Urban Design Regeneration and The Entrepreneurial

Progress in Planning 76 (2011) 63–103
www.elsevier.com/locate/pplann
Urban design, regeneration and the entrepreneurial city

Mike Biddulph *
School of City and Regional Planning, Cardiff University, Glamorgan Building, Kind Edward VII Avenue, Cardiff, CF10 3WA, United Kingdom
Abstract
This paper explores whether and how forms of entrepreneurial governance effecting deprived regions of the UK have embraced
urban design as a necessary and distinctive feature of regeneration efforts. It applies established theory and thinking to work
completed in the city centre of Liverpool since the late 1990s. The article examines the economic and governance context through
which new forms of urban design policy and guidance have emerged, and discusses whether and how they have been applied to
developments emerging across the centre.
The case has embraced an urban design agenda and this can firmly be attributed to entrepreneurial forms of governance, although
the attributes of the built form sometimes credited to such places were not so evident. Principles embedded in policy and guidance
have dovetailed with substantive thinking within urban design and can be recognised in significant projects. Whilst there should be a
concern for the privatisation of the public realm generally, issues such as gentrification and a more general concern for placelessness
are overstated. Iconic forms of development have not materialised. Forms of over development, such as tall buildings, have been
moderated by policy and guidance. Large scale projects can be designed to fit into and enhance the fabric of the city when urban
design thinking is clearly embraced by partners. Established critiques of the relationship between urban design and entrepreneurial
forms of governance have not always explored the multiple meanings and discourses that the built environment can contain, but
where urban design is concerned the discussion must at least embrace the criteria urban designers themselves employ to design
schemes or judge the results.
# 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Urban design; Design control; Aesthetic control; Liverpool; Entrepreneurial governance; Urban regeneration; Urban renewal; Urban
renaissance; Competitive cities
Contents
1. Urban design, regeneration and the entrepreneurial city . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

2. Urban design and the entrepreneurial city . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
3. Urban design principles and public policy in the UK since 1997 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
4. Liverpool’s relevant socio-economic, design and development trends until 1997 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
5. Urban design and entrepreneurialism in Liverpool after 1997 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
5.1. Governance for design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
5.2. Design policy, strategies and guidance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
6. Recent developments in Liverpool 1999–2008. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
6.1. The significant urban design projects in Liverpool City Centre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
6.2. Liverpool One . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +44 029 2087 6293; fax: +44 029 2087 4845.
E-mail address: BiddulphMJ@cardiff.ac.uk.
0305-9006/$ – see front matter # 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.progress.2011.08.001
64 M. Biddulph / Progress in Planning 76 (2011) 63–103
6.3. Rope Walks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

6.4. The Fourth Grace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
6.5. Old Hall Street. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
7. Entrepreneurial governance and urban design in Liverpool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
8. Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
1. Urban design, regeneration and the organisations, and sometimes the individuals involved
entrepreneurial city in the city. Three site visits allowed reflection on the
developments of the last decade. These involved
Forms of entrepreneurial governance effecting systematically walking the streets and comparing the
deprived regions of the UK have embraced urban qualities of the environments with published objectives
design as a necessary and distinctive feature of and comments, but also national principles of urban
regeneration efforts in such places (Hubbard, 1995, design. Twelve extended interviews were also under-
1996). But what have been the consequences of such a taken with people closely associated with design and
trend? Using the distinction between writing about development in the city. These interviews provided a
urban design and writing for urban design (Cuthbert, sense of roles and responsibilities in relation to a whole
2006), this article explores the connections between range of interrelated design and development initiatives,
what urban designers might be trying to achieve in their whilst judgements about successes and failures were
work, and the role and consequences attributed to them also shared. Finally the findings have been discussed in
and their outputs when discussed by others. seminars with practitioners and academics in the city on
Knox (2011, p. 157) refers to ‘‘. . .the Janus-faced two occasions. These allowed the quality of the
condition of the urban design professions. . .’’ who information and views of development to be tested
might claim to be working for environmental quality and debated.
and meeting social need, but who can only do this by Initially previous thinking about the relationship
planning for competitive accumulation. He notes (p. between entrepreneurial governance and urban design
129) how ‘‘contemporary cities, mostly a product of the practices will be discussed to provide a context to the
political economy of the manufacturing era, have been case. Then the paper will review the roles that urban
thoroughly remade in the image of consumer society. designers themselves have rightly or wrongly adopted
Design professionals have to adapt to a neoliberal or feel that they have adopted. The ideas in these two
political economy in which progressive notions of areas of literature will be combined to provide a
public interest and civil society have been all but set framework through which we can understand and
aside.’’ It is useful to compare writing about urban discuss the case, and the relevance of the thinking to it.
design such as this with the limited literature from Then there is a discussion of the case and general
within urban design, both theoretically and from within themes and issues emerging from the experience of the
policy, to explore whether and how these views of urban city. In the end the work returns to discuss how this case
design dovetail and how they diverge. might help us understand the role of urban design within
These issues are explored through a discussion of a regeneration context.
