Question

Which of the following city was designed for motor age?

• A. Welwyn
• B. Latchworth
• C. Chandigarh
• D. Radburn

Hint:

Cities designed for the motor age, such as Radburn, were structured to prioritize cars and improve the flow of traffic, while ensuring pedestrian safety.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is D

Step 1: Understanding the question.
The city that was designed specifically for the motor age, taking into account automobiles and road transportation, is Radburn. It was designed with a focus on the automobile, separating pedestrians from cars.

Step 2: Analyzing the options.
(A) Welwyn: Welwyn was designed by Ebenezer Howard as a garden city concept, not for the motor age.
(B) Latchworth: Letchworth was also a garden city designed by Howard, focusing on a blend of urban and rural life, not specifically for automobiles.
(C) Chandigarh: Chandigarh, designed by Le Corbusier, is a modernist city but was not specifically designed for the motor age.
(D) Radburn: Correct — Radburn was specifically designed for the motor age, with roads designed for automobiles and pedestrians separated for safety.

Step 3: Conclusion.
The correct answer is (D) Radburn, as it was designed specifically with the motor age in mind.

Answer 2

The question asks which of these four planned towns was designed specifically around the automobile era. Looking at what each town is actually known for in planning history settles it.

1. Welwyn: Welwyn Garden City follows Ebenezer Howard's garden-city model, built around a balance of homes, industry and open space, with road layout as a secondary concern rather than the organizing idea.
2. Latchworth: Letchworth was the first garden city, also shaped by Howard's ideas, prioritising green belts and low-density living over any specific automobile-oriented street design.
3. Chandigarh: Chandigarh was master-planned by Le Corbusier around modernist zoning principles and a hierarchy of roads, but it is remembered as a modernist capital city plan, not as the town that pioneered motor-age residential design.
4. Radburn: Radburn, New Jersey, was purpose-built around the car, introducing superblocks, cul-de-sacs and separated pedestrian paths so residents could walk safely while vehicles were channeled onto perimeter roads. This is the defining "town for the motor age" design.

Of the four, only Radburn's layout was conceived specifically to handle automobile traffic while keeping people safe, which is exactly the "motor age" idea in the question.

Therefore, the correct answer is Radburn.