Nothing Gained by Overcrowding

Raymond Unwin

"In his 1912 pamphlet for the Garden Cities and Town Planning Association Nothing Gained by Overcrowding, Raymond Unwin set out in detail the lessons learnt from his formidable practical experience in the design and layout of housing: at New Earswick from 1902, Letchworth Garden City from 1905, and most significantly at Hampstead Garden Suburb, where the 'artisans' quarter 1907-9 was probably his masterwork of spatial design. His interest in minimising the length of paved road to number of houses served, and 'greening' the ubiquitous mechanistic bye-law suburb of the late 19th century provided motivation for defining a general theory of design, which under pinned Garden City principles. Nothing Gained by Overcrowding emerged as a principle which was to have a revolutionary impact on housing and urban form over the next 50 years.Unwin's theory had developed with his work, but the...