Concrete

One of the extraordinary myths of Milton Keynes is that it is a "Concrete Jungle". The logic goes along the lines that a modern town must be made of nothing but concrete, in fact an entire sea of the stuff, because no modern town planning would include trees or grass.

I think this is an assumption that has grown from how many towns have suffered from the appalling mistakes of the 1960's. Now it is firmly ingrained in everybody's mind that to build anything new is to leave out the plants.

The concrete myth of Milton Keynes is a strong one but could not be farther from the truth.

Parks

Well over 20% of the completed city will be open park land (this does not include the vast amounts of grass and hedgerows that border on the roads).

The parks of Milton Keynes tend to follow the valleys of the larger rivers and streams of the city (although some hills are also used). This scheme provides three remarkably beneficial results:

• "Linear" parks.
  Although some are so wide that the city is lost from view, the parks form a linked network so that it is possible to walk or ride in the parks for many miles (without travelling in circles). So much so that a cyclist (or very keen walker) can cross from one side of the city to another almost entirely by park land. (Although other routes are possible, see "Redways").
• Water.
  Forming the parks along the river valleys of the city means that almost all the parks have some element of water from a small stream through duck ponds to large lakes suitable for sailing.
• Flooding. (Too much Water)
  Flooding seems like a strange point to put as a benefit, but if an area is designed to flood, where better than a park in a valley and keep the flood water away from the buildings. For more on this point see Water in the Balance.

Maintenance and Livestock

While some parks are mown and tended to a formal style, given the expanse of some of the land involved, some areas of the park land are given over to the grazing of cattle and sheep. Where hedges and wooden fences are used for the demarcation of grazing areas, airlock style double gates are used on the horse trials and footpaths with miniature cattle grids to allow cyclists through without hindrance.

Cows

At last it has to be mentioned: the "Concrete Cows". According to the outsiders myth of the city, this exemplifies the new town: A field of concrete inhabited by Concrete Cows.

The reality is that the concrete cows are part of the public works of art that are scattered around the city. The Cows are in fact in one of the many parks (vastly outnumbered as it happens by real cows in the some of the other parks).

mk@ontic.net