About Milton Keynes
Milton Keynes is a town located in Buckinghamshire. It is the most prominent settlement in the Borough of Milton Keynes which is a unitary authority area. People have been residing in the locality since ancient times. Despite that, it has only gained significance in recent times when the UK’s government decided to develop the township for the purpose of managing London’s problem with overpopulation.
Unlike most of the towns across the country, this one was developed by urban planners. It was initially designed to comfortably accommodate 250,000 residents. Henceforth, one can say that the area is almost fully populated. Nevertheless, the UK’s government is striving to enlarge the urban area to prevent it from becoming overcrowded. Since the town of Milton Keynes is a planned settlement, the layout of its streets is different and unique from other towns in England. Its road system was developed according to the principles of street hierarchy. As such, the major thoroughfares of the area follow a grid pattern instead of the traditional radial pattern that’s commonly found across other settlements. In addition to that, a separate network called the redways was created for cyclists and pedestrians. To prevent the town from becoming an eyesore, height restrictions for buildings were imposed but were later on neglected as the town expanded. Because of that, it’s now common to find tall structures in the central business district. Needless to say, this isn’t surprising as the township has one of the most successful economies in the United Kingdom. In fact, a lot of experts claim that Milton Keynes is one of the best places to start a business in the country. Furthermore, reputable international companies like Mercedes-Benz have decided to open their offices in the area. Due to that, the unemployment rate there is one of the lowest in the UK. It’s important to note that Milton Keynes is quickly becoming a cultural hub. A good number of theatres and museums have been established there. Aside from that, residents have also opened a municipal art gallery which oftentimes hosts free exhibitions that showcase masterpieces which were created by both local and international artists. Additionally, a lot of educational institutions and sporting venues have opened up within the township and the nearby places that surround it. Another major thing that’s great about the locality is that it’s an environmentally friendly place to live in. The reason for that is because the people who developed the area wanted it to become a “forest city”. Henceforth, millions of trees and shrubs were planted across the town. As a result, there are now about 22 million trees that call the area home. Besides that, one should also note that lakes, parks, and open spaces cover approximately 25% of the total area which encompasses Milton Keynes. The settlement even has its own SSI solely because of that. In that sense, it’s one of the most environmentally friendly places that individuals can visit in Europe. |
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