Planners from the Bartlett School at University College London accompanied Martin Fidler, creator of the Ruskin Walk, on an investigation around the residential streets of East Dulwich, Herne Hill and Camberwell in June.
After the exertions of undertaking PhDs in Planning, the Ruskin Walk lived up to being a fun and informative walk with students commenting that their eyes had been opened to the ‘what lies beneath, and behind in the past’. Clearly, although many had heard of John Ruskin, few had any idea of how his interests had influenced how they themselves ‘framed’ their planning practice.
Students at the Bartlett School are an international bunch. They brought a diverse variety of ideas to the discussion, and learnt about the scale of London, and the speed at which these suburbs grew in the number of residents – in part, the reason for Ruskin leaving Camberwell in his early 50s.
