Bad architecture. Soulless. Destructive of communities. The suburbs are much-maligned places. We see this time and again in films like American Beauty and novels like The Ice Storm. But are they really as homogenous and conservative as we think they are? In this wide-ranging comparative study of England and the United States, Mark Clapson offers new interpretations on suburbia. The majority of people in both countries now live in suburbs, largely as a result of the rising affluence of the postwar period. Millions of Americans pursued an aspiration to settle away from the poorer town and city centres in new subdivisions, while in England people were keen to leave terraced streets and poorer suburban housing areas. Examining housing policies, the politics of affluence and social class, Clapson challenges deeply held myths by demonstrating the complexity of suburban life. He shows how suburbs are becoming increasingly multicultural and compares the minority experience in both countries. He analyzes voting patterns to reveal some surprising political trends. In addition, he discusses gender and the experience of community life. Throughout, he uncovers the similarities and differences in the English and American experience of suburbanization in the twentieth century. This is a timely and original account that looks beyond the stereotypes of life in the 'burbs.

Most urban growth over the last several decades has been in suburban areas, but research in urban sociology and other urban disciplines has been focused on the city (the global city, the networked city, the post-industrial city). A majority of the world population lives in urban areas, most in suburban regions, including the shanty towns of Asia, favelas of South America, slums of Africa and banileue and inner-city suburbs of the developed nations. "Suburbanization in Global Society" presents new and innovative contributions in comparative suburban studies for urban regions, not just in Europe and the United States but also including emerging metropolitan regions in China, India and other areas of the world. This volume examines the emerging patterns of suburban development in metropolitan regions around the globe. Research is post-1945 with a particular focus upon social and cultural change in suburbanisation processes in developed as well as emerging urban countries.

Not all council estates are the same. A detailed historical account of the birth and social evolution of the Whitley council estate in Reading, Working-Class Suburb challenges many of the more depressing images and cultural stereotypes about council housing in twentieth and twenty-first century England. Key areas covered by the study are housing and politics; community campaigns; women and the corporate life of council estates; the uses of leisure; the relationships between tenants, residents and the local authority, and continuities in working-class life despite economic, demographic and political change. The book will be of interest to anyone studying urban history and social history, to professionals working in the fields of housing policy and housing studies, and to the growing number of academics interested in suburban studies. -- .

Triggered in part by contemporary experiences in the Balkans, the Middle East and elsewhere, there has been a rise in interest in the blitz and the subsequent reconstruction of cities, especially as many of the buildings and areas rebuilt after the Second World War are now facing demolition and reconstruction in their turn. Drawing together leading scholars and new researchers from across the fields of planning, history, architecture and geography, this volume presents an historical and cultural commentary on the immediate and longer-term impacts of wartime destruction. The book's contents in 14 chapters cover the spread of themes from experiencing the war to reconstruction and its experiences; and although many chapters draw upon the UK experience, there is deliberate inclusion of some material from mainland Europe and Japan to emphasise that the experiences, processes and products are not London-specific. A comparative book tracing destruction to reconstruction is a relative rarity, and yet of the utmost importance in possessing wider relevance to post-disaster reconstructions. The Blitz and Its Legacy is a fascinating volume which includes war experiences of destruction, architecture, urban design, the political process of planning and reconstruction, and also popular perceptions of rebuilding. Its findings provide very timely lessons which highlight the value of learning from historical precedent.

The postwar British city was been shaped by many international forces during the last century, but American influences on British urban research and urban planning have been particularly significant. Beginning with debates about reconstruction during the Second World War, Anglo-American Crossroads explores how Americanisation influenced key approaches to town planning, from reconstruction after 1945 to the New Urbanism of the 1990s. Clapson pays particular attention to the relationship between urban sociological research and planning issues since the 1950s. He also addresses the ways in which American developers and planners of new communities looked to the British new towns and garden city movement for inspiration. Using a wide range of sources, from American Foundation Archives to town planning materials and urban sociologies, Anglo-American Crossroads shows that although some things went wrong in translation from the USA to Britain, there were also some important successes within a transatlantic dialogue that was more nuanced than a one-dimensional process of American hegemony.

