ABSTRACT
The late 17th century saw the emergence in England of the notion of polite urban space. Materially it manifested itself in the introduction of classical architecture, the reform of the street and a growing investment in refined public buildings and venues. These changes were driven by a combination of practical and cultural forces, the latter associated with the development of the town as the focus of an Enlightenment culture based on civility, sociability and improvement. Expressions of power were at the very heart of this urban Enlightenment. It was intended that the lower orders be excluded from polite space, while fashionable society who did occupy it deployed it to establish or sustain their authority and status. From the late 18th century the primacy of polite space began to decline under the impact of rapid economic and urban growth, the rise of romanticism and the withdrawal of fashionable society itself. In the 20th century, especially during the final decades, the idea of the classical town and polite urban space saw a revival, and today it supports not only an influential conservation movement, but also provides the inspiration for new shopping centres, small suburban estates, and — in the case of Poundbury on the edge of Dorchester — what is virtually a new town. Though the tendency now is to emphasise the idealistic aspects of classicism and the Enlightenment, the modern revival of polite urban space also draws on the darker side of the Georgian inheritance, offering — no less than in the 18th century — an avenue for the pursuit of power and status.
