Editing Milton Keynes (section)

==Urban design==
{{hatnote|The concepts that heavily influenced the design of Milton Keynes are described in detail in article [[urban planning]]{{spaced ndash}} see 'cells' under [[Urban planning#Planning and aesthetics|Planning and aesthetics]] (referring to grid squares). See also article [[single-use zoning]].}}

The radical plan, form and scale of Milton Keynes attracted international attention.<ref name=Guardian100516 /> Early phases of development include work by celebrated architects, including 
[[Richard MacCormac|Sir Richard MacCormac]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.architectural-review.com/essays/richard-maccormac-1938-2014/8668266.article|title=Richard MacCormac (1938–2014)|date=12 August 2014|first=Jeremy|last=Melvin|website=Architectural Review|access-date=20 January 2019|archive-date=20 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190120194547/https://www.architectural-review.com/essays/richard-maccormac-1938-2014/8668266.article|url-status=live}}</ref> 
[[Norman Foster, Baron Foster of Thames Bank|Norman Foster]],<ref>{{cite book |last=Hatherley |first=Owen |date=2010 |title=A guide to the new ruins of Great Britain |url=https://the-eye.eu/public/concen.org/Nonfiction.Ebook.Pack.Apr.2016-PHC/9781844678082.Verso.Guide%20to%20the%20New%20Ruins%20of%20Great%20Britain%2C%20A.Owen%20Hatherley.Jul%2C%202011.pdf |location=New York |publisher=Verso |page=60 |isbn=978-1-84467-700-9 |access-date=20 January 2019 |archive-date=20 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190120213048/https://the-eye.eu/public/concen.org/Nonfiction.Ebook.Pack.Apr.2016-PHC/9781844678082.Verso.Guide%20to%20the%20New%20Ruins%20of%20Great%20Britain%2C%20A.Owen%20Hatherley.Jul%2C%202011.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> 
[[Henning Larsen]],<ref>{{cite web| url=https://c20society.org.uk/botm/heelands-housing-milton-keynes/ | title=Building of the month: Heelands Housing, Milton Keynes |work= [[Twentieth Century Society]] |date= January 2008 | access-date=10 February 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190130220457/https://c20society.org.uk/botm/heelands-housing-milton-keynes/|archive-date=30 January 2019}}</ref> 
[[Ralph Erskine (architect)|Ralph Erskine]],<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/news/twentieth-century-society-calls-for-conservation-of-post-war-estates/10028882.article |title=A Milton Keynes housing estate designed by Ralph Erskine in the 1970s should be designated a conservation area, a heritage body has urged |first=Greg |last=Pitcher |work=The [[Architects' Journal]] |date=12 March 2018 |access-date=30 January 2019 |archive-date=30 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190130162732/https://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/news/twentieth-century-society-calls-for-conservation-of-post-war-estates/10028882.article |url-status=live }}</ref> 
[[John Winter (architect)|John Winter]],<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://c20society.org.uk/publications/c20-magazine/john-winter/ |title=Obituary: John Winter  |first= Henrietta |last = Billings |magazine=[[Twentieth Century Society]]|date= February 2013 | access-date=5 February 2019|archive-date=10 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191210170627/https://c20society.org.uk/publications/c20-magazine/john-winter/}}</ref> 
and Martin Richardson.<ref name="bishop1" /> 
Led by [[Lord Campbell of Eskan]] (chairman) and [[Fred Roche]] (General Manager), the Corporation attracted talented young architects,{{sfnb|Bendixson|Platt|1992|p=95}} led by the respected designer,{{sfnb|Bendixson|Platt|1992|p=95}}{{sfnb|Bendixson|Platt|1992|p=104}} Derek Walker. In the modernist [[Mies van der Rohe|Miesian]] tradition is the [[Milton Keynes Shopping Centre|Shopping Building]] designed by Stuart Mosscrop and Christopher Woodward, a grade II [[listed building]], which the [[Twentieth Century Society]] ''[[inter alia]]'' regards as the 'most distinguished' twentieth century retail building in Britain.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.c20society.org.uk/100-buildings/1979-milton-keynes-shopping-building/ | title=1979: Milton Keynes shopping building | publisher=The Twentieth Century Society | access-date=6 June 2014 | archive-date=6 June 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140606205422/http://www.c20society.org.uk/100-buildings/1979-milton-keynes-shopping-building/ | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://list.english-heritage.org.uk/resultsingle.aspx?uid=1393882|title=Shopping building, Milton Keynes: Grade II listed|publisher=[[English Heritage]]|access-date=6 June 2014|archive-date=21 June 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140621011553/http://list.english-heritage.org.uk/resultsingle.aspx?uid=1393882|url-status=live}}</ref> 
<!-- Text commented out until a source can be found for it:
           "The contextual tradition that ran alongside it is exemplified by the Corporation's infill scheme at Cofferidge Close, Stony Stratford, designed by [[Wayland Tunley]], which carefully inserts into a historic stretch of High Street a modern retail facility, offices and [[Parking lot|car park]]. 
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The [[Development Corporation]] also led an ambitious [[Art in Milton Keynes#Public art|public art]] programme.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.milton-keynes.gov.uk/leisure-tourism-and-culture/arts-and-heritage/commissions |title=Public Art in MK |publisher=[[Milton Keynes Council]] |access-date=17 February 2019 |archive-date=18 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190218083522/https://www.milton-keynes.gov.uk/leisure-tourism-and-culture/arts-and-heritage/commissions |url-status=live }}</ref>

