Civic perceptions: housing and local decision-making in English cities in the 1920s

Hayes, N. ORCID: 0000-0003-1363-3491, 2000. Civic perceptions: housing and local decision-making in English cities in the 1920s. Urban History (27), pp. 211-233.

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Abstract

The adoption of non-traditional housing by local authorities is customarily explained in terms of economic factor shortages or a nationally determined policy discourse. This underestimates the significance of distinctly local understandings of civic responsibility. Based on Leicester and Nottingham, this article argues that those influences frequently used to predict outcomes – like party political allegiance – mattered less in decision-making than a city's intrinsic view of itself. Such perceptions were grounded in subtle constructions of civic community, perceived need and political reinterpretation. Particularly important was the role of the local press. Even cities with similar problems, therefore, could be represented, and subsequently see themselves, in very dissimilar terms and act accordingly.

Item Type:	Journal article
Alternative Title:	Civic perception, prefabricated housing, English city councils and local decision-making in the 1920s
Publication Title:	Urban History
Creators:	Hayes, N.
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Date:	2000
Number:	27
Rights:	© Cambridge University Press 2000
Divisions:	Schools > School of Arts and Humanities
Record created by:	EPrints Services
Date Added:	09 Oct 2015 10:10
Last Modified:	06 Sep 2021 15:07
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/8936

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