City of Capital and Labour

This compelling book explores the evolution of industrial Manchester, offering a fresh perspective on its built environment through the lens of architecture, archaeology, and social history. Designed for both academic and general audiences, it sheds new light on Manchester’s transformation during the Industrial Revolution, highlighting how the city’s physical form shaped and was shaped by its socio-economic and cultural dynamics.

By analyzing architectural styles, building types, land use, and spatial relationships, the study identifies distinct phases of development from the early 18th to early 20th century. It delves into how Manchester's material landscape mediated industrialization and social tensions, reflecting the emergence of both bourgeois and proletarian communities. The book argues that the city's evolving physical structure was deeply intertwined with the capitalist logic of class relations, where architecture and urban spaces became arenas for competing social identities.

Through mapping the enduring physical traces of these changes through Marxist lens to examine and understand changing power structures in cities, the book underscores Manchester’s role as a microcosm of industrial and urban transformation. It invites readers to rediscover the city’s industrial heritage, emphasizing the importance of its historic buildings in understanding the socio-economic forces that shaped modern urban life—before they are irrevocably altered by contemporary redevelopment.