In Our Time

The City - a history, part 2


Listen Later

Melvyn Bragg presents the second of a two part discussion about the history of the city. George Stephenson invented rail transport in the north-east of England in the 1820s, but it was not until over twenty years later that rail networks began to spring up to ferry workers in and out of the centre of British cities. When they did, this had a vast, transforming effect on the whole nature of cities - taking the pressure off dense, overcrowded central areas, but helping cities like London explode outwards.Victorian London was widely held at the time to be rather chaotic - especially in comparison with the grandiose, highly-orchestrated developments in continental European cities like Paris and Barcelona.The process of transformation was given another fillip by the introduction of the motor car. In this, the final part of a two-part special edition of 'In Our Time' exploring the development of cities, we're going to examine how Stephenson's invention transformed cities almost beyond recognition, and follow the story up to the present day.Peter Hall is Professor of Planning and Regeneration at The Bartlett School of Planning, University College London; Tristram Hunt is lecturer in History at Queen Mary College at the University of London; and Ricky Burdett is Professor of Urban Studies at the London School of Economics.

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

In Our TimeBy BBC Radio 4

  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6

4.6

5,080 ratings


More shows like In Our Time

View all
Global News Podcast by BBC World Service

Global News Podcast

7,601 Listeners

The LRB Podcast by The London Review of Books

The LRB Podcast

300 Listeners

Business Daily by BBC World Service

Business Daily

524 Listeners

Newshour by BBC World Service

Newshour

1,054 Listeners

World Business Report by BBC World Service

World Business Report

295 Listeners

History Extra podcast by Immediate Media

History Extra podcast

3,219 Listeners

In Our Time: History by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time: History

1,880 Listeners

In Our Time: Philosophy by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time: Philosophy

863 Listeners

In Our Time: Culture by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time: Culture

611 Listeners

In Our Time: Science by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time: Science

730 Listeners

In Our Time: Religion by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time: Religion

274 Listeners

Friday Night Comedy from BBC Radio 4 by BBC Radio 4

Friday Night Comedy from BBC Radio 4

2,116 Listeners

Great Lives by BBC Radio 4

Great Lives

478 Listeners

Dan Snow's History Hit by History Hit

Dan Snow's History Hit

4,796 Listeners

The Life Scientific by BBC Radio 4

The Life Scientific

235 Listeners

Evil Genius with Russell Kane by BBC Sounds

Evil Genius with Russell Kane

361 Listeners

Have You Heard George's Podcast? by BBC Sounds

Have You Heard George's Podcast?

232 Listeners

Elis James and John Robins by BBC Radio 5 Live

Elis James and John Robins

326 Listeners

You're Dead to Me by BBC Radio 4

You're Dead to Me

3,197 Listeners

The Ancients by History Hit

The Ancients

3,299 Listeners

The Rest Is History by Goalhanger

The Rest Is History

15,474 Listeners

Gone Medieval by History Hit

Gone Medieval

1,865 Listeners

Not Just the Tudors by History Hit

Not Just the Tudors

2,064 Listeners

Sport's Strangest Crimes by BBC Radio 5 Live

Sport's Strangest Crimes

68 Listeners

Uncanny by BBC Radio 4

Uncanny

832 Listeners

Lady Killers with Lucy Worsley by BBC Radio 4

Lady Killers with Lucy Worsley

516 Listeners

Empire by Goalhanger

Empire

2,470 Listeners

Believe in Magic by BBC Sounds

Believe in Magic

622 Listeners

The Global Story by BBC World Service

The Global Story

333 Listeners

Miss Me? by BBC Sounds

Miss Me?

259 Listeners

The History Podcast by BBC Radio 4

The History Podcast

65 Listeners

Rory Stewart: The Long History of... by BBC Radio 4

Rory Stewart: The Long History of...

77 Listeners

Havana Helmet Club by BBC Sounds

Havana Helmet Club

2 Listeners