Ep 3 - Pondering Garden Cities

This episode deviates slightly from previous Somatic episodes in that it is a more personal journey of contemplation. In this episode, I talk about my PhD research on the history of the international garden city movement, specifically two prominent planned communities that emerged as a result of the movement: Letchworth Garden City in the United Kingdom, and Greenbelt, Maryland in the United States. Playing recorded soundscapes from my visit to these communities, I reflect on my experience visiting and staying in these communities, talk about the history, and ponder the significance of such planned communities in terms of how they help us rethink the meaning of our bodies in relation to our built environments. As a result, the episode involves a mixture of approaches in that I both talk about the history of garden city ideals, and ponder my own somatic experience in the communities. It’s kind of like a personal journey and soundscape that I’m hoping is in some way informative and interesting to you, the listener.