ABSTRACT
The prevailing theme so far in this book has been that of escape; of the countryside as a mental and physical refuge from urban life. However, countryside sentiment has not just involved a turning away from the city. It has also permeated the development of the modern urban landscape itself. Nature, rural scenery, vernacular architecture, village settlement form and the nostalgically defined idea of countryside in general have been the source of much of the inspiration for the treatment of the ills of the industrial city; for the search for more liveable urban environments and for the ideal metropolitan form. In short, a persistent Arcadian thread runs through the landscape history of the modern western metropolis. It is manifested in the development of parks and the preservation of green spaces, in the building of garden suburbs and the related idealism of the garden city movement, and, ultimately, in the planning and design conventions of modern suburbia. In recent years, it has also been reflected in the extension of ‘green’ environmental values to the urban environment and a revival of interest in the village as the model for sustainable urban living.