some of the significant developments in the city centre
of Liverpool in the north west of England. This allows 2. Urban design and the entrepreneurial city
for an exploration of the thinking with reference to a
particular place where entrepreneurial forms of govern- Hubbard (1996, p. 1441) suggests that ‘‘. . .the focus
ance have prevailed over recent years. of much urban governance is no longer the provision of
The empirical work is based on a number of services to city residents, but a concern with the
interrelated sources of information. A formal review prosperity of the city and its ability to attract jobs and
was undertaken of recent documents relating to national investment.’’ This might be an overstatement but urban
and local regeneration, planning and design policy and governments do deploy new or additional tactics to
guidance. These documents provide useful facts, attract inward investment whilst attempting to maintain
highlight biases and stress the public intentions of other areas of social service provision. For example, the
the national and local governments, other public sector urban environment is conceptually commodified with
M. Biddulph / Progress in Planning 76 (2011) 63–103 65
policy makers mimicking actors in other competitive the fine relationships which might otherwise exist in an
markets, appropriating the city and treating it as their established centre. They are also criticised for their
product which they are at liberty to sell. There is a introverted and exclusive forms which can isolate
naturalisation of market logics as local growth coalitions themselves physically from their immediate contexts,
formed from amongst land owners, business leaders and due to their scale, move activity patterns to serve
and local government representatives re-evaluate their the interests of uses on the inside, whilst failing to
cities, and scan their competitors for best practices and spread a regenerative effect to neighbouring streets and
initiatives to maintain or improve their competitive spaces. In many respects urban design as a public policy
standing, focussing on what some regard as a narrow agenda in the UK has been established to overcome
urban policy repertoire (Hall & Hubbard, 1998; Hubbard, such forms of development, at least in physical and
1995, 1996; Peck & Tickell, 2002). functional terms.
Swyngedouw, Moulaert and Rodriguez describe how Authors discuss a tendency towards iconic archi-
contemporary urban development must ‘‘. . .stand the tecture designed by signature architects (starchitecture)
tests imposed by a global and presumably liberal world (Knox, 2011) in pursuit of the Bilbao effect; the use
order.’’ It is argued that new urban spaces and the made of the new Guggenheim Museum to not only add a
meanings associated with them are recreated therefore, museum to Bilbao, but also rebrand the city (and/or
not for impoverished local people, but for ‘‘. . .the Basque identity) internationally (Klingmann, 2007;
outsider, the investor, developer, businesswoman or – McNeill, 2000, 2009). Much has also been made of the
man, or the money-packed tourist’’ (Swyngedouw et al., use of spectacle (Baudrillard, 1994; Debord, 1994),
2002, pp. 550–551). scenographic strategies and theming. Some argue that
Gospodini (2002) refers to this as the new use for such strategies pervade all shopping and leisure
urban design, as cities of varying size and therefore environments (Sorkin, 1992) driven by a concern for
influence polish up and repackage their built environ- the consumer experience and what Pine and Gilmore
ments to attract the higher value industries and (1999) call the experience economy; a process of both
individuals who can now thrive economically in many meeting and exceeding consumer expectations through
locations. Whereas in the past the quality of the built a totally managed experience, gilded with post-modern
environment was a by-product of economic develop- architecture or notions of urbanism (Jencks, 1978;
ment, today it is seen to be a prerequisite for it. Punter, 1988; Venturi et al., 1977). They are part of a
A number of concepts related to design and subtle strategy to not merely make these buildings or
development have been discussed. Evans (2003) refers places more contextually acceptable (through the use of
to hard branding written into the form of the city historic motifs), familiar or even fun to people, but also
through a combination of tactics like flagship devel- to in some way manipulate and depoliticise people.
