ABSTRACT
This chapter concentrates on the rebuilding activity in Coventry and Birmingham by drawing on original sources and interview material associated with those actors involved in giving shape to the post-war reconstruction of both cities. The ideas, concepts and visions for the redevelopment of both city centres were underpinned by two key planning principles. First, the safe and convenient segregation of pedestrians and motorised traffic facilitated by the construction of circulatory inner ring roads and the recommendations for the development of pedestrianised precincts; and second, the land-use segregation and the dedication of specific spaces to shopping, industry and recreational activities. These ideas were dominating planning thought in the 1940s, although their origins were earlier – partly influenced by US experiences, partly by the number of fatalities on increasingly congested roads.
