historical urbanism:
Planning the city of the future
The Historical Urbanism exhibition take place at the Tower Museum from 17 September 2021 to 23 January 2023. This exhibition tells the story of the transformation of Derry-Londonderry between the 1960s and the 1980s as a result of urban regeneration. Large parts of the old city were demolished and replaced by modern housing developments. The neighbourhoods were transformed forever, with positive and negative consequences.
The exhibition brings together oral history interviews, archive photographs and artists’ sketches of what a future Derry might have looked like if a set of plans from 1968 were fully carried through. The exhibition also features interactive elements including smartphone interaction and a video game recreation of the streets of the city in the late 1960s.
The Historical Urbanism exhibition is part of a wider research project carried out at Ulster University and funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council. This research seeks to understand if a greater knowledge of the history of how cities changed over time can help us design, plan and build better urban places in the future. Visitors to the exhibition can add their own thoughts about what makes a great urban place and see some of the new ideas proposed by others too.
If you or your organisation are interested in hosting the exhibition in future, click on the inquiry button below.
