The Idea of cooperation in the Garden City

Fernando Ernesto Pasquali, Architectural Association, UK / Unisinos University, Brazil,

fepasquali@gmail.com
Abstract: This paper is about the idea of cooperation as a form of land tenure and housing development
in the Garden City model as proposed by Ebenezer Howard, and how it relates to the principles of the
cooperative movement. It concludes that the idea of cooperation was an important component of
Ebenezer Howards proposals, but had limited expression on the disseminated Garden City developments
around the globe.

Keywords: Garden city; Cooperation; Land tenure.

1. INTRODUCTION
Two main subjects are motivating and forming the basis for the hypothesis and argument of this essay.
The first is the Garden City model. The second is the idea of cooperation as a form of land tenure and
housing development. Ebenezer Howards proposals found in To-morrow: A Peaceful Path to Real
Reform are seen as the origin of the Garden City. These ideas had immense influence on various aspects
of urban planning and practice, not just in the United Kingdom, but also worldwide. The idea of
cooperation has also spread around the world. Its principles have formulated numerous associations with
many different objectives. Its use as a form of land tenure and development of housing is, however,
modest compared to the influence of the Garden City. The objective of this paper is to analyse the ideas
of cooperation, especially regarding land tenure and housing development in the origins of the Garden
City Movement, more precisely, in the proposal by Ebenezer Howard.

2. COOPERATION
Cooperation is seen, for the purpose of this work, as the organisation of individuals according to certain
principles originated from the experience of the Rochdale Pioneers.
Since 1844, when the first cooperative shop was founded by the Rochdale Pioneers, many authors and
organizations proposed changes in the original principles of cooperation. These resulted in some basic
common agreements about the essence of a cooperative organization.
Cooperative, as defined by the Concise Oxford Dictionary is a farm, business, enterprise, etc. owned
and run jointly by its members with profits or benefits shared among them. (The Concise Oxford
Dictionary of Current English, 1995). Cooperative can also be defined as in the Statement of the Co-
operative Identity: A co-operative is an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet
their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly-owned and
democratically-controlled enterprise. (The International Co-operative Alliance, 1996)
To make the definition more precise, we could describe co-operative by emphasizing its main principles:
Cooperatives are organizations open for everybody in which the association is voluntary. They have
democratic control through the participation of all members with one vote, in which members contribute
equally. They have limited return on the capital invested. Their objectives are meeting peoples economic
needs, and the benefits are distributed among all members proportionally to their participation in the
work.

