Peter Hall (urbanist)
Encyclopedia
Sir Peter Geoffrey Hall, FBA
(born 19 March 1932) is an English town planner
, urbanist and geographer
. He is the Bartlett Professor of Planning and Regeneration at The Bartlett
, University College London
and President of both the Town and Country Planning Association
and the Regional Studies Association
.
He is internationally renowned for his studies and writings on the economic, demographic, cultural and management issues that face cities around the globe. Hall has been for many years a planning and regeneration adviser to successive UK governments. He was Special Adviser on Strategic Planning to the British government (1991-94) and a member of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's Urban Task Force (1998-1999). Hall is considered by many to be the father of the industrial enterprise zone concept, adopted by countries worldwide to develop industry in disadvantaged areas.
, Cambridge
with a Master’s degree and Doctorate before starting his academic career in 1957 as lecturer at Birkbeck College
, University of London
. He later became a reader
in geography
at the London School of Economics
. Hall was a founding editor of the academic journal Regional Studies
which has become a leading international journal in its area.
. He remained Geography Head of Department until 1980 but in the meantime became Chairman of the Planning School from 1971 for a total of 9 years until 1986 as well as Dean of Urban and Regional Planning for 3 years. Running parallel through the 1980s, he was also Professor in the Department of City and Regional Planning at the University of California, Berkeley
. He left Reading in 1989 and Berkeley in 1992 to take up the Chair of Planning at The Bartlett
, University College, London, where he remains today.
Hall has studied to the world’s cities from multiple angles – economic, demographic, cultural and managerial. He has written and edited nearly 40 books, some of them translated into several other languages. His first prominent book was The World Cities published simultaneously in 6 languages in 1966. A Chinese edition came out in 1982, a year before the English third edition. The research encompassed was ahead of its time; it is only since the mid-1980s that world cities became a major school of urban research.
Of his writings devoted to contemporary problems of urban planning in Britain, Europe and the USA, one of the best known is The Containment of Urban England (1973), an analysis of the British town and country planning system
, based on a formidable amount of statistical research. It focuses on the processes of urban growth in England and Wales
since World War II and describes how the planning movement tried to contain and guide it.
Hall charted the history of modern attempts to shape and control the development of the city. He co-wrote Sociable Cities (1998), an analysis of the legacy of Ebenezer Howard
, whose Garden Cities of To-Morrow (1902), became the most influential and important book in the history of 20th-century city planning. That same year, Professor Hall published his wide-ranging Cities in Civilization: Culture, Technology and Urban Order, an 1169-page venture into the comparative cultural history of cities, which investigates the exceptional cultural creativity which distinguished the world’s great cities in their golden ages, from ancient Athens to late 20th-century London. In 2006, he completed direction of a two-year, seven-country study of Polycentric Mega-City-Regions in Europe, financed by a €2.4 million grant from the European Union
.
Gold Medal along with the Founder's Medal
of the Royal Geographical Society
for distinction in research. In 2005, he won the Balzan Prize
for the Social and Cultural History of Cities since the Beginning of the 16th Century. He won the award "for his unique contribution to the history of ideas about urban planning, his acute analysis of the physical, social and economic problems of modern cities and his powerful historical investigations into the cultural creativity of city life." In 2008 Hall was awarded the Regional Studies
Prize for Overall Contribution to the Field of Regional Studies.
Hall is a Fellow of the British Academy
and a member of the Academia Europea as well as the Austrian Academy of Sciences
. He holds fourteen honorary doctorates from universities in the UK, Sweden and Canada. Hall was knight
ed in 1998 for services to the Town and Country Planning Association. He has been on the Board of Trustees of The Architecture Foundation
.
British Academy
The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national body for the humanities and the social sciences. Its purpose is to inspire, recognise and support excellence in the humanities and social sciences, throughout the UK and internationally, and to champion their role and value.It receives an annual...
(born 19 March 1932) is an English town planner
Urban planning
Urban planning incorporates areas such as economics, design, ecology, sociology, geography, law, political science, and statistics to guide and ensure the orderly development of settlements and communities....
, urbanist and geographer
Human geography
Human geography is one of the two major sub-fields of the discipline of geography. Human geography is the study of the world, its people, communities, and cultures. Human geography differs from physical geography mainly in that it has a greater focus on studying human activities and is more...
. He is the Bartlett Professor of Planning and Regeneration at The Bartlett
The Bartlett
The Bartlett is the Faculty of the Built Environment at University College London. University College London created the first chair of architecture in 1841, and the school is named after the original benefactor, Sir Herbert Bartlett.-External links:*...
, University College London
University College London
University College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...
and President of both the Town and Country Planning Association
Town and Country Planning Association
The Town and Country Planning Association is England's oldest environmental charity. It was founded as the Garden Cities Association in 1899 by Ebenezer Howard, initially to promote the development of Garden Cities...
and the Regional Studies Association
Regional Studies Association
The Regional Studies Association is a major international learned society that is concerned with the analysis of regions and regional issues. Through its international membership, the RSA provides an authoritative voice of, and network for, academics, students, practitioners, policy makers and...
