The Flickr Streetscapes Image Generatr

Vezza d'Oglio by annalisabianchetti

See more:

PHL1-003 by David Swift Photography

Mural of Baseball player Dick Allen South Philadelphia-35mm Olympus Stylus Epic,Ilford XP2 400.

See more:

MPA1-027 by David Swift Photography

Built as First National Bank in 1899.J.Dilks Architect.Informally know as The Castle.The building is currently being turned into a restaurant.Media Pa-35mm Olympus Stylus Epic,Ilford XP2 400.

See more:

Roads in Towns : a British Road Federation report : BRF : London : nd [1972] : Aston Expressway A38(M), Birmingham by mikeyashworth

Some scans from a c.1972 British Road Federation booklet "Roads in Towns" that was issued in conjunction a major report they had commissioned "Motorways in the Urban Environment" that looked at the requirements, design, construction and mitigation of the impact of such roads on towns and cities. The BRF was a pressure group who, in the psot-war period, issued many publications championing road construction. It was, however, by 1972 a time when major opposition to such schemes was beginning to build; various cities including Birmingham, Glasgow and Leeds were well on their way with major redevelopment of urban areas to include motorways but others, notably London, were now struggling to even start large scale construction of, in the latter case, the now infamous Ringway schemes of which only comparatively short sections were built. Glasgow alone pushed on, although Leeds came a close second, and the motorway 'box' here was to take decades to complete.

The booklet takes a serious, if somewhat rosy, view of how planning could mitigate the known impacts of such schemes including noise, the severance of streetscapes and neighbourhoods. The images shown include several of Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow and Newcastle highlighting what were seen as 'successful' interventions and this, such as in Leeds, included a policy of pedestrianisation in the now bypassed city centre. In the intervening decades much of these mitigations have been seen to fail; partially due to the increase in traffic levels overall - "build roads and you encourage traffic' - and the fact that despite attempts at mitigation such highways do cut off widespread areas of inner cities; Leeds is perhaps a classic example. It is worth recalling that away from major cities and true 'motorways' as seen here, most British towns and cities underwent a similar transformation with 'inner ring roads' and 'relief roads' that although technically on a smaller scale had less mitigation and equally as great impact.

As well as the Inner Ring Road, latterly known as Queensway, that was constructed to grand post-war plans, Birmingham also has a direct link to the national motorway network where the M6 forces its way across the city's northern suburbs; the Aston Expressway. This seven lane highway, with a central contraflow lane, removed much of Aston and can be said to have had a significant impact on the inner city suburbs in this area. This view, of a remarkably quiet road, looks south towards the city centre and the junctions with the Inner Ring Road at Lancaster Place. Interestingly Birmingham has, in recent years, dismantled sections of Queensway such was the perceived negative impact of the road.

The booklet was designed by Paul Sharp.