Municipal Land Banking and Controlling Urban Populations in the Era of Climate Change: Historical Lessons for the Present Crisis

Urban greenbelts are an essential aspect of city planning history, commonly associated with Ebenezer Howard and the early 20th century ‘garden city.’ They both control sprawl while also building new cities and neighborhoods. This presentation expands the chronology of greenbelt cities, arguing that a key concern of the planning measure was controlling population. Using archival sources from the US, UK, and Australia, it investigates how this form of urban planning functioned under very different political circumstances. 

Image credit: Library of Congress (US)