Papers by Vanessa Taylor
The London Journal, Oct 27, 2015
Rivers Lost, Rivers Regained
This chapter examines the changing relationship between London, the Thames and upstream communiti... more This chapter examines the changing relationship between London, the Thames and upstream communities during a time of fundamental change. The 1973 Water Act replaced local water undertakings in England and Wales with large regional authorities organised around river basins. In London, powerful bodies responsible for water supply, sewerage and pollution control ceded these functions to a new Thames Water Authority. 1 The move to river-basin management sparked widespread protest about the loss of local democracy here and elsewhere. Debates around these key urban functions had been central to London's political life since the early nineteenth century. A strong body of urban and public health history addresses earlier debates, but little attention has been paid to the historical implications of this new regional development even within discussions of a late twentieth-century "decline of urban governance." 2 This radical shift deserves examination, both for its implications for democratic governance and for the ways in which rivers and communities in the Thames region were reconceived during this time. Two main issues are addressed. The first concerns the relationship between London and the rural and urban communities of the upper Thames-part of the capital's "ecological hinterland." 3 Did the move towards integrated river basin management balance resources more evenly across the 5,000 square mile Thames catchment? Or did it allow for London's greater dominance, in the context of long-standing tensions between London and upstream communities? The second concerns the impact of regional, technocratic river management on localised democratic governance in London and across the region. Was a cohesive Thames region achievable or desirable? Is there any scope for seeing this Thames catchment or "watershed" as "the natural home of democracy" of Donald's Worster's vision? Or did this brought to you by CORE View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk
International Journal of Environmental Studies, 2017
Cities and rivers are 'intimately linked to each other' (p. 3). But there are ways of discussing ... more Cities and rivers are 'intimately linked to each other' (p. 3). But there are ways of discussing intimate relations and there are ways not to discuss them; such as some of the language in this book. For example, Chapter 16 (Hornstein), 'Rumi's poetic suggestion that union is a raging river aptly captures the essence of what it means for Aziza Chaouni to consider the quintessential role of the river in the life of Fez, a river that was once considered heterotopic-or negative-space.
Taylor and Chappells examine changing material cultures of energy in Britain and Canada. They add... more Taylor and Chappells examine changing material cultures of energy in Britain and Canada. They address the spatially differentiated character of energy modernization and the role of consumers in creating new energy spaces. In doing so, they reflect on how the past can inform current debates about the transition to sustainable consumption.
International Journal of Maritime History, 2014
Many cities across the globe are rediscovering their rivers. After decades or even centuries of e... more Many cities across the globe are rediscovering their rivers. After decades or even centuries of environmental decline and cultural neglect, waterfronts have been vamped up and become focal points of urban life again; hidden and covered streams have been daylighted while restoration projects have returned urban rivers in many places to a supposedly more natural state. This volume traces the complex and winding history of how cities have appropriated, lost, and regained their rivers. But rather than telling a linear story of progress, the chapters of this book highlight the ambivalence of these developments. The four sections in Rivers Lost, Rivers Regained discuss how cities have gained control and exerted power over rivers and waterways far upstream and downstream; how rivers and floodplains in cityscapes have been transformed by urbanization and industrialization; how urban rivers have been represented in cultural manifestations, such as novels and songs; and how more recent strategies work to redefine and recreate the place of the river within the urban setting. At the nexus between environmental, urban, and water histories, Rivers Lost, Rivers Regained points out how the urban-river relationship can serve as a prime vantage point to analyze fundamental issues of modern environmental attitudes and practices.
Books by Vanessa Taylor
Many cities across the globe are rediscovering their rivers. After decades or even centuries of e... more Many cities across the globe are rediscovering their rivers. After decades or even centuries of environmental decline and cultural neglect, waterfronts have been vamped up and become focal points of urban life again; hidden and covered streams have been daylighted while restoration projects have returned urban rivers in many places to a supposedly more natural state. This volume traces the complex and winding history of how cities have appropriated, lost, and regained their rivers. But rather than telling a linear story of progress, the chapters of this book highlight the ambivalence of these developments.
The four sections in Rivers Lost, Rivers Regained discuss how cities have gained control and exerted power over rivers and waterways far upstream and downstream; how rivers and floodplains in cityscapes have been transformed by urbanization and industrialization; how urban rivers have been represented in cultural manifestations, such as novels and songs; and how more recent strategies work to redefine and recreate the place of the river within the urban setting. At the nexus between environmental, urban, and water histories, Rivers Lost, Rivers Regained points out how the urban-river relationship can serve as a prime vantage point to analyze fundamental issues of modern environmental attitudes and practices.
