THE PRODUCER CITY BRADFORD
CONGRESS VIII 15-17 May 2013
contents Introduction Day One: Introduction to Bradford
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City Park Fountains
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Day Two: Welcome to Bradford City Narrative: Bradford - the producer city
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Changing Economics - the creation of producer cities Learning with Bradford - workshops Learning from Europe - keynote address Professor Tina Saaby, City Architect, City of Copenhagen
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Conclusion The Academy Sonnet
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Congress Sponsors The Academy of Urbanism is a not for profit organisation that aims to learn from, support and celebrate great places. We bring together a membership of over 500 leading urbanists, drawn from across the UK, Ireland, Europe and beyond, and a growing membership of Young Urbanists. For more information please visit academyofurbanism.org.uk
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Congress Supporter
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The Academy of Urbanism Annual Congress The Producer City An urbanism for the 21st century?
The Academy of Urbanism partnered with the City of Bradford for our eighth Annual Congress to examine the re-emergence of the producer city concept as a means of revitalising post-industrial cities. In the late 20th century, the role of many of these cities shifted away from production, assembly and physical trade to various modes of consumption, focusing on services, retail, tourism and, with the information revolution, the financial and knowledge economy sectors. Major industrial cities of the Victorian and Edwardian eras, like Sheffield, Glasgow and Birmingham, had to forge new roles. Today we are seeing a reinvention of the ‘productive city’ that makes and sells things, combining creative processes with technology and international marketing. We set about using the Yorkshire city of Bradford as our laboratory, exploring the notion of how an established ‘post-industrial city’ rethinks its roles, economy, and also recasts its physical place, to help it compete both locally and in the global economy. Things are moving for Bradford; it is a city that has dramatically shifted its regional and national standing over the past two decades and now sits at a strategic crossroads with the drafting of a new city plan. It was the recipient of the Academy’s prestigious Great Place Award in 2013 for the exemplary City Park, a scheme which has transformed public interaction with civic space and set a new precedent for public realm investment. Not only this, the city has begun the work of changing perceptions which, as we found over the course of our time in Bradford, is one of their key challenges. Many challenges remain for Bradford, but is the Producer City the way forward?
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Day One Introduction to Bradford
Anish Kapoor’s Turning the World Inside Out Cartwright Hall, Bradford
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The Academy’s eighth Annual Congress took place in Bradford and explored the notion of the ‘The Producer City’ as a vital urbanism for the 21st century.
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Delegates were welcomed to Bradford on the first day with an afternoon of orientation sessions at the Impressions Gallery, with introductory speeches from The Academy of Urbanism Chair, Kevin Murray AoU, Bradford Councillor David Green, The City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council’s Strategic Director of Regeneration and Culture, Barra Mac Ruairí AoU, and Strategy Officer, Mark Clayton. A city centre walking tour followed, bringing to life the city – and its various regeneration projects, opportunities and challenges – that had just been introduced. The walking tour was followed by a coach trip to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Saltaire, to explore the village founded by Sir Titus Salt in the 19th century to house the workers in his textile mill, Salts Mill. Delegates also visited the mill, which in accommodating new creative and technology industries, exemplifies Bradford’s move toward a new type of 21st century Producer City. A civic reception at Cartwright Hall gallery further illuminated the wealth of art and culture in Bradford. Hosted by the City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council, the evening opened with a welcome from Deputy Lord Mayor Councillor Mark Gibbons, and an introduction to the space from Maggie Pedley, Museums and Gallery Manager for the council. Delegates were then brought back to Bradford City Centre for another taste of Bradford’s art and culture, with a flashmob in City Park. The space, which was awarded The Academy of Urbanism’s ‘Great Place’ award for 2013, was animated by young dance troupes, singers and rappers, and the crowds that congregated to watch them. Day two of Congress took place in the Pictureville Cinema of the National Media Centre. Through a series of talks and workshops the notion of the 21st
century reinvention of ‘The Producer City’ – and Bradford as an example thereof – was explored and debated. The morning session set the background ‘City Narrative’, with Barra Mac Ruairí, introducing ‘The Producer City and The City Plan’. Following this were two alternative insights into Bradford’s contemporary ‘productivity’. John Eaglesham, Chief Executive of Advanced Digital Institute discussed ‘Services for the Digital Consumer’, and the new model of (creative, technological) ‘production’ in the Salts Mill, and Zulfi Karim, Founder of The World Curry Festival, talked of how the ethnic diversity of Bradford, a ‘City for All’, has resulted in diverse forms of production.
