First, the origin of the new town movement
The New Town Movement in Britain should start with Howard's "pastoral thought" expressed in his book Tomorrow: A Peaceful Way of Real Reform 1898. Mr Howard believes that the construction of new towns should be the way to get rid of the crowded urban life in Britain at the turn of the century. Cities and towns are completely socialized functional structures, which can provide enough employment opportunities for residents in cities; There is enough space to provide sunshine, air and elegant life for the city; The town is surrounded by green belts, which can not only provide agricultural products for the urban population, but also provide them with places for leisure and entertainment. Many of these small towns are separated from each other, but at the same time they are connected by fast and convenient transportation, thus forming a "socialized city" that can meet all the needs of hundreds of thousands of people. In order to realize his expectation, Howard began to build his first garden city in Letchworth, 30 miles from London, in 1902, and the second garden city in Wehrwein in 1920. The success of the construction of two garden cities has proved the feasibility of their ideas from the practical point of view.
Second, the process of the new town movement
1. Prime Minister Churchill established the Ministry of Towns and National Planning to be responsible for post-war reconstruction. In the late World War II, in order to quickly restore the normal working and living order destroyed by the war, Winston. Prime Minister WinstonChurchill instructed LordReith to start discussing post-war reconstruction. LordReith organized a group of experts to study such thorny issues as war compensation, post-war reconstruction and rural land use. At the same time, the example of Howard Garden City, the urban development in 1930s, the limited scale experience in those years before the war and the problems faced after the war were all included in the discussion and research scope of the expert group. 1943, the Ministry of Urban and Rural Planning, a new type of urban planning institution established to adapt to the post-war situation, was established, and Lodrius was appointed as the first minister. A year later, the government also passed a bill aimed at rebuilding the war-stricken areas and coordinating urban construction. Only after the war is over can the reconstruction work be carried out on a large scale.
2. Determine the strategy of giving priority to the development of new towns. With the end of the continental war, the new Prime Minister Clement. Atlee appointed LewisSilkin as Minister of Town and National Planning. With thousands of military service personnel returning home, the contradiction of serious housing shortage immediately appeared, so the construction of new town became a priority issue in all work. A committee composed of relevant officials and experts has formulated the basic principles of new town planning and put forward various possible construction methods. LewisSilkin, the new town and state planning minister, reused Lord Reth (the founder of BBC, the first town and state planning minister) as the chairman of the advisory committee to provide guidance on how to build a new town. Under the guidance of LordReith, the Committee drafted a very detailed plan, and the development company designated by the government was responsible for the construction of the new city. These government-designated development companies have been strictly screened and proved to have experience in large-scale comprehensive development projects. The government attaches great importance to the construction of new towns. In addition to giving priority to the development of new towns, NewRownsAct was passed in 1946, which is one of the earliest urban construction laws adopted by the new parliament.
How to attract workers and factories is the key to success for new cities built to solve the over-concentration of population and industry in cities such as London. Without jobs, people will not be willing to move; Industrialists will also hesitate: building a new factory 30 miles from the capital requires more confidence than courage. However, with the announcement of large-scale development plans, the construction of roads and the continuous establishment of other powerful and promising enterprises and factories, they began to enhance their confidence. Some factories are located in a narrow area in the center of London, and they are often worried about the lack of space and labor to seize the opportunity to expand their strength in a wider area in the suburbs; Those emerging and rapidly developing post-war industries are very welcome to the cheap land in the suburbs and the investment injected by the government to attract industries. Only a few years later, no one doubted the future of the new town, and the construction of the new town also entered a period of rapid development.
Thirdly, the enlightenment of British new town construction to China urban construction.
1. The government should attach importance to the construction of new towns and formulate unified planning policies.
Due to the lack of sufficient attention from the government and the active cooperation of relevant departments, the construction of new towns in Britain was basically in the discussion stage during the nearly 40 years from 1898, when Mr. Howard put forward the idea of new town construction in his pastoral thoughts, to the outbreak of World War II. The problems of excessive concentration of planning, housing, population and industry in London and other big cities in Britain have not been substantially solved.
