Arthur Ling

Arthur George Ling (20 September 1913 – 20 December 1995) was a British architect and town planner. From 1955 to 1964, he was City Architect and Planning Officer for Coventry. As head of Nottingham University’s Department of Architecture, he was Consultant Architect-Planner for the Runcorn New Town Masterplan. There he invented the Runcorn Busway, the world's first bus rapid transit system.

Early life and education Ling was born in Swindon, Wiltshire on 20 September 1913. He was educated at Christ's Hospital, Horsham before winning a scholarship to study at the Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London. After graduating a BA (Architecture), he was awarded a Diploma in Town Planning in 1938.

Political views Ling joined the Communist Party as a student, and following a visit in 1939, stayed on in the USSR to study Soviet town planning. He was active in the Society for Cultural Relations with the USSR after the Second World War and was a founder member of the Society for Anglo-Chinese Understanding in 1965.