Edgemead, founded in 1972, is a Garden Cities development. Nestled between the Plattekloof Heritage site and Bothasig it’s a leafy suburb boasting a number of public open spaces.
The Garden City movement was founded in England in the late 1800’s by Ebenezer Howard, who was later knighted for his achievements. His aim was to construct self-contained, planned towns with adequate space for schools, roads, sports facilities, churches, shops and the other requirements of improved living and social conditions, instead of the appalling overcrowding that arose from rapid industrialisation. A close South African friend of Howard’s, Richard Stuttaford, visited some of these projects and was so impressed that he detailed proposals for a housing association and, in 1919, the formation of a Garden Cities Trust was approved by the Union Parliament. 400 morgen of state land was donated, and a cash donation of £10,000 from Mr Stuttaford comprised the Trust’s original capital, with which South Africa’s first Garden City, Pinelands, was established.
In 1967 negotiations were concluded for the acquisition of a 263 ha. portion of the farm Plattekloof, lying at the foot of the Tygerberg Hills. Additional land was acquired, and Edgemead now occupies more than 340 ha. Considerable attention was given to physical environment, and use was made of cul-de-sacs, curved roads, footpaths, carefully sited informal open spaces and playgrounds to create an attractive village environment. To further enhance the “streetscape”, houses were linked by walls so that yards, washlines, refuse bins and other unsightly activities were not exposed to the street. It was interesting to note that these, and other aesthetic controls exercised by Garden Cities, were enthusiastically supported by residents.
The houses were built of the best quality materials and sited to maximise privacy and to enable future extension if desired. To reduce initial cost, one in three houses was provided with a garage, although provision was made for two garages on each plot. And, based on an analysis of size of SA families, and for cost reasons, there was a rationalisation in the number of two, three and four bedroom units built.
Garden Cities’ primary function has been to build homes, rather than houses, and it regards the provision of full social amenities as an essential element in engendering a feeling of well-being and belonging to the community. Surpluses from the sale or letting of commercial and other non-residential sites are used for improving the welfare of inhabitants of Garden Cities, and there is not a club, society or any other public amenity that has not received either a donation of land or financial help. To a very large extent, it is the generosity and the caring attitude of Garden Cities that has enabled us all to be “Proud to live in Edgemead”.
The information above has been taken directly off www.edgemeadnews.co.za