The reconstruction of blitzed British cities, 1945–55
Myths and reality
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12585459 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Nick Tiratsoo (University of Bedfordshire, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2000 |
| Volume | 14 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 27-44 |
| Publication date | 2000-03-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Contemporary British History (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1361-9462 • E-ISSN: 1743-7997 |
| Publisher | Routledge (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/13619460008581570 |
| OpenAlex | W2049615141 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 10 |
| References cited | 6 |
Fifty years after the process began, many are critical about the way that blitzed British cities were rebuilt. The problem, it is alleged, was ‘the planners’. They acted like dictators, and simply imposed their ‘New Jerusalemist’ ideas regardless of public opinion and national priority. Local populations were therefore betrayed on the alter of a profession's half‐baked utopianism. This article takes issue with such an interpretation, and shows why it is almost completely misconceived. Most planners were mild reformers, who wanted to work as far as possible in harmony with the citizens they served. However, planners were only one set of participants in a complex equation. Other forces shaped much of the reconstruction process. Most importantly, what occurred cannot be understood without reference to national government policy and the largely conservative aspirations of ordinary people
Art · Government (linguistics · Harmony (color · Interpretation (philosophy · Mythology · National government · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Public opinion · Sociology · Work (physics · Engineering · History · Law · Philosophy · Political and Economic history of UK and US · Public Administration · Urbanization and City Planning
Curated Ruins and the Endurance of Conflict Heritage
Experimental Spaces
Civic pride and redevelopment in the post-war British city
Local responses to the protection of medieval buildings and archaeology in British post-war town reconstruction
Boldness diminished? The post-war battle to replan a bomb-damaged provincial city
Phoenix Rising
British and German SMEs and the memory of war
Experimental Planning after the Blitz. Non-governmental Planning Initiativesand Post-war Reconstruction in Coventry and Rotterdam, 1940–1955
Subtopias of Good Intentions’
The Control of Outdoor Advertising, Amenity, and Urban Governance in Britain, 1893–1962
| Citations per year | 0.53 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2007 - 2020 (14) |
| Highly cited | No |