The urban design has not been universally praised. In 1980, the then president of the [[Royal Town Planning Institute]], Francis Tibbalds, described Central Milton Keynes as "bland, rigid, sterile, and totally boring."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://placesjournal.org/assets/legacy/pdfs/milton-keynes-who-forgot-the-urban-design.pdf |title=Milton Keynes: Who forgot the urban design |access-date=1 May 2019 |archive-date=27 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210127113803/https://placesjournal.org/assets/legacy/pdfs/milton-keynes-who-forgot-the-urban-design.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Michael Edwards, a member of the original consultancy team,{{efn|and erstwhile lecturer in urban planning at [[University College London]]}} believes that there were weaknesses in their proposal and that the Development Corporation implemented it badly.<ref name=Edwards>{{cite journal | doi= 10.1080/13574800120032905 | title= City Design: What Went Wrong at Milton Keynes? | first= Michael | last= Edwards | journal= Journal of Urban Design | year= 2001 | volume= 6, 2001 | issue= 1 | pages= 87–96 | s2cid= 108812232 | url= http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/4642/1/4642.pdf | access-date= 30 August 2019 | archive-date= 9 August 2017 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170809081750/http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/4642/1/4642.pdf | url-status= live }}</ref>

===Grid roads and grid squares===
{{Quote box|The geography of Milton Keynes{{spaced ndash}} [[West Coast Main Line|the railway line]], [[Watling Street]], [[Grand Union Canal]], [[M1 motorway]]{{spaced ndash}} sets up a very strong north-south axis. If you've got to build a city between (them), it is very natural to take a pen and draw the rungs of a ladder. Ten miles by six is the size of this city{{spaced ndash}} 22,000 acres. Do you lay it out like an American city, rigid orthogonal from side to side?  Being more sensitive in 1966-7, the designers decided that the grid concept should apply but should be a lazy grid following the flow of land, its valleys, its ebbs and flows. That would be nicer to look at, more economical and efficient to build, and would sit more beautifully as a landscape intervention.
 | source = David Lock<ref>{{cite book |title='The story of ''the original'' CMK' ... told by the people who shaped the original Central Milton Keynes (interviews) |last=Kitchen |first=Roger |author2=Hill, Marion |year=2007 |publisher=Living Archive |location=Milton Keynes |isbn=978-0-904847-34-5 |page=17 |url=http://www.livingarchive.org.uk/ |access-date=26 January 2009}} (Lock is visiting professor of town planning at [[Reading University]]. He was the chief town planner for CMK.) (Ten miles is about 16{{nbsp}}kilometres and 18,000{{nbsp}}acres is about 7,300{{nbsp}}hectares),
</ref>
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{{Main|Milton Keynes grid road system|List of districts in Milton Keynes}}
The Milton Keynes Development Corporation planned the major road layout according to [[street hierarchy]] principles, using a [[Grid plan|grid pattern]] of approximately {{convert|1|km|1|abbr=on}} intervals, rather than on the more conventional [[wikt:radial|radial]] pattern found in older settlements.{{sfnb|Llewellyn-Davies|Weeks|Forestier-Walker|Bor|1970|p=16}} Major distributor roads run between communities, rather than through them: these distributor roads are known locally as ''[[Milton Keynes grid road system|grid roads]]'' and the spaces between them{{snd}} the neighbourhoods{{snd}} are known as ''grid squares'' (though few are actually square or even [[wikt:rectilinear|rectilinear]]).<ref>{{cite book|first=Derek |last=Walker |title=The Architecture and Planning of Milton Keynes |publisher=Architectural Press |year=1982 |page=8 |location=London|isbn=978-0-85139-735-1}} cited in {{cite book|first=Mark |last=Clapson |title=A Social History of Milton Keynes: Middle England/Edge City |url=https://archive.org/details/socialhistorymil00clap |url-access=limited |pages=[https://archive.org/details/socialhistorymil00clap/page/n60 40] |publisher=Frank Cass |location=London |year=2004|isbn=978-0-7146-8417-8}}</ref> This spacing was chosen so that people would always be within six minutes' walking distance of a grid-road bus-stop.{{sfnb|Llewellyn-Davies|Weeks|Forestier-Walker|Bor|1970|p=33}}{{efn|In reality, the bus operators have specified many bus routes that go through, rather than between, neighbourhoods.}} Consequently, each grid square is a semi-autonomous community, making a unique collective of 100 clearly identifiable neighbourhoods within the overall urban environment.{{sfnb|Bendixson|Platt|1992|pp=175{{ndash}}178}}{{efn|Bendixson & Platt report the Corporation as concerned at this outcome, which was an unanticipated emergent behaviour. In later developments, it aimed for increased permeability through the grid.{{sfnb|Bendixson|Platt|1992|p=175}}}} The grid squares have a variety of development styles, ranging from conventional urban development and industrial parks to original rural and modern urban and suburban developments. Most grid squares have a local centre, intended as a retail hub, and many have community facilities as well. Each of the original villages is the heart of its own grid-square. Originally intended under the master plan to sit alongside the grid roads,{{sfnb|Llewellyn-Davies|Weeks|Forestier-Walker|Bor|1970|p=36}} these local centres were mostly in fact built embedded in the communities.{{sfnb|Bendixson|Platt|1992|p=177}}<ref name=Edwards />

