Ordinary Landscapes, Special Places

Book excerpt: Most of England's larger towns and cities are ringed by extensive suburbs dating from the 19th and 20th centuries, ranging from the opulent, spacious and leafy villa suburbs of the prosperous middle class to the dense gridirons of working-class and lower middle-class housing. The product of rapid urbanisation and industrialisation, these suburbs, once derided or disregarded, now face major change themselves. This book explores the development of one area of Liverpool's suburbs, examining the forces that shaped it and explaining the patterns that we see in the landscape today. The story that emerges will surprise many, and may prompt a re-evaluation of these 'ordinary' places.