High Streets

Conventional guidance on the design and management of urban roads and streets has tended to focus on either arterial roads or local access streets. There is currently a lack of a clear, consistent approach to the design of arterial streets, which combine both
significant through traffic and urban place functions. This report aims to address this gap, by setting out an approach to the design and management of arterial streets - from a people-oriented perspective.

The ARTISTS project (Arterial Streets Towards Sustainability) is concerned with the design and management of arterial streets towards sustainability. In a broad sense this relates not
only to environmental quality but to social and economic vitality and urban quality of life. The purpose of this Deliverable is to give a first theoretical approach to street classification that better meets the current needs of managing and promoting sustainable arterial streets.

This article presents the results of six image and social function studies of Świdnicka Street. Cross-sectional, qualitative and quantitative studies, including the method of cognitive mapping, were attended by 292 respondents. The group included the inhabitants of Wrocław, temporary residents of the city and entrepreneurs associated with the street, running shops and providing services. My exploration of the sources and probable physical foundations of the image of the street was inspired by the concept of the image of the city developed by Kevin Lynch, and pattern language of Christopher Alexander and his team. It turned out, among other things, that Świdnicka Street is lacking particular urban and architectural structures that are prerequisite for the proper functioning of  high street, and that the good image of the street is not strongly associated with trade and services. Renoma, the leading and most attractive shopping mall and ex-department store of Świdnicka Street, was also most frequently cited by respondents as the only element of the street unambiguously metropolitan and commercial in character.

The High Street crisis is a very current issue; the British High Street’s share of retail sales is increasingly diminishing as consumer’s buyer behaviours change in line with their value perceptions. The typical High Street no longer exudes confidence, cleanliness, and entertainment. The High Street should be re-invented and represented; the marketing theory of Atmospherics is suggested as the solution. This study will explain what role such a theory can provide in the revival of the High Street mainly across three channels: (1) The macro-environment, (2) In-store, (3) and online. Eight participants are purposively chosen and interviewed to provide an expert qualitative analysis of the use of atmospherics on the High Street. A thematic analysis is then carried out. The findings allude to ways in which Atmospherics could potentially be the saviour of the British High Street, but where to certain retailers on the High Street it cannot. This study will allow the reader an insight into whether this particular theory is applicable in the aim of High Street revival or if, in fact, other measures should be championed.

Keywords: atmospherics, retail, high street, crisis, e-commerce, macro-environment, perceived value, footfall, positive affect, negative affect.

This paper presents the first research output of the project Urban Potential in the Evolution of Nicosia's Public Realm. This consists of a set of criteria and their relative importance, which identify the potential of the public realm to perform as a sustainable local centre. The set of criteria will be used in subsequent work to assess data requirements for a GIS-based model of Nicosia that will be analysed to identify local areas which have the greatest urban potential. The problem addressed by the research is presented to explain the reasoning behind the need for a framework to identify urban potential. It is suggested that a new definition of urban potential, which goes beyond the limited scope of capacity to accommodate population growth and infrastructure, is needed to effectively assess the capability of the public realm to sustain a thriving urban life. Morphological characteristics of the public realm were identified as key elements of potential for sustainable development. The research aims at developing an effective methodology to identify areas of the public realm which have the potential to develop into sustainable local centres. In Nicosia, local neighbourhoods have struggled not just to thrive but to even develop any structure due to poor planning regulation, ineffective assessment methods and the nature of the real estate market. The new definition and selected criteria can aid planning authorities devising a framework to support a hierarchy of sustainable local centres within the Nicosia metropolitan area.

Since the end of the 2000s, the question of the decline of French medium-sized cities has become central within the scientic and public debate. More specically, two processes are underlined: the devitalisation of city centres on the one hand, and urban shrinkage on the other hand. The devitalisation of city centres has been studied in several institutional reports. It is characterised by high rates of vacant housing and high street shops vacancies, a fall in visits to the city centre , an impoverishment of residents and population losses. In geography, urban studies and planning, the dynamics of urban shrinkage have been discussed since the 1990s. They comprise a multidimensional urban crisis, triggered and characterised by job and population losses. This paper attempts to explore the relationships between these processes by underlining their similarities and differences with data analysis and multivariate clustering methods. By comparing medium-sized cities with small and large cities, the speci cities of urban decline in medium-sized cities are explored. It appears that cities are not homogeneously affected by urban decline. More particularly, a large number of weakened medium-sized cities display a distinctive feature: markers of decline are concentrated in their urban core.

