page_title: Urban Eden
section_title: Building density
hierarchical_section_title: Urban Eden / Building density
caption_attribution_description: English: Two of the towers of the 14-storey hub:mk development in Central Milton Keynes.
context_page_description: Urban Eden is a pressure group based in Milton Keynes, England, formed in 2006. The group's stated aim is to "promote a sustainable expansion to the original masterplan for Milton Keynes". In recent years the expansion of Milton Keynes has moved away from the original design principles of the city; Urban Eden campaigns against this trend, pressuring for new developments to remain true to the original vision for the new city. As of 2009 the group has over one hundred members, including a number of professional engineers and town planners, as well as some former employees of the Milton Keynes Development Corporation.
context_section_description: Milton Keynes has, from its conception in 1967, always been a low-density city. Notwithstanding the various areas of parkland dotted around the city, the residential districts themselves are laid out with generous amounts of open space for a British settlement. However, as is the current policy across the UK, developments have tended towards higher densities over the last decade. Recently Central Milton Keynes has seen the construction of tower blocks, something which was excluded in the original city masterplan. New districts such as Broughton have been built to much higher densities than ever before seen in Milton Keynes. Milton Keynes Partnership, the organisation in control of the expansion of Milton Keynes and a subsidiary of Homes and communities agency, argues that higher densities are necessary to deliver high-quality transport systems and meet housing targets. Urban Eden argues that the high-density districts have the potential to become "instant slums" and are out of place in a city which has always been built at a low density. High-density districts are now being built in many towns and cities across the country, and this debate is not limited to Milton Keynes.
caption: The hub:MK complex, one of the new high-rise developments in Central Milton Keynes. Urban Eden has objected to this development specifically, due to its proximity to nearby roads.
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