3. EBENEZER HOWARD
Howard was born in London, in 1850. He studied until the age of 15, and then started working as a clerk
in the City of London. He grew up during the decades of optimism marked by the Great Exhibition of
1851. Not many years after start working, he was unsatisfied with his work and earnings. In 1871 after
declining suggestions of considering a religious career, he emigrated to the United States. In Chicago, he
met Cora Richmond, who was at this time, a celebrated trance medium in the United States. She grew up
on a communitarian colony founded by Adin Ballou, called Hopedale, were all property was to be held in
common. Attending Coras lectures on Spiritualism, Howard had contact with the social reform proposes
by Cora. Communitarianism and cooperativism where between the aims. Howards predilection ...for
communitarian schemes began in 1875 when he first heard Cora Richmond... (Buder, p.12)
While he was in the United States, Howard cultivated ideas about social and urban problems. These
issues became more important during the years following his return to the United Kingdom, where
poverty was widespreading among farmers.
The decade of the 1880s in England was a period of difficulties but also of radical thinking and proposals.
During this period, Howard had contact or matured most of the concepts used in the Garden City Model.
During this period, Land Nationalisation was in debate. Henry Georges book Progress and Poverty
raised the debate about the inequalities created by the appropriation by landlords of the values of
locality created socially. He proposes a system of taxation based on land values that would return to
society, the increase in value generated by social investments, thus combating speculation on land.
George saw speculation as one of the main factors of the growth of the nineteenth century cities.
...George denounced land speculation for its disastrous social consequences. It reduced living
standards, exacerbated inequality of wealth, and created overcrowded cities and underutilized
countryside. (Buder, p.16, 17)
Alfred Russel Wallace was interested in the Land Question and had also been influenced by Georges
Progress and Poverty. Wallace proposed that land should be nationalised. Differently from George,
however, he said that the government should buy the land and rent to tenants. In 1881 The Land
Nationalisation Society was founded in London to further Wallaces program. (Buder, p.20) Both
George and Wallace were proposing that land, by being a limited resource, should be of common
property. They also believed that basic services like telephones and gas should not be private. But apart
from these, they believed in the market economy.
By the end of the 1880s, Wallace was proposing the creation of home-colonies with government
ownership of land and an economy based on collectivist principles.
Alfred Marshall had a different view than George. Marshall argued that the housing question was caused
by the growth of the great cities, by a concentration of too many people in compact areas. He said that the
cause of this concentration was basically due to the industrial technologies at the time. This concentration
had bad consequences for the economic life of the workers, raising rents and compressing wages.
Marshall believed in the possibilities of new technologies to relocate certain industries outside the
congested area, specially large-scale manufacturers.
The problem of London, however, was more complicated. The main employment source was small
workshops that, by not having the necessity of much space, wouldnt feel advantage in relocate. To solve
the problem of London Marshall proposed the creation of a home colony with adequate houses for
workers. He expected to convince companies to move to it relying in the argument that employees in
such a salutary setting would prove more reliable and efficient. (Buder, p.19)
In 1885 because of his own economic circumstances Howard proposed a sort of communitarian scheme
for his family and his brothers. He planned to rent one big house for both families, sharing all the
expenses. The proposal didnt go further but Howard kept alive the interest in associated or cooperative
housing.
The Cooperative Movement and cooperative enterprises at this time were very popular, specially in the
area of distribution of goods, thus increasing the purchase capacity of the participants by eliminating the
middleman. Although it was between the aims of the first cooperative shops to raise money to fund
colonies, the achievements not just in this area but also in extending the principles to production were
very low.
Edward Bellamys utopian romance Looking Backward appeared in 1889. Howard was specially
interested in Bellamys new social system, called Nationalism.
Bellamy proposes a society organised under a centralised state. Citizens would have guaranteed security,
employment, leisure. The cities would look like parks with public laundries and central dining rooms.
Bellamys combined state control of production and distribution with some individual initiatives in arts.
The Nationalisation of Labour Society founded in 1890 was the counterpart to the American nationalist
societies formed around this time to promote Bellamys vision. Howard became involved with the Society
in the design of an experimental colony near London.
In 1892, J Bruce Wallace organised a study group around Albert Kinsey Owens ideas for a planned
American colony in Topolobampo, Mexico. The aim was to use the model of integral cooperation in a
home colony. In Owens idea, means of production and distribution should be collectively owned to
allow for economies of scale, (Buder, p. 43), while homes and residential lots were private, and some
artisans were self-employed. Physically, the city was a combination of town and country.
Wallace had developed a theory he called circle cooperation. This envisioned a gigantic network of
interlinked producer and consumer cooperatives which, when combined with land nationalisation,
would lead to a Cooperative Commonwealth, a fully socialist society. (Buder, p.56). Criticism of
cooperative schemes at this time was strong, arguing that they were a form of combined individualism.
In the eyes of Wallace, Owens integral cooperation solved the problem by having all community
interests represented by a single company. Both looked at an individualistic form of socialism rather
than a communist society, which still meant to them the older communitarian meaning of total
sharing (Buder, p.56).
A second important idea considered by Wallaces group was presented in Theodore Herzas utopian
novel Freeland. He proposed a colony combining the freedom of individualism with the social justice
of socialism. (Buder, p.56). Contrary to Owen, Herzas proposal allowed for private enterprise where
the land and all the banks would be collectively owned.
By the beginning of the 1890s, Howard was working as a stenographer with the Royal Commission of
Labour. Following its discussions, Howard deepened his concerns and thoughts about unemployment,
the problems of low wage workers, and the migration from countryside to the overcrowded cities. In 1892
he started to translate his thoughts into a concrete proposal for a new colony based on common ownership
of land. His main objective was to show the social advantages of eliminating private landlordism.
Howards first ideas were based on collective ownership of the economy and central management
inspired by Bellamys Nationalism. With problems experienced by such experiments, like Owens
Topolobampo colony, Howard shifted his position in alignment with that proposed by The Land
Nationalisation Society, the idea that just the land would be held in common property. Howard became
involved with Wallaces group, and formulated his Garden City scheme as an alternative to the
original intention of a colony based on Owens integral cooperation.(Buder, p. 40) His proposal
emphasises freedom and experimentation and thus was more in line with twentieth-century liberal
thought. For the next few years Howard worked on his proposal as a book. He had the intention to
regenerate society by setting out a model that, by its inspirational qualities, would be followed. After
some frustrated attempts the book was published in 1898 under the title of To-morrow: A Peaceful Path
to Real Reform.