opments (stadia/museums/opera houses/theatres), Boyer (1993, p. 119), for example, argues that ‘‘. . .[t]he
redeveloped public spaces, festivals and events, whilst new language of urban design follows formulas
suggesting a homogenisation or placelessness (Relph, established by advertising and provides invented
1976) resulting from such tactics, as different cities models of reality, seldom disguising their artifice. The
adopt the same strategies (see also Turok, 2009). city these spaces represent is filled with a magical and
Interestingly accusations of placelessness or standar- exciting allure, landscapes of pleasure intentionally
disation might be directed to the history of urban separated from the city’s more prosaic or threatening
development more generally, and most particularly to mean streets. Controlled by the rules and values of the
the later development projects of the modernist, fordist market system, these places offer a diet of synthetic
or managerial era. Fainstein (2008) and Lehrer and charm that undermines critical evaluation.’’ Hubbard
Laidley (2008) point out a recent tendency towards (1995) mines Harvey’s (1989a, 1989b) discussion of
‘‘mega’’ projects such as convention centres or entrepreneurialism to critique the development of a 5
consumption oriented shopping and leisure environ- star hotel, public realm projects and the building of a
ments (casinos, hotels, cinemas) located back within convention centre in Birmingham. They are evidence of
devalorised city centre locations. Examples such as the the city and its elites manipulating the population into
Renaissance Centre in Detroit have no real direct accepting de-industrialisation and distracting them
comparators in Europe, although some general devel- from any ‘‘. . .serious discussion of the ability of
opment mixes might be echoed. They are criticised for entrepreneurial policies to bring about an urban
their standard mix of uses and their bulky and renaissance’’ (p. 250). Can these discrete developments
somewhat alien forms which ignore or even break up really be charged with the responsibility of reversing the
consequences of deindustrialisation? Interestingly the available affordable housing. Gentrification leads to a

discussion moves to the surface qualities or the shallow contested notion of regeneration, because alone it is not
nature of these interventions and urban design work evidence of improvement to the material well being of
generally (Bell & Jayne, 2003) with the suggestion that the most deprived people, whilst gentrification pro-
‘‘[t]here is a danger that the re-imaging of the urban cesses are often associated with a decline in the living
environment may act as a ‘carnival mask’ that distract conditions of displaced people (Smith, 1996). The
from more serious social issues, and serves the needs of gentrification literature is complex and beyond the
investors and local elites at the expense of local focus of this article (for an overview, see Lees et al.,
residents’’ (p. 251). The outcomes of urban design are 2008), but governments now work with private partners
presented as important and worthy of discussion, but to facilitate gentrification as property led regeneration
possibly shallow or distracting. comes to represent or define what urban regeneration is
Problems are also seen to emerge when contempor- (Bianchini et al., 1992; Healey et al., 1992; Imrie &
ary pastiche or historicist developments challenge any Thomas, 1993; Turok, 1992). Urban design work is
notion of what is genuinely old and authentic. Hubbard most evident where local authorities use resources and
suggests that ‘‘. . .past styles and icons are recycled and powers to shape or facilitate the structure and character
combined in a form that alludes to local context and of the urban form between otherwise discrete devel-
history. Design strategies of allusionism, contextualism opments. These environments have market value. They
and vernacularism have all been seized upon by are in demand and so property values increase, and
developers in an attempt to stress the distinctiveness established residents may no longer be able to afford to
and character of the city. . .’’ although such strategies live there.
are regarded as subversive in that they ‘‘. . .mobilise Duany (2001, p. 38) emphasises the close link
meaning in favour of supporting existing social between the pursuit of urban design quality and its
structures’’ (1996, p. 1445). Neo-traditional develop- gentrification impacts in his bullish advocacy of the
ments (sometimes conflated with New Urbanism more phenomena: ‘‘. . .the most sure-fire technique for
generally) fall into this category, as through historic permanently preventing gentrification is to provide
building forms and styles they ‘‘.deploy a sanitised and dismal architectural and urban design.’’ He argues that
mythologised past in invoking identity and commu- it is a measure of the success of contemporary urbanism
nity. . .’’ (Knox, 2011, p. 149) where there is no and urban design thinking and practice that marks it as
guarantee of either. distinct from what some might regard as the limited
Genuine heritage is also commodified, and loses lifestyle opportunities of suburbia, or the failures of
authenticity as conservation work and heritage desig- state sponsored modernism where many failed living
nations fall into and are embraced by the critique. environments have already been demolished or remain
Harvey (1989a) quotes Hewison (1987) who discusses home to the urban poor.
the desire to preserve the past because of a nostalgic Negative forms of development associated with
impulse during a period of great social change, and what gentrification include secure and exclusive enclaves and
Harvey sees as an obsession with identity which he urban spaces. Gated or walled neighbourhoods are
explains as due to insecurity in labour markets. Historic indicative of a revanchist strategy and attempts to
environments are, however, not merely appreciated for protect property and property values from negative
their quality, future use value and distinctive character. externalities and in support of social homogeneity
McGuirk et al. (1998, p. 126) discuss how in Newcastle, (Madanipour, 2006; Punter, 2010b). Such outcomes are
in New South Wales the ‘‘[l]ocal identity, made up of not uncommon (see for example Punter, 2007) but are
convict heritage, working class roots and industrial they indicative of urban design effort or an absence of
legacy, is all being glossed over in an attempt to present concern, and are these forms exclusive to affluent
the city as a slick retail and recreation location.’’ This is neighbourhoods? In Liverpool enclaves of low cost
a very common critique of place making where housing near the city centre were developed to turn
architecture and urban design strategies are aligned away from neighbouring streets in the 1990s as a result
explicitly with place marketing (Griffiths, 1998) in an of the inhabitants’ own preferences and involvement.
attempt to attract, for example, tourists. Streets through these deprived neighbourhoods have no
If urban design is seen as a mechanism to attract frontage, reinforcing a poor image and sense of security
certain social groups back to devalorised city spaces, for members of the public who might walk here (Fig. 1).
it can also be seen as complicit in any resulting Gated communities are criticised for the signals they
displacement of established residents and a decline in send out to or within neighbourhoods, but more
walls’’, creating the impression of public space in new

large scale in town developments which are privately
owned and policed. The management of these spaces is
critical, but design is also to some extent complicit. Her
opinions pull together themes discussed above: ‘‘City
centres which are designed purely with shopping and
leisure in mind produce strangely ‘placeless’ places, cut
off from their original wellsprings of local life and
vitality, characterised instead by a fake, theme-park
atmosphere which is a result of disconnection from the
local environment’’ (Minton, 2006, p. 5).
