How Britain Made a Dystopian City

Grab your Crazy Steve's Chav Plushie today! bit.ly/41EBJUG

I knew this would be Milton Keynes before I even clicked the video

The problem with modernism is that its only "modern" for about 20 minutes before it looks like dated shit lol

A little story about MK: at its centre is Midsummer Blvd, planned so that the sun sets along it at the summer solstice - very nice. At the top of the boulevard was a great, mighty oak to be framed by said sunset - even nicer. Then in the early 2000s the shopping mall was extended, and the oak tree incorporated in an open-air rotunda. The tree promptly died, so the centre-piece of the town is now a circular arrangement of shopping units surrounding an empty space where life used to be. This, to me, is peak MK.

"Milton Keynes is a cross between a Centerpark and a category two prison".... That killed me! Very well done!

As a British town planner, Milton Keynes is often used as a prime example of how not to plan a city

UK: "It's so awful and dystopian" US: "mall sweet mall"

MK resident of 34 years here (lived here all my life). I get what you're saying, but this city is still only about 50 years old, so it's still essentially an baby city. It's got the economic backing now with the Sandander HQ being here for example, and the Dons being fairly successful in producing some world class ballers, so I think we're going to see expansion, but I have hope that the city centre will also change over time, for the better. I think you're sorta right, sorta wrong about wanting classical architecture over modernist. In MK, there's a bunch of misses with this style, that's for sure, the point being the most sore example, but I've always thought midsummer place, the theatre and the art gallery are quite innovative and flow in an interesting way (not very well maintained, but that's another story). I really believe that the style does not maketh the vibe, it's the implementation and the approach to that style that does. So, the vibes are very much a work in progress, but given that it's not ALL disgusting (it really isn't) I think we can consolidate the better looks, and it will become better over time. Also, the nasty Xcape building? Might be because I've lived here forever, but I've always thought it looked kinda interesting. And besides, it was actually a big injection of culture into the centre, as it hosted the first ever indoor snow slope in the UK at the time of opening, so snow sports have had a place in this city for a couple of decades now. We also have one of the most challenging karting tracks in the UK, favoured by F1 driver superstars in their budding years, including lewis hamilton, not to mention close proximity to silverstone (granted, which is in northamptonshire). My belief is that the pockets of culture that we have, mostly in the village towns like stony stratford and newport pagnell, will propogate to the other parts of the city. Actually, this has already been happening, as culture-starved millenials and zoomers have been flocking to these areas. Most independent shops are here, you can go to an open mic and be blown away by the novelty and talent, not to mention most of the biggest touring indie/metal/alt bands play in these areas when they visit MK, and there's just generally a more intimate sense of community in the residential areas. Also, did you hear about our redways? Not that they're particularly good or anything, but we do technically have a non-road-vehicle infrastructure for bikes, e-scooters and whathaveyou. It's not bad in certain places, especially around the lakes and parks, but again, unmaintained! The crux of life in MK, is that yeah, most of the focus has been on outward expansion, not inward cultural growth, and I think this will be the case up until MK stops expanding outwards. As I said, it's a very young city still, and it's kinda mental to think that I'm part of the first generation in this city. Also, we're very proud of bletchley park and our history of hacking and computer science here in MK! Anyway, I've lived in this city for more than half the time the city has existed, and the main things that I've noticed changing is the development of farm land, that is still ongoing, and the constantly changing and re-developing city centre. It's kinda exciting to live in such a new town, but yeah, some parts of it are weird, I'll grant that, but I really think there's so much potential in this city, and I think that's why big-city commuters take a punt on it too. To close out this bloody essay, next time, COME BACK IN SUMMER. Literally, the best part of MK is when it's in full bloom. There's no other city that can boast the natural beauty that milton keynes has when you walk, bike or drive around. Go to the Tree Cathedral, Go to Campbell Park, Go to the Peace Pagoda, Go to Bletchley Park, Go to any of the Nature Reserves. There's a lot to love about MK, as long as you don't just focus on the consumerist parts ;)

