distinctiveness making this work for our towns willie miller, wmud | john lord, yellow book ltd
TRANSCRIPT
distinctivenessmaking this work for our towns
Willie Miller, WMUD | John Lord, yellow book ltd
workshop programme
John Lord• what does a successful town centre look like?• the challenges facing town centres • who are the likely winners and losers?• what do we mean by distinctiveness?• how can we use distinctiveness to make successful town centres?
Willie Miller• WMUD distinctiveness studies• Bolton LDS• St Helier UCA• others
a few questions…
• describe what a “successful” town centre is like
successful town centres
• busy - including evenings and weekends• successful shops and businesses• diverse economy – local employment centre• focus for social, community and cultural activities• good places to eat and drink• attractive streets and public spaces• (in some cases) visitor attractions• safe and well cared-for• accessible by car and public transport
a few questions…
• describe what a “successful” town centre is like• how might we measure that success?
measuring success
• how many people come to town every day?– residents, shoppers and leisure visitors, employees, tourists– diversity: age, income, occupation, ethnicity etc
• how long do they stay?– this reflects the range and quality of the town centre experience
• how much do they spend?– and how many jobs does this sustain?
• these are the key outcomes– you can also measure intermediate outputs
a few questions…
• describe what a “successful” town centre is like• how might we measure that success?• what are the barriers to success?
the challenges facing town centres and high streets
• they are no longer the “central places” in most people’s lives– mobility and prosperity
– larger labour markets
– changing lifestyles
– we live our lives in a larger matrix of places
– big cities, out of town retail/leisure, online shopping and communities
• captive markets are shrinking– the old, the young, the poor depend on the local
– the rest of us have access to a larger space
• now we have to choose to use the traditional town centre– why would we make that choice?
town centres in the industrial era
town centres at the start of the C21st: living our lives in a larger space
poverty or prosperity? five key factors
• relationship with city-regions– commuter zone/remote
countryside– specialised functions
• economic function– structural change– service economy
• demography– balanced age structure– migration
• workforce– skills– occupation
• legacy– environment– amenity– housing stock
small towns: trajectories of change
• the winners– commuter towns in the accessible countryside– centres of rural tourism
• mixed fortunes– rural service centres
• the losers– industrial towns
• special cases– St Andrews– island capitals
why does distinctiveness matter?
where does distinctiveness come from?
where does distinctiveness come from?
ECONOMY
COMMUNITY
PLACE CULTURE
societies, clubs, active citizens,
schools, churches, volunteers
setting, form, buildings, materials,
parks, waterways, public art
independent shops, businesses, industry, research, specialis-
ation, resources
history, heritage, ethnicity, famous citizens, events,
traditions
how can we nurture and develop distinctiveness?
the new distinctiveness
ECONOMY
COMMUNITY
PLACE CULTURE
community initiatives & enterprises, green space, engagement,
civic pride
quality architecture, public realm projects, new
communities, public art
theme towns, events, marketing &
promotion, business space
celebrating diversity, new attractions
contemporary art, cultural centres
different paths for different places
place-making outcomesendowments
rich anddistinctive legacy
conservation+
sensitiveintervention
DISTINCTIVE &COMPETITIVE
PLACESrediscovery
+removing liabilities
+quality intervention
impoverished& degraded
legacy
working with distinctiveness- case studies
•Canterbury•St Helier•Bolton
an example: Canterbury
•Canterbury Cathedral = landmark building•but not necessarily distinctive
an example: Canterbury
•Canterbury Cathedral = landmark building•the murder of Thomas à Becket•Chaucer’s tales of pilgrimage•T S Eliot’s play Murder in the Cathedral•Michael Powell’s 1944 film•relationship between church and state
St Helier Urban Character Appraisalthe town
St Helier Urban Character Appraisalthe town
St Helier Urban Character Appraisalthe town
1691 1750 1780 1810
1840 1870 1910 2004
St Helier Urban Character Appraisalthe town centre
St Helier Urban Character Appraisalthe old harbours
St Helier Urban Character Appraisalthe new waterfront
St Helier Urban Character Appraisalthe character areas
topography, landmarks, density, building lines, historic value, grain, sea views, public realm, activity, green space, height…….
St Helier Urban Character Appraisalpolicy and guidance
physical………………character areas……….policy + guidancestrategy
consultation
St Helier Urban Character Appraisallessons
1. extensive consultation produced a popular result with local communities….
