雅思听力

🎧 Listening Transcript

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 envisioned self-contained communities surrounded by greenbelts, combining the benefits of city and countryside. However, his original plan was for only about 32,000 residents per city, with a central park and industrial zones on the periphery. Later, his ideas influenced suburban development, but many critics argue that modern suburbs have distorted his vision by creating car-dependent sprawl rather than balanced communities.