ABSTRACT
At least three pillars underpin Peter Hall's scholarship: ‘a historical understanding, a geographical imagination, and an evolutionary political consciousness' (Kirby, 2005, p. 222). This chapter explores the historical dimension, focusing on Cities of Tomorrow, a grand thematic master narrative of modern urban planning in the Western world. When it first appeared in 1988, Peter had already written or edited some twenty-five books and a historical sensibility already underpinned key texts such as London 2000 (1963, 1969), Urban and Regional Planning (1974) and Great Planning Disasters (1980). Cities of Tomorrow is the major, unabashedly historical work. Its success is evident in its progression through several editions, including a Chinese translation, and numerous reprints. In June 1913 Google Scholar recorded over 1,700 citations and counting; greater than any of his other books and way beyond any titles which could remotely be considered competitive.