Although often implicitly about urban designs,
criticism of contemporary developments tends to focus
Fig. 1. Affordable enclave housing on Russell Street on the edge of on a social justice agenda which links designed
the city centre. outcomes to wider social implications. This highlights
the limited extent to which the most deprived people
within a city will benefit from physical regeneration
significantly they can reduce accessibility or walk- schemes. This narrative of urban development is
ability and they can make streets and other neighbour- persuasive, but some aspects of it might be questioned
ing public spaces feel less safe (Landman, 2008). or challenged.
More subtle and complicated from an urban design Often discussions are based on a narrow set of
point of view is the trend towards the privatisation of projects which have limited local impacts, and which
public space. In the United States early forms of do not seem to be representative of all forms of
privatisation resulted from incentive zoning which development which might be occurring locally. Some-
passed the production, management and control of times authors contrive to know the opinions of locals in
new plazas over to the private sector (Barnett, 1974). their interpretations of styles and meanings, and talk-up
Loukaitou-Sideris (1993, p. 153) notes the their significance. Sometimes the principle of devel-
‘‘. . .introversion, fragmentation, escapism, orderliness oping local sites exclusively to meet the needs of local
and design rigidity. . .’’ of new plazas emerging in Los people goes unquestioned despite the history of urban
Angeles during the 1980s, and argues that this is ‘‘. . .in development and urban life in which people often have
congruence with the objectives of control, protection, little to do with many of the activities and uses in their
social filtering, image generation and manipulation of neighbourhood or most certainly in the wider city where
user behaviour.’’ She notes how popular they were with they live. The assumption is that cities are engaging in a
developers as they helped support a corporate milieu, global competition to attract investment, whilst ignor-
but pushed away more traditional features of public ing the extent to which cities are, to varying degrees,
space such as plurality and diversity. Punter (1990a, p. competing regionally and also locally for forms of
9) notes a disinvestment in the public realm by local investment which might sustain jobs within localities,
government, and points to private out-of-town and in- and in particular trying to overcome the impacts of
town mall developments replacing or competing with decentralisation of many jobs and services. Design itself
traditional high streets. The history of shopping centre is sometimes conflated with issues of ownership and
developments has its own evolution (see Coleman, management. There is also an argument that if only we
2006), but Punter highlights the particular concerns of could get the power and politics right a better urban
the early 1990s: ‘‘Exterior design has become more form would ultimately emerge through the process. The
sympathetic in strictly visual terms, although function- history of urban design and development does not
ally many centres continue to turn their back on the provide clear evidence of this. Through the lens of
townscape, except at the key points of entry into the entrepreneurialism design is also regarded as a veneer
peak pedestrian flows. . .commonly the megastructures added to crude commercial spaces established to
have walled off large parts of the town destroying the manipulate an expanding middle class. The general
grain of the townscape and reducing the permeability of public are discussed as unknowing victims, and yet
the town centre’’ (p. 10). Minton (2009) brings this they move through and use these environments and they
discussion up to date. She notes the contemporary trend make links across a town that fit their needs and desires.
towards the development of retail ‘‘malls without People make choices about where to go and what to like,
so we must assume that in city centres in particular busy urban designers are trying to or able to achieve, and are
spaces are in part successful. its consequences evident in the form of the city? To
Obvious design themes are discussed, but we could move the discussion on, the recent thinking for urban
probe deeper. Discussion seems to empty out or design will be explored.
circumscribe what urban designers might be trying to
achieve, whilst also denying or ignoring the develop- 3. Urban design principles and public policy in
ment of understanding, thinking and skill which have the UK since 1997
shaped urban design and development practices over
recent decades. If there are flagship and iconic projects An Anglo-American urban design literature (for an
have they emerged instead of or in addition to other overview see Carmona et al., 2003; Cuthbert, 2003;
forms of development? Have these schemes been Moudon, 1992) emerged during the 1960s to essentially
adequately contextualised, either in terms of the challenge two development trends. In city centres there
thinking through which they have emerged, or in were the impacts of modernism, comprehensive
relation to forms of development occurring more redevelopment and attempts to remodel cities to
generally in the cities where they sit? Despite being accommodate the car during post war years when local
visually prominent, does this also mean that they are governments had the power and resources to instigate
socially or economically important, or actually are they significant redevelopment of cities and also develop
merely a distraction from the true nature of the place in extensive schemes of social housing. In the suburbs
which they sit? there was the impact of volume house builders and
Although some writing speaks of the significance of highway engineers combining to destroy local and
urban design as a key mechanism for achieving certain regional identity, with car-dependent schemes contain-
regeneration goals, might this significance be over- ing few neighbourhood amenities or facilities.
