Engagement and Exhibitionism in the Era of High Modernism: Otto Neurath and the Example of 1940s Bilston

In his seminal text on town planning theory in the United Kingdom, Nigel Taylor (1998) writes about early critiques of the post-war planning system and in particular the lack of consultation that accompanied many planning exercises. This was not through cynicism or arrogance towards local needs, but simply because professional judgments about the physical living environment were assumed to be apolitical and unassailable. Planning in the early post-war period was visionary but also removed from the concerns of daily citizens, being naïve both politically and sociologically.