Although the 1970 master plan assumed cross-road junctions,{{sfnb|Llewellyn-Davies|Weeks|Forestier-Walker|Bor|1970|p=36}} [[roundabout]] junctions were built at intersections because this type of junction is more efficient at dealing with small to medium volumes. Some major roads are [[dual carriageway]], the others are [[single carriageway]]. Along one side of each single carriageway grid road, there is usually a (grassed) reservation to permit dualling or additional transport infrastructure at a later date.{{efn|An additional ten-metre wide strip was originally specified to satisfy Buckinghamshire County Council's belief in a future fixed-track public transport system. In 1977 MKDC decided to cease to specify it.{{sfnb|Bendixson|Platt|1992|pp=170, 171}}}} {{As of|2018}}, this has been limited to some dualling. The edges of each grid square are landscaped and densely planted{{snd}} some additionally have [[berm|noise attenuation mounds]]{{snd}} to minimise traffic noise from the grid road impacting the adjacent grid square. Traffic movements are fast, with relatively little congestion since there are alternative routes to any particular destination other than during peak periods. The [[national speed limit]] applies on the grid roads, although lower [[speed limit]]s have been introduced on some stretches to reduce accident rates. Pedestrians rarely need to cross grid roads [[At-grade intersection|at grade]], as [[underpass]]es and bridges were specified at frequent places along each stretch of all of the grid roads.{{sfnb|Llewellyn-Davies|Weeks|Forestier-Walker|Bor|1970|p=36}} In contrast, the later districts planned by [[English Partnerships]] have departed from this model, without a road hierarchy but with conventional junctions with traffic lights and at grade pedestrian crossings.<ref name=Guardian100516 /><ref>{{cite news |url=http://urbaneden.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/p17-october-2012.pdf |  work=Milton Keynes Business Week |  first=Theo |  last=Chalmers |  title=The curse of the living planners |  date=19 September 2012 |  access-date=14 May 2019 |  archive-date=13 May 2019 |  archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190513194121/http://urbaneden.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/p17-october-2012.pdf |  url-status=live }}</ref>{{efn|The 'western expansion area' is what became [[Fairfields]] and [[Whitehouse, Milton Keynes|Whitehouse]]. The 'eastern expansion area' is [[Broughton, Milton Keynes|Broughton]] including Brooklands. 'The Hub' is a development of residential tower, hotels and restaurants in CMK.}}

===Redways===
[[File:Milton Keynes Redway.gif|thumb|Cycleway network in Milton Keynes. The national cycle routes are highlighted in red.]]
{{Main|Milton Keynes redway system|Segregated cycle facilities|Shared use path}}
There is a separate network (approximately {{convert|270|km|-1|order=flip}} total length) of [[Shared use path|cycle and pedestrian routes]] {{snd}} the [[Milton Keynes redway system|redways]] {{snd}} that runs through the grid-squares and often runs alongside the grid-road network.<ref>{{cite web|title=Milton Keynes Redways|url=http://www.destinationmiltonkeynes.co.uk/milton_keynes_redways|work=Destination Milton Keynes|access-date=23 January 2018|archive-date=29 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130529065059/http://www.destinationmiltonkeynes.co.uk/milton_keynes_redways|url-status=live}}</ref> This was designed to segregate slow moving cycle and pedestrian traffic from fast moving motor traffic.{{sfnb|Bendixson|Platt|1992|p=175}} In practice, it is mainly used for leisure [[cycling]] rather than commuting, perhaps because the cycle routes are shared with pedestrians, cross the grid-roads via bridge or underpass rather than at grade, and because some take meandering scenic routes rather than straight lines. It is so called because it is generally surfaced with red tarmac.{{sfnb|Bendixson|Platt|1992|p=178}} The national [[Sustrans]] national cycle network routes [[National Cycle Route 6|6]] and [[National Cycle Route 51|51]] take advantage of this system.<ref name=ncn6>{{cite web |url=https://www.sustrans.org.uk/ncn/map/route/route-6 |title=National cycle route 6 |publisher=Sustrans |access-date=17 February 2019 |archive-date=16 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190516000216/https://www.sustrans.org.uk/ncn/map/route/route-6 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=ncn51>{{cite web |url=https://www.sustrans.org.uk/ncn/map/route/route-51 |title=National cycle route 51 |publisher=Sustrans |access-date=17 February 2019 |archive-date=18 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190218082023/https://www.sustrans.org.uk/ncn/map/route/route-51 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Height===
[[File:Hotel La Tour, Central Milton Keynes.jpg|thumb |left |upright 0.75|The fourteen-storey Hotel LaTour, the tallest building in the city, overlooks [[Campbell Park]] in [[Central Milton Keynes|CMK]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Tallest and shiniest building in Milton Keynes is topped out at 50 metres this week |url=https://www.miltonkeynes.co.uk/news/people/tallest-and-shiniest-building-in-milton-keynes-is-topped-out-at-50-metres-this-week-3235438 |first=Sally |last=Murrer |date=13 May 2021 |access-date=6 May 2023 |work=Milton Keynes Citizen}}</ref>]]
The original design guidance declared that commercial building heights in the centre should not exceed six storeys, with a limit of three storeys for houses (elsewhere),{{sfnb|Bendixson|Platt|1992|p=107}} paraphrased locally as "no building taller than the tallest tree".<ref name=BBC-tower>{{cite news | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-36210591 | title=Milton Keynes high-rise plan revealed | date=5 May 2016 | access-date=17 February 2019 | publisher=[[BBC News]] | archive-date=19 February 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190219022141/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-36210591 | url-status=live }}</ref> In contrast, the [[English Partnerships#Milton Keynes Partnership|Milton Keynes Partnership]], in its [[expansion plans for Milton Keynes]], believed that [[Central Milton Keynes]] (and elsewhere) needed "landmark buildings" and subsequently lifted the height restriction for the area.<ref name=BBC-tower /> As a result, high rise buildings have been built in the central business district.{{efn|Large-scale buildings include 
Jurys Inn (10 storeys)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mcaleer-rushe.co.uk/projects/jurys-inn-milton-keynes/|title=Jurys Inn, Milton Keynes (McAleer & Rushe, Design and build)|website=www.mcaleer-rushe.co.uk|access-date=6 February 2019|archive-date=7 February 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190207015118/http://www.mcaleer-rushe.co.uk/projects/jurys-inn-milton-keynes/|url-status=live}}</ref>
''The Pinnacle:MK'' on Midsummer Boulevard (9 storeys)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.skyscrapernews.com/buildings.php?id=6483|title=The Pinnacle, Milton Keynes – Building #6483|website=www.skyscrapernews.com|access-date=6 February 2019|archive-date=7 February 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190207020945/http://www.skyscrapernews.com/buildings.php?id=6483|url-status=live}}</ref> and the 
''Vizion'' development on Avebury Boulevard (12 storeys),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.skyscrapernews.com/buildings.php?id=5201|title=Vizion, Milton Keynes – Building #5201|website=www.skyscrapernews.com|access-date=6 February 2019|archive-date=8 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308030833/http://www.skyscrapernews.com/buildings.php?id=5201|url-status=live}}</ref>}}     
More recent local plans have protected the existing boulevard framework and set higher standards for architectural excellence.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://cmktowncouncil.gov.uk/referendum-on-cmk-business-neighbourhood-plan/ |title=The CMK Business Neighbourhood Plan |publisher=Central Milton Keynes town council |date=October 2014 |access-date=17 February 2019 |archive-date=22 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190322065110/http://cmktowncouncil.gov.uk/referendum-on-cmk-business-neighbourhood-plan/ |url-status=live }}</ref>{{efn|The [[Quadrant:MK|Network Rail National Centre]] is at the western limit of Silbury Boulevard near the Central station; this building complex occupies a large land area but only rises to the equivalent of six storeys;<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.railwaygazette.com/news/single-view/view/network-rail-opens-the-quadrantmk.html |title=Network Rail opens The Quadrant:MK |work=[[Railway Gazette International]] |date=11 June 2012 |access-date=6 February 2019 |archive-date=13 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160113164805/http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/single-view/view/network-rail-opens-the-quadrantmk.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The Hotel la Tour (Marlborough Gate and Midsummer Bvd) opens April 2022 and is 50 metres tall.<ref>{{cite news |title=Tallest and shiniest building in Milton Keynes is topped out at 50 metres this week |work=Milton Keynes Citizen |date=13 May 2021 |first=Sally |last=Murrer |url=https://www.miltonkeynes.co.uk/news/people/tallest-and-shiniest-building-in-milton-keynes-is-topped-out-at-50-metres-this-week-3235438 |access-date=31 December 2021 |archive-date=31 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211231174359/https://www.miltonkeynes.co.uk/news/people/tallest-and-shiniest-building-in-milton-keynes-is-topped-out-at-50-metres-this-week-3235438 |url-status=live }}</ref>}}