‘Delegates were then brought back to Bradford City Centre for another taste of Bradford’s art and culture, with a flashmob’ The second morning session, ‘Changing Economics – The Creation of Producer Cities’, facilitated by Colin Philpott, Chief Executive of Bradford Breakthrough and Director of Colin Philpott Media, moved on to wider economic theory. Professor Stuart Gulliver AoU, Emeritus Professor at the University of Glasgow spoke about ‘The Producer City – The Economic Future for Cities?’ and Michael Ward, Chairman of the Centre for Local Economic Strategies,
discussed ‘Economic Strategies from the Bottom-Up’. Following a lunchtime screening of The City by Lewis Mumford, Pam Alexander OBE AoU, Director of The Academy of Urbanism introduced an afternoon of ‘Learning with Bradford’ – 6 parallel workshops examining different placemaking issues in Bradford, and beyond. Looking more deeply into some of the themes brought up in the morning’s talks, the workshops were an opportunity to engage with other delegates in smaller groups, and on more focused topics such as planning, culture and skills, economic strategy, property and investment, place learning networks, and digital urbanism and smart cities. Professor Tina Saaby, Copenhagen City Architect, closed proceedings on day two of Congress with an inspiring keynote address which championed the role of learning (and unlearning) in the creation of successful places. The people-centred approach to planning propounded by Saaby resonated with many of the ideas already explored at Congress, and the success of Copenhagen’s regeneration was testament to the lessons to be learnt from this approach – by Bradford and elsewhere. Day two concluded with the Congress Dinner, held on the stage of the magnificent Alhambra Theatre. Kevin Murray AoU announced the finalists of the Academy’s Urbanism Awards 2014, and Ian MacMillan, Academy poet-inresidence, facilitated the communal writing of a sonnet in honour of Bradford. The final day of Congress provided an opportunity to consolidate and reflect upon the learning from the previous few days and to look forward at the new Academy initiatives, such as the Young Urbanist network, and events planned for the upcoming year.
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City Park, Bradford Winner of The Academy of Urbanism’s Great Place Award 2013 The sketch above was by the Academy’s artist in residence, David ‘Harry’ Harrison. This, together with the figureground (left) and a poem by Ian McMillan, feature in the publication Space Place Life 2013.
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Fountains, J. B. Priestley 1949 J. B. Priestley was born and raised in Bradford, and his poem Fountains is inscribed on a plaque in City Park, centrepiece of Bradford’s regeneration.
What is the use of our being told that we live in a democracy if we want fountains and have no fountains? Expensive? The cost is trifling compared to that of so many idiotic things we are given and do not want. Our towns are crammed with all manner of rubbish that no people in their senses ever asked for, yet where are the fountains? By all means let us have a policy of full employment, increased production, no gap between exports and imports, social security, a balanced This and a planned That, but let us also have fountains - more and more fountains - higher and higher fountains - fountains like wine, like blue and green fire, fountains like diamonds - rainbows in every square. Crazy? Probably. But with hot wars and cold wars we have already tried going drearily mad. Why not try going delightfully mad? Why not stop spouting ourselves and let it be done for us by graceful fountains, exquisite fountains, beautiful fountains?
Right: the base of the dramatic fountains in City Park, Bradford
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Day Two Welcome to Bradford
Visit to Cartwright Hall, Bradford’s civic art gallery, home to some supberb 19th and 20th century British art including works by local-born artist David Hockney
‘We come from wool but where will we go?’ Barra Mac Ruairí AoU, Strategic Director, Regeneration and Culture, City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council
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Councillor David Green, Leader of the City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council opened proceedings for The Academy of Urbanism’s eighth Annual Congress by setting the positive, peoplecentred tone that would continue for the next three days. Of the four ‘P’s in Counsellor Green’s conception of planning – Property, Place, Prosperity and People – People were held up as the most important, and indeed central to all else. Properties and Places will only prosper if they are planned for, and with, the People. Thus just as People were key to Bradford’s great past, so too will they be key in Bradford’s great future. Bradford’s role as a Producer City, past and present, was championed as a ‘laboratory’ for learning about reinventing the ‘Producer City’ concept for the 21st Century. With a key tenet of the Academy being the importance of learning from place – the identification and promotion of best practice in urbanism – Bradford, the 2013 winner of the Academy’s ‘Great Place’ Urbanism Award, was to exemplify how a great productive past could be built upon and translated into an even greater productive future. Mark Clayton, Strategy Officer for City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council, gave an overview of Bradford’s context and history. Through a felicitous combination of geographical location, innovation and immigration, Bradford grew through the nineteenth century from being a tiny settlement to becoming a large, dense industrial city which was a major player in the global wool trade. Access to coal, iron ore and the waterways needed for both transportation and powering the mills helped Bradford establish itself as a key centre of textile manufacture. The success of industry was based upon innovation
and a steady stream of immigrants. The three shift system was pioneered in Bradford to maximise industrial productivity, which demanded huge numbers of workers. Bradford’s present day ethnic diversity can in fact be traced back to the Industrial Revolution where huge numbers of Pakistani, Italian, Belgian and Irish workers came to the city to fill the jobs in the mills.
