Policy Press Jigsaw cities: Big places, small spaces (CASE Studies on Poverty, Place and Policy)

Through a close look at major British cities, using Birmingham as a case study, the book explores the origins of Britain's acute urban decline and sprawling exodus; the reasons why 'one size doesn't fit all' in cities of the future and the potential for smart growth, mixed communities and sustainable cities. Based on live examples and hands-on experience, this extremely accessible book offers a unique 'insider' perspective on policy making and practical impacts. It will attract policymakers in cities and government as well as students, regeneration bodies, community organisations and environmental specialists. Review 'Jigsaw Cities' provides an accessible historical overview of some of the key planning and urban deveolpments over the last two hundred years.... Social Policy, Vol 37:3, 2008At a moment of immense urban possibilities, Anne Power and John Houghton have delivered a roadmap for retrofitting British cities in a way that advances economic prosperity, promotes environmental sustainability and furthers social inclusion and opportunity. They move effortlessly from the macro to the micro, from vast city-regions to small neighborhoods, pragmatically integrating the jigsaw pieces of national priorities, historic cities and fragmented policies. Their call for community-led urban regeneration provides a strong, timely caution against 'Made in Whitehall' solutions that ignore the complexities of real places. There is a smart way to grow Britain, and this book is it. Bruce Katz, Vice President and Director, Metropolitan Policy Program, Brookings Institution, Washington, USAIn an increasingly urban world, the decisions we take now about how our cities are planned, developed and managed are fundamentally important to tackling the global environmental crisis we face. This book offers us a clear routemap towards greater urban sustainbility, examining how we can avoid repeating the mistakes of the past and develop socially inclusive, environmentally efficient and vibrant urban centres, fit for the 21st century. Paul King, Director of Campaigns, WWF-UKJigsaw Cities is pacy, punchy and powerful. Even if you don't agree with all of it you won't want to put it down. It's a timely challenge to current orthodoxy and an intelligent and controversial intervention in the debate about contemporary British urbanism. The authors are persuasive advocates for places that have been on the receiving end of misguided housing policies, for the excluded, for local solutions to local problems. Jigsaw Cities is a polemical and passionate analysis of what has been done to our some of our poorest urban neighbourhoods and how damaged communities can rebuild themselves. Richard Simmons, Chief Executive, Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment, UKJigsaw Cities sets out a robust challenge to current thinking on the future of British towns and cities. Green Places, issue 38 About the Author Anne Power is Professor of Social Policy at the London School of Economics and Political Science; Sustainable Development Commissioner responsible for regeneration and sustainable communities; member of the Government's Urban Task Force; author of books on cities, communities and marginal housing areas in the UK and abroad. John Houghton was head of the Communities Division at the Neighbourhood Renewal Unit; a visiting research associate at CASE; and currently a Harkness scholar at the University of Minnesota. John Houghton worked as Anne Power's assistant during 2002-03 while Anne was Chair of the Independent Commission on the Future of Housing in Birmingham.