This volume is a compact and authoritative historical survey of the way English urban environments have developed since the Roman period, viewed chronologically and thematically, focusing particularly on the last two centuries. The text covers types of urban development (e.g., industrial towns, commercial cities, slums, and suburbs), plus important topics such as transport, recreation, civil and ecclesiastical functions, and images of the town and city in literature, art, and film. The chapters are supplemented by cameos that focus in detail on specific towns and subjects.

By the outbreak of the First World War, England had become the world's first mass urban society. In just over sixty years the proportion of town-dwellers had risen from 50 to 80 percent, and during this period many of the most crucial developments in English urban society had taken place. This book provides a uniquely comprehensive analysis of those developments - conurbations, suburbs, satellite towns, garden cities, and seaside resorts. Waller assesses the importance of London, the provincial cities, and manufacturing centers. He also examines the continuing influence of the small country...