Transition between aerial images of Milton Keynes, UK, taken in the middle of the 20th century and in 2012. Milton Keynes, is a new town, designed and built in the 1960s. Although there were several small villages in the area, including the one after which the town was named, much of the land is seen to have been fields. In the 2011 census, it had a population of nearly 230, 000 people.