===Linear parks===
[[File:NCR 51 MiltonKeynes east.JPG|thumb|A section of linear park, showing cyclists crossing a [[cattle grid]] on [[National Cycle Route 51]] ]]
The [[Floodplain|flood plains]] of the [[River Great Ouse|Great Ouse]] and of its tributaries (the [[River Ouzel|Ouzel]] and some brooks) have been protected as [[linear park]]s that run right through Milton Keynes; these were identified as important landscape and flood-management assets from the outset.{{sfnb|Llewellyn-Davies|Weeks|Forestier-Walker|Bor|1970|p=27}} At {{convert|1650|ha|abbr=on|order=flip}}{{snd}} ten times larger than London's [[Hyde Park, London|Hyde Park]] and a third larger than [[Richmond Park]]{{sfnb|Bendixson|Platt|1992|p=174}}{{snd}} the landscape architects realised that the [[Royal Parks of London|Royal Park]]s model would not be appropriate or affordable and drew on their [[National parks of England and Wales|National Park]] experience.{{sfnb|Bendixson|Platt|1992|p=174}} As Bendixson and Platt (1992) write: "They divided the Ouzel Valley into 'strings, beads and settings'. The 'strings' are well-maintained routes, be they for walking, bicycling or riding; the 'beads' are sports centres, lakeside cafes and other activity areas; the 'settings' are self-managed land-uses such as woods, riding paddocks, a golf course and a farm".{{sfnb|Bendixson|Platt|1992|p=174}}

The [[Grand Union Canal]] is another green route (and demonstrates the level geography of the area{{snd}} there is just one minor lock in its entire {{convert|10|mi|adj=on}} meandering route through from the southern boundary near [[Fenny Stratford]] to the [[Cosgrove aqueduct|"Iron Trunk" aqueduct]] over the Ouse at [[Wolverton]] at its northern boundary). The initial [[park system]] was planned by Peter Youngman (Chief [[landscape architect|Landscape Architect]]),<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2005/jun/17/guardianobituaries.artsobituaries1 |title=Peter Youngman, Architect of the modern British landscape |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |date=17 June 2005 |access-date=23 January 2017 |archive-date=2 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202111054/https://www.theguardian.com/news/2005/jun/17/guardianobituaries.artsobituaries1 |url-status=live }}</ref>  who also developed landscape precepts for all development areas: groups of grid squares were to be planted with different selections of trees and shrubs to give them distinct identities. The detailed planning and landscape design of parks and of the grid roads was evolved under the leadership of Neil Higson,{{sfnb|Bendixson|Platt|1992|pp=171{{ndash}}174}} who from 1977 took over from Youngman.<ref name="Pevsner 1994">{{cite book |last1=Pevsner|first1= Nikolaus |author-link1=Nikolaus Pevsner  |last2=Williamson |first2= Elizabeth |title=The Buildings of England: Buckinghamshire |series=Pevsner Architectural Guides |publisher=Yale University Press |date=11 March 1994 | page= 487}}</ref> 