I live here, in Milton Keynes. I don't own a car and I buzz around everywhere on my bicycle and I have to say it has the best bicycle infrastructure anywhere in the country with its separated 'Redways'. I can get from any part of the city to any other part of the city without really sharing any space with a car at all. And guess what... the Redways are very busy with people walking and riding their bikes/scooters. You don't see anyone when you are driving around, that is true. But get out of your car and ride around a bit and you see a lot of people. Yes, the new buildings were built in a modernist style and some of them were made cheaply and have not lasted, but that's not the whole story. The Open University is a lovely campus with some interesting buildings as one example. If you want to see older buildings they are everywhere since the original villages that were built around are still there. Woughton, for example, is as lovely as anything in the Cotswolds. What you did not talk about is that MK is a very green city. All those shots of desolate building sites in the 1970s do not look like that now because all the thousands of trees that were planted have now matured. There is a green stripe up the middle of the city which is the river flood plain and there are lakes at either end which are very beautiful. I think the car has been a poison to this country and its true that MK tried to accommodate the car in the North American way, but look at other towns around the country. Small pavements in the town centre and cars jamming the town centre and absolutely everywhere out in the streets of terraced houses near the town centre. A lot of your points are good, but you should come back and ride around on a bike and make a different video about how you can easily live here without a car.

As someone who grew up in Milton Keynes (moved there from Luton in 2000 as a 6 year old) and you’re spot on about most of the points here. HOWEVER I would say there are a couple more positive things from a local that I should mention: - Yes while the city centre lacks community, each neighbourhood (known locally here as “estates”) are like mini villages where everyone knows each other and it has a major community feel - because there’s so many parks and green spaces (and with cars being out of the way on main roads), it made playing out in the park super safe for kids which I enjoyed doing a lot when I was younger - Most people I went to school with were just like me, moved from London (or other nearby areas) for better housing and a higher quality of life and they broadly achieved that - The quality of houses in MK is pretty good and back in the early 2000s you could get a pretty spacious house for a reasonable price - while cars are required, the underpasses are connected to a cycling route (known as redways) and so the entire city is very bike-friendly (most people here have gotten around on bikes way before it was an eco-warrior trend) - The shopping centre is terrible but back in the early 2000s it was arguably one of the biggest attractions of the city and people from other cities would drive here for shopping (which seems bonkers now) - its location makes it so handy to travel to most places in the country (it’s 30 mins by train to central London, 20 mins to Luton airport and is a 1 - 1.5 hour drive to Birmingham, Leicester and Oxford) Overall, I would agree that it’s fairly soulless, but equally, it’s not so run-down that it feels dangerous or dodgy (unlikely nearby Luton, Bedford and Aylesbury) and I’m happy to have grown up there. Great video though mate, will be checking out a lot more of your content

If people don't like Milton Keynes, don't come to America. The majority of cities have long ago removed walking streets and such for cars, and there are even many newer cities that have no downtown. There are some where one can't find the city hall or even the government buildings. Just roads and chain businesses. Luckily, my hometown and one other nearby have attempted to create a walkable, private business area, but then charge astronomical parking fees.

Walking through Milton Keynes "tent city" seeing dozens of tents in underpasses with homeless people heating canned beans with lighters, while wheeled robots roll on past them making deliveries to corporate offices, is probably the most dystopian thing I've seen. That city is so weird.

Love all the "Everyone British knew this would be Milton Keynes" - and yes, of course you do: It was the last time Britain tried building ANYTHING!

I love the fact that Britain made an American suburb and realized what Americans haven’t. It’s dystopian!

"it's a sunny day" - it's a cloudy day anywhere but England

I'm both homesick and offended.

I lived in Milton Keynes. You can't survive there without a car. It's literally an American style town in England.

I live right in the middle of Bedford , Luton and Milton Keynes. I’ll pick MK every time.

I don't know if Jimmy has been to the US but this is the majority of suburbia in all of North America.

Even their football club is Americanised since it's a franchise itself 😭