Who killed the eco-town? (journal article)
by Damian Arnold
from Architecture Journal, 25 June 2009
"Eco-towns are dead. Architects, planners and developers alike are asking: who killed them? Gordon Brown wanted to unveil plans for 10 carbon-neutral communities that would deliver up to 200,000 new homes on cheap government-owned land in the greenbelt by 2020. The idea was that the eco-towns would be so enthusiastically received that they could simply be parachuted into existing local authority development plans and fast-tracked through the system so that building could get started as quickly as possible. Developers flocked to get involved in what they saw as a great commercial opportunity – all in the name of being green. For better or for worse, this grand plan is not going to happen."