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The Story of My Place

The death of Richard Rogers, one of the twentieth century’s ‘starchitects’ and a great supporter of My Place led John Mullin to reflect on sixteen..

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A Science Superpower needs Knowledge Freeports

The UK Government’s Levelling Up White Paper wants to create a 21st century Medici effect, with high levels of innovation and growth beyond the golden..
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No Place Left Behind

James Gross talks to Toby Lloyd, Chair of the Commission into Prosperity and Community Placemaking on the publication of their findings in the Create Streets..
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Can you survive in the city without your smartphone?

As part of the YU Small grant scheme 2021, Cécile Poullain and Pauline Niesseron have explored how smartphones influence our ability to perceive our urban..
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No more Levelling Down

As the government launches its Levelling Up white paper, John Montgomery argues that many towns and cities struggle to sustain meaningful work and prosperity and..
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The Importance of Markets

Following the AoU’s successful markets event on 27th January one of its co-organisers Anwar Akhtar describes how his time as a youth, working on market..
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The Future of Retail in London

As we struggle through another COVID Christmas, Kathryn Firth asks why shopping is such a divided activity.  Visitors to the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in..
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Opinion

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Say but little and say it well

Following a trip to Edinburgh our roving architecture critic C. Gull delivers a characteristically grumpy assessment of some recent developments in the city. Prince’s Street..
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THE URBAN IDIOT: Biodiversity Net Gain

Those of you who are regular readers of the Urban Idiot will recall that this is a column about how good intentions can go wrong...
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MY VIEW IS: Tranquility

In the third of his series on urbanism and philosophy, Andreas Markides asks why we have lost the art of being tranquil When I first..
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News & Reviews

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Who Owns England?

The unasked question that affects so much of what we do as urbanists is who owns England? Nicholas Falk reviews Guy Shrubsole’s important book, subtitled..
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All Change at the Academy of Urbanism

The Academy is about to embark on a new chapter in its life as major changes take place within our management structure with two long-serving..
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REVIEW: The Levelling up White Paper

Much of the coverage of the Levelling Up White paper has focussed on the 12 missions. If anything the 300 page supporting document has been..
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Message From the Chair

AoU Chair Andrew Burrell reviews the last few months and provides belated new years greetings I trust you all had a good Festive Season, despite..
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REVIEW: Wilding: The Return to Nature of a British Farm by Isabella Tree

This book may not be very urban but as Nicholas Falk suggests it has much in it to inform and inspire urbanists. Most urbanists want..
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Space Syntax Training

My Place

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Lincoln City

Rita Brar: Strategic Planner Having lived in and experienced the beauties of both historic Cambridge, where my grandfather spent his life after emigrating from North..
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The National Mall, Washington, DC

Joel Mills, AoU My office is three blocks away from the National Mall. I have had a relationship with this grand gathering space throughout my..
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Hillsborough Stadium, Sheffield.

Simon Allford: RIBA President, and founder partner AHMM Architects I am an architect, born to an architect father.  I grew up with him, my mother..
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Gibellina Vecchia, Italy

Giulia Vallone: Senior Architect, Cork City Council With every return home to Sicily, there are places I visit that never cease to replenish my creative..
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Caledonian Road, London

Angela Brady OBE: PPRIBA, Architect and Design Champion. For years we wanted to build our own office, or create it as part of a development..
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Venice, Italy

Steffen Lehmann: Urbanist My choice of place had to be Venice! The Italian city is simply too unique and memorable not to rank at the..
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Almanzora Spain

Rob Ramwell: Former Estate Management Officer Hulme in Manchester holds a very special place in my heart. I moved into the (usually preceded by infamous..
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Inside my head

Chris Lethbridge: Artist I work in arts and creative industry development and management. I’m also a somewhat sporadic artist based in St Just-in-Penwith, West Cornwall,..
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New York City

Satpal Kaur: Design Activist I come from a generation of builders who travelled from pre-partition India to Kenya under British colonial rule and finally arrived..
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The Farrell Centre, Newcastle.

Sir Terry Farrell – Architect and urbanist I grew up in a prefab on a housing estate to the north of Newcastle, the edge of..
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Old Oak Common

Shevaughn Rieck – Architect I have been at Farrells London since my placement as a Part I at Newcastle University. 15 years later, I am still..
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The Llŷn Peninsula, Wales

Hélène Rudlin – Garden Designer I spent my formative years in the Perigord Noir and I think the hiraeth I felt, during the intervening years..
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