The Garden City movement was one of collaboration and collective action and would not have been possible without a coalition of countless voices. However, in the telling of its history, many of these voices have been omitted. Among the least recognised are those of the female campaigners, practitioners and politicians who worked to make the Garden City vision a reality.
The role of women in the Garden City movement and the outcomes it sought has been significant from the outset. In the wake of the many female voices in the wider radical legacy that influenced the development of Ebenezer Howard’s Garden City idea – from the Arts and Crafts movement to the Co-operative movements – the Garden City movement attracted countless forward-thinking yet sometimes seemingly invisible women.
This paper presents an initial historical survey – drawing on the recently digitised TCPA journal archives – of just some of those who were directly involved.
