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