4. THE GARDEN CITY PROPOSAL

In the introduction to his book Howard presents the current consensus on the bad conditions of the cities
in the end of the nineteenth century. He relates the problems to the overcrowding conditions caused by
the migration from the country to the cities. Analysing the causes of this migration and aggregation of
people in large cities he summarise cities as attractions. He concludes that whatever the solution to the
question of overcrowding of the cities, it has to counterbalance these attractions, what means, it has to be
attractive. He sees as necessary the return of people to the land, and raise this question as one of the main
issues to solve the problems of society.
Howard proposes the foundation of new cities that would combine the advantages of both, town and
country, without the disadvantages of any of them. And calls it the town and country magnet. These cities
would be the solution to the problem. Howard planned the foundation of the cities since the starting point
of formation of the company and acquisition of the land. The company would be held in the name of
four gentlemen of responsible position and of undoubted probity and honour (Howard, p.13),
representing the people of the Garden City. Ground rents would be paid to this trust, that would give the
surplus to the Central Council of the new municipality. This revenue would be used not just to build and
maintain all public infrastructure and services, but would also finance other benefits for the community,
such as old-age pensions and accident or sickness insurances.
For Howard, the objectives of this enterprise were to achieve better conditions to industrial workers, to
agriculturists and also to enterprising manufactures and qualified professionals. The workers would have
better living environment, more stable employment and receive salaries with increased purchasing power.
The primary producers would have closer markets. The investors would have new and better
employment for their capital and talents. (Howard, p.14. These objectives would be achieved by
creating a healthy, natural and economic combination of town and country life, and this on land
owned by the municipality. (Howard, p.14)
The influences of cooperativist housekeeping principles in the Garden Cities proposal is easily
identifiable. In describing the physical layout and organization of the city, Howard proposes, among other
things, groups of houses with common gardens and co-operative kitchens. For Borden, Howards
interest was ...concomitant with a well established nineteenth century tradition concerning social
reform in general and co-operative housekeeping in particular. (Borden, p.2)
These ideas were not just present in the first proposal, but continued to be develop and translated into
architectural forms by the architects of the English Garden Cities. According to Borden both, the
ideological content and the design of co-operative housing were given new form and substance by the
Garden City architects Harold Clapham Lander and Raymond Unwin, transforming nineteenth
century notions of co-operative living into architectural theory. (Borden, p.3)
If the influences of cooperativist housekeeping principles in the Garden Cities proposal are clearly
identifiable, the influences of cooperation in land tenure and organization of the building enterprises
themselves are, however, not so transparent. First, the term cooperation is not used in direct association
with land tenure. In trying to look at the principles behind the garden city proposal and comparing them to
the cooperation principles, however, some connections can be made.
The land ownership in the Garden City is property of the municipality, and not of a cooperative
organizartion. But, the revenue generated by ground rent is to be applied in benefit of the same
community. If we consider that the municipality is the institutional representation of its inhabitants, the
concept is not far from that of cooperation. Or, the land is of common ownership and its revenue is to be
reinvested in the community. It is probably worth saying here that, the difference between this model and
other cities is that, by having private landlords, the public investments many times generate increase in
values of the assets of these landlords, and thus, not being in benefit of the whole population.
In the case of businesses, agricultural production, commerce and housing production, there are no fixed
rules proposed by Howard. What appears in Garden Cities of To-morrow are some indications of possible
ways, whit a good emphasis in cooperative schemes.
In analysing separately each of the main cooperative principles, it can be said that: the principles of
universality and voluntariness are met by Howards proposal. There were no particularly restraints or
compromises for the move to and from the new city.
Democratic control, or administration of the co-operatives is partly achieved in the Garden City. In
theory, the actions of the municipal government should reflect the wishes of the population who elect
their representatives or members of the board of management. This board would form the different
departments of the municipal administration and the central council. But, the inhabitants would not
participate directly in the decisions, what differs it from the co-operative systems.
Regarding both principles, equally contribution among members and limited return to the capital invested,
the Garden City is similar to cooperatives. The ground rents are related to the value of the land. The
return on the initial capital invested is also limited. The surplus must be reinvested in the community like
cooperative enterprises.
The last two basic principles of cooperatives, that the objectives are meeting peoples needs and the
benefits must be distributed among all members, are probably the most important objectives of the
Garden City as well. The path to achieving these aims is, however, not as direct as in the cooperatives
where the profits can be distributed directly to the members. In the Garden City, most of the benefits are
indirectly earned by the population. These can be in the form of reduced rents and taxes, better services,
schools, hospitals. But it can also in some cases, be directly distributed in the form of retirement pensions,
health insurances and so on. The move to the new city could be compared to the inscription as a member
of a cooperative. Like coopeartives, the garden city proposal is not based uniquely in the economic needs
of the members. It has also among its aims to provide better living environment, better employment
conditions and increased purchase power.

5. CONCLUSION
The relation between the ideas of cooperation and land tenure is not explicit in the Garden Cities of To-
morrow. However, the close analysis of the principles of both prove that they have much in common.
More than that, both have characteristics that make them different from other proposals of the time, like
communism or individualism, making them even closer.
Regarding housing production and other enterprises, there was not one model to follow in Howards
proposals, but some indications, were the idea of cooperation is explicitly relevant. Through the analyses
of Howards influences during the maturing years of the Garden City proposal is even more clear this
relation of his proposals to the cooperative principles and movement.

BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCES:

Bauer, Catherine. Modern Housing. London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd.
Beevers, Robert: The Garden City Utopia: A Critical Biography of Ebenezer Howard. Basingstoke:
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Borden, Iain: Social Space and Co-operative Housekeeping in The English Garden City, article for the
Journal of Architectural and Planning Research. London: Iain Borden, 1998.
Buder, Stanley: Visionaries & Planners: The Garden City Movement and the Modern Community. New
York : Oxford University Press, 1990.
Howard, Ebenezer: Garden Cities of To-morrow. Powys: Attic Books, 1985.
International Co-operative Alliance: Statement on the Co-operative Identity. Web page
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