This PhD chapter argues that there is a hierarchical and flexible structure to the depth of the blocks surrounding Tottenham High Road, and is an attempt to describe that structure. The research insights came about through a hermeneutics of praxis, and are the result of the interpretation of fragments of knowledge collated over five years of study of the high road and Tottenham.

For eighty years, UK government policy related to urban sprawl, town centres and high streets in England and Wales has been dominated by planning/land-use control. In the post-war period, retail developments have often been discussed in the literature on planning for places – but the wide range of pressures for retail change is rarely brought together. This review of policy discusses many of these pressures: many of which fall beyond the urban planning remit. For example, although retail planning regulations have been influenced by Central Place Theory, this theoretical framework offers no insight on those private sector businesses that interface with urban planning. Worse, few (if any) professional town planners study retailing before formulating plans. Furthermore, the willingness of successive governments to exert meaningful influence through planning rules has ebbed and flowed, leaving town centres at a potential crossroads. This study addresses the vital missing link to business operations – and the rising pressures upon them – using Institutional Theory. Building on the findings of this analysis as well as earlier studies from other parts of the world, this article outlines implications for the management of town and city centres in England and Wales.

This report describes the development within the ARTISTS project (Arterial Streets Towards Sustainability) of a methodology for the classification and assessment of arterial streets. This links
classification and assessment to and through issues of street design and regulation, street use, and performance in terms of sustainability.

Natural movement is defined as the pedestrian movement potentially generated by the configuration of the street network irrespective of any other factors (Hillier et al 1993). The structure of the urban fabric is considered to be the primary generator of movement, although attractors such as specific 'land uses' for example, might also act as factors in generating additional movement. Traditional shops along a high street build upon the potential provided by natural movement. Conversely, the concept of shopping malls is to create attraction through concentrated land-uses (retail density) allied to car accessibility (regardless of pedestrian accessibility). The spatial juxtaposition of these two retail models therefore challenges the way the syntactic structure of the street operates, resulting in multiple frontages and points of access that may pose conflicting demands and a sense of disorientation. The case study is a shopping mall located in the Newcastle City Centre, bordered on one side by the high street and on another by one of the main city squares. This 'hybrid' building has developed its own circulation system: it is publicly accessible but privately owned, which implies restricted accessibility over the course of the day and week. As such, accessibility is re-evaluated depending upon the nature of the internal open space (privately owned but, at times, publically accessible). Accessibility is measured at the city scale, and the neighbourhood scale inclusive and exclusive of the internal open space. It is also assessed by the volume of shoppers entering the shopping mall's 20 separate entrances and is linked back to the syntactic structure of the streets. Finally, the impact of movement generated by street structure on retail located in the shopping mall is analysed through the layout of a department store that fronts both the shopping mall (internal frontage) while having also maintained its traditional frontage onto the high street (external frontage).

LSE Cities and the London Festival of Architecture are delighted to host a lecture by Suzanne Hall on 'Multilingual Streets: London's litmus strips of change', followed by discussion and drinks. Suzanne will discuss how accelerated change is expressed in the cultural and economic life of London’s streets. Focusing on Peckham Rye Lane and the Walworth Road, the urban dimensions of spatial and social exchange will be explored. Suzanne leads the ’Ordinary Streets’ research project at LSE Cities, and is author of City, Street and Citizen: The measure of the ordinary (Routledge, 2012).

