Social Life of the Garden City 173 



order that its sheltering branches may reach high and 

 wide. Furthermore, in a garden city of the right size, 

 people would be generally acquainted, and drawn to- 

 gether on many occasions by a common interest. These 

 fundamental conditions are most favorable to the grad- 

 ual evolution of an interesting society. 



I think in time quite half of the population of urban 

 centers will be dispersed in garden homes surrounding 

 the city, within thirty to sixty-minutes' ride of their 

 places of employment, and of the theaters, art gal- 

 leries, department stores, and other great attractions 

 which they will frequently patronize. This would mean 

 that tens of thousands, and in many cases, hundreds 

 of thousands of families would be so situated. We do 

 not, however, wish to create another great city on the 

 exterior of one now in existence, since that would nullify 

 the social principles we are trying to establish. There 

 should be a series of communities, often closely con- 

 tiguous, but each with its separate social life, and the 

 facilities that would be required for its service. A 

 community of 500 families, representing a total popu- 

 lation of from 1,500 to 2,000, would be about right to 

 secure the best results in a social way. In such a com- 

 munity, in addition to their own personal friends and 

 acquaintances, the people would enjoy the benefits of 

 a highly-organized social life, such as is by no means 

 now enjoyed by the vast majority of our people, either 

 in town or country. 



The throbbing heart of the organized social life in 

 a garden city is its civic center, with its manifold 

 activities. It is possible to make this institution a 

 great socal shrine the common hearthstone of the 



