#RMS_049

The Garden City movement, initiated in 1898 by Sir Ebenezer Howard in the United Kingdom, represented a radical departure from the unplanned sprawl of the industrial Victorian era. Howard envisioned self-contained communities surrounded by "greenbelts," containing proportionate areas of residences, industry, and agriculture. The core philosophy was to marry the economic opportunities of the city with the environmental benefits of the countryside, thereby eliminating the squalor and pollution characteristic of 19th-century urban centers. Letchworth and Welwyn Garden City were the first tangible realizations of this ideal. However, while the aesthetic and sanitary objectives were largely met, the economic self-sufficiency Howard dreamed of proved elusive. Instead of becoming independent hubs of commerce and culture, many later iterations of the concept devolved into dormitory suburbs, where residents commuted back to major metropolises for employment. Despite this deviation from the original blueprint, the movement fundamentally reshaped modern town planning, influencing suburban design principles across the globe well into the 20th century. According to the passage, in what way did the actual development of Garden Cities differ from Howard’s original vision?