stated? Ley and Mills (1993) point to the elitist In response a set of pragmatic design principles were
posturing of theorists who account for, or represent the developed in the UK which translated the emerging
masses without including them in their research. They literature into an urban design agenda for practitioners.
also refer to an implicit and mistaken view that the Subsequently these principles have been debated,
buildings and environments reproduce mechanically the developed and re-presented on numerous occasions
social relations imputed to the culture (p. 258). They since they emerged (Bentley et al., 1985; CABE, 2005;
wonder why critics typically fail to provide evidence of CABE/Department of the Environment, 2000; English
multiplier effects for the local economy or job creation Partnerships, 2000; H R H The Prince of Wales, 1989;
statistics which might be attributed to projects directly Lynch, 1981; Punter, 1990b; Tibbalds, 2001). If we are
or indirectly. They note the ‘‘casual empiricism’’ (p. to discuss the achievements of urban designers it is
259) in a concern for facadism and what it might mean necessary to fully embrace their own agenda.
or represent. McNeill (1998, p. 242) starts to doubt The most relevant presentation of these criteria is
some of the links being made by arguing that ‘‘[a] focus from By Design (CABE/Department of the Environ-
on the changing urban landscape can help dramatise ment, 2000), a national government document which
accounts of economic and political transition, but an presents a set of design objectives which reflect very
over-reliance on the icons of urban change such as the clearly the Anglo-American agenda and stabilise the
heritage site or the waterfront development may jargon in practice (Fig. 2). A table lists the aspects of
overstate the case for transformation. Dramatic new development which should be considered and judged in
buildings are one thing, shifts in governance or power the public interest (Fig. 3). This guidance also explains
are another.’’ the policy and guidance tools and procedures necessary
Recent developments in Glasgow, Birmingham, to deliver the urban design agenda through the UK
Manchester and Cardiff have been critiqued from the planning system (Fig. 4). The good city would be
perspective of being a by-product of entrepreneurial embracing this design agenda and these tools and
forms of urban policy and civic boosterism (see in procedures to positive effect.
addition Gomez, 1998; MacLeod, 2002; Punter, 2007; In contrast to the earlier discussion, this is a very
Wansborough & Mageean, 2000; Williams, 2000, pragmatic set of principles or objectives. They are for
2003). The literature also provides us with the basic example about how to move people about, how to help
ideas by which we might navigate the developments in people find their way around, where people can sit,
Liverpool city centre. In writing about urban design stand or stay, how to bring people together or keep them
does this literature provide adequate insight into what apart, how to promote types of economic and social
Fig. 2. The objectives of urban design from By Design.
activity, how to create variety of form and use and It has been argued that if schemes conform to these
therefore character or how to support natural processes. principles then they will be more popular and therefore
They are normative, and they do not translate directly more economically sustainable (CABE and Department
into prescribed forms because design requires a range of of the Environment Transport and the Regions, 2001).
trade offs and choices in any form of scheme. They If urban designers try to create schemes which they
focus on how to design the public realm, or the form of feel conform to these principles, why are development
buildings which might come to shape the public realm. outcomes being interpreted and subsequently judged so
Fig. 3. The aspects of development form from By Design.
differently. The semiotic triangle reminds us of the very interpret its qualities and evaluate its impacts. These
indirect relationship between form and meaning concepts come to be meaningful and symbolise or
(Fig. 5). There is nothing more real than the built represent something to us. Subsequently when we see a
environment. We understand it through design, and after bit of the built environment which echoes the form or
it has been built through concepts which help us activity elsewhere, it comes to stand for a particular set
Fig. 4. Policy and guidance tools and procedures necessary to deliver the urban design agenda through the UK planning system from By Design.
of meanings. What is interesting is the somewhat presented the discussion returns to reflect on how the
narrow set of interpretations suggested by the literature forms of development have been shaped by entrepre-
about urban design which explores the relationship neurial governance, whether the slightly more prosaic
between urban design and entrepreneurialism. Urban urban design principles have prevailed, or whether and
design, its outcomes and how they are received are how it is some combination of both.
caricatured, but if we try and really review the urban
design qualities of schemes and their outcomes we are 4. Liverpool’s relevant socio-economic, design
immediately confronted by the multiple criteria and and development trends until 1997
interpretations which we should really embrace. Such
an understanding recognises that urban design problems Located in the North West of England, Liverpool sits
are impossible to define clearly and consensually and on the coast of England at the mouth of the Mersey
therefore really solve (Rittel & Webber, 1973). We estuary. Once described as the second city of empire,
might suggest, however, that well designed places Liverpool became the main UK port linking the early
should at least be well used, and in urban terms their industrialising region of North West England with
positive impacts should spill over into neighbouring North America. For an excellent history of the city see
spaces. Belchem (2006).