2. ….but less popular with business and financial community
3. widely differing perceptions of what the town should be
4. global areas on the waterfront are popular with certain age groups (12 – 35) who find the old town (the area of real local distinctiveness) boring and stifling
5. policy and proposals had grown out of consultation and were therefore accepted by much of the community as a way forward
Bolton Local Distinctiveness Studymethod
1.public profile for local distinctiveness debate2.engage with public – different groups3.identify distinctiveness issues4.present illustrated narrative summary
5.Part 1 to input to Council’s Part 2 SPD6.eventually this was the Building Bolton
report
the brief
Bolton Local Distinctiveness Studytechniques
1. networking2. storytelling (and scoring)3. cognitive mapping4. video interviews5. photography survey and recording
Bolton Local Distinctiveness Studythe storytelling method
• narrative technique• qualitative and spatial results• total of 60 groups and sheets• at least 300 people involved• covers civic, business and traders, residents, elderly, young,
ethnic groups, special needs, councillors
Bolton Local Distinctiveness Studythe value of storytelling
the value of the approach is that: • a story moves everyone forward together, but on individual pathways • a story originates with the teller, but creates meaning for the listener
(us)• storytelling is indirect - therefore it frees the teller from inhibition• a story can express complex truth in a simple way• storytelling can overcome cynicism, boredom, workshop grumpiness
and distraction• the teller uses the urban fabric as a stage-set for the story• stories are rich sources of diverse information
Bolton Local Distinctiveness Studythe town
1793 1824 1845 1890
1927 1953 1979 2006
Bolton Local Distinctiveness Studythe storytelling method
A T imeline sheet (above) and crisis cards (below)
Bolton Local Distinctiveness Studythe storytelling method
• a visit to Bolton town centre• what group?• what purpose?• route? experiences? places? quality?• summary score sheet
Bolton Local Distinctiveness Studythe storytelling results
Bolton Local Distinctiveness Studymessages for urban design
• Bolton has a distinctive town centre with several key landmark buildings • distinguished by activity (eg Octagon) or character (Town Hall, Market Halls)• the most distinctive places are grouped around Town Hall - giving town a
distinctive ‘civic core’• concentration of retail activities in the flat centre of the town is seen as an
advantage• key routes give town centre legibility (Newport Street, Victoria Square, Oxford
Street, Deansgate)• Bolton people seen as distinctive - welcoming, friendly but forthright and
pessimistic
buildings mentioned
Bolton Local Distinctiveness Studymessages for urban design
• Bolton has a distinctive town centre with several key landmark buildings • distinguished by activity (eg Octagon) or character (Town Hall, Market Halls)• the most distinctive places are grouped around Town Hall - giving town a
distinctive ‘civic core’• concentration of retail activities in the flat centre of the town is seen as an
advantage• key routes give town centre legibility (Newport Street, Victoria Square, Oxford
Street, Deansgate)• Bolton people seen as distinctive - welcoming, friendly but forthright and
pessimistic
places mentioned
Bolton Local Distinctiveness Studymapping of stories
Bolton Local Distinctiveness Studymapping of stories
Bolton Local Distinctiveness Studymapping of stories
Bolton Local Distinctiveness Studythe ‘control’ urban design appraisal
morphology
shatter zone
grain
arrival
Bolton Local Distinctiveness Studythe ‘control’ urban design appraisal
public realm
town structure
setpieces
cohesion
Bolton Local Distinctiveness Studypolicy areas
character areas combining
storytelling and urban design
appraisal – these become
policy containers
Bolton Local Distinctiveness Studypolicy directions – propositions for design guidance
• town centre as a whole• access and arrival• movement networks and orientation• building design distinctiveness• key sites and streets• range of uses – daytime and night-time• sub-areas and neighbourhoods• scale and skyline character• materials and colour palette• priority areas
Bolton Local Distinctiveness Studythe town centre
the town centre is a mix of quality (core) and fragmented townscape –
mainly on the edges
future expansion should be carefully designed to work with the
existing grain, scale and rhythms of the best parts of the core
Bolton Local Distinctiveness Studymovement networks and orientation
the internal networks need to be strengthened and made clearer and
more friendly
there needs to be a clear navigation and wayfinding strategy to make the
centre accessible and comfortablefor all
Bolton Local Distinctiveness Studyaccess and arrival
the sense of arrival is weak, even threatening, from some
directions and modes
there is a need for a much clearer, more welcoming threshold for visitors
by all modes
this includes the ‘external’ arrival corridors into the centre
Bolton Local Distinctiveness Studyuses – night time and daytime
there is a mix of use but it is rather clustered by type. Greater diversity is
needed across the centre to avoid a mono-cultural retail/commercial hub
widen the retail and cultural visitor offer, but also increase residential,
hotel and other uses
balance the spread of evening economy more evenly across town
Bolton Local Distinctiveness Studylessons
1. extensive consultation produced a popular result with local communities….
2. it enabled the team to get far more information about the town than normal methods and fine tune propositions
3. a very clear emerging picture of the town and what makes it distinctive
4. some parts of the global areas in the shatter zone are popular with certain age groups (12 – 35 and pensioners) - clubs, casino, bingo, Morrison’s
5. distinctive areas not always good from an urban design angle
6. policy propositions for SPD are rather blunt tools for enhancing distinctiveness
7. weak relationship between identification of distinctiveness and policies to retain or enhance it
8. some aspects of distinctiveness are difficult to influence
Bolton Local Distinctiveness Studya storytelling group
distinctivenessmaking this work for our towns
Willie Miller, WMUD | John Lord, yellow book ltd