Policy Press

Rebuilding Britain

Planning for a Better Future

By Kate Henderson and Hugh Ellis

Published

Sep 24, 2014

Page count

184 pages

ISBN

978-1447317593

Dimensions

216 x 138 mm

Imprint

Policy Press

Published

Sep 24, 2014

Page count

184 pages

ISBN

978-1447317609

Dimensions

Imprint

Policy Press

Published

Sep 24, 2014

Page count

184 pages

ISBN

978-1447317616

Dimensions

Imprint

Policy Press
Rebuilding Britain

Britain faces extraordinary challenges, from climate change to growing inequality and global economics, but as a nation it has no plan for the future. This unique book asks a simple question: how can Britain organise itself, not just for survival but to build a fairer and sustainable society? The arguments refer to the high ambitions of those who pioneered the planning movement and campaigned for a clear set of progressive values, but whose drive for utopia has now been forgotten.

The book takes a distinctive approach to exploring the value to society of social town planning and offers a doorway for how planning, both morally and practically, can help to meet key challenges of the 21st century. It challenges the widely held view that it’s impossible to achieve a better future by suggesting that there is real choice in how society develops and pointing to contemporary examples of utopia.

This accessible book makes essential reading for students in the built environment and the wider social sciences who have an interest in UK and European examples of sustainable communities.

Hugh Ellis joined the TCPA as Chief Planner in March 2009 where he is responsible for the Association’s work on climate change and planning reform. Prior to this, Hugh had been Planning Adviser to Friends of the Earth and held a teaching and research post at the University of Sheffield.

Kate Henderson is Chief Executive of Britain's oldest charity concerned with planning, housing and the environment, the Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA). She is responsible for leading the Association’s efforts to shape and advocate planning policies that put social justice and the environment at the heart of the debate.

PART ONE: We are not a poor nation but we are badly organized;

How are we going to live?;

Why care about the future?;

A forgotten heritage of hope;

PART TWO: The lie of the land!;

The nature of the challenge;

A divided nation;

The housing crisis;

The climate change challenge;

Economic transformation;

A disconnected politics;

PART THREE: Practical steps to building a better society;

A fair and efficient society;

Rebuilding Trust;

Building the communities we need;

Providing a resilient and low-carbon future;

Paying for Utopia;

PART FOUR: Tomorrow’s pioneers;

Utopia on your doorstep;

Too Late for Utopia?