Scenic Calculations : Landscape Architects and Rural Industrialisation in Post-war Britain

Landscape architects radically transformed the rural geography of post-war Britain. In six main case studies, from southern England to the Northern Isles, Moa Carlsson offers a rich history of post-war industrialisation, rural modernism and designed industrial landscapes, exploring how these unique projects were received by local communities.

Landscape architects radically transformed the rural geography of post-war Britain. Through large-scale projects such as power stations, oil infrastructure and land reclamation work, pioneering practitioners turned industrial planning into a process of creating amenity landscapes for public enjoyment, presenting new possibilities for what rural development could be and who it could serve. In this first comprehensive history of landscape architecture in post-war Britain, Moa Carlsson reveals how landscape architects combined wartime mapping and camouflage techniques with garden design and ecology to produce designed industrial landscapes at a scale not previously attempted. Yet, when the government curtailed funding for industrial landscape design in the 1970s, this planning process was undone and significant friction reappeared between stakeholders. At a time when new infrastructure development is imminent, and decommissioned facilities are being demolished, Scenic Calculations explores the legacies of post-war industrial expansion in the welfare state, arguing that the end of this unique planning approach had major consequences for both local communities and the national economy.