Two key forces are likely to impact on the retail profile of London’s high streets. First, is the economic volatility associated with the global crisis in 2008, while the second is the political shift towards the recognition of small independent shops and local high streets signalled in The Mayor’s draft replacement London Plan, 2010. Moreover, the High Street London report (2010) commissioned by the Mayor’s Office emphasises ‘the local’ role of London’s high streets for a ‘local’ populous, reflecting a larger national policy emphasis on Localism as outlined in The Localism Bill (2010). This paper explores what form, if any, the ‘protection’ of London’s high streets and small shops as proposed by the Mayor should take, and what values are used in current research to measure high street ‘success’. The focus of this paper is explicitly contextual: it relies on detailed survey and ethnographic data on a high street located in an area in south London, with a high Indices of Deprivation. By analysing the adaptive practices of the ethnically diverse, independent retailers on the Walworth Road, it explores alternative measures of high street value. Adaptation is conceptualised as the relationship between large-scale economic forces and small-scale retail practices, and through the analysis of diversity and duration, the broad and overly generalised notation of “urban high street” is reconsidered. The paper argues for interdisciplinary research on high street retail such that the spatial, economic and social dimensions of high streets inform policy. It also reframes ‘the local’ as ‘the particular’ and emphasises the need for more disaggregated, more fine-grained research on retail practices in high streets that reflects crucial contextual differentiations. Finally it raises the question of what a planning framework and stewardship mechanism for high streets in London’s urban margins might comprise of.

This paper takes an archaeological approach to the modern High Street of the town of Stockton in the Northeast of England.
Despite the unfavorable economic conditions, Stockton is currently undergoing a wave of urban renewal, but this is only the
most recent iteration of an ongoing material and social process. Over the last two hundred years (and even farther back),
Stockton has been re-made many times. A record of this urban renewal can be seen in the town's High Street, which presents
a pastiche of 19th, 20th, and 21st century architecture. These remakings were materializations of the hopes, goals, and
possibilities of various groups and individuals, and their struggles at multiple social, economic, and political scales. And they
foreclosed and incorporated previous groups' and individuals' efforts at remaking. In this paper, I document and discuss some
of the the buildings on the modern High street, with the ultimate goal of exploring the social context of urban renewal in
modern and historical Stockton. Along the way, I offer some prospective thoughts about archaeologies of urban renewal, the
materiality of "creative destruction" embodied in Stockton High Street, and the complex articulations of modernity,
preservation, and capitalism inherent in such a materiality.

International approaches to city centre management and place management practice have evolved considerably over the last 40 years. Parallel to this, there has been a rising level of interest among academics and practitioners alike in the concept of place branding. This paper explores some of the parallels and knowledge gaps in the development of both concepts from a practice as well as research perspective using published evidence from Europe and references to other parts of the world. It also argues that place branding will continue to increase in influence strategically as urban regeneration and management processes become more visionary and multidisciplinary in their strategic focus. The need for towns and cities to improve their resilience to future global downturns through innovative and entrepreneurial communities with a strong sense of attachment to their locations will also create a platform for strategic place branding to evolve and develop in a direction that has received as yet limited attention by academics, policymakers and key decision makers.

The character trait that was never alien to an African was hospitality. A true African loved and cherished people without cognizance to their differences in ethnicity, tribe or language. This trait was more unimaginably excessive in the family system where everyone in a family treated one another like seeds of the same womb. One never bothered about the fate of his children should a sudden death visit. This was not because the parents of the primordial Africa were indifferent, but the family was not just by name; but a group that will cater for each relative irrespective of the womb he or she developed. The extended family system was full of strong cohesion of love and care for each other and each other's children. Could this trait of hospitality be so important to be discarded? This article seeks to enlighten readers on how the Africa-man lessened being hospital without knowledge and how this reflects in the increase of streetism within the society. Streetism is a term used to describe the situation where people, mostly children who live and struggle on the streets. These people, most often than not, have inadequate or no family ties. Eating once or twice and finding shelter becomes the prayers of these mercy seeking youth and children. Many factors contribute to the increase in streetism in Africa. Common among them include rural-urban migration, truancy, parental neglect and second generational street children (children "of the street") and poverty. The ethical questions that ought to arise in our minds are whether these victims are without families and if the inhabitants of Africa are still hospital? Of course, they do have families, evidentially; victims of streetism do bare surnames. In other words, they have families. The only question that seeks contemplation is whether families in our countries have maintained the hospitality we inherited as a basic trait of an African. Analytically, rural-urban migration, truancy, parental neglect and second generational street children (children "of the street") and poverty which are most common causes of streetism primarily resulted from the failure of the family.

