Garden Cities of To-Morrow

Way cool stuff in the manner of Edward Bellamy, H.G. Wells, Jules Verne, L. Frank Baum, et alia: Ebenezer Howard's Garden Cities of To-Morrow (1902; originally published in 1898).  Howard's vision was not pure fantasy or science fiction, however: he advocated for the actual creation of garden cities.

In the above diagram, Howard's vision calls for a cluster of seven small-to-medium sized cities -- six 32,000 cities arranged around a "central city" hub of 58,000.  This garden cities circle zone, ten miles across, embraces 250,000 people (about the size of present-day Greensboro, North Carolina, USA) in 66,000 acres.

The whole garden city wheel is laced together with "Inter Municipal" railroads, canals and roads, and includes underground areas. There are green spaces, reservoirs with waterfalls, and special facilities for a variety of institutions. Charming and almost quaint placements:  Home for Inebriates, Homes for Waifs, Epileptic Farms, Convalescent and Industrial Homes; Stone Quarries, New Forests, Brickfields, Allotments, Cemetery. Such is Howard's concept for this initial "Group of Smokeless Slumless Cities."  Definitely some usable ideas for the 21st century.

Today's Rune: The Mystery Rune.