Abstract
This article considers the nature of urban governance through a case study of the construction of Basildon new town, Essex, and the expansion of London metropolitan area in the 1950s and 1960s. The aims of the article are, first, to place a 'grassroots' study in the wider context of 20th-century urban history; second, to link the problems of urban governance with the social experience of residents; and, third, to link the local concerns of urban governments and residents with national issues in postwar Britain. In this article, the author examines six aspects of the British new towns policy: the Development Corporation, planning, infrastructure, industry, housing, and social amenities. One can suggest that 1) in postwar British society, urban governance and city life still retained a regional aspect; 2) the new mode of postwar urban development based on the power of central government did not solve the difficulties faced by residents of the new communities; and 3) the problems might not be particular to Basildon, but shared widely by postwar British society.
