In the spirit of our recent PechaKucha presentations highlighting our varied utopian redevelopment schemes, I would like to introduce you to a current urban development project in Edmonton Alberta. The new community of Blatchford aims to house up to 30,000 residents and will include employment opportunities for up to 11,000. The project will cover 217 hectares of land and aims to transform the City Centre Airport zone into a ‘mixed-use urban community’ focused on sustainability. According to the city of Edmonton website, Blatchford ultimately aims to ‘raise the bar world wide for communities that will follow’ by exemplifying the potential of sustainable communities.

A central focus is the idea of sustainability, both at home and in the community, stressing that the development will use 100 percent renewable energy and feature plenty of green space. In this way, the development does present some affinities to Ebenezer Howard, who stressed that people require access to green space. For example, the community plans to feature a large public park and plans to allow room for urban agriculture. The vision for the city even includes plans for up to 600 community garden plots!

Interestingly, the plan also displays affinities to Le Corbusier. First the vision for Blatchford places significant emphasis on the importance of preserving historical sites. Second, the community downplays the need for vehicular traffic and places more emphasis on the importance of the pedestrian, promoting alternatives such as bicycling, walking, or utilizing public transit. According to the city website, “Residents will be able to walk or cycle and take transit rather than rely on cars”. Moreover, Blatchford will feature a number of trails throughout the community that will be connected to trails throughout the remainder of Edmonton, much like Le Corbusier’s ‘meandering pathways’.

Finally, the new development will feature an array of housing options catering to ‘all stages of life’. Blatchford will however place emphasis on providing family housing with a minimum of two bedrooms and featuring plenty of storage space. To appease Jane Jacobs, Blatchford even guarantees a ‘vibrant street life’. Moreover, to appeal to all families, regardless of income, the community will offer 20 percent affordable housing. Finally, these homes will also use less power and heat. This sustainability ultimately allows residents to decrease the size of their carbon footprint.

Blatchford appears to borrow the best from all utopian urban planners to create a seemingly flawless community nestle in the heart of a large city. After reading up on the development, it might even convince me to brave those cold Edmonton winters! What do you think? Would you live in Blatchford?

Construction will begin in 2014.

Note: All information comes from the City of Edmonton website. For more information please consult the following link:

http://www.edmonton.ca/blatchfordedmonton/about-blatchford.aspx

If you’ve ever wanted to “not to live under or in the ground, but with it”, then here’s the neighbourhood for you: architect Peter Vetsch’s ‘Earth House’ development located in Switzerland.  After looking through a few photos of the developments, one could argue that the ‘Earth House’ development is a true Garden City… in the literal sense.

Clearly, the idea of living in harmony with nature (or a tamed version of it) has been of central importance to several urban planners throughout the years. Thus the ‘Earth House’ is especially interesting when compared to urban planning schemes and utopian fantasies of the past century. Unsurprisingly, the fixation on natural light, green space, ventilation, space for recreation, and affordability remain central concerns for architects and urban planners. It is with these factors, coupled with the modern day preoccupation of environmental consciousness and ecological concerns, that Vetsch has created a new sustainable settlement. This new development consists of single-family homes covered by a blanket of earth and grass and surrounding an artificial lake in Dietikon Switzerland.

                   The ‘Earth House’

Vetsch focuses on promoting his unique style of architecture as environmentally friendly and financially savvy, two major concerns today. In recent years there has been an especially decisive shift towards environmental sustainability, and the ‘Earth House’ is the epitome of this movement. The ‘Earth House’ is surrounded by ground, which acts as insulation to keep the heating costs low while still protecting dwellers from adverse weather conditions. Vetsch designs these unique developments to preserve the natural landscape and he moulds each house according to the environment. This allows for organic arches to characterize the interior of the home; creating an environment highly effective for insulation that can result in energy savings up to 50%! Moreover, this unique structure also allows for a plethora of natural light in several rooms.

The ground enveloping the home also acts as a cocoon to protect it from rain, wind, and abrasion. According to Vetsch, these homes are also very well protected from earthquakes, fire hazards, and severe windstorms due to the fact that they’re built into, opposed to on top, of the ground. This may provide additional reassurance to some as we navigate the unpredictable terrain of climate change. Finally, the ‘Earth House’ also provides ample room for green space as the ‘roof’ of the home can be used as a gardening space or a terrace.

I personally think the idea is fascinating, environmentally conscious, and whimsical. I love the idea of having an environmentally friendly home focused on renewable energy as an option in a society that’s growing at an unprecedented rate. Having said that, I can see how it wouldn’t appeal to everybody considering that it’s clearly not conducive to city living. What are your thoughts on this style of development?

While reading Ebenezer Howard’s Garden Cities of To-morrow, I was interested to learn that Howard’s utopia inspired the establishment of the town of Letchworth in the Hertfordshire County of England. More importantly, I was interested to learn how closely the town of Letchworth follows the outline for the Garden City set forth in Howard’s 1898 publication. It is my opinion that while Letchworth may be a physical representation of Howard’s Garden City, it fails to meet several of the fundamental characteristics laid out by Howard, and can thus not be considered a successful example of the implementation of the Garden City as it was intended.

When looking at the original plans for the town dating from 1904, the first thing I noticed was the striking similarities of Letchworth’s layout to the plans proposed by Howard, thus Letchworth is a physical representation of Howard’s Garden City. Upon consulting the town website and the Letchworth Heritage Foundation, I learnt that the town was designed to incorporate the best aspects of town and countryside, an idea central to the success of the Garden City.

Plan Of Letchworth Circa 1904

Howard’s utopia was designed with 6 boulevards, separating the city into six equal parts. These streets were then to be intercepted by the “Grand Avenue” which acts like a park with schools, playgrounds, and churches. The outer ring of the Garden City was to be filled with factories, warehouses, and markets. Similarly, Letchworth was designed to include what appear to be 12 major streets heading from the centre of the town towards the periphery. Three concentric streets then intercept these main streets. The central square of Letchworth is composed of municipal buildings that are surrounded by the post office, public hall, and museum. As one heads out of the town, a total of 14 schools can be found surrounded by green space.

Ebenezer Howard’s Utopian Garden City

Letchworth was planned by Berry Parker and Raymond Unwin in 1903 and was intended to be a replication of the Garden City model of urban planning, however despite it’s appearance, fails to meet several key characteristics. Firstly, Letchworth was established in the middle of a 5,500-acre estate and boasts a total population of 33,249 people as of 2011. While this is extremely similar to Howard’s Garden City, it is fundamentally different in one way: in Howard’s utopian Garden City, excess population was sent out to establish a new satellite “Social City” rather than adding to the population.  Secondly, it is doubtful that the town of Letchworth continues to, or ever did, adhere to the strict financial guidelines and municipal administration established by Howard. These include the full use of the Rate-Rent system and Central Council.  

Personally, I’m rather surprised as to how closely Letchworth was created to mirror Howard’s vision and how closely the town continues to resemble this structure. Initially, I thought it was an exact replica, however after our class discussion on September 23^rd it became clear that this city is not in reality a true representation of Howard’s utopia.