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Sense of place, authenticity, branding and creativity.
These are some of the themes that emerged from two
conferences sponsored and attended by The Urbanists last week.
The International Maritime Heritage Conference in
Cardiff explored the value of maritime heritage for the tourism industry in
different locations around the world. For the tourism industry, where a
large part of the product is 'place', it seems logical that ‘place making’ is
at the heart of strategies for growth. But what was striking about the
conference was the consistent message that the essence of a sense of place must
be combined with creativity and expressed consistently to be effective.
Alan Clarke, CEO of Northern Ireland Tourist Board,
suggested that cities need to be defined more and more by their stories, and
went on to explain how this had been developed in 'Titanic Town' Belfast which
has attracted over 500,000 visitors in its opening six months. Similarly
Steve White, President of Mystic Seaport, The Museum of America and the Sea,
referred to their shift from 'preserving' their maritime heritage to
'projecting' it to their visitors. Visitor experience is key and at the
heart of this must be an authentic and consistent message. In this case
branding is relates to the overall message and 'mindset' rather than the
material that is put out to visitors.
These themes are not confined to capitalising on
maritime heritage. Indeed on the same day the annual Urban Design Group
Conference in Oxford was debating the value of good design in face of the
current challenging economic climate. Here it was suggested that place
making is an investment and should be treated as such in the allocation of time,
funding and expertise. And it's the same message for our town centres; place
making that responds to the unique characteristics of the location, its history
and its people.
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| Neal's Yard, Covent Garden: form, creativity, activity and meaning produce a strong sense of place |
There is a consistent message that the value of place
making is as great as ever but also that the challenge of defining and
capitalising on it should not be underestimated. As urban designers
we must continue to strive to create places of distinction and not blandness,
safe in the knowledge that it does make a difference. But we must not do
it alone. People are an important component of place and we must
collaborate with local champions to foster greater authenticity and creative
influences to interpret ideas.
By Jen
By Jen
