Welwyn Garden City (/ˈwɛlɪn/ ⓘ WEL-in) is a town in Hertfordshire, England, 20 miles (32 km) north of London.

It is unique in being both a garden city and a new town and exemplifies the physical, social and cultural planning ideals of the periods in which it was built.

Howard had called for the creation of planned towns that were to combine the benefits of the city and the countryside and to avoid the disadvantages of both.

The Garden Cities and Town Planning Association had defined a garden city as "a town designed for healthy living and industry of a size that makes possible a full measure of social life but not larger, surrounded by a rural belt; the whole of the land being in public ownership, or held in trust for the community"[2]In 1919, Howard arranged for the purchase of land in Hertfordshire that had already been identified as a suitable site.

A company called Second Garden City Limited was formed in October 1919 to start buying the land and developing the town.

On 4 February 1920, the company's board decided to call the new garden city Digswell, taking the name of the existing small village which would be surrounded by the development.

Sir Theodore Chambers chaired the company, whilst Louis de Soissons was appointed as architect and town planner, Charles Purdom as finance director and Frederic Osborn as secretary.

It described Welwyn Garden City as a world-famous modern new town developed as an experiment in community planning and Hatfield as an unplanned settlement created by sporadic building in the open country.

The housing stock, neighbourhood shopping and green spaces were passed to Welwyn Hatfield District Council between 1978 and 1983.

A shopping mall, the Howard Centre, was built in the 1980s, incorporating a replacement for the original "temporary" railway station.

There is a resurgence of interest in the ethos of the garden city and the type of neighbourhood and community advocated by Howard, prompted by the problems of metropolitan and regional development and the importance of sustainability in government policy.

In 2008, during construction of a site for HSBC, 60 unsecured argonite fire suppressant cylinders discharged, killing one person, injuring six others and causing substantial damage.

Among the companies trading in the town are: Welwyn Garden City was once well known as the home of the breakfast cereal Shredded Wheat, formerly made by Nabisco.

With its large white silos, the disused Nabisco Shredded Wheat Factory is a landmark on rail routes between London and the north of England.

[2] The factory, designed by de Soissons and built in 1924 by Peter Lind & Company, is a Grade II listed building.

Tesco applied to build a supermarket on the site, but planning permission was refused by the local authority in January 2012 after significant public protest.

Welwyn Garden City railway station is located in the town centre; it is served by two train operating companies: Buses are provided by Arriva Shires & Essex, Centrebus and Uno, with some assistance from Hertfordshire County Council.

Welwyn Garden City has five secondary schools: A campus of Oaklands College is located near the town centre.

The town also boasts a Concert Club, which promotes chamber music recitals, and a Male Voice Choir.

[38] The Gosling Sports Centre houses a dry ski slope, golf driving range, indoor and outdoor tennis, squash, football pitches, an athletics track, velodrome, a gym and bowls as well as a trampoline park.