This presentation explains why we need high streets that connect with, serve and benefit local people. It shows why we need to connect viscerally with people's emotions and motivations, and strategically with the wider economy.

1. people-powered
high streets
(or how to make
an omelette)

2. part 1
the dark night of
the soul

3. ‘The first and principal benefit
caused by the arid and dark night
of contemplation: the knowledge of
oneself and of one’s misery’
St John of the Cross

4. 1
‘Retail-led
regeneration’ has
failed

5. Experian
Oxford Economics
shop Colliers International
vacancies
were 15
growing
even before 11.25
the
recession 7.5
Understanding High Street
Performance, 2011 3.75
figures are percentage of shops
vacant 2000 0
2006
2008
2010

6. 2
Ordinary people
are under
pressure

7. Capital share
society is Employer social contributions
Top half of earners
becoming Bottom half of earners
more
unequal,
with less 12%
going to the
bottom half 39%
figures show breakdown of 39%
total value generated by UK
economy in 2010
11%
Missing Out, Resolution
Foundation, 2011

8. 3
‘Portas pilots’ are
not a strategy

9. part 2
something must
be done

10. 1
rethink the whole,
not just the retail

11. ‘High streets and town centres that
are fit for the 21st century need to
be multifunctional social centres,
not simply competitors for
stretched consumers.’
From The 21st Century Agora: A new and better vision for town centres

12. 2
get ideas from the
people, not just
the planners

13. ‘Each place needs to be collectively
animated by the people who live
there or visit it, not just planned or
managed.’
Twenty-first Century Town Centres, Action for Market Towns

14. 3
invest to add
value, not to
extract it

15. Figure 6: Embedding the five ways to well-being in design
Connect
Include physical and social infrastructure
to encourage connections between people.
Entice different groups of people together.
designing Be active
for
Structure indoor
and outdoor spaces
to increase activity
wellbeing Give
Designing ‘in’
personal and
levels in people’s
day-to-day lives.
Stimulate social well-being
opportunities
From Re-imagining the High for people to share,
Street, new economics exchange and
foundation help one another.
Take notice
Keep learning Favour the beautiful
Promote local history. Put a place and the unusual.
in context. Promote a shared Factor in space for
understanding of place and its relaxation and
interdependence with other communities. reflection.
positive experiences. Of these key five drivers of personal well-being identified,

16. 4
plan for a fairer
future, not a
pastiche of the
past

17. ‘In communities where a
particularly valued shop or market
was designated for closure, the
community themselves should have
the first opportunity to take it over.’
The Right to Retail, Res Publica, 2011

18. part 3
‘go out and play
like Zola’
Harry Redknapp, to Joe Cole on his West Ham debut

19. 1
we all need
inspiration

20. ‘The highlight of the day was
knowing that Mary Portas supports
our work.’
Participant in High Street Camp, May 2012

21. 2
connections are
visceral, not just
bureaucratic

22. ‘Community connections, reaching
across place, interests and identity,
are largely untapped assets that can
promote wellbeing and address
social exclusion.’
Communities Connected, David Morris and Alison Gilchrist, 2012

23. 3
the first rule of
networks: people
will only connect
where they want
to

24. ‘Social tools don’t create new
motivations so much as amplify
existing ones.’
Clay Shirky, Here Comes Everybody

25. part 4
the omelette
theory of change

26. ‘You can’t make an omelette without
breaking some eggs.’
V. I. Lenin (attrib)
but...
you can’t make an omelette just by
breaking eggs

27. 1
what does ‘tasty’
feel like?
(what kind of high
street do you want to
create, and for whose
benefit?)

28. 2
find yourself a
cooker
(what process will
bring your vision to
life?)

29. 3
what ingredients
do you need?
(what people, skills,
and resources are
required?)

30. 4
now create your
recipe
(which is plausible,
doable, testable and
meaningful)

31. bon appetit!

32. Find out more
Download our 21st Century Agora
paper
See other presentations on
Slideshare
Check out the Revive Our Town
Centres forum
Read ‘seven steps from ghost town
to host town’

33. thank you
more from me...
www.urbanpollinators.co.uk
my blog: Living with Rats
Twitter: @juliandobson