The most attractive cities are often messy and poorly planned, which allows for enhanced resilience and adaptability.
Much of London was destroyed in the Great Fire and again in the Blitz. How did the city respond, and are there lessons for ever-growing cities today? London’s response to the two crises of the Great Fire and the Blitz was very different. How should an ever-expanding London today deal with the challenges to cities?
Nicholas Kenyon, Director of the Barbican Centre, marks the 350th anniversary of the Great Fire of London with a look at how London recovered from two major disasters.
In this audio recording, he explores the issues with architects Lord Richard Rogers and Eric Parry; Professor of Urban Studies at the LSE, Ricky Burdett; Meriel Jeater, Curator of the Museum of London‘s Fire Fire! exhibition; Peter Larkham, Professor of Planning at Birmingham City University; Design Historian and Public Space Consultant Sarah Gaventa; architecture critic and author of Slow Burn City, Rowan Moore, and Creative Cities exponent, Charles Landry.