A Grenfell Tribute: New eBook Promotes London’s Council Housing Diversity

pop-tower-block-imageblair_high-res-orangeThe Poverty of Planning
Crisis in the Urban Environment
by Thomas L Blair
Published: 13/10/2017
eISBN: 9781908480620
Format: eBook reprint £1.99
Buy from Amazon http://amzn.to/2An2iAJ

IMMEDIATE RELEASE  4 December 2017

By Thomas L Blair 4 December 2017©

The Grenfell Tower inferno, 14th June 2017, forced urban regeneration and social housing on top of the political agenda. Once again, the cry is “Planning for people”. A view local politicians rejected as they launched the Grenfell 1960s glut of problem-prone, high-rise council housing.

The Poverty of Planning, written in 1973, put the critical issues and safe solutions in sharp perspective.

  • “Failed building structures and lax political response” are the culprits.
  • “Poorly designed housing for poor and minority people” is a discredited strategy.

Furthermore, as its name suggests, it is a stinging critique of uncaring technocrats, bureaucrats and urban elites.

This reform-minded digital book, The Poverty of Planning, argues for some basic principles:

  • Neighbourhood planning and community panels are the bedrock of policy and professional actions.
  • Redistributive justice and social participation is the answer.

These principles echo the radical “New Urbanists”: British social welfare champion Professor Richard Titmus and the American “Save our Village” activist Jane Jacobs.

Therefore, the chief stakeholders – tenants and communities, government authorities, professionals and urban elites and communities — must agree to:

  • Revive London’s vanishing asset: affordable council housing that is multi-racial, faith and culture.
  • Make council housing a much safer, affordable place that offers tenants a rung up the scale of social mobility.

Author’s Profile:

Professor Thomas L Blair, MA, PhD writes on city planning and social change. His authored books include The International Urban Crisis and Strengthening Urban Management.

Click to buy The Poverty of Planning By Thomas L Blair http://amzn.to/2An2iAJ  £1.99

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