In a national comparison of urban areas by open space available to residents, Milton Keynes ranked highest in the UK.<ref name = citizen270420>{{cite news | url = https://www.miltonkeynes.co.uk/lifestyle/outdoors/milton-keynes-ranks-top-green-space-2551060 | title = Milton Keynes ranks top for green space | author = Clare Turner | work = Milton Keynes Citizen | date = 27 April 2020 | access-date = 29 April 2020 | quote = Research by the [[think tank]] [the] [[Centre for Cities]] shows the varying amounts of space{{snd}} inside and out{{snd}} available to residents in 62 urban areas across Britain. | archive-date = 1 May 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200501110753/https://www.miltonkeynes.co.uk/lifestyle/outdoors/milton-keynes-ranks-top-green-space-2551060 | url-status = live }}</ref> Milton Keynes is unusual in that most of the parks are owned and managed by a charity, the [[Milton Keynes Parks Trust]] rather than the local authority, to ensure that the management of the city's green spaces is largely independent of the council's expenditure priorities.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theparkstrust.com/our-work/about-us/about-the-parks-trust/|title=About the Parks Trust|work=The Parks Trust}}</ref>

===Forest city concept===
The Development Corporation's original design concept aimed for a "forest city" and its foresters planted millions of trees from its own nursery in Newlands in the following years.<ref name="walker2"/> Parks, lakes and green spaces cover about 25% of Milton Keynes;<ref name="parkstrust1" /><ref name="dmk-p&l">{{cite web |url=http://www.destinationmiltonkeynes.co.uk/What-to-do/Parks-and-Lakes |title=Parks & Lakes |publisher=Destination MK |access-date=3 March 2019 |archive-date=6 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306042912/http://www.destinationmiltonkeynes.co.uk/What-to-do/Parks-and-Lakes |url-status=live }}</ref> {{As of|2018|lc=y}}, there are 22 million trees and shrubs in public open spaces.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.miltonkeynes.co.uk/our-region/milton-keynes/millions-of-trees-in-milton-keynes-to-be-spruced-up-in-2019-1-8726346 | title=Millions of trees in Milton Keynes to be spruced up in 2019 | first=Paige | last=Browne | work=[[Milton Keynes Citizen]] | date=23 December 2018 | access-date=6 February 2019 | archive-date=7 February 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190207072233/https://www.miltonkeynes.co.uk/our-region/milton-keynes/millions-of-trees-in-milton-keynes-to-be-spruced-up-in-2019-1-8726346 | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="dmk-p&l" /> When the Development Corporation was being [[Liquidation|wound up]], it transferred the major parks, lakes, river-banks and grid-road margins to the [[Milton Keynes Parks Trust|Parks Trust]],{{sfnb|Bendixson|Platt|1992|p=259}} a [[Foundation (charity)|charity]] which is independent of the municipal authority.<ref name="parkstrust1" /> MKDC endowed the Parks Trust with a portfolio of commercial properties, the income from which pays for the upkeep of the green spaces.<ref name="parkstrust1">{{cite web |url=https://www.theparkstrust.com/our-work/about-us/the-parks-trust-model/ |title=The Parks Trust model |publisher=The [[Milton Keynes Parks Trust]] |access-date=7 March 2012 |archive-date=6 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306042834/https://www.theparkstrust.com/our-work/about-us/the-parks-trust-model/ |url-status=live }}</ref> {{As of|2018}}, approximately 25% of the urban area is parkland or woodland.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theparkstrust.com/our-work/about-us/facts-and-figures/ |title=Facts and Figures |publisher=[[Milton Keynes Parks Trust]] |access-date=20 February 2019 |archive-date=21 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190221054800/https://www.theparkstrust.com/our-work/about-us/facts-and-figures/ |url-status=live }} "The Parks Trust looks after over 6,000 acres of parkland and green space". The urban area measures approximately {{convert|30000|acres|ha}}.</ref>  It includes two  [[Site of Special Scientific Interest|Sites of Special Scientific Interest]], [[Howe Park Wood]] and [[Oxley Mead]].