The Routledge Companion to Twentieth-Century Britain is a jargon-free guide to the social, economic and political history of Britain since 1900. Opening with a general introduction and overview of twentieth century Britain, the book contains a wealth of chronologies, facts and figures, introductions to major themes, the historiography of twentieth century Britain, a guide to sources and resources, biographies of the most important figures and a dictionary of key terms, providing a comprehensive and up-to-date introduction to this key period of change and development in this most urban of nations. From the outbreak of World War One, to the introduction of the NHS, to the first television set, this book covers in detail some of the most important events that shaped twentieth-century Britain. Topics discussed include: class: the working and middle classes gender: women's history ethnicity: immigration and the idea of multicultural Britain social policy: poverty and welfare economic paradox: decline and affluence economic change: manufacturing and services popular culture: music, fashion, sports, screen liberalisation: Victorian Values and permissiveness political parties: the major and minor parties governments: achievements and problems the wider world: Ireland; decolonization; European integration. Packed with useful information, this guide will be an indispensable reference tool for all those seeking an introduction to twentieth century British history.

The Routledge Companion to Twentieth-Century Britain is a jargon-free guide to the social, economic and political history of Britain since 1900. Opening with a general introduction and overview of twentieth century Britain, the book contains a wealth of chronologies, facts and figures, introductions to major themes, the historiography of twentieth century Britain, a guide to sources and resources, biographies of the most important figures and a dictionary of key terms, providing a comprehensive and up-to-date introduction to this key period of change and development in this most urban of nations.

From the outbreak of World War One, to the introduction of the NHS, to the first television set, this book covers in detail some of the most important events that shaped twentieth-century Britain. Topics discussed include:

• class: the working and middle classes
• gender: women s history
• ethnicity: immigration and the idea of multicultural Britain
• social policy: poverty and welfare
• economic paradox: decline and affluence
• economic change: manufacturing and services
• popular culture: music, fashion, sports, screen
• liberalisation: Victorian Values and permissiveness
• political parties: the major and minor parties
• governments: achievements and problems
• the wider world: Ireland; decolonization; European integration.

Packed with useful information, this guide will be an indispensable reference tool for all those seeking an introduction to twentieth century British history.

Most people in Britain have heard of Milton Keynes. Established in 1967, it is England's largest new city and one of the fastest-growing urban areas in the UK. It is also suburban city, genuinely liked and appreciated by most of its citizens. For many reasons, however, Milton Keynes is misunderstood, and its valuable recent lessons are mostly ignored in debates about national urban policy. This book therefore discusses the popular and intellectual prejudices that have distorted understandings of the new city. It focused upon the original thinking that went into the planning of Milton Keynes, highlights the most notable features of its design and construction, and assesses the impact of new development upon the countryside and agriculture. A city is nothing without its people, of course, so Mark Clapson looks at who has moved to Milton Keynes, and discusses their experiences of settling in. He also confronts the common myth of the new city's soullessness with an account of community and association that emphasises the strength of social interaction there. This work provides an informed account of the first decades of Milton Keynes, and emphasizes its relevance to social and urban ch

Most people in Britain have heard of Milton Keynes. Established in 1967, it is England's largest new city and one of the fastest-growing urban areas in the UK. It is also suburban city, genuinely liked and appreciated by most of its citizens. For many reasons, however, Milton Keynes is misunderstood, and its valuable recent lessons are mostly ignored in debates about national urban policy. This book therefore discusses the popular and intellectual prejudices that have distorted understandings of the new city. It focused upon the original thinking that went into the planning of Milton Keynes, highlights the most notable features of its design and construction, and assesses the impact of new development upon the countryside and agriculture. A city is nothing without its people, of course, so Mark Clapson looks at who has moved to Milton Keynes, and discusses their experiences of settling in. He also confronts the common myth of the new city's soullessness with an account of community and association that emphasises the strength of social interaction there. This work provides an informed account of the first decades of Milton Keynes, and emphasizes its relevance to social and urban ch