.
He is internationally renowned for his studies and writings on the economic, demographic, cultural and management issues that face cities around the globe. Hall has been for many years a planning and regeneration adviser to successive UK governments. He was Special Adviser on Strategic Planning to the British government (1991-94) and a member of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's Urban Task Force (1998-1999). Hall is considered by many to be the father of the industrial enterprise zone concept, adopted by countries worldwide to develop industry in disadvantaged areas.
Early years
Hall was born in London, England and went on to graduate from St Catharine'sSt Catharine's College, Cambridge
St. Catharine’s College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1473, the college is often referred to informally by the nickname "Catz".-History:...
, Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
with a Master’s degree and Doctorate before starting his academic career in 1957 as lecturer at Birkbeck College
Birkbeck, University of London
Birkbeck, University of London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. It offers many Master's and Bachelor's degree programmes that can be studied either part-time or full-time, though nearly all teaching is...
, University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
. He later became a reader
Reader (academic rank)
The title of Reader in the United Kingdom and some universities in the Commonwealth nations like Australia and New Zealand denotes an appointment for a senior academic with a distinguished international reputation in research or scholarship...
in geography
Geography
Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
at the London School of Economics
London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
. Hall was a founding editor of the academic journal Regional Studies
Regional Studies Association
The Regional Studies Association is a major international learned society that is concerned with the analysis of regions and regional issues. Through its international membership, the RSA provides an authoritative voice of, and network for, academics, students, practitioners, policy makers and...
which has become a leading international journal in its area.
Career
In 1968, Hall was appointed Professor of Geography and Head of Department at the University of ReadingUniversity of Reading
The University of Reading is a university in the English town of Reading, Berkshire. The University was established in 1892 as University College, Reading and received its Royal Charter in 1926. It is based on several campuses in, and around, the town of Reading.The University has a long tradition...
. He remained Geography Head of Department until 1980 but in the meantime became Chairman of the Planning School from 1971 for a total of 9 years until 1986 as well as Dean of Urban and Regional Planning for 3 years. Running parallel through the 1980s, he was also Professor in the Department of City and Regional Planning at the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
. He left Reading in 1989 and Berkeley in 1992 to take up the Chair of Planning at The Bartlett
The Bartlett
The Bartlett is the Faculty of the Built Environment at University College London. University College London created the first chair of architecture in 1841, and the school is named after the original benefactor, Sir Herbert Bartlett.-External links:*...
, University College, London, where he remains today.
Hall has studied to the world’s cities from multiple angles – economic, demographic, cultural and managerial. He has written and edited nearly 40 books, some of them translated into several other languages. His first prominent book was The World Cities published simultaneously in 6 languages in 1966. A Chinese edition came out in 1982, a year before the English third edition. The research encompassed was ahead of its time; it is only since the mid-1980s that world cities became a major school of urban research.
Of his writings devoted to contemporary problems of urban planning in Britain, Europe and the USA, one of the best known is The Containment of Urban England (1973), an analysis of the British town and country planning system
Town and country planning in the United Kingdom
Town and Country Planning is the land use planning system governments use to balance economic development and environmental quality. Each country of the United Kingdom has its own planning system that is responsible for town and country planning devolved to the Northern Ireland Assembly, the...
, based on a formidable amount of statistical research. It focuses on the processes of urban growth in England and Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
since World War II and describes how the planning movement tried to contain and guide it.
Hall charted the history of modern attempts to shape and control the development of the city. He co-wrote Sociable Cities (1998), an analysis of the legacy of Ebenezer Howard
Ebenezer Howard
Sir Ebenezer Howard is known for his publication Garden Cities of To-morrow , the description of a utopian city in which people live harmoniously together with nature. The publication resulted in the founding of the garden city movement, that realized several Garden Cities in Great Britain at the...
, whose Garden Cities of To-Morrow (1902), became the most influential and important book in the history of 20th-century city planning. That same year, Professor Hall published his wide-ranging Cities in Civilization: Culture, Technology and Urban Order, an 1169-page venture into the comparative cultural history of cities, which investigates the exceptional cultural creativity which distinguished the world’s great cities in their golden ages, from ancient Athens to late 20th-century London. In 2006, he completed direction of a two-year, seven-country study of Polycentric Mega-City-Regions in Europe, financed by a €2.4 million grant from the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
.
Honours and awards
Hall received in 2001 the Vautrin Lud International Geography Prize and later in 2003 won the Royal Town Planning InstituteRoyal Town Planning Institute
The Royal Town Planning Institute is a body representing planning professionals in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. It was founded in 1914.-Members:...