The case in Liverpool allows an exploration of how Liverpool’s economic fortunes have been very well
this writing about and for urban design might be applied discussed previously. For the purposes of this paper we
to a specific context. Initially the recent history of the need to understand that the city has experienced a very
city’s economy and built environment are briefly turbulent decline, contracted in population size by about
introduced. This provides a context to the discussion a half during the latter half of the 20th century, and has
and tries to highlight how undeveloped a commitment to subsequently stabilised. Reflecting the economic
urban design was before 1997. Following this the recent success of the city in North Atlantic trade, Liverpool’s
development of urban design practices, policies and population had grown from 5000 at the beginning of the
guidance is discussed, followed by a review of how they 1700s to a peak of 870,000 just before the start of World
materialise within schemes. After the case has been War 2. Wilks-Heeg agrees with the Victorian Society
who note that ‘‘. . .[i]t is no exaggeration to say that by
the mid-nineteenth century Liverpool, with London and
New York, was one of the great maritime commercial
centres in the World’’ (Wilks-Heeg, 2003, p. 40).
Decline in economic fortunes and population starts after
the war. Population decline is partly planned and
affected by New Town developments in nearby
Skelmersdale and Runcorn, but also by wider forms
of regional suburban development across neighbouring
metropolitan boundaries and the growth of commuting.
It is most significantly fuelled, however by economic
decline. Changes in patterns of global trade, the general
decline of UK manufacturing, the introduction of
Fig. 5. The semiotic triangle and meaning derived from the built containerisation and a shift in markets towards Europe
environment. saw a massive decline in demand for what tended to be
unskilled dock labour. Central government regional making their contribution to today’s stadtbild with a
policy initiatives from the 1960s saw the introduction of number of buildings and spaces of national significance,
significant car manufacturing plants and other employ- such as St George’s Hall (1854), all being built in short
ers in the regions. The population of the city, however, succession. At the turn of the century commercial
declined to about half its peak in just 60 years, with the architecture left its mark on the core of the city, and
lowest population recorded in 2001 of 440,000. following the infilling of St George Dock three of
Recession hit the city harder than most other parts of Liverpool’s most famous buildings were erected on the
the UK during the late 1970s and 1980s. The city waterfront site: the Liver Building (1911) Cunard
suffered the racially affected Toxteth Riots in 1981, a Building and Port of Liverpool Building (1916)
militant Labour council between 1983 and 1986 and a collectively known as the Three Graces. These years
lengthy docker’s dispute over the casualisation of labour of affluence created one of the UK’s richest architec-
between 1995 and 1998. These were all factors which tural legacies discussed in Hughes (1964, 1999) and
contributed to a drying up of private investment in the Sharples (2004).
city during the following decade as investors lost During World War II large areas of the docks and city
confidence, particularly in the city’s governance centre were destroyed by bombing. Following the war
(Meegan, 2003). comprehensive road building and city centre moder-
The economic vulnerability of Liverpool’s economy nisation schemes were tabled and the city centre had a
is reflected in the City Council’s own reporting of ring road partially established. During the period of
economic trends over recent years. In December 2003 modernisation and local authority influence compre-
‘‘. . .Liverpool [was] one of the UK’s fastest growing hensive retail (St John’s shopping centre 1970 onwards)
cities, growing faster in recent years than other English and public transport (Paradise Street Bus Station)
Core Cities’’ (Liverpool City Council, 2003, p. 1) with schemes were forced into the city’s grain (Fig. 6). A
an increase of 4.4% of jobs, and unemployment down to project for a new civic centre was planned but never
5%. In 2007 the city continued to experience growth in undertaken and blighted an area around the former
jobs in banking, finance, insurance, public administra- Queens Square.
tion, education and health sectors, and also pointed to a Consequentially a combination of factors shapes the
reasonable healthy Gross Value Added per head of emergence of sites that would be redeveloped and
population to the economy of £15,530; a value 25% regenerated in the late 1980s and 1990s. Economic
higher than the wider region, but still below those of decline creates a difficult context and limited the
similar sized cities (Liverpool City Council, 2007). This quantity and quality of development. It led to the
is the period reflected in the discussion below. This development of poorer quality buildings across the city
growth has not been sustained, and was fuelled by both centre. It created the vast areas of derelict dockland. It
public sector jobs and growth in the financial services also limited the resources available to maintain street,
sector. With a current recession these are the sectors spaces and buildings. Other emerging sites and areas for
also most vulnerable to cuts. regeneration are a product of the discredited post-war
Liverpool’s built environment is a product of its planning and design thinking. Many areas have been
mercantile past but its recent qualities are closely tied to affected by the scale and also severing effects of
its economic fortunes but also and importantly shaped highway management and construction which have
by technological, planning and architectural trends and disconnected streets and therefore neighbourhoods. The
thinking. The town grew quickly after trade was Paradise Streets and Queens Square sites were even
established with the colonies in North America, and this affected by how bus movements have been managed in
growth accelerated after the first dock was built in 1715; the city.