‘the council is rethinking the postindustrial city and recasting its physical space to help it compete once again’ The resultant rapid urbanisation brought big challenges for Bradford. By the mid-nineteenth century the city’s child mortality rate was extremely high, and Bradford became known as one of the filthiest and most poverty-stricken in the UK. However, these challenges were confronted with the same innovative approach as was evident in Bradford’s industrial development – social reformists brought in new initiatives such as free school meals and free school baths. Moreover, philanthropic entrepreneurs materialised these social reforms in the urban landscape by building new industrial villages for their workers, such as Sir Titus Salt’s Saltaire. Ventures such as this enabled and ensured Bradford’s continued success through the Industrial
Revolution and beyond. However, in the latter half of the twentieth century, as with most of the UK’s industrial cities, Bradford’s manufacturing productivity fell dramatically. With the city’s former social, economic and physical prosperity having fallen into decline, Bradford is once again at a key point in its dynamic history. ‘Total regeneration’ Barra Mac Ruairí AoU, Strategic Director, Regeneration and Culture, City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council Sitting in Bradford’s Impressions Gallery overlooking City Park, the centrepiece of the City Centre’s recent, and on-going regeneration, Mac Ruairí explained how the council is rethinking the post-industrial city and recasting its physical space to help it compete once again in both the local and global economy. In his role as the council’s Strategic Director of Regeneration and Culture, he gave an impassioned talk on the challenges faced by the city but also on the huge potential for regeneration. Mac Ruairí and his team foresee a thriving future for Bradford – by working with Bradford. The council is calling for a more people-centred planning structure, with a shift from ‘Big Government’ to ‘Big Local Government’, in order to bring the power to those who know the city and its needs intimately. Moreover, there is recognition that through engagement with Bradfordians – whose innovation, entrepreneurialism and ethnic diversity was fundamental to the city’s productive past – Bradford’s productive future is an exciting and attainable prospect. The young and growing population of Bradford poses a challenge in terms of employment, but also an opportunity to capitalise on the nascent potential of a diverse and proud generation.
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Day Two City Narrative: Bradford - the producer city
The Producer City and City Plan Barra Mac Ruairí AoU, Strategic Director of Regeneration and Culture for the City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council, grounded the city’s present and future productivity in the lessons learned from its past. Strong pride in historic success is combined with recognition of the city’s decline, fuelling a distinct vision for the reinvention of Bradford’s productive capacity. The key challenges facing Bradford are those of high unemployment (an issue which is becoming more pressing with a growing population and thus a demand for even more jobs) and of needing a strong city plan. Numerous plans have been made for Bradford since the mid twentieth century, but the city now needs a plan which combines ambition with the detail which will enable actual delivery. For Mac Ruairí and his team, central to confronting these challenges is a vision for ‘total regeneration’. The ultimate aim is economic regeneration – and the provision of much-needed jobs – but underlying this must be a regeneration approach that works on all scales, from the small to the medium, large, extra large and extra extra large. Moreover,
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‘The old economic geography has gone’ Kevin Murray AoU Chairman, The Academy of Urbanism
regeneration must encompass all aspects of life in Bradford – from the provision of school meals and library services, to the management of street lighting and bringing empty homes back into use. This ‘total regeneration’ approach must underpin any city plan made for Bradford, and kick-start Mac Ruairí’s ‘revive to thrive’ model. Bradford needs a plan that will set in motion an upward cycle of revival from which the city can ‘punch through’ to thrive. Saltaire, the industrial village founded by Sir Titus Salt to house the employees working in his textile mill, was visited by delegates on the first day of Congress. The village is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site and has been celebrated for its reflection of 19th century industrial production and philanthropic paternalism – and thus the role played by the textile industry in economic and social development. It is, however, simultaneously a living, thriving community, indicative of how Bradford is forging into the future whilst still celebrating its past. The mill itself is an even stronger example of how Bradford’s reinvention as a Producer City for the 21st century is inherently linked to its role as a Producer City of the Industrial Revolution. Salts Mill
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Left to right: Barra Mac Ruairí; John Eaglesham; Zulfi Karim
has replaced wool production with new forms of ‘production’, accommodating 21st century ‘producers’ such as software engineers, artists and other creative startups. Services for the Digital Consumer Advanced Digital Institute (ADI) is one of these new ‘productive’ companies operating from Salts Mill. John Eaglesham, Chief Executive of ADI, explained how the technology and innovation company was originally set up by Bradford Council and the regional development agency Yorkshire Forward, and is now a successful, profitable and expanding commercial business. ADI works to transform traditional services with new technologies, helping not only businesses to innovate but also helping Bradford to innovate. ADI is playing a vital role in facilitating a new future for the city’s services, for example by developing smart meters to improve energy usage and e-learning initiatives to enhance education. Innovation is vital if a city is to succeed in the new industrial context
of the 21st century. Present and future ‘productivity’ will be based on a shift from tangible, product-based thinking to services-based thinking, and the changes in the mill exemplify just this trend. The Salts Mill model can be an instructive one for the rest of Bradford. Just as the mill now accommodates a new type of producer, the physical legacy of the city’s productive past – Bradford’s wealth of industrial architecture – also offers a flexible, adaptable built fabric to host a new productive future. Eaglesham was however also keen to emphasise the need to invest in upskilling the local population with the necessary technology training for the new productive economy. This is a city-wide (and indeed a national) issue, which must be part of wider economic development strategies. ‘A City for All’ Zulfi Karim, Founder of The World Curry Festival, an annual celebration of curry (and culture), revealed another form of production that is bridging
Bradford’s past and future – ethnic food production. Bradford is an ethnically diverse city, with 50% of new babies in Bradford being born to Pakistani mothers. In an inspiring talk on the city’s multiculturalism, Karim explained how Bradford’s ethnic diversity has always been a key factor in its role as a producer city. From the Jewish families who owned and ran textile mills, to the vast numbers of immigrants, particularly of Pakistani origin, who worked in them, Bradford’s ethnic minorities have driven the city’s productivity from the Industrial Revolution to today. The hard work and entrepreneurialism that Bradfordian Pakistanis are so proud of in their past is being channelled in new directions for a new productive future. Not only is Bradford a city of diversity, it is also one of diversification, particularly in the ethnic food sector. Food businesses in Bradford range from small-scale producers of ethnic goods to those that have grown into nationwide suppliers, or to those that have diversified into more anglicised products to cater to the palettes of younger, more anglicised Asians. The Curry Festival is a celebration of all of this production, and an opportunity for suppliers to showcase their produce. The annual event, which takes place in City Park, is also a means of bringing people together in space, to animate the city and champion its diversity. Moreover, the success of the festival indicates the potential for a more permanent urban manifestation of Bradford’s authentic food culture, perhaps in the form of a Bradford Curry Quarter. This would be a key opportunity for city branding, and another means of securing Bradford’s identity as a city of diverse forms of production.
