How did we get here today?
Join The London Society for this informative series of Saturday morning talks with some of London’s leading experts.
This year’s Planning School sheds light on the city’s last fifty years of urban development. How did we get to where we are today, and what do we owe these various eras? Each week, we’ll explore a decade – its policies, its battles, its formative projects – from the mouths of those who know them best.
Here you can block book for all five talks with the series discount – five talks for the price of four. Non-members will get a year’s individual membership of the Society as part of the package.
Follow the links below to book for individual talks.
28 September: Prof John Davis on the 1970s
– Community planning was ascendant after a paternal state had built one too many tower blocks. The Westway was completed while Covent Garden was spared its own 4-lane ring road. While some were battling to save our streets others were rioting in them. Click here to book just for this talk.
5 October: Eric Sorensen on the 1980s
– Canary Wharf emerged, the Greater London Council was dissolved, Thatcher was in power and market economics ruled. This was the decade we rediscovered the River Thames and the power of the City. Click here to book just for this talk.
12 October: Joanna Averley on the 2000s
– London had a mayor, a plan and an urban task force. Kings Cross finally got developed and all over the city we saw the start of an urban renaissance… until there was a crash. Click here to book just for this talk.
19 October: Fred Manson on the 1990s
– Bluewater, the British Library and the Millenium Dome arrived with fanfare, while the creeping gentrification of Hoxton Square pointed to more profound changes in the air. Click here to book just for this talk.
26 October: Sam Jacob on the 2010s
– Localism gave communities new powers while local council budgets haemorrhaged. The Olympics proved we could put on a show for a global audience, but our housing crisis poses the question: who is the city for? Click here to book just for this talk.
*Block booking discount expires on Friday, 27 September – use the links by individual sessions to book for specific talks.
*We are sorry, but there is no disability access to The Old Waiting Room.