Books about history using real life memories recorded specifically for the purpose are rare, Live, Work & Play is just such a book. Created from the hundreds of reminiscences of the residents of the town gathered by the WGC Heritage Trust and put into historical context by Prof Mark Clapson , one of the UK's leading social historians, the book offers a unique insight into the creation of the UK's second garden city. Timed to appear at the start of 2020, when Welwyn Garden City achieves its 100th year, the history of Sir Ebenezer Howard's final masterpiece, with all its imperfections, is laid out for all to read. Now thriving and at ease with itself WGC is an example of how to create homes for its community. Created as a Garden City in 1920, developed as a New Town from 1948 the lessons it offers are invaluable to both developers and governments alike.

The postwar British city was been shaped by many international forces during the last century, but American influences on British urban research and urban planning have been particularly significant. Beginning with debates about reconstruction during the Second World War, Anglo-American Crossroads explores how Americanisation influenced key approaches to town planning, from reconstruction after 1945 to the New Urbanism of the 1990s. Clapson pays particular attention to the relationship between urban sociological research and planning issues since the 1950s. He also addresses the ways in which American developers and planners of new communities looked to the British new towns and garden city movement for inspiration. Using a wide range of sources, from American Foundation Archives to town planning materials and urban sociologies, Anglo-American Crossroads shows that although some things went wrong in translation from the USA to Britain, there were also some important successes within a transatlantic dialogue that was more nuanced than a one-dimensional process of American hegemony.

Bad architecture. Soulless. Destructive of communities. The suburbs are much-maligned places. We see this time and again in films like American Beauty and novels like The Ice Storm. But are they really as homogenous and conservative as we think they are? In this wide-ranging comparative study of England and the United States, Mark Clapson offers new interpretations on suburbia. The majority of people in both countries now live in suburbs, largely as a result of the rising affluence of the postwar period. Millions of Americans pursued an aspiration to settle away from the poorer town and city centres in new subdivisions, while in England people were keen to leave terraced streets and poorer suburban housing areas. Examining housing policies, the politics of affluence and social class, Clapson challenges deeply held myths by demonstrating the complexity of suburban life. He shows how suburbs are becoming increasingly multicultural and compares the minority experience in both countries. He analyzes voting patterns to reveal some surprising political trends. In addition, he discusses gender and the experience of community life. Throughout, he uncovers the similarities and differences in the English and American experience of suburbanization in the twentieth century. This is a timely and original account that looks beyond the stereotypes of life in the 'burbs.

Triggered in part by contemporary experiences in the Balkans, the Middle East and elsewhere, there has been a rise in interest in the blitz and the subsequent reconstruction of cities, especially as many of the buildings and areas rebuilt after the Second World War are now facing demolition and reconstruction in their turn. Drawing together leading scholars and new researchers from across the fields of planning, history, architecture and geography, this volume presents an historical and cultural commentary on the immediate and longer-term impacts of wartime destruction. The book's contents in 14 chapters cover the spread of themes from experiencing the war to reconstruction and its experiences; and although many chapters draw upon the UK experience, there is deliberate inclusion of some material from mainland Europe and Japan to emphasise that the experiences, processes and products are not London-specific. A comparative book tracing destruction to reconstruction is a relative rarity, and yet of the utmost importance in possessing wider relevance to post-disaster reconstructions. The Blitz and Its Legacy is a fascinating volume which includes war experiences of destruction, architecture, urban design, the political process of planning and reconstruction, and also popular perceptions of rebuilding. Its findings provide very timely lessons which highlight the value of learning from historical precedent.