Boom Cities : Architect Planners and the Politics of Radical Urban Renewal in 1960s Britain

__Boom Cities: Architect-Planners and the Politics of Radical Urban Renewal in 1960s Britain__ is the first published history of the profound transformations of British city centres in the 1960s. It details the rise and fall of this complex and notorious subject, of which it has often been said that urban planners did more damage to Britain’s cities than even the Luftwaffe had managed. The result is the first account to reveal the origins and dissolution of the cross-party consensus on modernist urban planning, before the ideological smearing that has ever since characterized the high-rise towers, dizzying ring roads, and concrete precincts that were left behind. The rebuilding of British city centres during the 1960s drastically affected the built form of urban Britain, including places ranging from traditional cathedral cities through to the decaying towns of the Industrial Revolution. Throughout the course of the book many cities are visited, but, more importantly, __Boom Cities__ uncovers both the planning philosophy, and the political, cultural, and legislative background that created the conditions for these processes to occur across the country. It reveals the role of architect-planners in these transformations. The book also provides an unconventional account of the end of modernist approaches to the built environment, showing it from the perspective of planning and policy elites, rather than through the emergence of public opposition to planning. "Boom Cities: Architect-Planners and the Politics of Radical Urban Renewal in 1960s Britain is the first published history of the profound transformations of British city centres in the 1960s. It details the rise and fall of this complex and notorious subject, of which it has often been said that urban planners did more damage to Britain’s cities than even the Luftwaffe had managed. The result is the first account to reveal the origins and dissolution of the cross-party consensus on modernist urban planning, before the ideological smearing that has ever since characterized the high-rise towers, dizzying ring roads, and concrete precincts that were left behind. The rebuilding of British city centres during the 1960s drastically affected the built form of urban Britain, including places ranging from traditional cathedral cities through to the decaying towns of the Industrial Revolution. Throughout the course of the book many cities are visited, but, more importantly, Boom Cities uncovers both the planning philosophy, and the political, cultural, and legislative background that created the conditions for these processes to occur across the country. It reveals the role of architect-planners in these transformations. The book also provides an unconventional account of the end of modernist approaches to the built environment, showing it from the perspective of planning and policy elites, rather than through the emergence of public opposition to planning." -- Oxford Scholarship Online "Boom Cities is the first published history of the profound transformations of British city centres in the 1960s. It has often been said that urban planners did more damage to Britain's cities than even the Luftwaffe had managed, and this study details the rise and fall of modernist urban planning, revealing its origins and the dissolution of the cross-party consensus, before the ideological smearing that has ever since characterized the high-rise towers, dizzying ring roads, and concrete precincts that were left behind. The rebuilding of British city centres during the 1960s drastically affected the built form of urban Britain, including places ranging from traditional cathedral cities through to the decaying towns of the industrial revolution. Boom Cities uncovers both the planning philosophy, and the political, cultural, and legislative background that created the conditions for these processes to occur across the country. Boom Cities reveals the role of architect-planners in these transformations. The volume also provides an unconventional account of the end of modernist approaches to the built environment, showing it from the perspective of planning and policy elites, rather than through the emergence of public opposition to planning" -- Oxford University Press Boom Cities is the first published history of the profound transformations of British city centres in the 1960s. It has often been said that urban planners did more damage to Britain's cities than even the Luftwaffe had managed, and this study details the rise and fall of modernist urban planning, revealing its origins and the dissolution of the cross-party consensus, before the ideological smearing that has ever since characterized the high-rise towers, dizzying ring roads, and concrete precincts that were left behind. The rebuilding of British city centres during the 1960s drastically affected the built form of urban Britain, including places ranging from traditional cathedral cities through to the decaying towns of the industrial revolution. Boom Cities uncovers both the planning philosophy, and the political, cultural, and legislative background that created the conditions for these processes to occur across the country. Boom Cities reveals the role of architect-planners in these transformations. The book also provides an unconventional account of the end of modernist approaches to the built environment, showing it from the perspective of planning and policy elites, rather than through the emergence of public opposition to planning. Boom Cities' is the first published history of the profound transformations of British city centres in the 1960s. It has often been said that urban planners did more damage to Britain's cities than even the Luftwaffe had managed, and this study details the rise and fall of modernist urban planning, revealing its origins and the dissolution of the cross-party consensus, before the ideological smearing that has ever since characterized the high-rise towers, dizzying ring roads, and concrete precincts that were left behind. 0The rebuilding of British city centres during the 1960s drastically affected the built form of urban Britain, including places ranging from traditional cathedral cities through to the decaying towns of the industrial revolution. Boom Cities uncovers both the planning philosophy, and the political, cultural, and legislative background that created the conditions for these processes to occur across the country.0'Boom Cities' reveals the role of architect-planners in these transformations. The book also provides an unconventional account of the end of modernist approaches to the built environment, showing it from the perspective of planning and policy elites, rather than through the emergence of public opposition to planning Cover Title_Pages (1) Acknowledgements List_of_Figures Introduction Optimism_Traffic_and_the_Historic_City_in_PostWar_British_Planning Blue_White_and_Red_HeatCentral_Government_and_CityCentre_Redevelopment Blackburn_Goes_PopCityCentre_Redevelopment_in_a_Provincial_City Planning_for_AffluenceGraeme_Shankland_and_the_Political_Culture_of_the_British_Left Modernism_in_an_Old_CountryLionel_Brett_an_Establishment_ArchitectPlanner The_Trajectory_of_CentralArea_Redevelopment Bibliography Index In this volume, Otto Saumarez Smith recounts the fraught history of the urban development of British city centres in the 1960s, uncovering the planning philosophy, and the political, cultural, and legislative background that created the conditions for these transformations to occur across the country.