The city and the countryside have been forever engaged in a conceptual tug of war. It could be remarked that this struggle is mediated by industry. In absence, it contains the city through lack of means, and in abundance, it colonises the countryside through expansion. This essay evaluates this conflict through the Hegelian Dialectic.
The city and the countryside have been forever engaged in a conceptual tug of war. It could be remarked that this struggle is mediated by industry. In absence, it contains the city through lack of means, and in abundance, it colonises the countryside through expansion. This essay evaluates this conflict through the Hegelian Dialectic (Figure 1)(Rosen, 1982).Lately, pressure for industrial growth caused by Britain’s dependence on external figures for material and energy resource systems, along with the financial crisis and Brexit have been met by Westminster’s strategy for a Northern Powerhouse (The Northern Powerhouse Strategy, 2016). It can be seen as an industrially transformational strategy set by the South without sufficient understanding of the local nuance of regional Northern areas. These strategies favour the city over the countryside and jeopardise the balance of their relationship. It is no surprise that this is resisted by conservationists and locals. When strong opinions are created around these developments, it feeds a polarization between ‘good’ and ‘bad’. The outcomes for development therefore become “as is” or “change everything”.A positive synthesis, however, would be a balance of these two viewpoints. It is therefore crucial that opinions of industry are well-informed perceptions rooted in localised, specific knowledge that understands nuance rather than succumbing to popularisation. Manchester and the Peak District can be used as exemplars for the larger relationship between the City and Countryside. Historically the two sites are both icons of industrial innovation and further rely on each other for social, cultural, and financial value. This essay seeks to discover the local role and perception of industry and reveals how these perceptions can shift the balance of the two sites' dialectic relationship.
The city and the countryside have been forever engaged in a conceptual tug of war. It could be remarked that this struggle is mediated by industry. In absence, it contains the city through lack of means, and in abundance, it colonises the countryside through expansion. This essay evaluates this conflict through the Hegelian Dialectic (Figure 1)(Rosen, 1982).Lately, pressure for industrial growth caused by Britain’s dependence on external figures for material and energy resource systems, along with the financial crisis and Brexit have been met by Westminster’s strategy for a Northern Powerhouse (The Northern Powerhouse Strategy, 2016). It can be seen as an industrially transformational strategy set by the South without sufficient understanding of the local nuance of regional Northern areas. These strategies favour the city over the countryside and jeopardise the balance of their relationship. It is no surprise that this is resisted by conservationists and locals. When strong opinions are created around these developments, it feeds a polarization between ‘good’ and ‘bad’. The outcomes for development therefore become “as is” or “change everything”.A positive synthesis, however, would be a balance of these two viewpoints. It is therefore crucial that opinions of industry are well-informed perceptions rooted in localised, specific knowledge that understands nuance rather than succumbing to popularisation. Manchester and the Peak District can be used as exemplars for the larger relationship between the City and Countryside. Historically the two sites are both icons of industrial innovation and further rely on each other for social, cultural, and financial value. This essay seeks to discover the local role and perception of industry and reveals how these perceptions can shift the balance of the two sites' dialectic relationship.
1 - Sectional Relationship
2 - Manchester
3 - Peak District
4 - Industrial Colonisation Plan
2 - Manchester
3 - Peak District
4 - Industrial Colonisation Plan