“Local authorities need to be the captains of change and engage in this agenda.”
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As suggested by the Guardian’s architecture correspondent, Oliver Wainwright:
As embattled council leaders across the country face the quandary of what to do with their struggling, post-pandemic town centres, they would do well to look at Stockton, quietly leading the way.
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And as covered by the ArchDaily website:
A 37-million-pound project, the proposal will demolish half the high street in Stockton’s town centre and replace it with a riverside park…
Around the world, recent years have also seen more cities and firms take a greater interest in the urban regeneration of their public spaces. In Bellinzona, Switzerland, Swiss firm TAMassociati designed a ‘future proof’ urban masterplan that conceives the gradual development of the city, with multi-use infrastructure that integrates green spaces with built architecture.
In contrast to this approach, there has also been the wider emergence of “urban acupuncture” – a design tactic that promotes highly specific and targeted initiatives to regenerate neglected spaces, such as the creation of pocket parks and community gardens in leftover urban spaces.
Stockton: High Street To Be Demolished to Make Way for Riverside Park | ArchDaily
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The i newspaper quotes a Stockton councillor:
Calling on other councils to consider taking a leaf out of Stockton’s book, Cllr Cooke said: “You cannot just do nothing and wait for the good times to come back. Covid has pushed more people onto the internet. [Online shopping] is not going to go away… Local authorities need to be the captains of change and engage in this agenda. We’ve got something here and we think people should listen up.”
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Image: The new ‘riverside park’ leading down to the Tees in Stockton town centre (Image: Stockton Council/Google maps)
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