This article aims at probing, through the case study of Milton Keynes, which is often considered the most successful case of new town construction in Great Britain, the ways whereby a new town may overcome its innate disadvantages in terms of historic...
This article aims at probing, through the case study of Milton Keynes, which is often considered the most successful case of new town construction in Great Britain, the ways whereby a new town may overcome its innate disadvantages in terms of historically-given resources for culture-enjoyment and create a social environment conducive to active culture-enjoyment of the residents as well as promotion of the sense of belonging and local community identity amongst them. The case of Milton Keynes shows that there are certain pre-conditions to be met for a good culture-enjoyment system to develop, such as pleasant residential environment including ample park system and efficient traffic system, as well as some institutional devices for the promotion of social integration among the residents. Altogether, these factors contribute to make the life in the new town be felt basically comfortable both in its material and social senses thereby enhancing the quality of life. The case of Milton Keynes shows, furthermore, that a combination of the meticulous and considerate arts policy initiatives taken by the Milton Keynes local government on the one hand, and spontaneous practice of the residents on the other, which have resulted in extensive utilization of public art works as landmarks for the new town, emphasis and financial support laid upon local community arts movement, construction of large-scale arts facilities in conjunction with the growth of the new town population, and systematic PR of arts activities within the locality, is the key to the successful development of culture-enjoyment system in the new town of Milton Keynes. The article concludes with a discussion on the implications of the Milton Keynes case for Korean new town policy makers drawing upon the comparison with the failed case of the Sungnam City.