Ebenezer Howard

Coming to America from England at the age of 21, Howard moved to Nebraska and soon discovered that he was not meant to be a farmer. He moved to Chicago and worked as a reporter for the courts and newspapers. By 1876, he was back in England where he found a job with a firm producing the official Parliamentary reports, and it was at this occupation that he spent the rest of his life. Howard read widely and thought deeply about social issues, and out of concern came his book in 1898 titled To-Morrow: A Peaceful Path to Real Reform, reprinted in 1902 as Garden Cities of To-Morrow. This book called for the creation of new suburban towns of limited size, planned in advance, and surrounded by a permanent belt of agricultural land.

His ideas attracted enough attention and financial backing to begin Letchworth[?], a garden city[?] in suburban London. A second garden city, Welwyn[?], was started after World War I. These towns led to the development of "New Towns" after World War II by the British government. This movement produced more than 30 communities. His ideas also inspired other planners such as Frederick Law Olmstead II[?] or Clarence Perry[?].