THE NEW TOWNS

and over-crowded schools produce semi-literates; and we know, too, that
lack of social and cultural amenities produce a fragmented community, in
which recreation means escape, and in which escape is sought in the public
house, the cinema and the dance hall. That is why Socialism means something
 beyond a change in the ownership and distribution of wealth, or the
development of new planning techniques—for these are essentially instruments
 of change. It means richer human relations. And one way to create
these is to create a new environment in which the human capacity for selfexpression
 and community life can be fulfilled.

Lessons of Experience !

Though the New Towns are not perfect, though they have some defects
and have suffered under serious handicaps, they are for all that the closest
approach yet made in this country to planned communities in which these
Socialist assumptions can be tested against experience. To treat them merely
as exercises in bricks and mortar, or in architectural design, is to mistake
the substance for the soul. If they succeed they will provide invaluable
lessons for the future.
{t is time, therefore, to review what has been happening in the New
Towns; to ask if, before they are completed, more can be done to help them
fulfil their original conception, and to ask when, not whether, more New
Towns should be started, especially to meet the needs of the North and the
Midlands.
In this pamphlet, I try to deal with some of the problems that have
arisen, without duplicating the excellent material which is now available,
some published by the Development Corporations themselves, some by
architectural and town planning journals (especially the journal of the Town
and Country Planning Association), and much in the national and local press.
Nor is this pamphlet intended to be definitive. Except where I indicate to
the contrary, my comments are based upon the eight New Towns in the
London area, which form a coherent group and of which I have personal
knowledge. Yet I hope that it will be helpful to the Labour Movement,
which has a greater stake in the success of the New Towns and more to learn
from their experience than has yet been realised.

7... NEW COMMUNITIES

The New Towns are not housing estates, nor dormitory suburbs. They
are designed as self-contained and balanced communities, each with its proper
complement of schools, shops, social amenities and public buildings, to which
industry and population have been moved from a congested area. They
are intended to offer a combination of urban facilities with low-density housing
 and access to ample open space.
So much for the intention that lies behind the master plans of the fourteen
New Towns that were started between 1946 and 1950. The actual construc-