雅思听力

🎧 Listening Transcript

Good morning, everyone. Today we're going to discuss the history of urban planning. One key figure is Ebenezer Howard, who proposed the 'Garden City' concept in 1898. He believed that overcrowded industrial cities were unhealthy and inefficient. His solution was to create self-contained communities surrounded by greenbelts, combining the benefits of city and countryside. Howard's ideas influenced later developments, but they were often adapted. For example, in the 1940s, British planners used his principles to build new towns after World War II, but they focused more on housing than on Howard's original social and economic goals. So, while his physical design survived, the broader vision was largely lost.