City Reformation in Europe:

1. How did Burnham’s Chicago Plan address social issues?

Daniel Burnham dealt with the existing city. Take our existing, dull, bland, boring cities and generate grand civic places and parkland. No way for government to move private buildings, but they could move civic spaces (courthouses, etc.). He wasn't addressing social issues, he just wanted to make the city more aesthetically pleasing.

2. What was the Cadbury Brother’s response to urban conditions?

They were the chocolate people. George was concerned a lot about a variety of social issues. "Do we have a health system in place that is adequate for the urban poor?" They focused on the housing for the proletariat. He moved his factory from the city to out in the country. He also made a town, called "Bourneville" that started off slow but soon became very successful. He wanted a thriving village that wasn't just a factory town for his workers, but a thriving village. Every house had a garden attached to it. A green open space was a basic element for a healthy life. It was a patriarchal effort because he owned the factory, land, etc. When it got really big, he transferred his ownership. He was very philanthropic. His village was of limited impact.

3. What was the goal of Howard’s "Garden City" design?

Howard was a court reporter. He didn't come from a wealthy background. He had an inquisitive and inventive mind. Was a student of the Cadbury's. A magnetic attraction, because there is social opportunities, employment wages, decent wages, and amusement opportunities. Disadvantage to city life is there's isolation due to crowding, high rent, high prices, excessive work hours, foul air, and murky skies. He's identifying the pros and cons of city life. People are also attracted to sunshine, because there'es a beauty of nature, open spaces, fresh air, low rent, and abundance of sunshine. There are drawbacks, due to lack of amusement, opportunity, jobs, and low wages. His goal was to come up with a third option that's not a city or the country. He decided on the "Garden City" that had the benefits of all the positives of both the city and the country.

4. How many characteristics of the Garden City can you name?

-A marriage of town and country. The town is in the center. The town would be very green and pedestrian-oriented. It would be surrounded by agriculture.
-Transportation. The railroad wraps around the town and then takes off to a distant market. It reflects the economic feasibility of this place. The Garden City still has to function as a city, and to compete with everyone else, it needs a good transportation system.
-Limited Area and Population Size. City should be 1000 acres, agriculture land should be 5000 acres, and population should be 32,000. Population must be limited so people can't sell their agriculture land for development.
-All land held in trust and lease. Private ownership of land didn't fit in this picture, because the real-estate market takes over.
-Pie-shaped "Wards." Each Ward was a neighborhood. They needed a recognition of an individual identity. Each Ward would have their own school and "Central Park" which would include civic activities.
-Spaciousness.
-Industry. There needed to be jobs.
-Dispersal. When the town reached the max population, they would build another satellite Garden City.

5. What are Letchworth and Welwyn?

Letchworth was the first garden city. It had some problems, such as the railroad bisecting the city and the agriculture around the city wasn't continuous. Everything else was an amazing success. In Welwyn, the land was held in trust and was for the middle-working class.

6. What’s the major difference between a Garden City and a suburb?

A suburb is a bedroom community, where you go to at the end of the work day. A Garden City was a place where you live and work at the same place.

7. Name Le Corbusier’s "3 essential joys"

Everyone, regardless of income should have access to:
-sun
-space
-verdure (greenness)

8. What are the general characteristics of Le Corbusier’s "City of Towers"?

Build the city upwards. Buenos Aires. He's dealing with an existing industrial city. Get people out of the pollution, and get them up where they get sun and space. Some criticisms were the condemnation of many people's homes, who's going to pay for the massive redevelopment, and what to do with the thousands of misplaced businesses and people.

9. How does Howard's idea relate to the other three, what do they share in common and how are they different.

Howard wanted to ditch the city model altogether while the others wanted to improve upon it.