Plans for British “Eco-towns” Are Far From Green, Protesters Say

Demonstrators in England protested against government plans to build 15 new “eco-towns,” contending that the new towns were “the least sustainable way” of building new housing. According to the critics, the eco-town sites, chosen by developers, risk becoming car-dependent because of their distance from town centers and are in areas currently given over to green space. Most proposals also go against local agreements about development, say representatives of the Campaign to Protect Rural England. According to CPRE, one or two of the planned eco-towns are “truly exemplary” in terms of placement and should be used as templates for the rest. Ten of the sites will be finalized this year, with five eco-towns to be built by 2016 and the rest by 2020.