BBC World Service radio has an interesting series called “Making Cities Work“, available for listening in streaming or downloadable formats. It explores a lot of stimulating ideas and issues around urban planning, community, sustainability, renewal, etc.. The series features four cities: Mexico City, Moscow, Huangbaiyu and Dongtan in China (which we featured in an earlier post), and most recently Detroit.
The BBC also explores city-building in the past in an interesting story about a new book, Building Jerusalem: The Rise and Fall of the Victorian City, by historian Tristram Hunt:
Hunt celebrates the architects, sewer-constructors and local politicians who transformed Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham, Leeds, Bradford and Glasgow into “Venices of the north” in the 19th Century.
Indeed, he thinks these Victorian characters can teach us a thing or two about civic pride, city life and intellectual creativity.
2 comments
haha, I was JUST looking at that site. They have a really good recent one on Detroit too.
haaha, a recent one that you linked too. Good thing I read things twice.