‘Accidental cities’ has become a derogatory term used by those who see the benefit of increased planning control over public and privately-held land.
But huge sections of cities globally, now admired for their unique character, developed ‘by accident’ through the free formation of common interests and private capital, unrestrained by regulation.
Often messy, sometimes disorganised and invariably hectic, they are nonetheless the places that tend to feature in tourist brochures.
