Ribbon Development
Preserved but no longer current.
Urban extension in the form of a single depth of houses along roads radiating from the town. This extravagant and impractical method of development was made illegal under the Town and Country Planning Act of 1947.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Ribbon Development” mean?
Urban extension in the form of a single depth of houses along roads radiating from the town. This extravagant and impractical method of development was made illegal under the Town and Country Planning Act of 1947.
Is “Ribbon Development” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.