"Harlow: A smack of ugly reality in your face" Harlow by Airpunk

Harlow is far away from heading the list of Britain's most popular tourist destination. And after my first visit, I am sure that this status will not change in the next couple of years. Harlow has almost everything to scare you off. As it was compounded of several small towns and villages to form a larger unity, it lacks the historic city centre of similar large places in Britain. That alone would be no problem, but the former towns and villages (which are Harlow's districts today) have not much to offer for sightseeing. There are a handful of small churches and some legacy of post-WWII city planning in form of the pedestrian zone in the new town. If this is not enough, I must say that Harlow is the most pedestrian-unfriendly city I have ever seen. OK, there is the pedestrian zone itself and the core areas of the former villages are fine too. But elsewhere you have roundabouts and avenues with barriers which do not allow to cross streets. Sometimes there is a subterranean way, but if you find one, it does not always lead to the point you want to go to. That would be a lesser problem, if there would be any signs. But no way! The only signs you can rely on are those from the national cycle network...

...and here, every hope is lost

Harlow in its present form was founded in 1974 through the amalgamation of (Old) Harlow, Great Parndon, Little Parndon, Latton, Tye Green, Potter Street, Churchgate Street and Netteswell. However, the area itself was already populated by 10 000 BC and Old Harlow was already mentioned in the Doomsday Book (1086). The plans for the new town are from 1947 and by 1980 the town reached its present form (with some major overhaul around 2005). Harlow's new town centre consists of a large pedestrian zone, built on a formerly green area between two villages. It was the first modern pedestrian zone in the UK and a good example for post-WWII city architecture.

Anyway, if you feel adventurous in a strange kind of way – visit Harlow! If you like to go shopping, you will find a good choice of shops here. If city planning is something of interest to you, Harlow may be interesting for you. But if you are here for a nice daytrip – no way!

• Pros:Shopping, legacy of city development in the 1950s
• Cons:everything else
• In a nutshell:The reason why this model should be given up