Ian Morley is an Associate Professor based in the Department of History at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. A graduate of the Centre for Urban History, Leicester University, UK, and the School of Architectural Studies, University of Sheffield, UK, he has published widely on the American colonial urban environment in the Philippines. The former book review editor for Urban Morphology: Journal of the International Seminar on Urban Form, he is currently the Membership Secretary of the International Planning History Society. Prof. Morley has also worked with media outlets such as The Discovery Channel, Voom!, Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal Asia, and Agence France-Presse.
Emerging from the long design shadow of Daniel Burnham’s American imperialism in the interwar years of the 20th century, a cadre of Filipino architect-planners imagineered a subtly disruptive and hybridised interpretation of the city beautiful movement that intermingled patriotism, independence and modernity. In revealing a hitherto hidden story this intensively researched and nuanced study of city planning under decolonisation revealingly documents an intriguing new chapter in both Philippine and global planning history. Robert Freestone, Faculty of Built Environment, University of New South Wales