The British Front Garden: An Institution In Danger Of Being Paved Over

The paving of front gardens to make room for more parking in British cities is aggravating environmental problems.

1 minute read

August 25, 2004, 6:00 AM PDT

The British taste for front gardens is legendary, but "these precious squares of turf are now under siege". "Hundreds of thousands of front gardens lie smothered beneath a tide of asphalt laid to create spaces to park Britain's 32 million cars." Robin Nicholson, a member of the government-funded Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment, describes the "loss of lawns and flower beds as 'a lazy' solution to parking shortages" and government advisers are warning that "the disappearance of the suburban front garden threatens millions with far more serious consequences."

Thanks to Zvi Leve

FULL STORY: Death of the British front garden leaves cities in peril of flooding

Sunday, August 15, 2004 in The Guardian Unlimited

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