Utopian designs: the Owenite communities

This article reviews the development of Robert Owen's community ideas with special reference to the architecture and physical arrangements. It highlights the importance of New Lanark, Scotland as a test-bed for Owen's ideal community and explores later designs for several of the communities that were built 1825-1845. Particular attention is paid to the ideas and plans of the Owenite architect, Stedman Whitwell, who produced descriptions, plans and a model of the ideal community. Many of the proposals greatly influenced later Utopian experiments