The Rise and Fall of Radical Reconstruction in 1940s Britain

German air-raids during the early days of the Second World Wardestroyed a number of cities in Britain. At the same time, somecontemporaries regarded such destruction as an opportunity notonly for the reconstruction of the built environment but alsofor the creation of a fairer society. The replanning of theblitzed areas became a symbol of the aspiration to build a NewJerusalem. This article examines the fate of radical town planning ideasin the 1940s and the early 1950s with particular reference tothe rebuilding of heavily bombed cities. It analyses the visionswhich inspired reconstruction plans, examines their conceptionand studies the visionaries, both ordinary citizens and thepolitical elite. The process of postwar reconstruction in general has becomea much-debated subject in political, economic and social historyin recent years, but there has been a serious lack of detailedexamination of postwar urban replanning and redevelopment. Thisarticle, therefore, also considers how the rebuilding of war-damagedcities should be evaluated in the light of the contemporarypolitical, economic, and social realities and issues duringthe period of postwar reconstruction. ^* I am most grateful to Dr. Nick Tiratsoo and Ms Hannah Pandianfor their comments and encouragements during the preparationof this article. I am also thankful to the editors and the refereefor their comments and suggestions. References starting CABand HLG relate to files in the Public Record Office, London.