Cities built from scratch: More than 200 so called New Towns have been built in Europe in the twentieth Century. Usually, they are seen as cities without history and identity, where residents merely reside, without belonging. But after more than half a Century, these cities have existed long enough to build up a layered history, though it is often unknown to both outsiders and residents.

Some of these cities were built as nuclear cities or they housed the workers in the nearby harbour or mining industry. Some were flagship projects in the Cold war stand-off between Eastern and Western Europe. Others housed the overflow of people in big metropolises. While many fulfilled the promise of public housing as a right, rather than an economic merit, providing equitable infrastructure for living together. In the past two years New Towns from all over Europe tried to identify their story through the project New Towns | New Narratives.

In all of these New Towns, particular forms of collective life and individual creativity developed, often in the cracks left by the official institutions. ‘Telling the story’ of these cities and all its residents gives a basis to finding their identity and to reinvent themselves positively. From historic to art exhibitions, from festivals to walks and tours, from new collective spaces to research projects, the examples in this publication show the many new endeavours in European New Towns -from the UK to Bulgaria- to change the perception of these neglected cities.

Cities built from scratch: More than 200 so called New Towns have been built in Europe in the twentieth Century. Usually, they are seen as cities without history and identity, where residents merely reside, without belonging. But after more than half a Century, these cities have existed long enough to build up a layered history, though it is often unknown to both outsiders and residents.

Some of these cities were built as nuclear cities or they housed the workers in the nearby harbour or mining industry. Some were flagship projects in the Cold war stand-off between Eastern and Western Europe. Others housed the overflow of people in big metropolises. While many fulfilled the promise of public housing as a right, rather than an economic merit, providing equitable infrastructure for living together. In the past two years New Towns from all over Europe tried to identify their story through the project New Towns | New Narratives.

In all of these New Towns, particular forms of collective life and individual creativity developed, often in the cracks left by the official institutions. ‘Telling the story’ of these cities and all its residents gives a basis to finding their identity and to reinvent themselves positively. From historic to art exhibitions, from festivals to walks and tours, from new collective spaces to research projects, the examples in this publication show the many new endeavours in European New Towns -from the UK to Bulgaria- to change the perception of these neglected cities.