Souless Eco-towns?

Most of the settlements in Britain be they now villages, towns or even cities are over a thousand years old. They might have gone through times of rapid growth or change but essentially one can discern their organic growth over many years.

Throughout that time, if a local economy grew then a village would grow into a town or a town would grow into a city. Even where a new town was created, and there were quite a number over the years, such a Winchesea, Salisbury or Port Sunlight, they were built to the highest standards of their day – often as deliberate exemplars.

Even with such history, towns can pass through times of hardship but their longevity can give them strength. That strength comes from more than buildings it comes from the social fabric built on many years of accumulated social capital.

The post war new towns have had a more troublesome history. Some have had greater success than others. The better ones were planned with the best knowledge of their day. There locations were carefully chosen and they could call on the increase in land values to fund their progress. Even so it takes many years for a new town to gain a soul – if it ever does. Living in a soulless environment drags on the wellbeing of the people living in it.

On the face of it, the recent proposed Eco-towns fall into the trap of being badly located and of low build quality – a recipe for creating new problem cities.

The British are often regaled for being piecemeal – no grand projects. I wonder whether it would be better to have all of our current 10,000 plus settlements progressively more environmentally friendly rather than have just a couple of so-called green towns.