===Centre===
{{Main|Central Milton Keynes|Central Milton Keynes shopping centre|Milton Keynes Central railway station}}
As a key element of the planners' vision,{{sfnb|Bendixson|Platt|1992|pp=129{{ndash}}154}} Milton Keynes has a purpose built centre, with a very large "covered high street" shopping centre,<ref name=DMK-sh>{{cite web | url=http://www.destinationmiltonkeynes.co.uk/What-to-do/Shopping | title=Shopping | publisher=Destination Milton Keynes | access-date=15 February 2019 | archive-date=16 February 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190216035204/http://www.destinationmiltonkeynes.co.uk/What-to-do/Shopping | url-status=live }}</ref>  
[[Milton Keynes Theatre|a theatre]],<ref name=AJBL>{{cite web | url=https://www.ajbuildingslibrary.co.uk/projects/display/id/2833 | title=Milton Keynes Theatre & Art Gallery Complex | publisher=[[Architects' Journal]] Building Library | access-date=8 February 2019 | archive-date=9 February 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190209124510/https://www.ajbuildingslibrary.co.uk/projects/display/id/2833 | url-status=live }} Includes photographs, drawings and working details.</ref><ref name=DMK-c>{{cite web | url=http://www.destinationmiltonkeynes.co.uk/Culture-in-MK | title=Culture | publisher=Destination Milton Keynes | access-date=15 February 2019 | archive-date=16 February 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190216035127/http://www.destinationmiltonkeynes.co.uk/Culture-in-MK | url-status=live }}</ref>  
municipal [[art gallery]],<ref name=AJBL /><ref name=DMK-c />
[[Cineworld|a multiplex cinema]],<ref name=DMK-e>{{cite web | url=http://www.destinationmiltonkeynes.co.uk/What-to-do/Entertainment | title=Entertainment | publisher=Destination Milton Keynes | access-date=15 February 2019 | archive-date=16 February 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190216035129/http://www.destinationmiltonkeynes.co.uk/What-to-do/Entertainment | url-status=live }}</ref> 
hotels,<ref name=DMK-h>{{cite web | url=http://www.destinationmiltonkeynes.co.uk/Where-to-stay | title=Where to stay | publisher=Destination Milton Keynes | access-date=15 February 2019 | archive-date=15 February 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190215215740/http://www.destinationmiltonkeynes.co.uk/Where-to-stay | url-status=live }}</ref> 
[[central business district]],{{sfnb|Bendixson|Platt|1992|pp=129{{ndash}}154}} 
[[Church of Christ the Cornerstone|an ecumenical church]],<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.cornerstonemk.co.uk/ | title=The Church of Christ the Cornerstone | publisher=Baptist Union / Church of England / Methodist Church / Roman Catholic Church / United Reformed Church | access-date=15 February 2019 | archive-date=15 February 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190215235923/https://www.cornerstonemk.co.uk/ | url-status=live }}</ref> 
[[Milton Keynes Civic Offices]]<ref>{{cite web | url=http://catalogue.mkcdc.org.uk/content/catalogue_item/architectural-models-collection/milton-keynes-civic-offices | title=Milton Keynes Civic Offices | publisher=[[Milton Keynes City Discovery Centre]] | access-date=15 February 2019 | archive-date=16 February 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190216040653/http://catalogue.mkcdc.org.uk/content/catalogue_item/architectural-models-collection/milton-keynes-civic-offices | url-status=live }}</ref> and [[Milton Keynes Central railway station|central railway station]].<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Milton Keynes Central opened|magazine=Railway Magazine|date=June 1982|volume=128|issue=974|page=258|issn=0033-8923}}</ref>

[[Campbell Park]], a formal park extending east from the business area to the Grand Union Canal, is described in the [[Pevsner Architectural Guides]] as "{{nobr|...the largest and}} most imaginative park to have been laid out in Britain in the 20th century".<ref name="Pevsner 2000">{{cite book| title = Buckinghamshire |first1= Nikolaus |last1=Pevsner |first2= Elizabeth |last2=Williamson | first3= Geoffrey K. |last3=Brandwood| series=The Buildings of England | publisher = Penguin | location = London | date =2000 | page = 487}}</ref> The park is [[Listed building|listed]] (grade 2) by [[Historic England]],<ref name=nhlegarden>{{National Heritage List for England |num=1467405 |desc=Campbell Park, Milton Keynes|accessdate=23 August 2020}}</ref>
===Original towns and villages===
<!-- 
            Please note that this section deliberately contains just the barest outlines for
            what is a very long article, as "teaser trailers" for the main articles. Please 
            see those articles for further detail and add any new information there first.  
-->[[File:Bletchley Park.jpg|thumb|During World War II, British, Polish and American cryptographers at [[Bletchley Park]] broke a large number of [[Axis Powers|Axis]] codes and [[cipher]]s, including the German [[Enigma cipher|Enigma]] and [[Lorenz cipher|Lorenz]] ciphers.]]
[[File:Bradwell-windmill.JPG|thumb|right|The 1815 windmill near [[New Bradwell]] village, beside the playing fields]]
[[File:StonyStratford HighStreet01.jpg|thumb|right|Stony Stratford high street in festive mood]]
[[File:MiltonKeynesPeacePagoda01.JPG|thumb|right|[[Peace Pagoda]]]]

Milton Keynes consists of many pre-existing towns and villages that anchored the urban design,{{sfnb|Llewellyn-Davies|Weeks|Forestier-Walker|Bor|1970|p=8}} as well as new infill developments. The modern-day urban area outside the original six towns (Bletchley, Fenny Stratford, Newport Pagnell,{{efn|name=outside|Not in original designated area but subsequent expansion has grown to include it.<ref name="BUA2011" />}} Stony Stratford, Wolverton, and Woburn Sands{{efn|name=outside}}) was largely rural farmland but included many picturesque North Buckinghamshire villages and hamlets: [[Bradwell, Milton Keynes|Bradwell]] village and [[Bradwell Abbey|its Abbey]], [[Broughton, Milton Keynes|Broughton]], [[Caldecotte, Milton Keynes|Caldecotte]], [[Great Linford]], [[Loughton, Milton Keynes|Loughton]], [[Middleton, Milton Keynes|Milton Keynes Village]], [[New Bradwell]], [[Shenley Brook End]], [[Shenley Church End]], [[Simpson, Milton Keynes|Simpson]], [[Stantonbury]], [[Tattenhoe]], [[Tongwell]], [[Walton, Milton Keynes|Walton]], [[Water Eaton, Milton Keynes|Water Eaton]], [[Wavendon]], [[Willen]], [[Woolstone, Milton Keynes|Great and Little Woolstone]], [[Old Woughton|Woughton on the Green]].{{sfnb|Llewellyn-Davies|Weeks|Forestier-Walker|Bor|1970|p=8}} These historical settlements were made the focal points of their respective grid square. Every other district has an historical antecedent, if only in original farms or even field names.<ref name="MKDC-hmap">Milton Keynes Heritage (map){{snd}} English Partnerships, 2004.</ref>

