This week, we’re asking a question for the ages: Why does York look like a chocolate box while nearby Wakefield looks like hell?

In the early 1960s, at a time when visions of the future were all concrete and cars, and even York still thought of itself as a manufacturing centre, some British cities decided to smash up their heritage while others decided to preserve it. Jim Waterson, political editor of Buzzfeed UK and a York native himself, joins us to talk us through this forgotten moment in Britain’s architectural history.

Then we ask the audience: what are the best and, especially, worst urban regeneration schemes?

The episode itself is below. You can subscribe to the podcast on AcastiTunes, or RSS. Enjoy.

Jonn Elledge is the editor of CityMetric. He is on Twitter as @jonnelledge and on Facebook here

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