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1.1 Life and Academic Career of Peter Hall

Appointed as Professor of Geography at the University of Reading in 1968 at the early age of 36, Peter developed a unique international dimension to his understanding of cities (Box 1.1). He soon recognised the dynamism of Asian cities through association with the University of Hong Kong in the mid 1970s and of American cities as Visiting Professor in Planning at University of California, Berkeley in 1974. For nine years from 1980 he became a transatlantic commuter simultaneously holding professorships in the UK in Geography at Reading University, and in the USA in Urban Planning and Regional Studies at the University of California, Berkeley, continuing the latter role until 1992, before becoming Professor of Planning at University College London in 1992.

Box 1.1: Sir Peter Geoffrey Hall: Personal Data, Education and Professional Positions

Personal Data

Born March 19, 1932; London, England.

Died July 30, 2014

Married, no children.

Nationality: British

Education

1943–50:

Blackpool Grammar School

1950–56:

University of Cambridge (St. Catharine’s College)

1952:

Geographical Tripos, Part 1: Class 1 and Philip Lake Prize

1953:

B.A., Geographical Tripos, Part 2: Class 1

1957:

M.A., University of Cambridge (St. Catharine’s College)

1959:

Ph.D., University of Cambridge (St. Catharine’s College). Thesis entitled:

The Location of Industry in London: 1851–1939

Professional Positions

1957–60:

Assistant Lecturer, Birkbeck College, University of London

1960–65:

Lecturer, Birkbeck College, University of London

Main teaching responsibilities: Regional Geography of Germany; Historical Geography of the British Isles; Applied Geography

1966–67:

Reader in Geography with special reference to Regional Planning, London School of Economics and Political Science, University of London

Main teaching responsibilities: Applied Geography; M.Sc. Regional and Urban Planning Studies

1968–89:

Professor of Geography (Head of Department, 1968–80), University of Reading (Emeritus, 1989)

Main teaching responsibilities: Postgraduate: M.Phil. Environmental Planning; Supervision of Ph.D. students. Undergraduate; Basic Historical Geography; Basic Population and Urban Geography; Basic Contemporary Problems; Cities; Development

1971–77 and 1983–6:

Chairman, School of Planning Studies, University of Reading

Main administrative responsibilities: Course Coordination; Academic Development; Faculty Liaison; Publicity

1974:

Visiting Professor, Department of City and Regional Planning, College of Environmental Design, University of California, Berkeley

1975–78:

Dean, Faculty of Urban and Regional Studies, University of Reading

1980–92:

Professor, Department of City and Regional Planning, University of California at Berkeley (Emeritus, 1993)

Main teaching responsibilities: Graduate Courses: The Planning Process; Metropolitan Planning in the Developing World; Research Seminar

1980–8:

Associate Director, Institute of Urban and Regional Development, University of California at Berkeley

Main administrative responsibilities: Faculty Liaison; Grants and Contracts Development

1983–6:

Member of Board and of Management Committee, Joint Centre for Land Development Studies, University of Reading/College of Estate Management

Main administrative responsibilities: oversight of research programme; research development; financial management

1989–92:

Director, Institute of Urban and Regional Development, University of California at Berkeley

Main administrative responsibilities: Overall control of budget and research program; overall management of the day-to-day work of the Institute; coordination of the Institute’s seminar and publications programs

1992–2005:

Bartlett Professor of Planning, University College London

Main administrative responsibilities: Direction of research

2005–14:

Bartlett Professor of Planning and Regeneration, University College London

Main teaching responsibility: M.Sc. course in Urban Regeneration

Peter Hall’s academic prowess first came to public notice with publication in 1962 of his Cambridge University Doctoral Thesis in Geography on The Industries of London since 1861 (Hall 1962), an incisive analysis in urban economic and historical geography. Peter’s sought to understand how cities function and his enthusiasm for urban planning, interests in transport and new technologies, his global perspective, and a willingness to embrace the future shone through, starting with his books on London 2000 (Hall 1963) and his far-seeing The World Cities (Hall 1966), which established the concept of world city regions 30 years before it became mainstream. Whilst advocating urban regeneration and post-industrial urban renaissance, Peter was never hesitant about highlighting planning failures and his book Great Planning Disasters (Hall 1980) predated more recent critiques by Flyvbjerg, Priemus and others by more than 20 years (Flyvbjerg et al. 2004; Flyvbjerg 2014; Priemus et al. 2008; Priemus/van Wee 2013).

