University News Last updated 11 March 2013
Academics at Birmingham City University are among the contributors to a new book on the Blitz and its legacy, which explores the large scale urban rebuilding made necessary by bomb damage during the Second World War.
Peter Larkham, Professor of Planning, and David Adams, Lecturer in Planning, at Birmingham School of the Built Environment (BSBE), part of Birmingham City University, have written about the restructuring of urban areas in the book, called ‘The Blitz and its legacy: wartime destruction to post-war reconstruction’.
The book was edited by Professor Larkham and Dr Mark Clapson of the University of Westminster. Other contributors cover the restructuring of urban areas not just in the UK but also in France, Germany and Japan. Professor Larkham said: “The cities we live in today were in many cases rebuilt from the rubble of wartime, and understanding why they were built this way helps us value the memory of the past but also to plan for a better urban future.”
Birmingham City University will be hosting a free one-day workshop on Monday 25 March to mark the book’s release and discuss other key developments related to the book’s themes, including the provision of cycling facilities in the re-building of UK road systems and the post-war planning behind the redevelopment of UK cities and towns.
The event takes place at Birmingham City University’s Millennium Point campus and runs from 9.30am until 4pm. For more information, contact Professor Peter Larkham.