Ebenezer Howard Founds the Garden City Movement

In 1898 urban planner Ebenezer Howard published To-Morrow: A peaceful path to real reform. This book was the origin of the garden city movement, which sought to remedy the evils caused by uncontrolled urban growth and rural depopulation by building planned communities of limited size combining the best features of both city and country, whose construction would be motivated not by private interest but by the best interests of the inhabitants. Howard's movement inspired the foundation of numerous garden cities throughout the world, embodying his principles either wholly or in part. It also had important effects on the more general problem of urban development, drawing people's attention to the necessity for controlling the growth of towns and cities-the modern city planning department can be said to owe its existence to Howard.

Howard believed wholly in the rightness of his ideas, and was very successful in inspiring others to do the same. Although he remained poor all his life, his powers of persuasion were such that he was able to obtain financing for the construction of two garden cities in England.

Howard's book contains three significant graphic visualizations of data and ideas. The first and most famous one is the Three Magents. I have reproduced the other two as well.

Carter & Muir, Printing and the Mind of Man (1967) No. 387.