Gordon Cherry was the driving force behind the formation of the original Planning History Group in the 1970’s and its metamorphosis into the International Planning History Society in 1993. At the time of his death he was Emeritus Professor at the University of Birmingham in England. He joined the University as Senior Lecturer and Deputy Director of the Centre for Urban and Regional Studies in 1968 and retired as Professor of Geography in 1991.
Major Works
The Evolution of British Town Planning (1974),
Urban Change and Planning (1974),
Pioneers in British Planning (1981),
Holford: A Study in Planning, Architecture, and Urban Design (1986) (with Leith Penny),
Birmingham: A Study in Geography, History, and Planning (1994).
His final books, published posthumously, are:
Rural Change and Planning: England and Wales in the Twentieth Century (1997) (with Alan Rogers),
Town Planning in Britain Since 1900 (1996).
One of his last published journal articles was:
‘Bournville, England, 1895-1995’ in the Journal of Urban History (May 1996).
Gordon Cherry on Planning History
‘Planning history, in offering a power of explanation, opens up a rich field of inquiry: why certain things happened in the way they did and when they did; if they did, had they the consequences intended; and if they did not, what new problems unfolded and how were they tackled? In other words, planning history takes us to the heart of our professional and academic subject- planning as a process, with all the quirks of the unexpected en route.’
Gordon Cherry Memorial Addresses
The IPHS acknowledges Professor Cherry’s role in founding the Society through the ‘Gordon Cherry Memorial Address’ which has been delivered at its biennial international conferences since 1998.
1998 Sydney: Sir Peter Hall
2000 Helsinki: Anthony King
2002 London: Shun-inchi Watanabe
2004 Barcelona: Michael Hebbert
2006 New Delhi: Michael A. Tomlan
2008 Chicago: Helen Meller
2010 Istanbul: Eugenie L. Birch
2012 São Paulo: Stephen V. Ward
2014 St. Augustine: Robert Freestone
2016 Delft: Jyoti Hosagrahar
2018 Yokohama: Dirk Schubert
2022 Delft (Hybrid): Lawrence Vale
IPHS 