academy of urbanism: masterclass, measuring great places

MEASURING & ASSESSING PLACES THE GOOD HIGH STREET

Angela Koch of

28 September 2011, Masterclass, Academy of Urbanism

STREETS AS STUDY OBJECT

+ Like a connected system of blood vessels...from aorta to capillaries

+ We don’t get to make new streets that often ...we have to make do ...

+ We can optimise ...

HIGH STREET AS STUDY OBJECT

+ It’s the heart of the local urban system with often the highest economic,social-cultural and environmental activity + We rarely get to make new high streets...we really have to make do...

+ We can optimise ...

...High streets are incredible!

resourceful&

versatile 

Paved with goldThe real value of good street design

Design better streets

Emphasis on design quality as experienced by the pedestrian and possible links between that experience and property prices

Paved with goldThe real value of good street design

Design better streets

High street flat price in £ = £129k

+0.28*terraced house price in surroundings

+ £ 13,600

*street design quality score

Zone A rent of shops in £/m2 = (-£4600x%Vacant)

+0.26*total weekly local expenditure

+£5000x core catchment market potential

+ £25* street design quality score

We collected, counted, mapped, observed

measured, clustered and concluded:

Design better streets

Zone A rent of shops in £/m2 =

Demons

tratio

n work

ed!

a

Capturing the Impacts of Quality of Place Investments Baseline Report

Apr

il 20

08

For One North East

Change in economic performance of place over time >>> local, town, regional, national reachof investment

Emphasis on design quality as experienced by the pedestrian and possible links between that experience and a wide range of economic performance measures.

Capturing the Impacts

Plea

se con

tact P

aul Bu

chanan

CLARITY ON 3 SIMPLE QUESTIONS:+ What do we want/need to measure? + Why are we doing it? + How are we doing it?

The Goodness of a high street from a user’s point of view

WHAT...?

socio-cultural performance

ecological performance

economic performance

Tactical:+ accessing funding for (high)street performance improvements+ Smarter investment ‘more for less’ + Feeding the competitive drive between areas

Political: + rational for funding allocations + more accountability

Pragmatic: + learning how to facilitate a more viable, functional and desirable high street + ...

WHY?...

A great high street is functional,viable and desirable!

Economic resources

Social-cultural resources

USER EXPERIENCE

Public Realm Private Realm

Natural resources HOW?...

A good high street has a lot of different things to offer!(...the three legged table as picture of dependencies...)

USER EXPERIENCE

Social-cultural resources

Economic resources

Natural resources

partly

“What you measure affects what you do. If we have the wrong metrics, we will strive for the wrong things.”

Joseph Stiglitz

A good high street has a lot of different things to offer!

USER EXPERIENCE

Social-cultural resources

Economic resources

Natural resources

Energy use Biodiversity

RentsProperty priceRetail offer/mix Service offer Vacant unitsNo jobs/type Income peopleSpend Turn-over

Temporary & regular

experiences: Mingling of people

Meeting Historic reference

Learning Library

Street market Arts & Dance &

Making Musical events

Food/drink+Playing

WaterWasteNoise

Air

+ Pedestrian Environment Review System for different public places

+ stated preference data/values+ user numbers + time spent

partly

Paved with goldThe real value of good street design

Design better streets

a

Capturing the Impacts of Quality of Place Investments Baseline Report

Apr

il 20

08

For One North East

Measured (only) parts of the factors that constitute user experiences ... albeit important parts we think.

USER EXPERIENCE partly

USER EXPERIENCE partly

Finding data that count!

Paved with goldThe real value of good street design

Design better streets

High street flat price in £ = £129k

+0.28*terraced house price in surroundings

+ £ 13,600

*street design quality score

Demonstration project results suggested that:

Zone A rent of shops in £/m2 = (-£4600x%Vacant)

+0.26*total weekly local expenditure

+£5000x core catchment market potential

+ £25* street design quality score

5% increase in property prices per PERS score

Economic resources

Social-cultural resources

Natural resources

USER EXPERIENCE

Energy use Biodiversity

RentsProperty pricesRetail offer/mix Service offer Vacant unitsNo jobs/type People income Spend Turn-over

Temporary & regular

experiences: Mingling of people

Meeting Historic reference

Learning Library

Street market Arts &

Musical events Food/drink

+Playing

WaterWasteNoise

Air

+ Pedestrian Environment Review System

for different public places

+ Stated Preference data

+ user numbers + time spent

partly

CC ImaginePlaces 2011

... a three legged table ...with

flexible spring feeders...?