Gold Medal along with the Founder's Medal
Gold Medal (RGS)
The Gold Medal are the most prestigious of the awards presented by the Royal Geographical Society. The Gold Medal is not one award but consists of two separate awards; the Founder's Medal 1830 and the Patron's Medal 1838. The award is given for "the encouragement and promotion of geographical...
of the Royal Geographical Society
Royal Geographical Society
The Royal Geographical Society is a British learned society founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical sciences...
for distinction in research. In 2005, he won the Balzan Prize
Balzan Prize
The International Balzan Prize Foundation awards four annual monetary prizes to people or organisations who have made outstanding achievements in the fields of humanities, natural sciences, culture, as well as for endeavours for peace and the brotherhood of man.-Rewards and assets:Each year the...
for the Social and Cultural History of Cities since the Beginning of the 16th Century. He won the award "for his unique contribution to the history of ideas about urban planning, his acute analysis of the physical, social and economic problems of modern cities and his powerful historical investigations into the cultural creativity of city life." In 2008 Hall was awarded the Regional Studies
Regional Studies Association
The Regional Studies Association is a major international learned society that is concerned with the analysis of regions and regional issues. Through its international membership, the RSA provides an authoritative voice of, and network for, academics, students, practitioners, policy makers and...
Prize for Overall Contribution to the Field of Regional Studies.
Hall is a Fellow of the British Academy
British Academy
The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national body for the humanities and the social sciences. Its purpose is to inspire, recognise and support excellence in the humanities and social sciences, throughout the UK and internationally, and to champion their role and value.It receives an annual...
and a member of the Academia Europea as well as the Austrian Academy of Sciences
Austrian Academy of Sciences
The Austrian Academy of Sciences is a legal entity under the special protection of the Federal Republic of Austria. According to the statutes of the Academy its mission is to promote the sciences and humanities in every respect and in every field, particularly in fundamental research...
. He holds fourteen honorary doctorates from universities in the UK, Sweden and Canada. Hall was knight
Knight
A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....
ed in 1998 for services to the Town and Country Planning Association. He has been on the Board of Trustees of The Architecture Foundation
The Architecture Foundation
The Architecture Foundation was Britain's first independent architecture centre. Established in 1991, it aims to promote contemporary architecture.The Architecture Foundation has organised public exhibitions, design initiatives, competitions and debates....
.
Publications
- London 2000, London, Faber & Faber, 1963, 1969
- The World Cities, London, World University Library, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1966,1977,1983 (French, German, Italian, Spanish and Swedish translations published simultaneously)
- The Containment of Urban England (with H. Gracey, R. Drewett and R. Thomas), London, George Allen & Unwin Ltd.; Beverly Hills, Sage Publications Inc., 1973. Two volumes: volume one Urban and Metropolitan Growth Processes or Megalopolis Denied; volume two The Planning System: Objectives, Operations, Impacts
- Planning and Urban Growth: An Anglo-American Comparison (with M. Clawson), Baltimore, Johns Hopkins, 1973
- Urban and Regional Planning, Hardmondsworth/London, Penguin, 1975, 1982; Newton Abbott, David and Charles, 1975; London, Routledge, 1992, 2002
- Europe 2000, London, Duckworth (ed.), 1977
- Great Planning Disasters, London, Weidenfeld, 1980
- Growth Centres in the European Urban System (with D. Hay), London, Heinemann, 1980
- The Inner City in Context, London, Heinemann (ed.,), 1981
- Silicon Landscapes (ed., with A. Markusen), Boston, Allen & Unwin, 1985
- Can Rail save the City? The Impact of Rail Rapid Transit and Pedestrianisation on British and German Cities (with C. Hass-Klau), Aldershot, Gower Publishing, 1985
- High-Tech America: The What, How, Where and Why of the Sunrise Industries (with A. Markusen and A. Glasmeier), Boston, Allen & Unwin, 1986
- The Carrier Wave: New Information Technology and the Geography of Innovation 1846-2003 (with P. Preston), London, Unwin Hyman, 1988
- Cities of Tomorrow: An Intellectual History of Urban Planning and Design in the Twentieth Century, Oxford, Blackwell Publishing, 1988, 1996, 2002
- London 2001, London, Unwin Hyman, 1989
- The Rise of the Gunbelt: The Military Remapping of Industrial America (with A. Markusen, S.Campbell and S. Deitrick), New York, OUP, 1991
- Technopoles of the World: The Making of 21st-Century Industrial Complexes (with M.Castells), London, Routledge, 1994
- Sociable Cities (with Colin WardColin WardColin Ward was a British anarchist writer. He has been called "one of the greatest anarchist thinkers of the past half century, and a pioneering social historian." -Life:...
), Chichester, John Wiley & Sons, 1998 - Cities in Civilization: Culture, Technology, and Urban Order, London, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1998; New York, Pantheon Books, 1998