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Day Two Changing Economics the creation of producer cities In a session facilitated by Colin Philpott, Chief Executive of Bradford Breakthrough and Director of Colin Philpott Media, the changing economics of ‘The Producer City’ and the move from manufacturing to more creative and intangible forms of ‘production’ were examined. The Producer City has passed through many phases. Professor Stuart Gulliver AoU, Emeritus Professor of The University of Glasgow, charted the history of the Producer City from that of traditional manufacturing production under a top-down paternalistic model of management, through a more modern phase of production under a neo-liberal system, to the present state of the more globalised ‘Advanced Producer City’. This ‘Advanced Producer City’, an internationally-connected, knowledgeeconomy-based and sustainabilityconscious entity, is an exciting prospect, yet one which will be a challenge to realise. However there are lessons to be learned from previous phases of the Producer City timeline. The ideas of urban renaissance and city competitiveness that emanated from the 1990s could, for example, be channelled for the 21st century context, with Advanced Producer City strategies increasingly recognising the need to consider the physical – the city – as well as the economic. Conversely,
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Professor Stuart Gulliver
the outdated notion that sectoralconcentration is critical for economic success needs to be left behind. There has been a shift toward an ecosystem approach to productivity, which recognises that diversity and interrelation of industry creates a more resilient base for growth than concentration on one sector. Gulliver noted that there is a need for ‘more dynamism all round’ if a city is to be successful, an idea which resonated
with the holistic outlook – toward a ‘total regeneration’ of the city – that was earlier propounded by Barra Mac Ruairí. However, whilst a ‘total’ approach is inherently a more sustainable one, the question of specialisation and identity is also important. For a city like Bradford, which possesses a distinctive tradition of specialising in film (UNESCO City of Film), and is underpinned by strong leadership, strong geography and history,
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and strong physical and institutional assets, there is an opportunity to enhance a robust, diverse underlying ‘ecosystem’ by also capitalising on a more niche market sector offer. This attention to the specificity of Bradford also manifests itself in issues of leadership and the identification of the individuals most in need of help. Bradford’s economic future is dependent upon a clear understanding of Bradford’s past and more importantly its present. A devolution of power and more appropriate policy boundaries (which more accurately mirror Bradford’s context within the Bradford-Leeds region) are critical starting points for the creation of a new and resilient Producer City. Current boundaries fail to match socio-economic realities and thus fail to meet socio-economic needs. Economic development strategies also need to be targeted toward dealing with the economic exclusion of certain groups within the community, such as ethnic minorities, women and young people.
economy sector demands that Bradford reinvent itself as a place able to ‘produce’ knowledge-economy ‘products’. Although Bradford faces many challenges, including a low economic activity rate, low wages, low skills and an occupational split, there are interesting opportunities that can be taken advantage of. The high levels of selfemployment in the city are testament to the continued entrepreneurial spirit of Bradfordians and indicate the potential to confront such challenges. Bradford can also learn from other places and their post-industrialreinvention success stories. Swindon for example, having recognised the need to diversify beyond building steam engines in the 1950s, has developed a strong and
resilient economy based on a variety of knowledge-based industries. Bradford too could focus upon encouraging and supporting the growth of knowledgebased industries within the city to help shift the economy towards this new kind of productivity. In fact, as explored in later talks, Bradford’s burgeoning technology and software industry is already an example of how this model can be translated into a 21st century context. On a more local level, communitybased initiatives in places such as Coin Street, London, where community engagement and bottom-up action – ‘participatory democracy’ – helped channel government funding into local initiatives, were suggested as places Bradford could also learn from.
Michael Ward
Economic Strategies from the Bottom-up Notions of place specificity and empowering those who are otherwise excluded from decision-making were further discussed by Michael Ward, Chairman of the Centre for Local Economic Strategies. Bradford was a city of the first industrial revolution and as the old geographies of regional specialisms have now been swept away, communities have to reinvent themselves. Former national divisions of labour, which were determined by geographical location, have to shift in the current context of a more global division of labour. The redefinition of productivity, and the increased focus upon the knowledge
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Day Two Learning with Bradford - Workshops Six parallel workshops on the second day of Congress provided an opportunity to explore different placemaking issues – in Bradford and beyond – in more depth with a smaller group of delegates. The workshops would also provide an opportunity for the Academy and Academicians to influence Bradford’s emerging new City Plan.
