A forest in the city

Built as a 'new town' in the 1970s of Milton Keynes is characterized by wide grid roads lined by a network of generous green verges. It is referred to as a 'City in the Forest', because of the twenty million trees that envelop the town. The challenge for the project was to provide a model for the expansion of Milton Keynes that offers a denser and more urban setting for community life whilst preserving the legacy of Milton Keynes as a green city.

The proposal seeks to invert the relationship between the green space of Milton Keynes and its built fabric. Instead of a 'City in the Forest' the project is conceived as a 'Forest in the City'. Within the design the network of green spaces is maintained but is developed within the interior of the urban block and through a series of linear parks. Streets are defined by buildings rather than landscaped verges. Clear urban frontages provide a backdrop to the public life of the community and the adaptable housing types provide a private setting for family life. The green space of the 'urban forest' flows into the shared realm of the urban interior.

The site's established hedgerows and trees form the starting point for the green network, providing both an historical and an ecological trace of the site's origins. The hedgerows will form the centre of a series of linear green public spaces. Branching off from these a series of new 'urban forests' will link into the centre of each urban block providing a protected community space under a canopy of trees.