a process of dock building that would ultimately result The period of renewal really starts following the riots
in the development of 39 docks, many historic in 1981 when the then Conservative central government
warehouse buildings and a dock industry which still established the Merseyside Development Corporation
continues to the north of the city today. With Welsh and which took over ownership and planned the develop-
Irish immigrants living in particularly poor conditions ment of former dockland areas within Liverpool and in
around the centre, the affluent population gradually the neighbouring Wirral. This allowed central govern-
moved south east, away from the docks, and established ment to controversially wrestle land and planning
grand Georgian terraces in Canning and Abercrombie, controls from a militant left wing council, and channel
and subsequent Victorian suburbs. In the city centre the funding directly to forms of development which it could
Victorian era was characterised by grand civic projects endorse. The renovation of Albert Dock became the
Fig. 6. St John’s Shopping Centre, police station and Paradise Street developments forced into the city’s grain.
flagship scheme, whilst the corporation also developed parameters for a mixed use commercial, hotel and office
strategies, development briefs and funded land recla- scheme, and significant improvements to the on-street
mation and public realm works. This was a strategy of bus gyratory and public transport information (Fig. 7).
property led urban regeneration focussed on developing Against a background of under investment in the city
land rather than improving more directly the economic centre, and with little design advice, the resulting
and social circumstances of people. The Albert Dock scheme which did emerge was a reasonable success,
development spearheaded the concept of heritage and although the quality of the individual commercial
cultural tourism in the city, and became the location of buildings is unspectacular (Fig. 8). Certainly the
the Museum of Liverpool Life, the Merseyside scheme re-established some useful routes through the
Maritime Museum and also, most significantly, a city, and created a new public space. The scheme is
regional Tate Gallery, reflecting the city’s historic link important, however, because it is the first large scale
with sugar refining. development in the city which managed to successfully
Despite promoting master plans by the Richard coordinate a mix of uses around a reasonable form and
Rogers Partnership and Francis Tibbalds’ consultancy resulted in an improved public realm.
for significant sites at the Kings and Princes Docks, the
sites attracted no interest, whilst a development brief
produced for the Paradise Street and Strand area,
between Albert Dock and the city centre also resulted in
no initial takers.
In 1992 City Challenge funding was secured by a
more moderate Labour City Council on a competitive
bidding basis for an area of the city containing many
historic buildings. This included the Queens Square site
introduced above. Building on the important Georgian
and Victorian heritage in the area, the programme
embraced a range of environmental, housing improve-
ment, infill commercial, educational, cultural and
transport initiatives. In urban design terms these
resulted in some moderate successes, including invest-
ment in commercial frontages and a new public realm
for Monument Place and Williamson Square. Funding
was also secured for a new Conservation Centre and
Liverpool Institute for the Performing Arts. A devel-
opment brief also emerged from the City Council for the Fig. 7. Development brief diagram suggesting a form for the Queen
Queen’s Square area. The brief established broad Square development.
Fig. 8. View of the Queen Square development showing the Marriot Hotel, commercial frontages and new bus gyratory system and information
centre.
During 1997 urban design in the city was only really process and establish design review processes initially
emerging as an activity and a topic. Queen Square nationally, but subsequently within the regions.
resulted from a proactive approach to promoting a site. The urban renaissance agenda is regarded as a clear
The resulting form highlighted a gradual adoption of commitment to entrepreneurial governance and gentri-
new urban design ideas and contextual thinking, a fication (Lees, 2003; Punter, 2010a). The urban design
concern for mixed use and the value of a human scale agenda was also embraced, with commitment to the By
public realm. City centre living, cultural industries, Design principles. Significant emphasis was put upon
tourism, a night time economy, and the growth in further developing and creating socially diverse but balanced
and higher education were also creating some new and walkable neighbourhoods by promoting urban
buildings. With the exception of the museums and Tate intensification, mixed uses, diversity of housing form
Gallery, most of these developments must be regarded and tenure and appropriate but varying densities to
as relatively low key. In addition there is little evidence support an adequate provision of facilities and services
that the city was thinking strategically about the form of close to homes. This was supplemented by requirements
the city and how its public realm might evolve. for effective public transport to connect these neigh-
bourhoods to the wider urban region. A concern was
5. Urban design and entrepreneurialism in also expressed about the quality of streets, and the need
Liverpool after 1997 to reduce the impact of cars on neighbourhoods and city
life (Punter, 2010b). Procedurally the report builds on
5.1. Governance for design previous experience by promoting the contribution of
master planning, the use of development briefs for key
A new government, elected in 1997, was keen to sites and the use of design competitions to procure
reinforce the role of cities and adjust our view of urban quality in urban development. These were heavily
life. Whilst London and the south-east of England had normative prescriptions fuelled by a concern about the
essentially boomed during previous decades, the state of English towns and cities, but very clearly linked
Labour party supporting heartlands in cities in the rest to an ongoing discourse within urban design about a
of the UK had continued to struggle with the social and notion of an ideal form of English urbanism. The report
economic consequences of deindustrialisation, progres- acknowledged the role of cities in terms of creating
sive suburbanisation and a perceived loss of more attractive locations for investment, particularly in what
affluent people from large areas of formerly industrial was described as a knowledge-based economy. How all
cities. The government’s response was enshrined in the British core cities responded to this agenda in urban
Towards an Urban Renaissance (Urban Task Force, design terms is discussed in Punter (2010c).
