Taylor and Francis

Taylor and Francis

English

’In this detailed exploration of London's South Bank, Jones provides a timely exploration of what is a truly public or social space. Navigating issues of design, politics, ethnography, finance, planning and performance, On South Bank is a thoughtful and timely contribution to our understanding of both the South Bank itself and public spaces in general.’ Iain Borden, Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London, UK 'On South Bank: The Production of Public Space, by Alasdair J. H. Jones, is a compelling read, which explores the tensions between the coming of public space as a design subject and its concomital erosion, transfiguration and closing down by forces more powerful than its everyday users and architects ... As both an academic and ordinary member of the public, I would recommend On South Bank to a wide and diverse audience'. Journal of Urbanism 'Alasdair Jones presents us with an ethnographical account of street-level socio-spatial relations on London’s South Bank. Here, the mixture of public and privately owned spaces such as the Southbank Centre, along with their distinct groups of users and an active transformation during the course of the author’s investigation, make for a set of power relations worthy of empirical study…As is often the case with good research, the book is undoubtedly a labour of love and was influenced by prior personal connections to the site of the study, as the author himself used to skate in the undercroft. However, far from giving only a skewed narrative of skating, the book provides a vivid account of the South Bank, focussing on the complexities of privately owned space that is not only publicly accessible, but designated to serve the public.' The London Journal