Book Reviews by Vanessa Taylor
Journal Articles by Vanessa Taylor
Journal of Historical …, Jan 1, 2009
Water stress is becoming a permanent feature of life in Britain and other developed societies, an... more Water stress is becoming a permanent feature of life in Britain and other developed societies, and attempts to change 'consumer behaviour' are at the forefront of strategies for sustainability. This paper combines historical, geographical and sociological perspectives on the evolution of drought and water demand in modern England and Wales. Droughts have natural properties but their course, size and distribution is also the result of an interplay between governance, social norms and everyday practices. Focusing on seven significant droughts between 1893 and 2006, this article traces changing understandings of 'normal' water consumption and 'rational' demand and relates them to the evolving socio-technical management of water and identities of 'the consumer'. We challenge the idea of a watershed between private supply (associated with passive 'customers') and public ownership (associated with active 'citizens'). While private systems facilitated self-organised civic action more easily than public supply, the ideal of a citizen-contract blinded systems of public provision to the problem of expanding water use. An interdisciplinary analysis of droughts in the past offers lessons for the debate about sustainable consumption today.
Free full text online: This introduction places the authors’ contributions in the context of chan... more Free full text online: This introduction places the authors’ contributions in the context of changes and recurring tensions across the period from 1960 to today. It reviews relevant literature and includes a brief overview of policy and political debates relating to the Thames during this period.
Full text available at Taylor & Francis Online: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1179/17496... more Full text available at Taylor & Francis Online: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1179/1749632215Y.0000000006
This article investigates London's relationship with its neighbours downstream in the lower Thames estuary since 1960 as a problem of governance. It considers in detail tensions and rivalries amongst London-based authorities controlling pollution and waste transfer — especially the Port of London Authority, London County Council and Greater London Council — and authorities and civil society groups in the lower estuary during the 1960s and 1970s. In the light of connections between the river's management and its dominant functions at the start of this period (the port and sewerage), it explores changing forms of governance and wider political debates during three phases: an era of function-led management and environmental degradation of the tidal Thames up to the 1960s; political and environmental conflicts in the 1970s over metropolitan attempts to expand into riverside areas downstream; reform of river and water governance since the 1970s and 1980s with the emergence of river-basin management, privatization and EU regulatory environmentalism.
Conference Proceedings by Vanessa Taylor
Book Chapters by Vanessa Taylor
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Papers by Vanessa Taylor
Books by Vanessa Taylor
The four sections in Rivers Lost, Rivers Regained discuss how cities have gained control and exerted power over rivers and waterways far upstream and downstream; how rivers and floodplains in cityscapes have been transformed by urbanization and industrialization; how urban rivers have been represented in cultural manifestations, such as novels and songs; and how more recent strategies work to redefine and recreate the place of the river within the urban setting. At the nexus between environmental, urban, and water histories, Rivers Lost, Rivers Regained points out how the urban-river relationship can serve as a prime vantage point to analyze fundamental issues of modern environmental attitudes and practices.
Book Reviews by Vanessa Taylor
Journal Articles by Vanessa Taylor
This article investigates London's relationship with its neighbours downstream in the lower Thames estuary since 1960 as a problem of governance. It considers in detail tensions and rivalries amongst London-based authorities controlling pollution and waste transfer — especially the Port of London Authority, London County Council and Greater London Council — and authorities and civil society groups in the lower estuary during the 1960s and 1970s. In the light of connections between the river's management and its dominant functions at the start of this period (the port and sewerage), it explores changing forms of governance and wider political debates during three phases: an era of function-led management and environmental degradation of the tidal Thames up to the 1960s; political and environmental conflicts in the 1970s over metropolitan attempts to expand into riverside areas downstream; reform of river and water governance since the 1970s and 1980s with the emergence of river-basin management, privatization and EU regulatory environmentalism.
Conference Proceedings by Vanessa Taylor
Book Chapters by Vanessa Taylor
The four sections in Rivers Lost, Rivers Regained discuss how cities have gained control and exerted power over rivers and waterways far upstream and downstream; how rivers and floodplains in cityscapes have been transformed by urbanization and industrialization; how urban rivers have been represented in cultural manifestations, such as novels and songs; and how more recent strategies work to redefine and recreate the place of the river within the urban setting. At the nexus between environmental, urban, and water histories, Rivers Lost, Rivers Regained points out how the urban-river relationship can serve as a prime vantage point to analyze fundamental issues of modern environmental attitudes and practices.
This article investigates London's relationship with its neighbours downstream in the lower Thames estuary since 1960 as a problem of governance. It considers in detail tensions and rivalries amongst London-based authorities controlling pollution and waste transfer — especially the Port of London Authority, London County Council and Greater London Council — and authorities and civil society groups in the lower estuary during the 1960s and 1970s. In the light of connections between the river's management and its dominant functions at the start of this period (the port and sewerage), it explores changing forms of governance and wider political debates during three phases: an era of function-led management and environmental degradation of the tidal Thames up to the 1960s; political and environmental conflicts in the 1970s over metropolitan attempts to expand into riverside areas downstream; reform of river and water governance since the 1970s and 1980s with the emergence of river-basin management, privatization and EU regulatory environmentalism.