{"product_id":"up-in-the-air-holly-smith-9781804297377","title":"Up in the Air","description":"How the Rise Rise Tower Block came to symbolise the welfare state, and what went wrong - fron an award-winning debut historian.\nUp in the Air tells the story of Britain’s multi-storey council housing from its beginnings to the present day. Throughout its history, high rise has been a symbol of the welfare state for better or worse. Here, Holly Smith tells a new story from the perspective of those who lived there, exploring how residents grappled with this brave new world above the old skyline.\nThrough a series of historical moments based upon prize-winning research, we confront the human story of high-rise Britain. Interrogating the complex inheritance of mid-century urban reconstruction, Smith shows how these buildings became a crucible for the welfare state’s reimagination over the decades. \nShe traces the scattering of a local community during the construction of Park Hill in Sheffield in the 1950s. The resistance of residents after the Ronan Point collapse of 1968. The formation of a pioneering tenants’ cooperative to revive a crumbling estate during the closure of the Docklands. The rage of a National Tower Blocks Network advocating for high-rise safety in the 1980s and 1990s. The excitement of early digital culture in a Liverpudlian pensioners’ high-rise internet television show in the 2000s. And the fierce battle to defend estates from demolition in the 2010s.\nUp in the Air is a rich history of political struggle within Britain’s most misunderstood buildings, offering essential lessons for a reformed social housing compact.","brand":"Verso Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52387856810272,"sku":"9781804297377","price":20.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0753\/2812\/7264\/files\/9781804297377_1857253.jpg?v=1789976976","url":"https:\/\/bookcorner.com\/products\/up-in-the-air-holly-smith-9781804297377","provider":"The Book Corner","version":"1.0","type":"link"}