[[Bletchley]] was first recorded in the 12th century as ''Blechelai''.<ref name=vch-ble>{{cite book | chapter-url= https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/bucks/vol4/pp274-283 | chapter= Parishes: Bletchley with Fenny Stratford and Water Eaton | series= [[Victoria History of the Counties of England]] | title= A History of the County of Buckingham | volume= 4 | date= 1927 | pages= 274{{ndash}}283 | publisher= [[Constable & Robinson|Constable & Co. Ltd.]] | access-date= 17 August 2009 | archive-date= 22 December 2015 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20151222205511/http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/bucks/vol4/pp274-283 | url-status= live }}</ref> [[Bletchley railway station|Its station]] was an important junction (the [[London and North Western Railway]] with the Oxford-Cambridge [[Varsity Line]]), leading to the substantial urban growth in the town in the [[Victorian era|Victorian]] period.<ref name=vch-ble /> It expanded to absorb the village of [[Water Eaton (Milton Keynes)|Water Eaton]] and town of [[Fenny Stratford]].<ref name=vch-ble />

[[Bradwell (Milton Keynes)|Bradwell]]  is a traditional rural village with earthworks of a Norman [[motte and bailey]] and parish church.<ref name=vch-bra>{{cite book | chapter-url= https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/bucks/vol4/pp283-288 | chapter= Parishes: Bradwell | series= [[Victoria History of the Counties of England]] | title= A History of the County of Buckingham | volume= 4 | date= 1927 | page= 283{{ndash}}288 | access-date= 17 February 2019 | publisher= [[Constable & Robinson|Constable & Co. Ltd.]] | archive-date= 18 February 2019 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190218081840/https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/bucks/vol4/pp283-288 | url-status= live }}</ref> There is a [[Youth Hostels Association (England & Wales)|YHA]] hostel beside the church.<ref>{{NHLE| num=1159928 | desc= Youth Hostel | access-date=18 February 2019}}</ref>

[[Bradwell Abbey]], a former [[Benedictine]] [[Priory]] and [[scheduled monument]],<ref>{{NHLE| num=1009540 | desc= Bradwell Abbey: a Benedictine priory, chapel and fishpond | access-date=17 February 2019}}</ref> was of major economic importance in this area of North Buckinghamshire before its [[Dissolution of the Monasteries|dissolution]] in 1524.<ref>{{cite book | chapter-url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/bucks/vol1/pp350-352 | chapter=Houses of Benedictine monks: The priory of Bradwell | series=[[Victoria History of the Counties of England]] | title=A History of the County of Buckingham | volume=1 | date=1905 | page=350{{ndash}}352 | access-date=22 September 2009 | publisher=[[Constable & Robinson|Constable & Co. Ltd.]] | archive-date=19 February 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150219113018/http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/bucks/vol1/pp350-352 | url-status=live }}</ref> Nowadays there is only a small medieval chapel and a manor house occupying the site.<ref>{{NHLE |num=1125271 |desc=Chapel to North of Bradwell Abbey House |access-date=6 January 2009}}</ref>{{sfnb|Woodfield|1986|page=19{{ndash}}24}}

[[New Bradwell]], to the north of Bradwell and east of Wolverton, was built specifically for railway workers.<ref name=vch-bra /> The level bed of the old [[Wolverton to Newport Pagnell Line]] near here has been converted to a redway, making it a favoured route for cycling.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.mkheritage.org.uk/nbhg/transport/railways/ | title=From Railway line to Railway Walk | work=New Bradwell Heritage | publisher=Milton Keynes Heritage Association | access-date=17 February 2019 | archive-date=18 February 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190218104933/http://www.mkheritage.org.uk/nbhg/transport/railways/ | url-status=live }}</ref> A working [[windmill]] is sited on a hill outside the village.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.miltonkeynesmuseum.org.uk/home/bradwell-windmill/ | title=Bradwell Windmill | publisher=[[Milton Keynes Museum]] | access-date=17 February 2019 | archive-date=18 October 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181018091954/http://www.miltonkeynesmuseum.org.uk/home/bradwell-windmill/ | url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Great Linford]] appears in the [[Domesday Book]] as ''Linforde'', and features a church dedicated to [[Saint Andrew]], dating from 1215.<ref name=vch-lin>{{cite book | chapter-url= https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/bucks/vol4/pp387-392 | chapter= Parishes: Great Linford | series= [[Victoria History of the Counties of England]] | title= A History of the County of Buckingham | volume= 4 | date= 1927 | page= 387{{ndash}}392 | access-date= 17 February 2019 | publisher= [[Constable & Robinson|Constable & Co. Ltd.]] | archive-date= 18 February 2019 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190218082059/https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/bucks/vol4/pp387-392 | url-status= live }}</ref> Today, the outer buildings of the 17th century [[manor house]] form an [[arts centre]].<ref name=mkac />

