History film night: Architecture for the People?

Organized in collaboration with and the current exhibit up at the Central Public Library, , this Manchester Urban Film Series screening and discussion will revisit Manchester's postwar period from today's contemporary vantage point.

We’ll be screening the 1947 documentary from the North West Film Archive collection, A City Speaks, which was a promotional film sponsored by the city council. As the BFI description summarizes: "Urban utopia beckons in this idealistic vision of postwar Manchester - fascinating to revisit as Northern Powerhouses and city devolution return to the agenda...Under the soaring, sweeping direction of Paul Rotha, it takes in themes of industry, energy, leisure and housing, present, past and future."

We'll use this as our starting point to reflect on Manchester's historical urban development and the role of government within that as well as the resonances, challenges or opportunities of the dramatically transformed landscape we face today. With a resurgence of interest in "new municipalism" and public ownership, "it is worth remembering," as the exhibit notes, "how much of the city’s operations were governed from the town hall. Manchester Corporation once controlled gas and electricity undertakings, tramways and trolleybuses, schools, police, fire and ambulance services, waste collection, parks and recreation, housing, libraries and more. The City Architect’s Department designed for all of these." What can we learn from these efforts today?

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"A promotional film made for Manchester Corporation about local government and plans for the redevelopment of Manchester in the post-war era. An introductory sequence shows the commerce and industry of the city and is followed by an historical account of its development from Roman times through the Industrial Revolution, social reform and public services. The electoral system is explained; the workings of various departments, eg libraries, housing etc, and utilities; the provision of health care; the relationship between health and housing, and the extensive plans for the development of Hulme along the lines of Wythenshawe which is shown as ideal. The leisure activities of the city are illustrated before a concluding sequence contrasting past and present."

With thanks to the North West Film Archive at Manchester Metropolitan University.

Check out the exhibit up at the Central Library until February 28, 2026: :

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