Peter single authored 13 books, many best sellers with second or more editions and some also translated into other languages (Hall 1962, 1963, 1966, 1970, 1974, 1977, 1980, 1988, 1989, 1998, 1999, 2007, 2014), and co-authored or edited 38 books, contributed to more than 160 books, published about 200 articles and research journal papers (see Chap. 8 for details) and also produced hundreds of other papers and conference presentations and numerous short contributions to the journals New Society, The Planner and Town and Country Planning. He was also closely involved with the editing of seven journals: Built Environment and Regional Studies as Editor, and Environment & Planning C, Futures, New Society, Planning Perspectives and Journal of Transport Geography as Editorial Board member.

Peter Hall’s breadth of intellectual curiosity and endeavour was enormous, reflecting his roots in urban, economic, transport and historical geography, deep interest in urban and regional planning, and continuing fascination with London. Tewdwr-Jones et al. (2014) classified Peter’s prodigious research output into five distinct categories and nineteen themes:

  1. 1.

    History of Cities and Planning. This encompassed Urban and Regional Planning, Great Planning Disasters, Cities of Tomorrow, and Cities in Civilization;

  2. 2.

    London’s Growth and Development. This comprised London’s Economy, London’s future in 2000 and 2001 from a 1960s and 1980s perspective, and London as a Working Capital;

  3. 3.

    Spatial Planning. This included Regional Planning, the Containment of Urban England, Sociable Cities, Regeneration—the Inner City in Context, and ‘Non-Plan’ Enterprise Zones;

  4. 4.

    Connectivity and Mobility. This encompassed the Information Age and Technological change, Technopoles of the World, and Transport and Planning;

  5. 5.

    Globalized Urbanization. This comprised The World Cities, The Polycentric Vision, Europe 2000 and Urban Futures.

Peter Hall’s hallmark as a polymath and intellectual giant is that he was able to research and publish in such a diverse range of thematic areas for over 50 years. But his great genius was his ability to link all these five aspects in a complementary way to build a holistic comprehension of the dynamic of cities (and mobility as a part of this dynamic) in the late 20th century and the beginning of the new millennium. He was able to create original visions of urban society development with precocity and clear-sightedness, helping planners and decision makers to identify the crucial tendencies and to evaluate the limits of possible actions.

Through his numerous publications, Peter sought to engage with planners, politicians and the wider public beyond the narrow confines of the academic world. This was recognised and rewarded by both Conservative and Labour UK government appointments including as a member of the South East Regional Economic Planning Council 1966–1979, Special Adviser on Strategic Planning 1991–1994, member of London Development Agency’s Thames Gateway International Design Committee, Lord Rogers’ Urban Task Force from 1998–1999, the Planning Research Network from 2003, the 2006 Barker Review of the planning system and the Eco-Towns Challenge Panel 2008, and Chair of Blackpool Urban Regeneration Company 2005–2008 and appointed to undertake an Independent Review on Better Rail Stations (Green/Hall 2009). He was also appointed to many official committees in the UK, and in Europe, Germany, Singapore, South Australia and Stockholm (Box 1.2). Peter also published 30 planning consultancy reports for organisations in the UK, Spain, Malta, Mexico, South Australia and Stockholm.

Box 1.2: Peter Hall: Other Professional Responsibilities

Membership of Government, Official, and International Committees:

American Academy of Arts and Sciences and Aspen Institute: Committee on Future of the Automobile (1990–92)

Built Environment journal—Joint Editor (1980–)

Centre for Environmental Studies Governor (1975–80)

Member, Research Committee (1975–80)

City of Stockholm

Adviser, Economic Aspects of the “Dennis Package”, 1994

Commission of the European Communities

Chairman, Information Committee (1977–80);

Member, Study Group on New Tendencies of Socioeconomic Development (1975–77)

Member, President Delors’ Carrefour on Urban Development (1993–5)

Communities and Local Government

Member, Eco-Towns Challenge Group (2008)

Department of the Environment

Member, Planning and Transport Advisory Council (1971–73)

