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England in the early part of the twentieth century was rich in utopian ventures - diverse and intriguing in their scope and aims. Two world wars, an economic depression, and the emergence of fascist states in Europe were all a spur to idealists to seek new limits - to escape from the here and now, and to create sanctuaries for new and better lives. Dennis Hardy explores this fascinating history of utopian ideals, the lives of those who pursued them, and the utopian communities they created. Some communities were fired by a long tradition of land movements, others by thoughts of more humane ways of building towns. In turn there were experiments devoted to the arts; to the promotion of religious doctrine; and to a variety of political causes. And some were just 'places of the imagination'. Utopian England is about just one episode in the perennial search for perfection, but what is revealed has lessons that extend well beyond a particular time and place. So long as there are failings in society, so long as rationality is not enough, there will continue to be a place for thinking the impossible, for going in search of utopia.
Taipei's quest to become a global city is the key to its urban development. Globalizing Taipei looks at this "Asian Dragon", a major city in the South China Growth Triangle and a centre for transnational production, revealing how the development of this capital has received firm state support but is conditioned by international and domestic politics. The book is divided into four parts: economic and spatial restructuring, state and society realignment, social differentiation and cultural reorientation. Each analyzes the interaction of international, state and local politics in the shaping of the city's urban environment since World War II. All contributors to this edited volume are Taiwan scholars presenting critical insiders' views. Based on each author's specialization and research focus, each chapter provides an in-depth consideration of one of Taipei's developmental issues generated by globalization. Collectively they provide broad, insightful and coherent coverage of this crucial time in Taipei's global transmutation.
From Canvey Island to Jaywick Sands, from Peacehaven to Pitsea; in the first 40 years of last century, thousands of English families made their own place in the sun, without benefit of councils, planners, architects, building societies, or even builders. Were they, as many planners and environmentalists suggested, making rural slums and seaside eyesores, or were they providing a unique example of unaided self-build housing, with lessons for us all today? Here Dennis Hardy and Colin Ward uncover the history of the 'plotlands' of South-East England, telling the fascinating detail of the places people built for themselves on the coast and in the country, and of what happened to them since, drawing parallels with similar developments in other parts of the world.
A comprehensive and in-depth history of the 20th century English home, how it has been created, and how it works for people. It focuses on the various influences bearing on the development of domestic space since 1914 and covers both design and housing policy. Current debates from participation to co-operative housing are examined and several themes not previously brought together are linked, e.g. urban development/house design; technology at home/women and home; social meaning of home.
Council Housing and Culture makes clear the importance of council housing to twentieth-century life and culture. A major thread through the work is the interaction of council housing with evolving working-class patterns and aspirations.
Woman Much Missed is the first book-length study of the many poems (over 150) that Thomas Hardy composed in the wake of the death of his first wife Emma in November of 1912. Mark Ford uses these poems to develop a narrative of their four-year courtship on the remote and romantic coast of Cornwall where they met, and then follows Thomas's poetic recreation of the slow degeneration of their marriage and their embittered final decade. Ford shows how Emma's writings and experiences during this time were fundamental to Thomas's evolution into both a best-selling novelist and into one of the greatest poets of the twentieth century. Although for over a decade the marriage between Thomas and Emma ha...
This book traces the policy history of urban conservation and its relationship to the town planning process and both are set in their political context. Part One deals with the origins of conservation and its cultural background. Part Two deals with the post-war legislation and the increasing scope of conservation. Part Three deals with churches and their separate control system, and Part Four brings the story up to the present time. New issues such as sustainable conservation and the latest government policy are addressed in the conclusion. This book will aid current practice and help to inform future directions.
How did colonial influences change the urban form of the Arab capitals? The author here poses - and answers - many questions on globalisation and the Middle East.
This book examines the plans for sixteen important capital cities around the world, each with its own fully illustrated chapter written by an expert on the urban development of that city
**Please note this is an unedited paperback reprint of the hardback, originally published in 2003** The British system of universal development control celebrated its 50th anniversary in 1997. Remarkably, the system has survived more or less intact but the experience of the 1980s has left large questions unanswered about the relevance and effectiveness of the system. This book traces the history of the development control system in Britain from early modern times to the present day.