How to save our town centres
Join regeneration specialist and author Julian Dobson on Wednesday 6 May
By far the most engaging book I am reading at the moment is “How to save our town centres: a radical agenda for the future of the High Street”. The book is in two parts. The first part, “Today”, is an enjoyable canter through a multitude of issues, taking in town centres across the UK with fascinating stories from their past which have shaped their present. It includes interviews with all sorts of people and relevant facts and figures, which at times are shocking. This is a book which must feel personal to just about everyone. The section on Merry Hill Shopping Centre and what decision makers in Dudley did to get around planning restrictions is a welcome inclusion, and crucial part of the story of Dudley’s town centres. (I was also rather taken with the telling of the story of the Great Cheese Riots at Nottingham’s Goose Fair in 1766 — but that’s not the focus here!)
The second part of the book, “Tomorrow”, is where Julian begins to outline possible futures, drawing on inspirational things which people are starting to try. In Julian’s words, which are always beautifully put together:
“ … we must find ways of reviving our towns while they still have life in them… we need to explore what new or rediscovered functions we can find for them. And to do that, we need to appreciate why they matter and broaden our thinking about what they could be.
This book advocates a citizen-centred agenda for torn centres, encompassing the local economy, the built environment and community activity. In doing so it seeks to contest received wisdom about what makes a successful high street, and highlight the need for an interconnected critique of policy and practice, reaching beyond traditional disciplines and professions.”
Julian is coming to Birmingham on Wednesday 6 May to host a conversation exploring these ideas, another feature in Impact Hub Birmingham’s Opening Festival. If you’d like to come along places are free, hot drinks and a warm welcome await, we’ll be gathering at 6.00pm and the session will end around 7.30pm — simply register here (look down the list of activities for the day until you get to ‘conversation on thinking about citizen-led change, in response to the challenges faced in High Streets’.)
If you fancy getting hold of a copy of the book you can do so here, and there are also a series of related articles, papers and blog posts linked from here. You can connect with Julian on twitter: @juliandobson — I’d recommend it, he’s great and shares interesting things.
