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| Genre/Form: | History |
|---|---|
| Document Type: | Book |
| All Authors / Contributors: |
Otto Saumarez Smith |
| ISBN: | 0198836406 9780198836407 |
| OCLC Number: | 1048125691 |
| Description: | x, 198 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm |
| Contents: | Optimism, traffic, and the historic city in post-war British planning -- Blue, white, and red heat: central government and city-centre redevelopment -- Blackburn goes pop: city-centre redevelopment in a provincial city -- Planning for affluence: Graeme Shankland and the political culture of the British Left -- Modernism in an old country: Lionel Brett, an establishment architect-planner -- The trajectory of central-area redevelopment. |
| Responsibility: | Otto Saumarez Smith. |
Abstract:
Reviews
Publisher Synopsis
"In his meticulous new book Boom Cities, Otto Saumarez Smith wishes us to understand British architect-planners' activities in the 1960s and respect their objectives." - Will Self, Prospect Magazine Otto Saumarez Smith's [has written a] detailed and engrossing book about the mid-20th-century boom in urban redevelopment ... That the book ends with a sense of "tragedy" and "intense disillusionment" is less of a judgement on the characters involved and more on the inherent penny-pinching - or money-misdirecting, perhaps - of the British political class when presented with the chance to create a dignifying, elevating, equalising public realm. The strength ofBoom Cities lies in its insistence that blaming individuals for the failures of a whole political and economic system is too easy. It makes us see the things that should have been different, and the ways in which they could still be. * Lynsey Hanley, New Statesman * Saumarez Smith demonstrates that the urban plans of the 1960s were shaped by forces that are still central to contemporary practice: the need to use urban renewal to reduce inequalities and yet serve an affluent citizenry; the requirement to balance the needs of a local community against the developer's profit motive; and the desire to insert new forms into the historic cityscape thoughtfully. The resonances with contemporary practice are clear throughout this book:Boom Cities is therefore essential reading not just for historians of 20th century architecture and urbanism, but also for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the development of the contemporary planning profession. * Ewan Harrison, The RIBA Journal * This is a brilliantly researched and very readable book. * Michael Taylor, Context * hugely readable and fascinating * Helen Goodwin, Architecture Today * Saumarez Smith writes deftly and has a deep understanding of his subject * Elain Harwood, Literary Review * if you're interested in the motives that inspired the wholesale reshaping of our town and city centres in the Sixties, he has a tale worth telling ... Boom Cities is well-stocked with interesting and revealing quotes ... 4 stars * Michael Bird, The Telegraph * ingeniously researched, well-written and subtly argued study * David Kynaston, Times Literary Supplement * Read more...
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Related Subjects:(11)
- Urban renewal -- Great Britain -- History -- 20th century.
- City planning -- Great Britain -- History -- 20th century.
- City planning.
- Urban renewal.
- Great Britain.
- Architektur
- Innenstadt
- Kommunalpolitik
- Stadtentwicklung
- Stadtplanung
- London
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by DanielFrost updated 2019-10-15
