Synopses & Reviews
Has the Internet killed our main streets? Have our town and city centers become obsolete? This book looks beyond the empty commercial buildings and andldquo;shop localandrdquo; campaigns to focus on the real issues: how the relationship between people and places is changing; how business is done and who benefits; and how the use and ownership of land affects us all. Written in an engaging and accessible style and incorporating numerous original interviews, How to Save Our Town Centres sets out a comprehensive and coherent agenda for long-term, citizen-led change. It will be vital reading for policy makers and researchers alike, and anyone interested in planning, architecture and the built environment, economic development, and community participation.
Review
andldquo;A significant and important book that is entertainingly and engagingly written. Dobson critiques, dissects, and then rebuilds the state of our high streets and town centres, arguing coherently for new, locally based, ground-up reconstruction of place and community, and challenges us all to get involved.andrdquo;
Review
andldquo;The debate about high streets has become completely stuck. By setting it in a wider context about the places we might want to live in the future, Dobson has relaunched it in a really exciting way.andrdquo;
Review
andldquo;Itandrsquo;s brilliant. I recommend it hugely. Buy copies for everyone on your local council.andrdquo;
Review
andldquo;This is a fascinating and important bookandmdash;a primer for the reinvigoration of local economies and high streets. At last a refreshing alternative to the official narrative of the decline of the high street.andrdquo;
Synopsis
Has the age of the internet killed our high streets? Have our town and city centres become obsolete? How to Save Our Town Centres delves below the surface of empty buildings and 'shop local' campaigns to focus on the real issues: how the relationship between people and places is changing; how business is done and who benefits; and how the use and ownership of land affects us all. Written in an engaging and accessible style and illustrated with numerous original interviews, the book sets out a comprehensive and coherent agenda for long-term, citizen-led change. It will be a valuable resource for policymakers and researchers in planning, architecture and the built environment, economic development and community participation.
About the Author
Julian Dobson is a writer, researcher, and speaker on towns, cities, and social policy. He is director of Urban Pollinators Ltd, a practical think tank which helps people work through complex and challenging issues about placemaking, regeneration, and society.
Table of Contents
Part One: Today It took a riot Thanks for the memories
To market, to market
Lost in the supermarket
Declaring independence
Part Two: Tomorrow Raise a glass to the new economy
The unexpected buzz in the library
The space in between
A place to live
Reclaiming the land
If we had a little money
From andlsquo;meandrsquo; towns to andlsquo;weandrsquo; towns.