A great high street can adapt to changing conditions

(‘internal’ and ‘external’)!

Economic resources

Social-cultural resources

Natural resources

A good high street makes the best of its available resources!

Optimised by people

&design changes

A good high street can adapt to changing conditions

(‘internal’ and ‘external’)!

...A high street performs

differently over the course ...

of a day, a season,

a decade, a century ....

High Street A High Street A High Street A

High Street A High Street A High Street A

High Street A High Street A High Street A

Understanding what shape and dynamic

the ‘people-factor‘

may bear for the good high street

Looking for more insights on....

High Street

Governance processes (shape, quality, dynamic, results)

High Street Governance processes

(shape, quality, dynamic, results)

Town Centre

Management

Market tra

ders

associatio

ns

Amenity Groups

Members of Business Association

Residents Associations

Faith Groups

Landowners

Residents

Street

Management

Public

Transport

Officers

Culture

&

Arts team

Collaborative processes Co-design processes Co-creation processes

Engaging the users in designing the service: http://www.edenproject.com/whats-it-all-

about/places-and-regeneration/queens-park-neighbourhood-

planning.php

Working together more creatively:

Working together more creatively:

Engaging the traders in creation of new /

better offer ...

Engaging the user in creation of new

shops and services...

Listening and creating with children...

Measuring ‘Tactical Urbanism’

Activities ‘Tactical Urbanism’

Measuring & Assessing on the spot (real life experiments)

Photo credit: Next Generation of new Urbanists (NextGen)

See Warren Karlenzig’s blog: Urban Parklets: The New Front Stoop

San Francisco:Pavements to Parks Programme - Urban Parklets

Ability to create pop-up experiences

&self-organised initiatives

Photo credit: Next Generation of new Urbanists (NextGen) Photo credit: Next Generation of new Urbanists (NextGen)

Photo credit: BBC

Build a better Block:

Dallas,Tx

Build a better Block:Fort Worth, Tx

Photo credit: Next Generation of new Urbanists (NextGen)

Photo credit: Next Generation of new Urbanists (NextGen)

Photo credit: Next Generation of new Urbanists (NextGen)before

after

Pop-up cafe Park(ing) Day

Chair bombing

Pavement to Plaza

Photo credit: Next Generation of new Urbanists (NextGen)

Diversifying Use &

Space Productivity&

Sharing Learnings

AboutBromley Caldari Architects partnered with Acumen Capital Partners & Brooklyn Grange LLC to create a 40,000 square foot for-profit urban farm & green roof at 37-18 Northern Blvd. The manufacturing facility formerly operated by Standard Motor Products was the perfect infrastructure to house the largest rooftop farm in the United States.

Space Productivity

&Sharing the learnings

+ locally negotiated + Temporary at first (pop-up) + Explorative + Inexpensive (great Cost:Benefit ratios)+ High Impact & Learnings + People-centred+ Co-created

Tactical Urbanism Activities

EMERGING ASSESSMENT CONCEPT: THE GOOD HIGH STREET - MEASURING ‘RESILIENCE’

...people and networks shaping the

degree of flexibility in the spring

feeders...?

Economic resources

Social-cultural resources

Natural resources

USER EXPERIENCE

Energy use Biodiversity

RentsProperty pricesRetail offer/mix Service offer Vacant unitsNo jobs/type People income Spend Turn-over

Temporary & regular

experiences: Mingling of people

Meeting Historic reference

Learning Library

Street market Arts &

Musical events Food/drink

+Playing

WaterWasteNoise

Air

+ Pedestrian Environment Review System

for different public places

+ stated preference data

+ user numbers + time spent

partly

High Street Governance Tactical Urbanism Activities

EMERGING ASSESSMENT CONCEPT: THE GOOD HIGH STREET - MEASURING ‘RESILIENCE’

CC ImaginePlaces 2011

Over to you!