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The Constant Re-making of Place Julian Jackson, Assistant Director of Planning, Transport and Highways, City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council
The ultimate aim of the workshop entitled ‘The Constant Re-making of Place’ was to get to grips with why Bradford is pursuing a new plan when approved plans already exist. Julian Jackson facilitated discussions around the challenge of creating a new city plan for Bradford, focusing on three specific questions: Was Bradford following the correct path to being a better city? What else could it do to deliver its ideas? And what help could Bradford seek to achieve a better and more informed outcome? It was widely agreed from the outset that while the 1993 Will Alsop plan was visionary and provided impetus for change, it did not address the real issues of Bradfordians. In recognising this, the city believes that a new plan could go further and deeper to address the needs and desires of its people. However, any future ideas should be careful not to lose the creativity of Alsop’s vision, and develop an approach which balances the inspirational with the executable to create a plan which is both exciting and deliverable. The group identified a number of issues that the city could address through the plan, but began by highlighting the language barrier posed by the jargon and professional language used within the document. This should be revised to make the document more accessible. The quality of the public realm
improvements already made by the city was highly commended, and encouragement was given to the city to maintain this level of work. However, a key opportunity for mobilisation by the local authority lies in reinforcing the distinctiveness of Bradford’s existing quarters and neighbourhoods, capturing and enhancing their identify and purpose. This could be married with improvements to the city’s gateways, particularly the rail station, where a large proportion of visitors arrive. Taking a more strategic view, the city should be brave and strong with its ideas, in spite of any local or national criticism. Moreover, even in the current economic context of constrained budgets and pressure to deliver, the plan should not ignore its responsibility for creating a sustainable city. For example, cycling is an impor tant growth sector bringing a range of benefits from environmental sustainability to health. Bradford was urged to look to other UK cities such as Plymouth and Bristol for cycle-related inspiration. Building on the theme of sustainability, many were strongly in favour of Bradford conserving its physical assets, including those that may be deemed ugly by some. The workshop’s par ting plea to Bradford was to not over-produce plans – too many might result in a clouded vision.
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Culture and Skills for a Producer City Tony Stephens, Assistant Director of Culture and Tourism, City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council; David Rudlin AoU, Director, Urbed
Tony Stephen and David Rudlin AoU led the workshop on ‘Culture and Skills for a Producer City’. The focus was on people, culture and creativity as the driving force behind a city’s success. The broad nature of the subject, together with the provocative backdrop of Bradford’s diverse culture, prompted a range of interesting views on what should remain, and become, the city’s focus. A major thread that ran through this workshop, and almost all others, was Bradford city centre’s lacklustre, low activity, evening economy. The phrase ‘good scenery, no actors’ summed up the recurrent concern that, although Bradford is physically prepared for revitalisation, the city is not quite culturally and psychologically ready.
Reasons for this under-use included: a lack of evening ‘offer’ for the Muslim population; Bradfordians’ preference to centre their evening activity within local residential neighbourhoods – on high streets or around local cultural hubs; and the sometimes tame atmosphere of wellmeaning council-led activities. But what does this mean for visitors to Bradford? There was a distinct desire to see Bradford grow its evening offer, looking to other cities such as Dublin which has, through a nongovernment agency, successfully run a cultural programme for its Temple Bar neighbourhood. The agency is independent from the city council and therefore activities carry a greater integrity and are not simply seen as an
Workshops: The Academy was encouraged to contribute to Bradford’s City Plan through idea and action workshops
exercise of political box ticking. Drawing comparisons and ideas from such influential examples led the debate to the ownership of our city centres – who are they for? Families, shoppers, evening drinkers? The workshop participants were unanimous in their desire to see the city take a uniquely Bradfordian approach to regenerating its centre, cultivating an ‘authentic Bradford’. Prominent ideas included turning parts of the centre into a ‘bazaar’, which would provide a shopping experience that set Bradford apart from other regional centres and out-of-town retail offers. Calls for cultural diversity were also extended to the business community. Provisions should be made to attract small, medium and large organisations into the centre, bringing with them a new group of people and a different vibe. This attempt to mix uses should also encompass the provision of residential units which, together with associated amenities, would further fuel the evening economy. It was recognised that rental rates for business premises would have to be reduced significantly in places, but also that, in the short-term, some of these ideas could be achieved through more experimental meanwhile and temporary uses. The general perception was that Bradford is in a position where it can be bold and inventive. As such, it should be unafraid of implementing small, temporary interventions whilst the bigger schemes seed. This, strikingly, is coherent with the Congress keynote presentation, given later in the day by Copenhagen City Architect, Tina Saaby, on the value of testing out small-scale ideas, both as pilots for larger-scale implementations, and as an end in and of themselves.
