Peachtree City, Georgia: Improvisation and Progressivem in a Post-War Southern New Town

In post-World War II America, planners touted new towns as one answer to the increasingly evident evils of suburban sprawl. These trace their history to Ebenezer Howard's Garden City, as well as more recent examples such as Radburn. Some of these post-war new towns are well known, such as Columbia and Reston, but one, Peachtree City, Georgia, has largely escaped scholarly notice. Peachtree began at the same time as Columbia but took much longer to develop. This article examines Peachtree's origins and growth, along with the motivations of those who founded and settled in it. It was strongly progressive and environmentally sensitive in a time and place where these qualities were unusual.