Sustaining a City’s Culture and Character provides a catalog of techniques that emphasize “bottom up,” resident-based input. Such input includes local history, building forms, natural and open spaces, cultural assets and tradition, and related policy, planning, and regulatory examples. Here’s a 27 March update on developments and release events for the book. The […]
Today’s episode in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, recalls the look and feel of urban blends discussed in Sustaining a City’s Culture and Character. First, I return to a venue discussed in the Introduction (available in the link at the end of this entry). Second, I describe several […]
Who says that place is all about engineered or built environments? It isn’t, a point I emphasize many times in Sustaining a City’s Culture and Character. If you need more convincing, listen to Trish Hansen in the video below. I spoke to her on March 15, as she embarked upon […]
Is there a predicate to “placemaking” where a place is analyzed and mastered? Is that process of immersion, which I so love to emphasize, part of the placemaking process, or should it be called something else? To many, the question poses a distinction without a difference. Nonetheless, in talking about […]
Sustaining a City’s Culture and Character begins with the notion that communities reflect the fusion of everyday life with the various forces and environments common to urban settings. One example is the overlap of built and natural environments, and the inspiration inherent in their combined appearance. I focus on water-influenced environments […]
When Sustaining Place began late last Spring, I wrote several pieces about the emergence phases from the first English lockdown. There are parallels today, as the third lockdown begins to unwind. I wanted to revisit hints of resilience through a video essay on the changes to the commercial fabric of […]
Today, we pose questions based on Vodaphone’s world headquarters in Newbury (and the “Shaw Valley” housing development next door). Post-pandemic, will what is now empty–or under construction–remain? As Sustaining a City’s Culture and Character implies, these questions don’t have ready answers. They require careful assessment and review of corporate productivity […]
Today, we celebrate Book Launch Day for Sustaining a City’s Culture and Character. This book focuses on the culture and character of one city compared to another, how we distinguish and change urban places, and the actors involved. Please join collaborator Dr. Tigran Haas and me as we discuss the […]
As we emerge from the pandemic, why center only on architectural compatibility or placemaking listicles? Why not admit the common adage, that the city–and its places–are a stage? As Futurecity Ltd cultural strategist Sherry Dobbin advises, the stage should be choreographed based on a comprehensive analysis of stakeholders’ fantasies and […]