דרכים אזוריות ומקומיות, בערים רבות ברחבי הארץ, התפתחו לרחובות מסחריים ראשיים המשמשים בו זמנית תנועות ממונעות , אזוריות ומקומיות וכמרחבים להולכי
רגל.
לשינויים של העשור האחרון ואלו המתוכננים במערך הדרכים הארציות והאזוריות , השפעה על תפקודם של מרכזים עירוניים . שנויים אלו מחייבים דיון מחודש במאפייני
וחלוקת המרחבים המשותפים להולכי הרגל ולתנועות הממונעות.
מטרת מחקר זה לבחון מודלים שונים בהם ניתן בכפיפה, לשרת את צרכי התנועה הממונעת , ולשפר ולטפח את מרחבי זכות הולכי הרגל , שני תנאים בסיסיים לקיום
העירוניות.
ייחוד המחקר בבחינת המידה והחשיפה להיפגעות הולכי הרגל במודלים שונים של חלוקת המרחב בין התנועות, בהתייחס למאפייני הדרכים / רחובות, תנועות רכב ורגל,
דפוסי הבינוי והשימושים, סוגי הפעילויות , ויחס והערכת הולכי הרגל למרחבים אלו.
מתודולוגית המחקר מבוססת על לימוד ברבדים שונים, סקר ספרות, ניתוח מקרים ( Case studies ), מיפוי וסקרים בשני תחומים, הפיסי והחברתי והקשר שביניהם.
למקרי הבוחן נבחרו שלושה רחובות ראשיים רב שימושיים בערי השרון המייצגים מודלים אופייניים שונים: רחוב סוקולוב ברמת השרון ,רחוב אחוזה ברעננה ורחוב וייצמן
בכפר סבא. לשלושת הרחובות מאפיינים דומים כרחובות מסחריים ראשיים, אך עם התייחסות שונה למערך התנועה האזורי והמקומי ולרקמת הבנוי העירוני .
ממצאי המחקר העיקריים מראים, שבשלושת הרחובות החשיפה ומידת היפגעות הולכי הרגל אינה קשורה לשימוש האינטנסיבי המשותף של הולכי רגל ותנועות
ממונעות במרחב הדרך . השימוש באמצעים פיזיים שונים כמו מדרכות רחבות וקולונדות , רמת קישוריות גבוהה , וריהוט רחוב תומך ומעודד את פעילות הולכי הרגל
ברחוב, ותורם לתחושתם ורצונם לשהות בו. שלושת הרחובות משמשים למגוון רב של פעילויות, אך בראש ובראשונה הם משמשים לבילוי ולמפגש חברתי, הרחובות הם
חדר האירוח של העיר. בכולם ההרגשה הכללית ורמת שביעות הרצון של רוב המשתמשים שנסקר ו היתה טובה מאוד, וכן גם תחושת הבטיחות מפני פגיעה על ידי כלי
רכב.

Since the end of the 2000s, the question of the decline of French medium-sized towns has become central within the scientific and public debate. More specifically, two processes are underlined: the devitalisation of city centres on the one hand, and urban shrinkage on the other hand. The devitalisation of city centres has been studied in several institutional reports. It is characterised by high rates of vacant housing and high street shops vacancies, a fall in visits to the city centre, an impoverishment of residents and population losses. In geography, urban studies and planning, the dynamics of urban shrinkage have been discussed since the 1990s. They comprise a multidimensional urban crisis, triggered and characterised by job and population losses. This paper attempts to explore the relationships between these processes by underlining their similarities and differences with data analysis and multivariate clustering methods. By comparing medium-sized cities with small and large c...

