In the first of a new series, Tom Dyckhoff, writer about architecture, looks at the world we inhabit through the lens of design.

He examines how the design of the built environment can influence who we are and who we might become. He talks to an ex-offender about life inside Strangeways prison and finds echoes in the experiences of Lynsey Hanley, who's written about growing up on a large housing estate in the Midlands. Also, Tom taps into the little known use of 'parkour' (urban free-running) in the testing of high security facilities.

He draws on the research of criminologist Yvonne Jewkes about prison design and rehabilitation, visits an Oxford Street retailer with the neuro-scientist Tim Holmes and gauges the social and personal impact of privatising public space with the author Anna Minton.

Produced by Alan Hall and Hana Walker-Brown.
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4. Show less