Seven Britain’s cities of yesterday and tomorrow
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Anne Power
Abstract
This chapter argues for existing neighbourhoods and a closure of the North-South divide as ways of creating a better Sustainable Communities Plan. It notes that in the year after the plan came out, the government suggested that over the period of the plan up to 400,000 demolitions might eventually be required to ‘modernise’ and ‘revitalise’ declining cities – the very opposite of community renewal. It observes that the plan reinforced by the Barker Review of Housing reads like a house builder’s bonanza and made many existing communities shudder as it reinforced a renewed threat of the bulldozer.
Abstract
This chapter argues for existing neighbourhoods and a closure of the North-South divide as ways of creating a better Sustainable Communities Plan. It notes that in the year after the plan came out, the government suggested that over the period of the plan up to 400,000 demolitions might eventually be required to ‘modernise’ and ‘revitalise’ declining cities – the very opposite of community renewal. It observes that the plan reinforced by the Barker Review of Housing reads like a house builder’s bonanza and made many existing communities shudder as it reinforced a renewed threat of the bulldozer.
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents iii
- List of tables, figures and photographs vii
- Preface xi
- Introducing Jigsaw cities 1
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How did we get here?
- Jigsaws and Lego sets 13
- Breaking up the jigsaw 37
- Building the New Jerusalem – vision and reality 55
- Cities bounce back – piecing communities together again 79
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Where are we now?
- Britain’s cities today: a progress report 105
- Britain’s cities of yesterday and tomorrow 135
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Where do we go from here?
- Smart cities work 163
- Future cities: piecing the jigsaw together 187
- Afterword: the urban jungle or urban jigsaw? 215
- Notes and references 217
- Bibliography 241
- Index 255
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents iii
- List of tables, figures and photographs vii
- Preface xi
- Introducing Jigsaw cities 1
-
How did we get here?
- Jigsaws and Lego sets 13
- Breaking up the jigsaw 37
- Building the New Jerusalem – vision and reality 55
- Cities bounce back – piecing communities together again 79
-
Where are we now?
- Britain’s cities today: a progress report 105
- Britain’s cities of yesterday and tomorrow 135
-
Where do we go from here?
- Smart cities work 163
- Future cities: piecing the jigsaw together 187
- Afterword: the urban jungle or urban jigsaw? 215
- Notes and references 217
- Bibliography 241
- Index 255
