Milton Keynes has a reputation as a “soulless” city. It’s a place of roads, car parks, and bowling alleys that has been compared to American suburbia – a comparison that local resident Tom Winterton can understand.

The Buckinghamshire city is relatively new, having been constructed during the 1960s, deliberately in stark contrast to the medieval and Roman towns that are dotted across much of the UK. It’s become well known for its modernist architecture, streamlined transportation via its grid road system and rail connections to London, as well as its status as a hub for motoring and technology.

Visitors to the city have observed its US-like characteristics, such as its wide roads, futuristic buildings, and street signs bearing names like avenue and boulevard. An Instagram post from a tourist highlighting the similarities recently went viral, garnering over 18,000 likes. And it’s not just visitors that have noted MK’s American vibe.

Tom, 39, moved from London to MK in January 2021, and acknowledges the similarities. He views them as positive and argues that the comparisons extend beyond the road network.

“I get how it can seem like an American city because you arrive at the train station, and a lot of people will then go to the shopping centre. You come out of the station, and you start walking up a boulevard, which you don’t get a huge amount of in the UK,” Tom told the Mirror.

“You walk past a lot of car parks and quite a lot of nondescript business buildings. You then arrive at the shopping centre, and if you carry on up to the theatre district, you get to Lower 10th Street, and it’s all very New York-y. Then, if you go a little further still, you get to Campbell Park, which is kind of like our Central Park, this big green space, right down the centre line. My thing with MK and what I always try and tell people is, it’s quite an odd place to visit.”

Tom argues that the city has a futuristic feel, with its emphasis on motoring and technology. It provides homes for huge brands like Red Bull, Mercedes-Benz, Santander and Volkswagen Group. It also became the first UK city to introduce Lime bikes and to welcome the Starship robot delivery service, which whizzes hot food around the city to hungry MKers.

This forward-looking, technology-friendly approach has more in common with California’s Silicon Valley than the formulaic grid cities of Middle America.

“It seems to me the city is quite focused on technology and being futuristic,” Tom said. “The city seems willing to invest in things that make it livable, which is just that word I keep coming back to. Life is generally pretty easy in MK.

“When they planned it and built MK, I feel like they really thought about this stuff. So now, 50 years later, people like me who live there are getting the benefit of really smart people thinking about what’s going to make this a very livable city.”

Tom, who moved to MK with his wife and their five-year-old, William, explained that visitors will have a different view of the city, depending on how they arrive. Those taking the train will be greeted by the “fairly nondescript urban areas to go shopping”, and those arriving by car will encounter “A road after A road”, and continuous roundabouts, with huge stores and establishments.

“I understand that might be super American and a bit odd,” Tom said. “It’s an odd place to visit, but an amazing place to live. One of the key things that visitors don’t see is how cycling and walking-friendly it is.”

The father of one argues that the grid road system is the “genius of the city”. He said: “You don’t see many people when you drive around because they’re all on the red ways and they’re all separate from the traffic.”

The beauty of its efficient system allows Tom and his five-year-old son to cycle to his grandmother’s house, on the other side of the city, without crossing a road. “It’s such a genius piece of design, but people don’t see it when they come to visit,” he shared.

“When you live there, you just get this whole different take on the place, and I think it is absolutely fantastic. You can get anywhere in MK within 10 minutes, 15 minutes at a push, because roundabouts are quicker than traffic lights, and there are big, wide roads.

“When you need to drive, it’s dead easy, the grid systems are great, it makes a lot of sense, and you can’t really get lost. But when you live there, you’re away from the roads, it’s you and your family, you’re cycling, it’s safe, and it’s surprisingly green.”

In response to the city’s constant criticism, Tom said: “I think it’s a really dated take on the city, if I’m honest. I think back when it was first built, people called it a soulless car park and this big American-type city. And you know, maybe when it was first built and there weren’t many people or things, that might have been the case, but since I moved there in 2021, I’ve found it to be a great place for a young family.

“I think it’s a bit of an outdated taste and just one of those UK jokes, it is one of those towns to hate on.”