A 12th century murder turned a small English cathedral city into one of medieval Europe's first tourist destinations. Nine hundred years later, Canterbury is still living with the consequences. In this episode, we pull apart a city caught between its ancient identity as England's ecclesiastical capital, a student population that now outnumbers permanent residents in term time, and a development battle over what the city becomes next. Along the way: why Kent is now making world-class wine, the 45-minute train ride to Whitstable that every visitor misses, and what happens when a city's greatest asset is also the thing holding it back.

The Murder That Built a Tourism Industry How four knights, a cathedral, and a political miscalculation in 1170 created the pilgrimage economy that shaped Canterbury for centuries.

The Student Question Canterbury's universities have transformed the city's demographics, economics, and culture. Not everyone thinks that's a good thing.

Development vs. Heritage The tension between preserving what makes Canterbury worth visiting and building the city its residents actually need to live in.

The Hidden Engine The economic story underneath the heritage branding that most visitors never see.

Street Level What Canterbury actually feels like on the ground, beyond the cathedral walls.

Cities is a podcast that pulls cities apart to find the decisions, accidents, and arguments that made them what they are. One city at a time.

Hosted by Gary Bills