[[Middleton, Milton Keynes|Milton Keynes (Village)]] is the original village to which the New Town owes its name.{{sfnb|Llewellyn-Davies|Weeks|Forestier-Walker|Bor|1970|p=3}} The original village is still evident, with a pleasant [[thatch]]ed [[pub]], [[village hall]], church and traditional housing. The area around the village has reverted to its 11th century name of [[Middleton, Milton Keynes|Middleton]] ''(Middeltone'').<ref>{{cite book |chapter-url= https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/bucks/vol4/pp401-405 |chapter= Parishes: Milton Keynes |series= [[Victoria History of the Counties of England]] |title= A History of the County of Buckingham |volume= 4 |date= 1927 |page= 401{{ndash}}405 |access-date= 17 February 2019 |publisher= [[Constable & Robinson|Constable & Co. Ltd.]] |archive-date= 18 February 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190218081919/https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/bucks/vol4/pp401-405 |url-status= live }}</ref> The oldest surviving domestic building in the area (c. 1300 CE), "perhaps the manor house", is here.{{sfnb|Woodfield |1986 |page=84}}

[[Stony Stratford]] began as a settlement on Watling Street during the [[Roman Britain|Roman occupation]], beside the ford over the Great Ouse.<ref name=vch-ss /> There has been a market here since 1194 (by [[royal charter|charter]] of [[Richard I of England|King Richard&nbsp;I]]).<ref name=charter>R. H. Britnell, 'The Origins of Stony Stratford', ''Records of Buckinghamshire'', XX (1977), pp. 451–3</ref> The former Rose and Crown Inn on the High Street is reputedly the last place the [[Princes in the Tower]] were seen alive.<ref name=vch-ss>{{cite book |chapter-url= https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/bucks/vol4/pp476-482 |chapter= Parishes: Stony Stratford |series= [[Victoria History of the Counties of England]] |title= A History of the County of Buckingham |volume= 4 |date= 1927 |page= 476{{ndash}}482 |access-date= 17 February 2019 |publisher= [[Constable & Robinson|Constable & Co. Ltd.]] |archive-date= 31 August 2018 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180831003937/https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/bucks/vol4/pp476-482 |url-status= live }}</ref>

The manor house of [[Walton, Milton Keynes|Walton]] village, [[Walton Hall, Milton Keynes|Walton Hall]], is the headquarters of the [[Open University]] and the tiny [[parish church]] (deconsecrated) is in its grounds.{{sfnb|Bendixson|Platt|1992|page=74}}

The small parish church (1680) at [[Willen]] was designed by the architect and physicist [[Robert Hooke]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.roberthooke.org.uk/willen.htm |title=Willen Church |publisher=[[Westminster School]] |date=2007 |access-date=17 February 2019 |archive-date=2 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161002203130/http://www.roberthooke.org.uk/willen.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>{{sfnb|Woodfield |1986 |page=165}} Nearby, there is a [[Buddhist]] Temple and a [[Peace Pagoda]], which was built in 1980 and was the first built by the [[Nipponzan-Myōhōji]] Buddhist Order in the western world.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.theparkstrust.com/our-work/public-art-in-our-parks/public-art-at-newlands-and-willen-lake/peace-pagoda/ | title=Peace Pagoda | publisher=[[Milton Keynes Parks Trust]] | access-date=17 February 2019 | archive-date=18 February 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190218081751/https://www.theparkstrust.com/our-work/public-art-in-our-parks/public-art-at-newlands-and-willen-lake/peace-pagoda/ | url-status=live }}</ref>

The original [[Wolverton]] was a medieval settlement just north and west of today's town.<ref name=vch-wt>{{cite book |chapter-url= https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/bucks/vol4/pp505-509 |chapter= Parishes: Wolverton |series= [[Victoria History of the Counties of England]] |title= A History of the County of Buckingham |volume= 4 |date= 1927 |page= 505{{ndash}}509 |access-date= 17 February 2019 |publisher= [[Constable & Robinson|Constable & Co. Ltd.]] |archive-date= 22 January 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190122094741/https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/bucks/vol4/pp505-509 |url-status= live }}</ref> The [[ridge and furrow]] pattern of agriculture can still be seen in the nearby fields.<ref>Buckinghamshire Historical Service plaque on site</ref>  The 12th century (rebuilt in 1819) 'Church of the Holy Trinity' still stands next to the Norman [[motte and bailey]] site.<ref name=vch-wt /> Modern Wolverton was a 19th-century New Town built to house the workers at the [[Wolverton railway works]], which built engines and carriages for the [[London and North Western Railway]].<ref name=vch-wt />

Among the smaller villages and hamlets are three{{snd}} [[Broughton, Milton Keynes|Broughton]], [[Loughton, Milton Keynes|Loughton]] and [[Old Woughton|Woughton on the Green]]{{snd}} that are of note in that their names each use a different pronunciation{{efn|{{IPAc-en|ˈ|b|r|ɔː|t|ən}}, as in [[wikt:brought|brought]]; {{IPAc-en|ˈ|l|aʊ|t|ən}}, as in [[wikt:bough|bough]]; and {{IPAc-en|ˈ|w|ʊ|f|t|ə|n}}, as in [[wikt:enough|enough]], respectively}} of the [[ough (orthography)|ough]] letter sequence in English.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://digitalcommons.butler.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=5004&context=wordways | title=Kickshaws | page=228 | last=Morice | first=Dave | publisher=[[Butler University]] | year=2005 | access-date=4 March 2019 | archive-date=1 November 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181101063440/https://digitalcommons.butler.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=5004&context=wordways | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=The 6 most mispronounced Milton Keynes place names people are always getting wrong | work=Milton Keynes Citizen | first=Sally |last=Murrer |date=13 June 2022 |access-date=14 June 2022 |url=https://www.miltonkeynes.co.uk/news/people/the-6-most-mispronounced-milton-keynes-place-names-people-are-always-getting-wrong-3730262}}</ref>