progress reports and statistical releases to special editions of the journal focused on New Towns.
The renewal and rebirth of the UK’s existing New Towns
A new future for New Towns – lessons from the TCPA’s New Town Network (2021)
To mark the 75th anniversary of the passage into law of the New Towns Act 1946, A New Future for New Towns provides an overview of some of the key lessons from the last decade of work, alongside the TCPA’s latest research into the current state of the New Towns and opportunities for their growth and renewal.
Peterlee: The Place to… Bee (2023)
The TCPA has been working with the Town Council in Peterlee for several years to help explore the future direction of the town. Our vision draws on the TCPA’s Garden City Principles and workshops with Councillors, students, and community representatives. It reflects our understanding of existing renewal masterplans and the 2022 report of the High Streets Task Force. It focuses
primarily on the town centre and green infrastructure, along with strategic issues such as governance
This prospectus is designed to be ambitious and provoke a conversation about the future of Peterlee. It is not a blueprint to be imposed on the town, but a contribution from an organisation who wants to support positive change in one of the UK’s most ambitious new towns.
Guidance on creating a new generation of new communities and new towns
Health, Hope and Prosperity: A vision for Healthy New Towns (2024)
Health, hope and prosperity‘ sets out the high-level preconditions necessary to create a healthy new town and reflects on some of the key lessons that need to inform future thinking. This brief note outlines the kind of vision for healthy places that will be vital to securing high quality outcomes in new towns. It then touches on some of the key lessons from the past New Towns programme and some headline preconditions for future success. The golden thread of this work is to explore the relationship between Garden City vision and the post-war New Towns delivery model to demonstrate how visionary outcomes can be made practically deliverable.
Our shared future: A TCPA White Paper for Homes and Communities (2024)
The TCPA’s white paper Our shared future sets out the practical steps the government must take to unlock housing delivery. It complements the TCPA’s ongoing work on strategic housing delivery at all scales, providing the detail on how to make a national strategic approach to housing delivery possible and the transformational role of new settlements. Our vision of zero carbon, affordable and healthy homes is underpinned by the Garden City principles which provide a practical framework for a hopeful and sustainable future.
Unlocking the potential of large-scale new communities (2021)
This briefing paper takes stock of the current state of play and delivery barriers, drawing on lessons from the New Communities Group and elsewhere to reveal some of the key challenges surrounding the current debate on large scale development and to indicate some key actions which local and national government could take to unlock this opportunity.
Building successful new communities (2018)
The TCPA New Communities Group (NCG) is a unique network of ambitious local authorities and development corporations planning and delivering exemplary large-scale new communities, from Garden City inspired new towns
and villages to urban regeneration and extension schemes.
The purpose of this report is to capture the progress being made by the NCG, and to share information on current lessons being learned, from local
authorities and development corporations at the forefront of planning and delivering our new communities today. It provides a valuable insight into the challenges on the ground and we hope it will be a useful resource for
councils and their delivery partners when considering large-scale growth in the future.
New Towns and Garden Cities: Lessons for tomorrow – Stage Two: Lessons for delivering a new generation of Garden Cities (2015)
With new Garden Cities firmly on the political agenda in England (and as Scotland and Wales explore the opportunities for new communities to help meet their housing needs), it is important to learn the lessons – good and bad – from what has been done before. To help inform the debate and to respond to issues identified in successive House of Commons Select Committee reports, the TCPA undertook a research study to identify transferable lessons from the Garden Cities and the New Towns programme. The research was undertaken in two stages:
Stage 2: Lessons for Delivering a new Generation of Garden Cities
The second stage of the project involved a more in-depth study of a selection of the UK’s New Towns and its two Garden Cities to identify lessons on how to deliver a new generation of Garden Cities. The findings and recommendations in the report are relevant for all those trying to create high-quality new places, whether or not they are described as ‘Garden Cities’.
Stage 2 Report: Lessons for delivering a new generation of garden cities (2015)
The art of building a Garden City – Garden City standards for the 21st century (2014)
This publication was produced with the objective of articulating what the Garden City Principles mean in the 21st century and how development embodying these principles can be delivered. It is not intended as the final word on how to realise a new generation of Garden Cities, but instead distils many of the lessons identified in the TCPA’s recent research on overcoming the barriers to their development.
