From idea to urban form: The evolution of Howard's concept and typology of historical garden cities in Poland

This study examines the settlement units within the boundaries of contemporary Poland that relate their development to Howard's garden city concept. We explore diverse cartographic materials, plans, and scientific and popular literature to identify them. We identified their number and spatial and functional specificity by analysing the genesis and development of Poland's garden cities, garden suburbs, and garden estates from the end of the 19th century to the 1980s. We also presented their typology, considering the morphogenetic-functional, morphological, historical, toponymy (naming) and degree of realisation criteria. The results show that the first ‘garden cities’ occurred as early as the 1910s. They failed to meet many of Howard's original concept's spatial and functional assumptions. For example, in the morphological aspect, the identified concentric-radial type was realised in practice in less than 15 % of the surveyed units. We identified four pathways for the formation of garden cities and garden suburbs in Poland: the first related to the emergence of garden cities, the second related to the emergence of summer resorts and spas, the third related to the development of patronage settlements, and the fourth related to villa districts and garden suburbs emerging in the cities.