2
Introduction There has been widespread debate about an apparent process of homogenisation in our towns and cities. There is a growing and realistic concern in much of the UK population that our city centres are becoming ‘Clone Towns’ – where the same chain shops and restaurants are present in every high street. Conglomerate corporations open indistinct chains of shops that sell the same products, laid out in the same way and with people wearing the same uniforms in order to build a brand image. Whilst this is a recognisable capitalist motivation, it can be argued the cost of this motivation is the personal nature we once took for granted from shop keepers in our cities. The days of shopkeepers running locally family owned and run businesses have become a thing of the past. City centres should reflect the character of the area and what it is that gives it an individual identity. Letting local areas develop distinctive solutions to the issue of ‘Clone Towns’ is one way of addressing homogenisation. By developing their unique assets, specialisations and character they can pursue an alternative path of originality. Using ‘differentiation strategies’ (as academic Ivan Turok calls them) will be of benefit to the city centres of the UK as well as the UK as a whole – to have such a distinct array of individual cultures within the cities will ensure that Britain is once more hailed as Great. Presently, without prior knowledge of a city centre, one would be hard pushed to differentiate one city from the next walking down the same old streets. Kevin James Connor
Photographer : Kevin James Connor Designer : Daniel Scialom
3
McDonald’s 4
Birmingham Worcester
Gloucester
Oxford
Cardiff
Exeter
Hereford
Bristol
Newport
Swansea
Bath
Southampton
5
Game 6
Birmingham Worcester
Gloucester
Oxford
Southampton Bath
Exeter
Cardiff
Hereford
Bristol
Newport
Swansea
7
Top Shop 8
Birmingham Swansea
Exeter
Southampton
Worcester
Gloucester
Oxford
Bath
Cardiff
Newport
Bristol
Hereford
9
Marks & Spencer 10
Birmingham Worcester
Gloucester
Oxford
Southampton Bath
Exeter
Cardiff
Hereford
Bristol
Newport
Swansea
11
Thomas Cook 12
Birmingham Worcester
Gloucester
Southampton
Newport
Cardiff
Exeter
Bath
Swansea
Hereford
Bristol
Oxford
13
WHSmith 14
Birmingham Oxford
Southampton Exeter
Worcester
Cardiff
Newport
Swansea
Gloucester
Bath
Hereford
Bristol
15
Dorothy Perkins 16
Gloucester
Oxford
Bath
Worcester
Birmingham Exeter
Newport
Cardiff
Southampton Swansea
Bristol
Hereford
17
Jessops 18
Birmingham Hereford
Newport
Gloucester
Exeter
Oxford
Bristol
Southampton
Bath
Swansea
Cardiff
Worcester
19
HMV 20
Birmingham Newport
Swansea
Exeter
Hereford
Gloucester
Worcester
Bath
Bristol
Southampton
Cardiff
Oxford
21
William Hill 22
Birmingham Cardiff
Exeter
Newport
Hereford
Gloucester
Southampton Worcester
Swansea
Bristol
Oxford
Bath
23
HSBC 24
Southampton Cardiff
Bath
Oxford
Gloucester
Birmingham
Worcester
Swansea
Exeter
Bristol
Hereford
Newport
25
Starbucks Coffee 26
Newport
Oxford
Exeter
Southampton
Bristol
Birmingham
Swansea
Bath
Cardiff
Worcester
Hereford
Gloucester
27
the end
30