If I keep adding posts dealing with The Garden City Movement
I fear I will start repeating myself at
least as far as the writing goes. Nevertheless even a generic form can allow
for fascinating, infinite variations, providing lessons which are
eternally relevant. For this reason I am posting a piece on Bournville,
Birmingham’s great example of The Garden City Movement. This can be seen as a
photo essay with perhaps similar postings to come.
Typical semi-detached housing
Bournville was created by George and Richard Cadbury who wished to relocate their chocolate factory from a cramped, city centre site to a location more amenable to expansion. They chose a site four miles from the centre of Birmingham well connected by the new railways and canals, close by the Bourn Brook.
Bournville was created by George and Richard Cadbury who wished to relocate their chocolate factory from a cramped, city centre site to a location more amenable to expansion. They chose a site four miles from the centre of Birmingham well connected by the new railways and canals, close by the Bourn Brook.
The original move took place in 1879. In 1893, 120 acres of
land was purchased to create a model village. By 1900, 313 cottages and houses
had been built, at which stage ownership passed to the Bournville Village Trust.
Shops with other uses above by the village green
Bournville Rest House
Bournville Primary School
Bournville Center for Visual Arts
A factor of urban design which must always be considered in,
of course, the economics of a creation
of a proposal. We live in an age of
small government whose most overriding concern often seems to be shifting financial responsibility away from
the public to the private. It is heartening to see a business-led development
of such high quality. Businesses should take note that there are a huge number
of benefits entailed when a development like this is undertaken. Firstly,
naming a town after a company’s product generates a massive amount of favourable
publicity for a company. Why, indeed, should the provision of things such as
affordable housing and good schools be left to the government? Businesses with
access to good financial resources should realise that provision for staff goes
way beyond mere wages. Businesses which find it difficult to recruit
high-quality staff could look at Bournville and see what is being offered
here. I hesitate to use a word as repellent
as “lifestyle” and would rather focus on essential matters such as affordable
housing and good schools.
Map
Cadbury Factory with cricket pitch in the foreground
Church
I think it clear that my photos convey what a remarkable
achievement Bournville is. It has, as I never tire of saying, the four
qualities that really make a neighbourhood; access to public transport, a
walkable scale, a mixture of uses and public spaces of real quality.
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