Chelmsford Fellows lead the way
Off to Chelmsford tomorrow. A group of RSA Fellows has worked with the local council to organise a forum about the town centre. I am to offer them some ideas and explore how the RSA could continue its involvement.
Speaking to the Fellow leading the event I get the impression that the centre is seen as perfectly serviceable but lacking in character. Workers, shoppers, those on a night out have an instrumental attitude to the place, and although several thousands people live in the centre, it is the only part of the town lacking its own parish council.
The case I intend to make is that a vision for the town centre must be based on a rich understanding of how people see and use the area and how they might be willing to change that view if the centre itself changed. We need to explore what could the town centre’s identity could be, and from that answer to develop ideas for embedding this identity in the physical and social fabric. As you would expect, coming from an RSA perspective, I will emphasise the ideas of citizenship and human capability: how can the town centre speak to an ambitious idea of engaged, resourceful, altruistic citizens?
This is just the kind of project the RSA Fellowship should be undertaking and I am committed to providing support from HQ if we can get it to the next stage. I am taking along with me Sam McLean, our newly appointed in-house expert on public engagement, so we can explore some ideas about citizen involvement. Also, I hope we might be able to offer the Fellows in Chelmsford some insight and advice drawn from the wider Fellowship, many of whom will have been involved in other town centre initiatives.
A key objective I have set for the Society is that by this time next year we have several projects like this up and running; initiatives started by Fellows on the ground but then enhanced by support of various kinds from John Adam Street and the wider Fellowship. I don’t underestimate the challenges involved – this is a big shift in our expectations and ways of working – but ultimately I believe we must judge the strength of our amazing Fellowship by the positive difference we can make to wider society.
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Comments
4 Comments on Chelmsford Fellows lead the way
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Ed Bowie on
Fri, 11th Sep 2009 8:05 am
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Designing your environment | Local Democracy on
Fri, 11th Sep 2009 8:21 am
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Adam Roake on
Thu, 17th Sep 2009 10:50 am
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Places UK « Branding for Cities on
Thu, 13th May 2010 3:12 pm
I wish you well in Chelmsford tomorrow. Other British cities suffer from the same identity problem. Lacking a Haussman to design our city centres, many of them lack a focal point which is clearly the centre. Where is the centre of Manchester and Bristol? I am sure that the inhabitants of both cities would come up with many different answers.
The other problem is cultural. We have not learned to value our city centres as the inhabitants of Milan, Barcelona etc do. The weather and attitudes to the consumption of alcohol do not lend themselves to a pavement cafe culture.
At the end of the day, maybe its the planners fault. The incoherent mish mash of architectural styles to be found in many city centres and a careless attitude to preserving the best of the past may have led to the instrumental attitude that Matthew mentions.
[...] a short observation, in the light of Matthew Taylor’s post about the RSA’s work in Chelmsford that is being launched today. “….a vision for the town centre must be based on a rich [...]
I am intruiged by this initiative and your intention to instigate several similar projects. I am engaged in something similar at Whitstable Harbour, a small working port (fishing and roadstone import in particular), which has also become busy leisure destination. The Harbour is owned by the local authrity and after some years of failing to properly engage the local community, the Harbour Board,of which I’m a member, are currently consulting on a Strategic Plan (http://www.canterbury.gov.uk/buildpage.php?id=5516 ).
The Harbour is at the heart of the town and has an iconic significance for the community – in consequence there as many strong views on its future as there are inhabitants!
I’m not sure what synergy there may be with Chelmsford, how what we have learnt may help there and vice versa or what help John Smith Street can offer, but it seems to me it’ might be worth meeting to discuss.
By the way I’m an architect but unlike Paul Evans, I think I still have the ability to care and be caring!
[...] there’s other activity percolating, for instance the RSA’s work with the town of Chelmsford towards a more assured and engaging projection of its town centre’s dull persona, not to [...]
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