Not So Much a Facelift…

A short documentary exploring the UK’s 1970s approach to urban renewal through General Improvement Areas. Mixing location footage from Blackburn, Norwich, and Oxford with unexpectedly quirky presentation, the film contrasts small-scale housing improvements with the sweeping redevelopment schemes of the post-war era. Produced as a government public information film and shown at meetings between planners, architects, and residents, it stands as a modest, humane entry in Britain’s civic-minded documentary tradition.

• 1970s
• oxford
• public housing
• urban development
• regeneration
• british society
• urban planning
• british government
• town planning
• community development
• blackburn
• general improvement areas
• norwich