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The price of everything and the social value of nothing

In the quest to quantify the outcomes of regeneration, we have put a price on everything, writes Steve Taylor. But what value are we creating?

Inspiring and motivating this community is mission critical as they shape our cities

After a year of upheaval, Zoom, Teams and sensory deprivation, too many placemakers and cityshapers are running on empty. With Festival of Place: Social Impact, I’m hoping to give them a new groove, writes Christine Murray

When Londoners come to towns: “Communities will push back against them”

The sudden influx of city dwellers into towns, small cities and villages can have an impact on local communities, and fears of rising house prices and gentrification are not unfounded. Chris Stokel-Walker reports.

If Boris backs a cycling revolution, why is he spending £27bn on roads for cars?

Boris Johnson said he would kickstart a cycling and walking revolution, so why is the Treasury not backing the prime minister’s words with funding? James Wilmore reports

Could carnivals become a radical tool for reimagining public space?

Philosopher Mikhail Bakhtin says: "Carnival is the world standing on its head." If this year has turned the world upside down, could Carnival become a radical tool to reimagine our public realm? Rosanna Vitiello explores her Radical Rethink

Both offices and people are migrating: Where are they going?

Working remotely, it turns out, is more focused, customer-oriented, supportive of professional development, and less boring. But where does that leave office space and the city centre? Steve Taylor reports

Night time knife-edge: “When the first lockdown lifted, we thought we had prevailed”

The endless quest for space as a creative entrepreneur has shown me just how unappreciated the night-time economy is, writes Lucia Massey

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fresh thinking

Planning has prevented squalor. Don’t scrap it

The government needs to fess up that its foray into the deregulation of planning has already created slums. Their white paper proposes a fatal return to “laissez-faire” in the middle of a health pandemic and climate emergency. It must be opposed, writes Christine Murray

Shared space or segregated space?

Shared streets and surfaces were supposed to promote equity and safety, but resulted in the exclusion of the blind and partially sighted. What now for the dream of bringing pedestrians and motorists together? Nile Bridgeman reports

Radical rethink: Hear the ideas

Listen to six ideas to improve in the design and development of public space and places at our online events on 23 and 30 September

The truth about tech clusters: Start-up riches do not trickle down

Tech jobs drive up house prices, push out locals and create low-skilled and low-paid jobs. Yet councils keep banking on unproven microeconomic theories. Steve Taylor reports

We must bring urban thinkers together

After a summer of listening and pivoting, I’m excited to share our new programme of events, writes Christine Murray

Lockdown threw some high streets a lifeline, the challenge is what to do next

As with any crisis, reinvention comes through adversity, writes Max Farrell, Toby Denham, Aymara Lamche-Brennan and Chris Pask of LDN Collective

most popular

Kings Crescent Estate: “There’s a feeling of life coming back”

Placetest King’s Crescent Estate: A part-demolished estate in Stoke Newington is enjoying an ambitious regeneration full of flux and possibility. Anna Wood and Nitasha Kapoor meet the residents enjoying its revival. Photography by John Sturrock

When Londoners come to towns: “Communities will push back against them”

The sudden influx of city dwellers into towns, small cities and villages can have an impact on local communities, and fears of rising house prices and gentrification are not unfounded. Chris Stokel-Walker reports.

David Cowans, Places for People: “Competing about climate change is a zero sum game”

Group chief executive of Places for People David Cowans on net zero, retrofitting homes and why the UK industry needs to come together and collaborate to combat climate change

Chipperfield: "We have a train crash between the principles of good planning and a free market economy"

Watch the talk: Sir David Chipperfield sits down with Finn Williams, CEO, Public Practice and several local authority associates for a robust discussion on planning: "I don’t believe that developers per se are bad people... but instinctively they’re going to push"

Liverpool One: “Shopping centres provide a stage for people to explore their identity”

In this exclusive placetest, anthropologist Rebecca Toop explores the user experience of Liverpool’s outdoor shopping district, which opened in 2008, with photography by Andrew McCaren

“We see ourselves as social impact developers” Adam Higgins, Capital & Centric

When they started Capital & Centric, they wanted to create award-winning architecture, says co-founder Adam Higgins. Ten years on, it’s about more than that

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