Member, Environmental Board (1975–79)

Chairman, Subcommittee on Environmental Education (1976–78)

Special Adviser to Secretary of State on Strategic Land Use Planning (1991–4)

Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions

Member, Urban Task Force (1998–)

Department of Transport

Member, Advisory Committee on Trunk Road Assessment (1977–79)

Member, Standing Advisory Committee on Trunk Road Assessment (1979–80)

Federal Republic of Germany

Moderator, Weltkommission on The City in the 21st Century (1998–2000)

Government of South Australia

Adviser on Strategic Review for Metropolitan Adelaide, 1990–2

H.M. Treasury, Barker Review of Land Use Planning

Member, Expert Advisory Committee, 2006

House of Commons

Organized Special Symposium for Select Committee on Transport, Berkeley (1988)

European Commission, Interreg IIIB Programme

Director, POLYNET: Sustainable Management of European Polycentric Mega-City Regions

London Development Agency

Member, Thames Gateway International Design Committee

Ministry of Housing and Local Government

Member, Research Advisory Group (1965–66)

Ministry of Transport (Department of the Environment)

Member, Urban Motorways Committee (1969–72)

Member, Bus Demonstration Projects Committee (1969–73)

Nature Conservancy Council

Member (1966–72)

Office of the Deputy Prime Minister

Member Planning Research Network, 2003–

ReBlackpool (Blackpool Urban Regeneration Company)

Chair, 2005–8

Social Science Research Council

Member (1975–80)

Chairman, Planning Committee (1975–80)

Joint Chairman, Planning and Human Geography Committee (1975–80)

Member, Research Initiatives Board (1975–80)

Chairman, Inner Cities Working Party (1978–80)

South East Regional Economic Planning Council

Member, Council (1966–79)

Chairman, Research Group (1969–79)

Member, Planning and Environment Committee (1972–79)

Chairman, Structure Plans Monitoring Group (1975–79)

South East Region Passenger Transport Coordinating Committee

Chairman (1967–69)

Transport and Road Research Laboratory

Member, Research Committee on Road Traffic (1966–72)

Member, Advisory Committee on Transport (1973–)

Peter Hall was awarded numerous national and international honours and prizes including the Royal Geographical Society’s Founder’s Medal, George Stephenson Medal by the Institution of Civil Engineers, London, the Ebenezer Howard Memorial Medal by the Town and Country Planning Association, Prix Vautrin Lud (“Nobel de Geographie”), Royal Town Planning Institute’s Gold Medal, the Balzan International Prize, the UIA (International Union of Architects) Sir Patrick Abercrombie Prize, as well as Honorary Doctorate Degrees by 14 universities in Britain, Sweden and Canada (Box 1.3). Peter was knighted in 1998 to become Sir Peter Hall.

Box 1.3: Sir Peter Hall: Honours and Prizes

1968:

Gill Memorial Prize, Royal Geographical Society

1979:

Adolph Bentinck Prize

1983:

Fellowship of the British Academy

1988:

Founder’s Medal, Royal Geographical Society

Honorary Fellowship, St Catharine’s College, Cambridge

1989:

Member of the Academia Europaea

Degree of Doctor of Social Science Honoris Causa, University of Birmingham

1991:

George Stephenson Medal, Institution of Civil Engineers, London

1992:

Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Honoris Causa, University of Lund, Sweden

1995:

Corresponding Member, Österreichisches Wissenschaftliche Akademie

Degree of Doctor of Letters Honoris Causa, University of Sheffield

Degree of Doctor of Letters Honoris Causa, University of Newcastle upon Tyne

1996:

Degree of Doctor of Engineering Honoris Causa, Technical University of Nova Scotia

1997:

Degree of Doctor of Arts Honoris Causa, Oxford Brookes University

1998:

Created Knight Bachelor

1999:

Ebenezer Howard Memorial Medal, Town and Country Planning Association

1999:

Degree of Doctor of Law Honoris Causa, University of Reading

2000:

Degree of Doctor of Science Honoris Causa, University of the West of England

2001:

Degree of Doctor of Laws Honoris Causa, University of Manchester

Prix Vautrin Lud (“Nobel de Géographie”)

2002:

