Rod Hackney and Tia Kansara at Rod's book launch

Rod Hackney's 1990 book "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: Cities in Crisis" has been republished by Routledge. A small launch event was held at the RIBA, and here Rod recalls the early days of community architecture, which he pioneered in the 1970s. His partner Tia Kansara reflects on what she has learned working with Rod. Book description by Routledge: First published in 1990, this title presents the personal reflections of renowned community architect Rod Hackney, who served for many years as President of both the Royal Institute of British Architects and the International Union of Architects. Educated in the Modernist tradition of architecture in Britain and Denmark, Hackney's return to England in the 1970s changed his outlook completely. Cities like Birmingham and Sheffield had been ruined by ill-conceived planning; whole communities had been torn apart by massive destruction of Victorian terraces, and relocated to grim tower block estates. To those communities that he has rescued from the threat of redevelopment, Rod Hackney is a local hero. Determined to save Britain's inner cities, he has been a major influence on Prince Charles and a powerful spokesman for the silent majority of the urban poor, who often have no say as to where and how they live.