mobility

During my research I have discovered Cedric Price and his plan for the post-industrial potteries. His plan "The Potteries Thinkbelt" was a "Higher Education Facility" specifically for technologies and applied sciences which had been abandoned by the British University. Price detested the upper class snobbery involved in the University system and this is why The Thinkbelt is referred to as a "Higher Education System".Much like alot of his work this was simply a passion for Price rather being designed for the purpose of being built. Price developed the idea of "Calculated Uncertainty" which was key to the majority of his design. This was because he didn't know what will happen or what will be needed in the future. He builds for the now and makes this temporary and easily adaptable. I intend to purchase his book "RE:CP" as soon as it comes back into stock on Amazon.com and I have contacted Stanley Matthews about getting a copy of his doctoral dissertation titled "Cedric Price and the architecture of 'calculated uncertainty':The Fun Palace and Potteries Thinkbelt,".

Sources:
http://www.thepotteries.org/people/price_cedric.htm
http://people.hws.edu/mathews/potteries_thinkbelt.htm
http://www.opendemocracy.net/node/1464
http://designmuseum.org/design/cedric-price

I have also found this guide to Urban Design in Stoke-on-Trent which may be useful:
http://www.stoke.gov.uk/ccm/cms-service/stream/asset/?asset_id=2007965

I have also just began reading John Urrys' "Mobilities". In this Urry looks at the extent of current mobility and how much technology has advanced it to the extent that he questions the need for physical mobility when there is so much social mobility can be achieved.

Source:
"Mobilities"-John Urry (2007)

Sean Allan