Satellite Cities of the Twentieth Century

The population residing in urban areas has been rapidly increasing, especially in the developing world, giving rise to the need for cities and urban establishments to adapt and grow with the change. Satellite cities were developed in the 20th century to shift the population from congested urban areas to new developments established nearby. Milton Keynes in the United Kingdom and Reston in the United States are two New Towns of the 20th century developed to decongest a larger urban center. The paper assesses these two towns against sustainability standards of today, to explore the potential of this form of development as a sustainable tool for planners in the 21st century. It was found that while both towns are somewhat economically sustainable (self-contained with a high median household income), they are not sustainable environmentally (highly auto-dependent with poor air quality), and only slightly sustainable socially.