Ken’s planning for London?
Austin Williams | 27 February 2006 The Greater London Authority Act of 1999 that paved the way for Ken Livingstone’s reincarnation as the mayor of London was the longest piece of legislation passed by parliament since the Government of India Act in 1935. At that time, in the guise of enhancing local democratic autonomy, the imperial Governor General retained total authority over administration, legislation and finances of his fiefdom....
ESSAY: New Orleans and the New Urban vision
Austin Williams | 05 February 2006 In a recent article in the Washington Post, architect and professor of architecture, Roger K Lewis bemoans the proposed rebuilding New Orleans. ‘Why, ‘ he asks, ‘do we stubbornly refuse to acknowledge that there are places on the earth’s surface – wetlands and floodplains, seismically active regions, arid deserts, steep hillsides and cliffs – where erecting cities...
Orhan Pamuk’s ‘Snow’
‘Snow’ by Orhan Pamuk; Faber and Faber, 2005. 440pp Reviewed by Michael Willoughby | 10 May 2005 In Greece, the loved ones of sick people hang votive offerings at the altars of saints in the belief that it will help the sick person’s recovery. These Tamata are rectangular pieces of metal with miniature body parts attached to them. Orthodox churches are festooned with the images of sick feet, kidneys, ears and eyes....
The vacuity of ‘critical pluralism’
‘Sustainable Architecture: Cultures and Natures in Europe and North America’ by Simon Guy and Steven Moore (Eds); Spon Press, 2005. 269pp Reviewed by Austin Williams | 3 March 2005 Yet another tome from the Newcastle home of new-sustainability with a hands-across-the-sea research link with American and north European Universities. Guy, together with Graham Farmer who also has an essay here, are both from Newcastle’s School...
iRobot
‘I, Robot’ by Isaac Asimov; Collins, 1971. 256pp Reviewws by Dave Clements | 28 April 2005 In this collection of short stories written in the 1940s, Asimov explores the human condition and our changing understanding of it, vis-a-vis the robot. Each is linked by the reminisces of Susan Calvin, robo-psychologist with US Robot and Mechanical Men, Inc. ‘Robbie’ is the playmate that causes a mother to worry about...
Real Development
Austin Williams | 17 March 2004 When Sebastian Tombs, Chief Executive of the RIAS recently announced that “sustainability has been recognised formally by the RIAS as one of the keys to successful development of the built environment’ he was simply voicing what is now a commonplace assumption; that Sustainability Rules OK. Admittedly, there appears to be no alternative to sustainability, but since nobody really knows what it...
Straw Dogs
‘Straw Dogs: Thoughts on Humans and Other Animals’ by John Gray; Granta, 2002. 246pp Reviewed by Martin Earnshaw | 1 December 2003 For anyone who believes that humans have the potential to make the world a better place, John Gray’s book Straw Dogs is a depressing read. Humans, he says, are a plague on the planet, are comparable with slime mould, and can expect their numbers to be culled within the next hundred years. It is...
The Making of Paris
Austin Williams | 13 November 2003 This year sees the 150th anniversary of Haussmann’s appointment as Prefect of the Seine, engaged to draw up the plans for Paris, one of the greatest, most audacious proposals in town planning ever seen. One-and-a-half centuries later, and in New Localism or New Centralism? Planning and the Regions, Sir Jeremy Beecham, chairman of the UK’s Local Government Association, argues that ‘counties are under...
The future of mobility
Three debates organised by the Transport Research Group at the Bloomberg Auditorium, London Reviewed by Dave Clements | June 2003 In this series of three debates we were asked to consider – are more cars a problem, do we need more infrastructure, and does mobility matter anyway? As Austin Williams, director of the Transport Research Group, noted in his address, transport policy has become a popular concern, and lost its former...
Areas of grave concern
Austin Williams | 23 Nov 2002 Why are children in poor neighbourhoods more at risk of traffic accidents? In an article that originally appeared in the Daily Telegraph, Austin Williams investigates. Children in poor areas are at more risk of being knocked down by a car than those from more affluent areas. This is the startling conclusion to the latest Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR) report, Streets Ahead: Safe and liveable...
Listen in
Next meeting
Publications
NEW TITLE