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the current state of the management of traditional retail markets (TRM) in the UK. TRM are indoor and outdoor markets located in town and city centres across the UK, selling food, household goods, clothing and the like. Design/methodology/approach The paper employs a comparative analysis approach of multiple cases using an analytical framework drawn from place management and retail business management literature. The study investigates 11 retail markets in the UK, including 7 run by Local Councils, 2 privately run and 2 operated by Charity Trusts. Findings The paper identifies the management challenges of TRM lying at the intersect between its private-like business entity and the management overseen by local authorities, whose roles and functions are mainly on delivering public services. Although some council markets struggle, it remains a popular model for TRM because it offers social space and inclusion which other types of markets l...

The paper explores how far Marks and Spencer’s store development resonated with their wider commercial image. The paper is structured around a specific appraisal of Marks and Spencer’s engagement with debates surrounding out-of-town store provision. It addresses the Company’s discussion of its own store development and its outspoken support for retailing in British town centres and high street shopping. The piece suggests that Marks and Spencer’s sense of itself as a retailer, and its relationship to the consumer, greatly influenced their rhetoric on this topic.

Local shopping streets are harbingers of a sense of place and memory for those who inhabit and use them. However, they have been largely neglected by planning decisions in city centre redevelopment, especially in the UK, but also throughout the world, with an approach focused on the franchised retail led occupation of these streets. The relentless demolition of city streets for this purpose threatens to erase the tangible and intangible heritage of local shopping streets. This paper aims to communicate how North Street and Castle Street in Belfast, two local shopping streets are at risk of losing their sense of place and ownership. These are valued by those who inhabit and use them, and will very likely be replaced anonymous franchised commercial spaces.

Natural movement is defined as the pedestrian movement potentially generated by the configuration of the street network irrespective of any other factors (Hillier et al 1993). The structure of the urban fabric is considered to be the primary generator of movement, although attractors such as specific 'land uses' for example, might also act as factors in generating additional movement. Traditional shops along a high street build upon the potential provided by natural movement. Conversely, the concept of shopping malls is to create attraction through concentrated land-uses (retail density) allied to car accessibility (regardless of pedestrian accessibility). The spatial juxtaposition of these two retail models therefore challenges the way the syntactic structure of the street operates, resulting in multiple frontages and points of access that may pose conflicting demands and a sense of disorientation. The case study is a shopping mall located in the Newcastle City Centre, bord...

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the current state of the management of traditional retail markets (TRM) in the UK. TRM are indoor and outdoor markets located in town and city centres across the UK, selling food, household goods, clothing and the like.

Design/methodology/approach
The paper employs a comparative analysis approach of multiple cases using an analytical framework drawn from place management and retail business management literature. The study investigates 11 retail markets in the UK, including 7 run by Local Councils, 2 privately run and 2 operated by Charity Trusts.

Findings
The paper identifies the management challenges of TRM lying at the intersect between its private-like business entity and the management overseen by local authorities, whose roles and functions are mainly on delivering public services. Although some council markets struggle, it remains a popular model for TRM because it offers social space and inclusion which other types of markets lack. The study also highlights that the environment within which TRM operate, such as policy, infrastructure, business and entrepreneurial aspects play an important role in influencing the performance of the markets.

Originality/value
The paper contributes to the retail literature’s conceptual and empirical understanding of TRM management – the area which has been mostly neglected and under-researched. It offers an integrated analytical framework, including four dimensions of policy, infrastructure, business and entrepreneurial environment to advance the current limited understanding of this traditional form of retailing and sheds light on future research in this area.

The event begins with a drinks reception at 5:30pm for a 6pm lecture start.

After 45 years in retail during which time Bill was a Director at: Budgens, Tesco and a CEO of: ParknShop Ltd (Hong Kong's leading supermarket company), Wickes plc, Iceland Group plc and Focus DIY ltd, he entered semi-retirement in 2012. During that year he wrote and published a book called Sold Out "Who really killed the High Street" and in 2013, frustrated at the superficial nature of Government's attempts to address ailing High Streets, he assembled a team of 8 professionals and wrote and published, at a Parliamentary Reception in Westminster, The Grimsey Review " An alternative future for the High Street".

During 2014 Bill has been leading an advisory group to the Labour Party on the future of Town Centres and was recently awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Business Administration for his services to retail by UWE Bristol.

Bill has a web site: www.vanishinghighstreet.com

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