Towns, Plans and Society in Modern Britain [Hardcover]

A concise survey of how, and why, the urban environment has changed in Britain over the past two centuries.This concise survey aims to explore the interaction of the social and physical environment of cities. Helen Meller shows that while all modern societies have been subject to the economic, social and technological forces which have produced man urbanisation, not all towns and cities are the same. The author addresses the question of how people in Britain have sought to improve the quality of life in cities, and points out how projects to regenerate the urban environment have drawn on local history, traditions and culture to produce unique results.This concise survey aims to explore the interaction of the social and physical environment of cities. Helen Meller shows that while all modern societies have been subject to the economic, social and technological forces which have produced man urbanisation, not all towns and cities are the same. The author addresses the question of how people in Britain have sought to improve the quality of life in cities, and points out how projects to regenerate the urban environment have drawn on local history, traditions and culture to produce unique results.This concise survey explores the interaction of the social and physical environment of cities. Helen Meller shows that while all modern societies have been subject to the economic, social and technological forces that have produced mass urbanization, not all towns and cities are the same. The author addresses the question of how people in Britain have sought to improve the quality of life in cities, and points out how projects to regenerate the urban environment have drawn on local history, traditions and culture to produce unique results.1. Introduction; 2. Understanding cities: the impact of mass urbanisation; 3. Ideals and experiments in modern urban living, 18601914; 4. Town planning in a free society: the inter war period; 5. The golden age of planning: 'Building the bettel#.