Bedford Park in west London, begun in 1875 by the developer Jonathan Carr, is often called the world's first garden suburb. Its red-brick Queen Anne style houses, many designed by Richard Norman Shaw, had spacious gardens and trees, and a clubhouse and church to encourage community life. It was marketed to artists and writers as a healthy retreat from London's smoke, crowding and disease, and was even trumpeted as the healthiest place in the world. Its looks and ideas influenced later garden cities and suburbs.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.