When the government is strongly involved in the construction of the new city, the project will progress very smoothly. Before the end of World War II, Prime Minister Churchill sent someone to handle the planning and reconstruction of postwar London and other big cities, and set up a special agency-the Ministry of Town and State Planning-to be responsible for urban planning and construction. During the period of Prime Minister Clemente, the construction of new towns was established as a priority development project. And pass legislation. NewRownsAct？ 1946 —— Formulating policies and strategies for the construction of new cities. It is precisely because of the strong support of the government that the new town movement can be launched on a large scale. Only during the period from 1946 to 1950, the construction of 14 new town started one after another. HaroldMacmillian became the town and state planning minister in 195 1. He not only strongly supported the new town project that had already started construction, but also decided to build a new town in Cumbernauld in 1955 to alleviate the pressure of housing shortage in Glasgow. 196 1 ~ 1964, a new round of large-scale new town construction has begun again. New town construction projects in SkelmersdaleTelfordRuncorn and other places have been started continuously. Since then, British urbanization has embarked on the road of standardized development, and new towns have emerged everywhere. After 1970s, British urbanization entered a period of rapid development. In London, about 70% of the factories with more than 65,438+000 people moved to satellite cities, and new cities appeared around other big cities. Urban and rural traffic construction has also been vigorously developed, thus greatly improving the level of urbanization. According to the latest statistics of population and environment, Britain's urbanization level has reached 90%, which is one of the countries with higher urbanization level in the world.
2. The government also plays an important role in the planning and construction process.
(1) urban site selection. The most important decision in the planning and construction of any new city is the location of the city. Because it not only involves the planning of the whole city (big cities, such as Greater London and Greater Paris), but also involves some very specific issues. Because the planning and construction of any new city will inevitably have a great impact on people in some places and some specific areas. In Britain, if the city of hope can meet all kinds of design functions, then only the British government can make an important decision on where to build the city and how big it is. Because it often faces great pressure, and sometimes even has very strong opposition. Because it reposes the hope of successful urban construction, construction cost and the ability to attract industry and population. Generally speaking, the more suitable or attractive a place is for large-scale development, the greater the opposition to planning and building a new city in this place. Because some people will say that this place is too good to be destroyed; Local residents also don't want to be disturbed or change their existing lifestyle. Many cities in Britain have encountered fierce struggles in site selection, and even some cities have to choose places with poor conditions because of too much resistance after design. Therefore, for the construction of a new city, the choice and planning of the city site can only be completed by the government according to the needs of the country and using powerful state machines.
(2) Correctly handle the relationship between government functional departments and development companies. Government functional departments guide and manage urban construction on behalf of the state, and the specific design and construction work can only be implemented by development companies. Everyone knows very well that the success of any enterprise depends to a great extent on the people who manage it. This is especially true for the construction of a city, so it is very important to choose a first-class development company. In Britain, the development companies engaged in the planning and construction of new towns are determined by the government through strict selection and allocation procedures, and most of the funds for development and construction are also provided by the government. Therefore, the government has a great responsibility for the progress and quality of the project construction. However, the government can't manage the development company too much, which will affect the relationship between the government functional departments and the development company, thus restricting the enthusiasm and creativity of the development company.
(3) Provide necessary funds. After selecting the city location and the designated development company, the main role of the government is to provide the necessary funds for the development company. In Britain, the sources of funds provided by the government for development companies responsible for urban development and construction are mainly divided into three parts: direct government investment; Providing loans to development companies; Looking for private investors for new cities. Generally speaking, the production volume, the government direct investment volume and the development company loan volume are generally determined according to the government financial resources and the scale of urban construction. In the process of urban construction, one aspect of the government's subjective initiative is to find private investors for urban development. Generally speaking, the amount of government direct investment and development company loans is generally determined according to the government's financial resources and the scale of urban construction. In the process of urban construction, one aspect of the government's subjective initiative is to find private investment for urban development, including foreign capital and domestic capital. But this is not an easy task, because private capital is willing to invest in projects that can generate benefits and recover costs in a short time, and these projects are just important sources of income for development companies in the initial stage. If private capital is allowed to intervene, it will inevitably lead to contradictions between the two. Therefore, in the early stage of new town construction, the government had to inject funds into the development company in some projects with high cost and unable to bring income and benefits in the short term, and the development company had to invest a lot of money in some infrastructure construction, and then gradually recover the cost by leasing land, renting houses, shops and factories.
In addition, the role of the government is also manifested in the following aspects: the government approves development plans, which often change during the implementation process, and the government must also master these changes; The government must also control and master the scale of urban construction; Mediation and coordination of disputes in the process of land expropriation; Control the construction speed; Decide the industries that the city is allowed to develop and guide the industrial layout.