Edinburgh : the making of a capital city / edited by Brian Edwards and Paul Jenkins.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Edwards, Brian, Author.

Contributor:

Edwards, Brian, 1944-

Jenkins, Paul, 1953-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

City planning--Scotland--Edinburgh--History.

City planning.

Urban policy--Scotland--Edinburgh--History.

Urban policy.

Edinburgh (Scotland)--History.

Edinburgh (Scotland).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (x, 255 p.), 8 unnumbered p. of plates : ill., maps

Place of Publication:

Edinburgh : Edinburgh Univ. P., 2005.

Summary:

This book provides a unique and comprehensive review of the making and re-making of Edinburgh over most of the last millennium. A series of themes of wide relevance are explored and discussed in the context of their impact upon the form of the city and its success as a capital. These include: The European influence on urban and architectural form. The synthesis of architecture, landscape and topography. The dialogue between conservation and innovation. The search for social, economic and cultural sustainability. The role of governance and public action in urban ecology. A special feature of the book is the way the Old and New Towns are discussed as a connected problem of image and politics, rather than two isolated events in the history of the city. Likewise, the relations between the city centre, the suburban edge and beyond throughout the 20th century are examined holistically, allowing the reader to gain a broader perspective both of the city of today and of the future. What emerges is a city unique - at least in the UK - in terms of the care taken over its image and sense of identity, and the political and institutional investment made in preserving this. Key Features: Deals with the development of the city in a holistic manner. Relates the physical evolution of the city to wide social, cultural, economic and political movements in the UK and Europe. Uses design, conservation, sustainability and governance as major structuring themes. Presents fresh perspectives on the making and re-making of Edinburgh over a period of nearly 1,000 years.

Contents:

Introduction / Brian Edwards and Paul Jenkins

The evolution of the medieval and Renaissance city / Ian Campbell and Margaret Stewart

Twinning cities : modernisation versus improvement in the two towns of Edinburgh / Charles McKean

Landscape, topography and hydrology / John Stuart-Murray

Landscapes of capital : industry and the built environment in Edinburgh, 1750-1920 / Richard Rodger

Edinburgh

a tenement city? / Peter Robinson

'Conservative surgery' in Old Edinburgh, 1880-1940 / Lou Rosenburg and Jim Johnson

Housing and suburbanisation in the early and mid-20th century / Miles Glendinning

The changing role of the planner before and after the Second World War and the effect on urban form / Cliff Hague

Creation and conservation of the built environment in the later 20th century / Paul Jenkins and Julian Holder

Preparing for the 21st century : the city in a global environment / Derek Kerr

The changing image and identity of the city in the 21st century : 'Athens of the North' or 'North of Athens' / Cliff Hague and Paul Jenkins

Conclusion : Learning from history / Brian Edwards and Paul Jenkins.

Notes:

Includes bibiliographical references (pages [249]-251) and index.

ISBN:

1-4744-6798-9