ADAMS, THOMAS

b. 10 September 1871, Corstorphine, Scotland;
d. 24 March 1940, Henleys Down, England

Key works
(1917) Rural Planning and Development: A Study of Rural Conditions and Problems in Canada, Ottawa: Commission of Conservation of Canada.
(1929) The Graphic Regional Plan, New York: Regional Plan of New York and Its Environs.
(1931) The Building of the City, New York: Regional Plan of New York and Its Environs.
(1935) Outline of Town and City Planning: A Review of Past Efforts and Modern Aims, New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

Planning advocate, leader of town planning in Great Britain and Canada, and pioneer of REGIONAL PLANNING in the United States, Thomas Adams began a first career in journalism in London in 1900. Between 1903 and 1906, he became familiar with the GARDEN CITY movement while serving as the first manager of Letchworth. In England, he established a successful practice as town planner by designing low-density residential developments known as garden suburbs. In 1909, Adams was appointed as Town Planning Adviser to the Local Government Board, where he remained up until 1914. In 1914, he was invited to Canada to work for the Commission of Conservation, whose members were seeking ways to provide better housing for the growing population of industrial cities. Adams brought with him the garden city ideas; in addition, he advocated more planning regulations and institutions at the local level. He prepared comprehensive plans for Canadian resource communities and garden suburbs in which he included the ideas of balance and interdependence between city and country. In 1923, he moved to the United States to become director of the Regional Plan of New York, a position he held until 1930. Funded by the Russell Sage Foundation, this project involved the physical and social survey of an area of 5,000 square miles with nearly 9 million people. Published in 1929, the plan anticipated the region’s basic transportation and infrastructure needs for the next three decades. Adams took an active role in creating planning institutions in Great Britain, Canada and the United States. In addition to beinga prolific lecturer and writer, Adams held various teaching positions.

Further reading
Simpson, M. (1985) Thomas Adams and the Modern Planning Movement: Britain, Canada and the United States, 1900–1940, London and New York: Mansell.
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