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| Centre for Urban History | |
|---|---|
| Name | Centre for Urban History |
| Established | 1990s |
| Location | Leicester |
| Type | Research centre |
| Parent institution | University of Leicester |
Centre for Urban History is an academic research centre based in Leicester focused on the study of cities and urban life across time. It engages with scholars, students and civic partners from institutions such as the University of Cambridge, University of Oxford, University College London, London School of Economics, and University of Manchester. The centre contributes to debates involving urban actors like John Nash (architect), Octavia Hill, Ebenezer Howard, Patrick Abercrombie, and contexts including the Industrial Revolution, Second World War, Great Fire of London, and the European Union urban policies.
The centre was founded amid renewed interest following conferences that linked urban research at venues like the British Museum, the Royal Geographical Society, the Institute of Historical Research, and the Victoria and Albert Museum. Early directors drew on scholars associated with the Economic History Society, the Royal Historical Society, the Social History Society, and research projects funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, the Economic and Social Research Council, and the European Research Council. Influences included comparative work on Paris, Berlin, New York City, Mumbai, Shanghai, Singapore, and Sydney informed by figures such as Karl Marx, Max Weber, Jane Jacobs, Lewis Mumford, and Walter Benjamin.
Research spans urban themes discussed in journals like Urban History, Journal of Urban History, Cities, Planning Perspectives, and Historical Research. Publications include monographs and edited volumes engaging with case studies from Rome, Athens, Istanbul, Cairo, Jerusalem, Lisbon, Barcelona, Seville, Milan, Naples, Vienna, Prague, Budapest, Warsaw, Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Helsinki, Stockholm, Oslo, Copenhagen, Reykjavík, Dublin, Belfast, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Birmingham, Manchester, Bristol, Liverpool, Leeds, Sheffield, Nottingham, Newcastle upon Tyne, Southampton, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Brighton, Canterbury, Oxford, Cambridge, and Durham. The centre has produced work on urban planning traditions tracing links to the Garden city movement, the City Beautiful movement, the Haussmannization of Paris, and the New Towns Act 1946. Scholars publish with presses including Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press, Routledge, Manchester University Press, and Bloomsbury.
The centre contributes to postgraduate programmes at the University of Leicester and supervises doctoral research associated with the Arts and Humanities Research Council studentships, the Fulbright Program, the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission, and the European Research Council grants. Graduate training includes workshops with partners such as the Royal Town Planning Institute, the Institute of Historical Research, the Historic England, the National Trust, and the British Library. Courses draw on archives and case studies from Guildhall Library, London Metropolitan Archives, Manchester Central Library, Bristol Archives, Nottinghamshire Archives, and utilize methodologies influenced by scholars like E.P. Thompson, Fernand Braudel, Clifford Geertz, and Michel Foucault.
Collaborative projects have linked the centre with international teams at Columbia University, Harvard University, Yale University, Princeton University, University of California, Berkeley, Stanford University, University of Toronto, McGill University, University of British Columbia, University of Sydney, University of Melbourne, National University of Singapore, Peking University, Fudan University, and Tsinghua University. The centre has participated in comparative studies of urban migration, housing, public health, and industrialization related to events like the Black Death, the Great Plague of London, the Spanish Flu pandemic, and postwar reconstruction after the Second World War. Funders and partners include the British Academy, the Wellcome Trust, European Commission, UNESCO, UN-Habitat, World Health Organization, and city governments such as Leeds City Council, Bristol City Council, Manchester City Council, and Nottingham City Council.
Researchers use archival materials from repositories such as the National Archives (United Kingdom), the London Metropolitan Archives, the British Library, Local Studies Library, Leicester, the Guildhall Library, the Museum of London Docklands, the People's History Museum, Imperial War Museums, and the Science Museum Group collections. Special collections include maps and plans related to John Rennie (engineer), architectural drawings by Sir Christopher Wren, street directories, trade union records tied to the Trades Union Congress, business archives from firms like Lloyds Banking Group and Imperial Chemical Industries, and oral histories referencing figures such as Ada Salter and William Morris.
Public engagement activities feature exhibitions, public lectures, and partnerships with cultural institutions including the National Trust, the Historic Royal Palaces, the Imperial War Museum, the Museum of London, Leicester Museum & Art Gallery, and the New Walk Museum and Art Gallery. The centre organises events for policy audiences, working with bodies like the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Shelter, Royal Institute of British Architects, Town and Country Planning Association, and the Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust. Media engagement includes contributions to programmes on the BBC, Channel 4, ITV, and collaborations with publishers such as Penguin Books and Faber and Faber.