A central neighbourhood of Livingston in West Lothian, Howden lies to the north of Almondvale, occupying the slopes to the north of the River Almond. Howden was developed as part of a second phase of building of the New Town from 1968-78 and occupies the policies of the 18th-C. Howden House, which for a time was a community centre but later converted to form luxury homes. Howden Park Centre is a leading arts and entertainment venue, located within Howden Park, the mature parkland surrounding the house.
This name Howden is a combination of 'haugh', meaning land on the banks of a river, and 'den' or 'dean', meaning a small valley. The streets are named after localities in Canada and housing stock comprises terraces of grey-harled houses, maisonettes and flats, all built as public housing and now either sold under right-to-buy legislation or managed by either the Almond Housing Association (327 homes) or West Lothian Council (21 homes). To the southwest are late 20th C. detached private houses with integral garages.
The immense St. John's Hospital opened in the west of Howden in 1990, while the West Lothian Civic Centre was built to the south in 2009. The area benefits from two primary schools; Toronto (opened 1972) and St. Andrew's Roman Catholic (1973), with St. Margaret's Academy (1994) located to the southwest. On Nelson Avenue is an art installation Abstract Totem (1977) by Livingston Town Artist Denis Barns.
