A really important and significant piece of writing about cities and the forces that drive them appeared in the Guardian on Monday 18th April written by Mike Herd about the forthcoming UN-Habitat III Conference which is also known as: the third global UN Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development.

The article is an excellent interview with Dr Joan Closs. A fascinating aspect of the interview that chimes very much with our experience in Liverpool says: “The problem with city management in the last 20 or 30 years is the assumption that the market will automatically address the question of planning and design. As long as there’s money available, it is presumed that some kind of order will emerge spontaneously – but this is not the case.”

Read the full article below. It is well worth the time and the trouble.

Guardian article