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Workshops continued
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Economic Strategy and Prosperity David Shepherd, Assistant Director of Climate, Housing, Employment and Skills, City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council; Professor Stuart Gulliver AoU, Emeritus Professor, University of Glasgow
David Shepherd and Professor Stuart Gulliver AoU led a group which grappled with the issues of economic strategy and prosperity. They quickly highlighted three concepts with which to shape their discussion on Bradford’s future: creating conditions for the ‘Producer City’; redesigning the high street; equity and growth. A key idea discussed by the group was that of the role of economic development managers within UK towns and cities. What is the main function of this role? There were strong pleas that it should be more about saying yes to ideas and encouraging innovative entrepreneurs to test these ideas for economic or social good. The team were mindful of the potential of the innovations being dreamt up for Bradford such as the Producer City concept, but also noted that such ideas need to draw from what is already around. Previous plans, ideas or administrations should not just be discarded, but rather recognised as potential sources of inspiration and further development – past ideas should be picked up and worked with. Because of current economic constraints, there was a keenness that those who are currently delivering development be aware of the possible downsides of their projects. Not all development is progress, and the potential for large scale developments
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to act as a vacuum for a town’s energy could cause irreparable damage. Mixed views arose as to the implications of Bradford’s own large scale development, Westfield, the biggest piece of investment in the city centre for some time. Whilst some believed it would help ‘get things started’, others feared the effects it would have on retail and activity elsewhere in Bradford. Also high on the agenda were the negative effects on the centre caused by disengaged commercial property owners. The group felt that silent owners should be encouraged to become more engaged with the city and be part of its regeneration. The council should consider the use of CPOs (Compulsory Purchase Orders) to lever control from uncooperative owners to the city. Establishing links with landlords could promote a more strategic approach to zoning and also help identify opportunities for smaller business to move in. The group took a serious look at what Bradford centre currently offers to entice activity. They concluded that the introduction of a ‘citizen’s street’, offering a selection of ‘social services’ run on a not-for-profit basis, such as a crèche, could give people a reason to make the journey to the centre. Finally, the group touched upon something that all non-Bradfordians in the room agreed Bradford needs
to be more confident in selling itself. Par ticipants cited Bradford as a place that does not always capitalise on its assets in ways that fellow Pennine cities do.
Below: the site of the Westfield shopping centre has hosted a temporary urban garden before construction resumes
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Property, Investment and Economic Geography Andy Taylor, Economic Development Delivery Manager, City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council; Atam Verdi AoU, Director, Aspinall Verdi
This group began with a walk around the city centre to the site of the future Westfield development. After many stalled attempts to get development moving by various owners since 1998, the shopping centre is due to animate a long-term vacant site in the heart of the city. Overall, thoughts turned to how the opening of such a prestigious and large scheme would affect the rest of the city centre: would it draw people in during retail hours who would then visit other parts of the centre? Or would it shift focus and create a self-contained site that turns its back on the town? This remains to be seen, but one thing that the group thought certain was that the Westfield shopping centre
would offer something quite different to what Bradfordians are used to. Where Westfield will be a compact and convenient space to walk, with an assured purpose, the rest of the city centre may be considered dispersed and even disparate. The team, however, identified the Westfield development as an opportunity to learn lessons in theming and branding, which could be applied to streets and quarters within the centre. This would help to create identity and stitch together the city centre’s distinct elements, benefitting both citizens and visitors. The group agreed that Bradford possesses a wealth of beautiful buildings, yet many of them are not occupied
above street level, or in some cases even at street level. There were calls for the government to review the guidelines on residential units above businesses. The team also drew attention to specific areas that they – and the Bradfordians they spoke to on their walk – identified as in need of physical change. One such place was Market Street, where disgruntled shop keepers expressed concern about the number of buses that use the street, with one describing it as being like a ‘bus alley’. The high frequency of buses also encourages passengers to spill across the pavement, blocking shops, whilst waiting. The group was surprised to hear that the street had been specifically configured to facilitate the ease and speed of bus movement, rather than being designed with the pedestrian in mind. Pedestrianisation was raised again within the city centre; while the freedom and safety of walking around car-free Kirkgate was regarded as positive, the introduction of a small amount of shortstay parking could offer something to boost activity and retail trade. The team suggested that Bradford Council could lead a concentrated injection of investment on strategical places physical assets, in order to facilitate cheaper rents. This would invite start-up businesses, or even tenants such as the local college, to the centre where rents are currently prohibitive. With them, these types of businesses and organisations would bring a new energy, encouraging confidence in private investors from the renewed activity. This idea could also facilitate the idea of zoning or theming the distinct quarters into food, retail, leisure and finance.
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Workshops continued
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Place Learning Networks and Exchange: Building on the AoU/INTA Learning Cities model Henk Bouwman AoU, Director, Urban-im.Pulse.eu; John Worthington AoU, Director, The Academy of Urbanism
The fifth workshop took a global view of the way cities can learn from each other. The session was based upon the successful Learning Cities Platform symposium, which brought together a number of European cities to share issues and experiences around a common theme. The key to the platform’s success was its ability to encourage high-level city representatives to be open and frank about real issues and opportunities they are up against. Each city’s involvement was kick-started by a catalyst, often a challenge or an opportunity that demanded bigger thinking, or a new approach. This time the focus was ‘places of connection’. The group shared knowledge, ideas and solutions that each of the participants could take back to their cities. The potential of the Learning Cities Platform as a tool for cities to take more informed paths was quickly established. Participants, however, also agreed that for this to take place, an environment of trust and honesty is required. Participants should feel comfortable in divulging details of local challenges and setbacks, without local repercussions. Worthington and Bouwman’s aim was to establish a better understanding of how cities could implement this new found collaborative learning. To do so they sought views on possible barriers that may stop ideas and learning being implemented. At the top was the way in
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Walking tours at Saltaire World Heritage Site looked at the regeneration of this important neighbourhood
which city decision makers who, without necessarily intending to, may cause ideas to stall and opportunity windows to pass, might be approached. To overcome this, those implementing ideas should consider new ways of implementing, working around formal city structures. Dublin was held up as a city successfully using this nimble approach to its advantage, having quickly delivered a number of temporary projects through arms-length organisations that do not carry the same responsibilities as the city authority. Secondly, the group considered necessary skills that were important to achieving a useful outcome. Determination to see a project through
was seen as imperative, as was the ability to win over skeptics who may not see the benefits of the sharing such intimate project details. The workshop provided a good forum for Bouwman and Worthington to develop the idea of a learning platform on which cities can share their experiences. The idea that cities across Europe, or indeed the world, could learn from innovation in our built environment struck a chord with participants. Whilst many admitted entering the room with a degree of pessimism about the viability of such an idea, they left optimistic about the potential of bringing together the skilled people operating within our cities and collaborating to overcome challenges.
