Happy Holidays! The Garden City movement, propelled by British planner Ebenezer Howard in his turn of the 19th century writings, has been highly influential in the look of city and suburban neighborhoods. Seeking to meld the best of city living with the best of the countryside, Howard's prescription was to introduce nature into every aspect of life. Sounding very much like planners today, he envisioned holistic communities where one could walk to work, school and play. Yet Howard was criticized by urbanists such as Jane Jacobs for being a “decentralist." |
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We look at what's been tried in the past to make cities better places to provide context for the rest of the series. Notable examples of the Garden City legacy include Chatham Village in Pittsburgh (which we extensively filmed), Sunnyside Gardens and Forest Hills in the Queens borough of New York, Mariemont outside Cincinnati and Baldwin Hills Village (now Village Green) in Los Angeles (also filmed). Many choice urban and suburban areas such as Coral Gables next to Miami, Shaker Heights adjoining Cleveland and the St Francis Wood and Forest Hill neighborhoods in San Francisco also take some of their form from Garden City ideals. All of our newsletters can now be found here. |
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After watching Saving the City, you will never look at cities in the same way again. And we hope you will be inspired to act and encourage others to act to make a difference in your local communities. A quick way to get started is sharing this newsletter with friends and family. Check out our work and let us know what you think, suggest stories and introduce us to people we should know about. |
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Help us complete our first two episodes – thanks to several generous donors, we have raised almost $180,000 towards a $600,000 goal. All funds go through the International Documentary Association, a 501c(3) non-profit. A full list of contributors going back pre-Covid is here and includes the William Penn, Packard, Hewlett, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia Foundations, Heinz Endowments, an Urban Land Institute leadership group and individuals led by George Miller and Chris Larsen. |
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Thank you to Mike Bernstein from San Francisco who generously provided production support. |
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"... by so laying. out a Garden City that, as it grows, the free gifts of Nature- fresh air, sunlight, breathing room and playing room- shall be still retained in all needed abundance" Ebenezer Howard |
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Meet David Vater, architect and resident historian of Chatham Village, a garden city community in Pittsburgh. |
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Copyright © Ronald M. Blatman, Inc. All rights reserved. |
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