An urban history of modern Britain, and how the built environment shaped the nation's politicsFoundations is a history of twentieth-century Britain told through the rise, fall, and reinvention of six different types of urban space: the industrial estate, shopping precinct, council estate, private flats, shopping mall, and suburban office park. "Stimulating. . . . [Foundations] is an extraordinarily accomplished and engaging piece of work. It should be read by anyone working on modern Britain as well as those with more specialist interests."---William Whyte, Journal of Modern History