Cities of Ideas: Civil Society and Urban Governance in Britain 1800000

Book excerpt: Cities of Ideas: Civil Society and Urban Governance in Britain 1800-2000 addresses the changing nature of individualism and public service in the 19th and 20th centuries, and consists of a collection of essays authored by senior figures in economic, social, cultural and educational history. The question of the balance between the life of the private citizen and the need to play an active role in the wider community, is one that recurs throughout history. In this book the shifting nature of civic responsibility between 1800 and 1990 is addressed, looking at the balance of individual and collective responsibilities as well as obligation to a growing democratic state. The ten essays by leading scholars in the field of urban and social history offer fresh and important insights into governance and civil society in the modern period.