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Digital Urbanism and Smart Cities Dr Rick Robinson AoU, Executive Director, IBM; Rosie Haslem, Consultant, Space Syntax, presenting on behalf of Tim Stonor AoU, Managing Director, Space Syntax; Shane Mitchell AoU, Head of Urban Programme Strategy, Cisco IBSG
The sixth and final workshop drew together some of the world’s leading thinkers on Smart Cities to discuss how technology is changing our villages, towns and cities. This began with a series of presentations from Rick Robinson AoU, Rosie Haslem and Shane Mitchell AoU on their specific research, highlighting to the group both the advantages and pitfalls of our ever-increasing reliance on technology to solve problems. A key theme was that of the role of space in the seemingly space-less world of the digital age. The common notion that technology can overcome space, and render it insignificant, was refuted. Good urbanism creates places which are successful in their ability to bring people together, in both serendipitous and planned interactions, to transact socially and economically. Although technology is opening up new avenues for social and economic relationships, the physical spaces in which these interactions are lived out face-to-face – the street, the market, the town square – cannot be replaced. The group felt strongly that technology can therefore not drive or replace ‘place’, but should instead be reactive to the demands and challenges that our relationship with place presents, and enhance our engagement with place and others within it. The group was therefore very interested in what technology can do to improve our high streets, given the current problem of falling footfall, spending and occupancy. Technology is also allowing us to be more engaged citizens, in both our homes
and our cities. The group highlighted the change in the way we think about our energy use, prompted by new technology that reads just how much we use within a day, week or year. It has gradually become accepted that consumers need to be much more conscious about their energy usage, and this applies also to business and those organisations providing services. However, alongside the advantages of these Smart City technologies, the issue of privacy also arose. Users are becoming increasingly aware of technology’s infringements into our personal lives and personal data. A key challenge for the
increasingly digital cities of the present and future will therefore be to ensure that technology is used positively, to create better places for people. The group’s parting statement was – almost echoing the views of group three – that Bradford is not shouting loudly enough about its achievements. The term Smart City is often adopted by places with fewer smart credentials than those of Bradford. Through its intelligent and responsive City Park public space, Bradford has found the perfect launch pad for its smart offer, and for the championing thereof.
Space Syntax analysis map of Shanghai. Warmer colours represent the most (physically) connected routes, where there is greater potential for movement, interaction and transaction
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Day Two Learning from Europe - keynote address: Urbanism and the unlearning of architecture Professor Tina Saaby City Architect, Copenhagen Professor Tina Saaby
Professor Tina Saaby, Copenhagen City Architect, closed proceedings on day two of Congress with an inspiring keynote address which championed the role of learning (and unlearning) in the creation of successful places. Saaby’s central argument was that the complexities of urbanity demand an ‘unlearning’ of the ideals of architecture and planning if places are to work for people. Resonating with many of the ideas that had been emerging over the course of Congress, Saaby advocated a move away from the fixity of an ideal plan toward a more flexible and pragmatic approach to placemaking which is open to change and to multiple voices, and essentially, is open to learning. Exemplifying her placemaking philosophy with lessons from Copenhagen, Saaby explained how the city’s regeneration had involved a testing of ideas, and thus a transition through its own ‘learning process’. Mistakes may have
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been made, but they were learned from. Copenhagen, a city of similar size to Bradford, has transformed itself in recent years to become a thriving capital, renowned for its high living standards and often cited as an exemplar of successful urbanism. Underpinning the success of the city is a planning process which involves as many people as possible, and furthermore promotes a ‘yes’ culture between them. A crosssectoral group within local government (the ‘Making the City Happen’ task group) brings together the views and daily experiences of the manon-the-street with the visions of ‘big government’ to create a dialogic model of collaboration across scales. All developments in the city are informed by this people-centred approach to planning – an approach championed throughout Congress. Grounded in the mantra ‘Consider urban life before urban space. Consider
urban space before buildings’, urbanism in Copenhagen inherently works for its citizens. Saaby explained how the collection of ‘Urban Life Accounts’ – profiles of citizens’ wants and needs for their city – helps to formulate a ‘brief ’ for city development. In the context of cycling infrastructure, for example, the development of which Copenhagen is at the forefront of, research into citizens’ motivations for riding a bike helped inform city planning. It came to light that the major motivation for riding a bike was efficiency. This research was translated into a planning strategy that prioritised the efficiency of the cycle network above all else. Thus putting the mantra to work, this example is indicative of how the consideration of Copenhagen’s urban life can, in turn, inform the design of its urban space. The promotion of cycling in general was also held up as an exemplary urban initiative, and with Bradford’s lack of
