ABSTRACT
To understand how the design concepts for the early New Towns were built in reality, the national context in which the development corporations were working must be appreciated. Britain had spent six years fighting the Second World War, and the aftermath saw economic instability and a shifting of international priorities with the drawing of the Iron Curtain. The war had meant that central government had taken control of virtually all aspects of the national economy. Private industry became entwined with public service, with a civil servant appointed to the executive boards of major firms, and military manufacturing established within existing commercial factories. From the front line to the home front huge numbers of people were directly involved in the war. As such, the first generation of New Towns were built by people coming directly from military roles.