Degree of Doctor of Letters Honoris Causa, Heriot Watt University, Edinburgh

Degree of Doctor of Letters Honoris Causa, London Guildhall University

2003:

Named by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II as a “Pioneer in the Life of the Nation”

RTPI Gold Medal

2004:

Degree of Doctor of Social Sciences Honoris Causa, Queen Mary University of London

Degree of Doctor of Technology Honoris Causa, University of Greenwich

Honorary Professor, Tongji University, Shanghai, China

2005:

Deputy Prime Minister’s Lifetime Achievement Award, Urban Summit, Manchester

Degree of Doctor of Science Honoris Causa, Loughborough University

Balzan International Prize

2006:

Elected President of the Regional Studies Association

2008:

UIA (International Union of Architects) Sir Patrick Abercrombie Prize

2014:

(posthumous) Alan Hay Award for significant contributions to Transport Geography, Transport Geography Research Group, Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers)

Peter had a lifelong interest in transport that developed from his fascination with London’s Underground train network as a young child growing up in pre-war Hampstead. He recognised that transport played a critical role in the development of cities through a process that Knowles (2006) called ‘transport shaping space’. He returned repeatedly to this relationship and strongly advocated the building of London’s M25 orbital motorway, an Urban Development Corporation for London’s disused docklands underpinned by new light rail and underground lines, Stansted as London’s third airport, the Channel Tunnel between Britain and France and the Channel Tunnel high speed rail link’s associated Thames Gateway, London Crossrail, the High Speed 2 rail route between London and Northern England, and better transport links between England’s northern cities.

Peter was a founder member of the Journal of Transport Geography’s International Editorial Board in 1993 and served until 2008, continuing to referee papers thereafter with characteristic but critical enthusiasm. He also published several papers in the Journal with his doctoral research students (Titheridge/Hall 2006; Chen/Hall 2011, 2012). Peter also supported the Royal Geographical Society’s Transport Geography Research Group (TGRG) and in August 2014 was posthumously awarded TGRG’s 2014 ‘Hay Award’ for significant contributions to Transport Geography.

In urban and regional geography he was also very active. In 1983, he co-published Changing Development Hierarchies in the Development Process: An International Comparison for the International Geographical Union (IGU). He actively participated in numerous regional, national and international appraisals, especially for London, for the European Union and for several European countries (see Chap. 8). In the academic field, beside his numerous national responsibilities, he was elected President of the Regional Studies Association in 2006.

1.2 Structure of the Book

Following this Introduction, the book is structured into six chapters to reflect Peter Hall’s main research themes, all of which relate to the spatial organization of human society.

In Chap. 2, ‘A polymath in city studies’, Peter Taylor explores Peter Hall’s status as an inter-disciplinary polymath and five different aspects of his lifelong fascination with cities: geography and planning, cities and state, times and spaces, town/country and city/region, and London and globalization.

In Chap. 3, ‘Location and Innovation’, Jonathan Reades examines how Peter’s deep understanding of firm location and technological innovation informed his views of urban regeneration and regional development. Peter’s research emphasised the importance of history, chance, clusters, infrastructure and the role of the state.

In Chap. 4, ‘Transport and place-making—a long view’, Chia-Lin Chen explores Peter’s abiding interest in transport and place making, and his fascination with transport as a maker and breaker of cities. Peter shaped his vision through the period where modern London was created and Britain was rebuilt, the transformative period of the great rail revival and the return to the city, and strategic planning for polycentric cities and spatial rebalancing.

In Chap. 5, ‘The strategic planning protagonist: Unveiling the global mega-city region’, Kathy Pain examines Peter’s work as a regional planning protagonist who foresaw the emergence of global mega-city regions, and focussed on governance and planning challenges.

In Chap. 6, ‘Creative destruction, long waves and the age of the smart city’, Michael Batty explores Peter’s research on the impact of technology on cities and regions, long waves of technological innovation, the creative city, the age of the ‘smart city’ and the technological future.

In Chap. 7, ‘The visionary of World and European cities’, Celine Rozenblat and Dan O’Donoghue consider reasons for Peter’s status as a visionary of cities and assess his record of research into universal urban processes and the uniqueness of cities, urban transformations and technological change, stages in urban development, and a multi-scale approach to the study of cities.