Washington, United Kingdom, Europe
 
 
Year1964latitude: 54° 54'
longitude: -1° 31'
PeriodMark 2
Initiator(s)
Planning organizationDevelopment Corporation
Nationality initiator(s)U.K.
Designer(s) / Architect(s)
Design organization
Inhabitants55,000 (2011)
Target population70,000
Town website
Town related linkshttp://www.sunderland.gov.uk
Literature

type of New Town: > scale of autonomy
New-Town-in-Town
Satellite
New Town
Company Town
> client
Private Corporation
Public Corporation
> policy
Capital
Decentralization
Industrialization
Resettlement
Economic
 
"Faced with the post-war decline of the traditional industries of coal-mining and shipbuilding, with knock-on effects in dependent steel and heavy engineering industries, in 1961 Durham County Council proposed a Designation Order under the 1946 New Towns Act to develop Washington as the region’s third New Town, to reverse decline and provide economic and social renewal. In 1963 a Government White Paper proposed that Washington should be developed ‘to stimulate faster progress in raising the scale and quality of the region’s urban development generally’. Today, Washington has the second-largest population of the Sunderland conurbation sub-areas (approximately 20% of the total population). Developed as a series of villages, it is interspersed with modern employment areas and has proved attractive to businesses and residents alike."

"Development Corporation: Designated to boost the region’s economic fortunes and improve housing conditions. The masterplan aimed to set new standards of urban development in the region and contribute to lasting prosperity. Unlike some New Towns, the aim was not to create a new focus but to provide interconnecting links between villages which were to be revitalised rather than abandoned. It was unique among contemporary plans in recognising the new factors of rising standards of living and car ownership, and their effect on urban living."

source: Town & Country Planning Association (TCPA)
https://www.tcpa.org.uk/washington

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