Urban DNA is key to reinvention
Over the summer Perspectives covered, with a fairly broad brush, the themes of change and evolution (see here for our diversification blog here). Now that term time has restarted and we have rediscovered our work routines, I thought it would be helpful to focus on one particular area of change that P-THREE has been involved with since its inception.
Just like biological DNA, Urban DNA can change over time and right now many town centres are ripe for reinventing themselves by reclaiming their Urban DNA.
Up and down the country, towns and cities are facing up to the challenge of making themselves (and their property markets) relevant for the 2020s in the wake of the pandemic. I think all of us will have personal experience of places that are doing this much more successfully than others. That leads to a crucial question: what is behind the driving force of locations that are thriving?
One thing I’m quite sure of is that luck has relatively little to do with it, though serendipity always has a hand in things when least expected. Places that do well do so because they have a clear reason for being where they are, doing what they do and attracting residents and workers alike. This reason has, in recent times, been described in property/urban regeneration circles as ‘place purpose’.
I believe that it is the ‘purpose’ part of the tag that is key here. Most existing locations are where they are because they originally had a purpose. It might have been based around a transport hub, a particular industry or a culturally significant venue. For some towns that original purpose has been eroded over time – travel habits have changed or traditional industries have died away – and town centres have diminished as a result.
However, the spiral of decline needn’t be inevitable. If towns can identify a new purpose, then revitalisation of the local economy will surely follow. I think of that purpose as Urban DNA – it is something that is integral to a particular place and binds disparate parts of it together.
Just like biological DNA, Urban DNA can change over time and right now many town centres are ripe for reinventing themselves by reclaiming their Urban DNA. Some have already embarked on that change, though they might not recognise it such. Typically, they have become a hub for a particular sector (eg life sciences) or they have created a new cultural destination. Below are five examples of such locations, but there are many more.
Identifying the Urban DNA for any given town or city quarter, is just part of the challenge. Successful reinvention requires either a single driving entity (a local authority or large developer) or a strongly united collective (see here for our collab blog) that has (or can buy in) the skills and resources to develop out the local Urban DNA and provide/attract the necessary funding.
As we pointed out over the summer: change itself is inevitable. The direction of change, however, certainly can be influenced, and channelled positively, with careful thought and passionate determination.
Five towns/cities reclaiming their Urban DNA:
Leamington Spa – the West Midlands might be better known for logistics, but Leamington is attracting a new generation of gaming-related businesses.
Cheltenham – the former spa town is reinventing itself with the UK’s first cyber campus.
Altrincham – one of Greater Manchester’s satellite towns is now a destination for food and drink.
Digbeth – a formerly run-down Birmingham quarter is reinvigorating itself as a media hub.
Falmouth – capitalising on an existing academic base, the Cornish seaside town is up and coming for visual arts.
Article by Justin Taylor, Co-founder P-THREE
Photo credits: Unsplash