Garden City standards for the 21st Century: Practical guides for creating successful new communities (2016-2021)
The TCPA has produced a suite of guidance outlining practical steps for all those interested in making 21st-century Garden Cities a reality. Guidance provides detail and case studies on a wide range of key issues, including planning, investment, land assembly, delivery, and long-term stewardship.
Guide One: Locating and Consenting New Garden Cities (2017)
Guide Two: Finance and Delivery (2017)
Guide Three: Design and Masterplanning (2017)
Guide Four: Masterplanning for net-zero energy (2020)
Guide Five: Homes for all (2016)
Guide Six: I’d Love to Live There! Planning for Culture and the Arts (2016)
Guide Seven: Planning for Green and Prosperous Places (2017)
Guide Eight: Creating Health-Promoting Environments (2017)
Guide Nine: Long-Term Stewardship (2017)
Guide Ten: ‘Edible’ Garden Cities (2019)
Guide Eleven: People, Planning and Power (2019)
Guide Twelve: Modern Methods of Construction (2020)
Guide Thirteen: Sustainable Transport (2020)
Guide Fourteen: Building climate resilient large-scale new communities (2021)
Creating Garden Cities and Suburbs today: policies, practices, partnerships and model approaches – a report of the Garden Cities and Suburbs expert group (2012)
While there is no ‘silver bullet’ solution to unlocking the potential benefits offered by new Garden Cities and Suburbs today, a Garden Cities and Suburbs Expert Group convened by the TCPA in 2012 identified the need for urgent action in five principal areas, to address barriers to the development of a new generation of world-class communities. The five principal areas are:
- Vision, leadership and governance
- Unlocking land
- Investing in infrastructure – balancing risk and reward
- Planning ahead
- Skills, coordination and delivery
Creating Garden Cities and Suburbs today – a guide for councils (2013)
As this guide argues, well-planned new communities, based on the Garden City principles, provide an opportunity to create high-quality inclusive places. The guide is designed to help elected members and officers of local authorities to:
- Take advantage of the opportunities to create Garden Cities and Suburbs and deliver their benefits;
- Understand the key questions that need to be asked and the tools and resources available in planning and delivering sustainable growth.
Best practice in urban extensions and settlements – a report on emerging good practice (2007)
This report seeks to establish good practice in developing new settlements and
urban extensions by drawing lessons from some recently developed examples. The case studies featured here –
Caterham, Dickens Heath, Hampton, Newcastle Great Park, South Woodham Ferrers, and Upton – are all very different in composition and size, but they have all been successfully brought forward through the planning system
and have used innovative approaches to providing good-quality development on the ground.
Resources
A new future for New Towns – Lessons from the TCPA New Towns Network
To mark the 75th anniversary of the passage into law of the New Towns Act 1946, A New Future for New Towns provides an overview of some of the key lessons from the last decade of work, alongside the TCPA’s latest research into the current state of the New Towns and opportunities for their growth and renewal.
The Forgotten Pioneers: Celebrating the Women of the Garden City Movement
The Garden City movement was one of collaboration and collective action and would not have been possible without a coalition of countless voices. However, in the telling of its history, many of these voices have been omitted. Among the least recognised are those of the female campaigners, practitioners and politicians who worked to make the Garden City vision a reality.
Stage 2 Report: Lessons for delivering a new generation of garden cities
The findings and recommendations in the report are relevant for all those trying to create high-quality new places, whether or not they are described as ‘Garden Cities’.
Stage 1: An Introduction to the UK’s New Towns and Garden Cities
Telling the story of the Garden Cities and New Towns movement and includes a set of ‘five-minute fact sheets’ on each of the New Towns.
Health and Garden Cities, a TCPA ‘Tomorrow Series’ paper
A re-publication of the Garden Cities and Town Planning Association pamphlet on the health benefits of Garden Cities
Creating Garden Cities and Suburbs Today: policies, practices, partnerships and model approaches – a report of the garden cities and suburbs expert group
While there is no ‘silver bullet’ solution to unlocking the potential benefits offered by new Garden Cities and Suburbs today, a Garden Cities and Suburbs Expert Group convened by the TCPA in 2012 identified the need for urgent action in five principal areas, to address barriers to the development of a new generation of world-class communities.
Best practice in urban extensions and new settlements-a report on emerging good practice
The TCPA believes that the full range of planning solutions – urban regeneration, sustainable urban extensions or, where appropriate, new settlements – should be available to communities to choose from as they search for the most sustainable pattern of development locally. In 2007 TCPA produced a report looking at emerging good practice in new communities at a range of scales.
