The Spiv and the Architect

As London emerged from the devastation of the Second World War, planners and policy makers sought to rebuild the city in ways that would reshape the behaviour of its citizens as much as its buildings and infrastructure—a programme defined by a strong emphasis on civic order and conservative values of national community.

One of the groups most significantly affected by this new, moralistic climate of reformation and renewal was queer men, whom the police, the media, and lawmakers targeted as an urgent urban problem by marking their lives and desires as criminal and deviant.

The Spiv and the Architect examines how these dynamics played out, offering a critical lens on the post-war reconstruction efforts that went beyond mere physical rebuilding to encompass broader social and moral agendas.