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Above: Saaby’s presentation Below: Copenhagan street trampolines © rastipunk8
cycling having arisen as an issue over the course of Congress, it was a key initiative for Bradford to learn from. The urban interaction and friendliness facilitated by Copenhagen’s bike lanes indicated a potential lesson for how to enhance urban life in Bradford. Another key lesson to be learned from Copenhagen was that a positive ‘yes culture’ can lead to better urbanism. Indeed resonating with Councillor David Green’s dream of a ‘fun’ city, Saaby spoke of how the challenge of approaching city planning with a more positive and open outlook necessarily results in innovation and creativity. Low-cost, short-term schemes such as the placement of temporary tree planters or moveable seats in public space are ways not only of animating the space and encouraging citizens to interact and help shape their surroundings, but also of gauging the success of a potentially more permanent intervention. Applied to the Bradfordian context, and as discussed in some of the workshops, this willingness to test temporary initiatives, for example by providing low-rent spaces for pop-up shops and meanwhile uses, could be a solution for both generating activity in the town centre and giving new businesses a kickstarter platform. The mixing of old and new is another key lesson that could be learned from Denmark’s capital. New schemes in Copenhagen have predominantly involved only a partial removal of existing fabric rather than a tabula rasa redevelopment of areas of the city. This approach could be applied in Bradford, with new developments made to work alongside the more historic industrial building stock of the city, to further ensure that the Producer City of the future is inherently grounded in the Producer City of the past.
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Conclusion Right from the very star t of The Academy of Urbanism’s Eighth Annual Congress, it was clear that Bradford, our ‘laboratory’ to explore the concept of the 21st century Producer City, was a city with an exciting future ahead. Bradford may not have yet achieved the full employment and complete balance that Priestley describes, but it does have increased production. And it does have fountains. With its new forms of production, and new forms of urban space, Bradford has many lessons to teach.
Fur thermore, it is also a city that is willing to learn. Issues and ideas arising through the presentations, workshops and interactions at Congress, such as people-centred planning and an openness to trying new things, can contribute to Bradford’s own learning process, and inform its fur ther development into a Producer City for the 21st century. Bradford has a great and productive past to build upon, and the enthusiasm and commitment of councillors, together with the empowerment of
Bradfordians, means that the vision of a great and productive future will be a more achievable one. Indeed the reuse and reinvention of spaces such as Saltaire, and the recasting of space through developments like City Park exemplify the potential of good planning and urbanism to suppor t productivity. So, in the (collective) words of the delegates, and under the inspired guidance of Academy poet-in-residence Ian McMillan, ‘Let’s stand by the fountain, And contemplate the mountain’.
‘By all means let us have a policy of full employment, increased production, no gap between exports and imports, social security, a balanced This and a planned That, but let us also have fountains’ J B Priestley, 1949, in Delight: Essays By JB Priestley, Great Northern Books
Above: The Academy Sonnet, created by guests at the Congress Dinner and guided by Academy Poet in Residence Ian McMillan. Opposite: the spectacular Congress dinner on stage at the Alhambra Theatre
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The Academy Sonnet
This is a wonderful place Up here in the North Light and air and space So let us now go forth We’re moving at a pace ‘Hot’ as curry sauce Going red in the face
We feel no remorse Now let’s cut to the chase My kingdom for a horse Time to make the case Let’s take a little pause Let’s stand on the Fountain And contemplate the mountain
Venues
Thanks
Media Centre Bradford, West Yorkshire BD1 1NQ
Cartwright Hall Lister Park, Bradford, BD9 4NS
Saltaire World Heritage Site and Salt’s Mill, Victoria Rd, Saltaire BD18 3LA
National Media Museum Bradford, West Yorkshire BD1 1NQ
Impressions Gallery Aldermanbury, Bradford, BD1 1SD
Alhambra Theatre Bradford BD1 1JT
The Academy would like to thank the City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council, Meyer Bergman and Westfield for their support of the Congress. In particular, our thanks go to Barra Mac Ruairí and Gina Glot from the city of Bradford, Kevin Murray, Jas Atwal, and local Academicians.
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The Academy of Urbanism 70 Cowcross Street London EC1M 6EJ United Kingdom For more information please contact Linda Gledstone Director of Operations +44 (0) 20 7251 8777 lg@academyofurbanism.org.uk Visit us online academyofurbanism.org.uk Follow us on Twitter The Academy of Urbanism @theAoU Young Urbanists @AoUYU Join our LinkedIn, Facebook, Flickr and YouTube group pages by searching The Academy of Urbanism
Report compiled and edited by Rosie Haslem Images contributed by Sarah Jackson AoU, Kevin Murray AoU (or otherwise stated) Front and back cover City Park, Bradford Š City of Bradford MDC Congress Sponsors
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