1999). At the same time the government established the Punter (2010a) characterises the urban policy agenda
Commission for Architecture and the Built Environ- of the UK’s New Labour government of the 1990s as
ment (CABE) in 1999 to promote and provide research offering a middle way between the neo-liberal dereg-
and guidance related to design matters, facilitate ulation and privatisation policies of the previous regime,
training on existing and emerging design agendas with its stark socio-economic and regional impacts, and
particularly for the public sector, promote the effective the more redistributive, regulatory plan-led Keynesian
treatment of design matters through the planning approach pursued by former Labour governments. The
policy was driven by the desire for urban regeneration to study for the North West Regional Development
be managed by new development partnerships combin- Agency emphasises the jobs growth in the city centres
ing and balancing the interests and agendas of both of the region but also in the locations around the
public and private sectors. The private sector would regional airports and suburban business parks, includ-
deliver the forms of development and space demanded ing Liverpool’s. This reminds us that many, if not more
by emerging markets, but the public sector would (or people are working in the suburbs of Liverpool. Urban
should) regulate against forms of development inap- design has had little role to play in this success,
propriate for a planned context, whilst also potentially although this is also not the focus of this study. The
using planning gain powers to secure community region remains an area with significant problems but
benefits. whilst changes are occurring in the city centre, there is
The Urban Task Force Report (1999) marks a also a dynamic pattern within deprived neighbour-
significant moment in how Liverpool dealt with urban hoods, as some people get jobs and move out:
design and development issues within its city centre, ‘‘. . .strong economic growth in parts of the region
and the attention given to the physical environment has lead to a reduction in worklessness and residents
started to be reflected in both guidance and emerging have tended to ‘vote with their feet’ by moving into the
developments. The report alone, however, does not more affluent suburbs and this has exacerbated the
explain the change. In 1998 Liberal Democrats took problems experienced in declining neighbourhoods.’’(-
control of Liverpool City Council, and in the following North West Regional Development Agency/Regeneris
year a new chief executive was employed. One aim was Consulting, 2005, p. 103). Working through reports
to establish Liverpool as a place that was safe to invest. such as this, it is evident that helping people back into
Previous Labour administrations had moved in this employment is a complex and important task, but
direction, but the new council were keen to exploit the choosing to critique the role of design within particular
opportunity of a change in party in power. territories such as a city centre is a distraction from
Following the publication of the Urban Task Force initiatives that should be of more fundamental concern.
Report this new leadership team established Liverpool In Liverpool we would probably need to critique the
Vision as the UK’s first urban regeneration company, to work and successes of the Liverpool Local Strategic
regenerate sites in the city centre. This was a partnership Partnership (http://www.liverpoolfirst.org.uk) who
organisation created to build consensus between rightly say little about design.
organisations responsible for delivering projects. Such For the city centre, Liverpool Vision commissioned
organisations were recommended by the report. SOM to produce a Strategic Regeneration Framework
Drawing in professionals from the public and private (SOM, 2000). This document contains all the entrepre-
sectors the small organisation facilitated relationships neurial rhetoric which might be expected. Its objectives
and subsequently also development. The organisation is include the creation of an environment attractive to
a clear manifestation of entrepreneurial, rather than investors, a desire to compete with other European cities
managerial or regulatory governance. Regulatory forms for investment, and confirm the identity of Liverpool as a
of statutory planning control continued in the city, premier European city. In more moderate terms it is also,
rather than being replaced. however, keen to meet the needs of residents, re-establish
Critically the city centre, rather than deprived inclusive communities, and improve the city as a regional
neighbourhoods, became a focus because of the shopping destination. This local and regional perspective
availability of land around the commercial core, the is an important moderation, and emphasises the multiple
quality of the historic environment and the need to scales on which all cities or parts of cities operate. Whilst
protect it, the existence of certain economic drivers the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool has a nationally
(higher education and the knowledge economy, under- significant collection, a new shopping centre is meeting a
performing retailing, vibrant culture but underperform- regional need, whilst forms of housing or bars are
ing tourism) and also therefore the development also drawing new residents or visitors from elsewhere
potential there. The city centre was also the most in the city. In terms of urban design, however, the work
visible and visited part of the city by residents as well as was formative. It includes analysis of major people
tourists and business people. This decision to focus on generators and the quality of links between them,
the city centre is a bias of this study, as it is the territory mapping of poor environments and vacancy, and the
where urban design thinking has been applied. One analysis of positive townscape areas. The analysis
might conclude that much of this investment did not draws an appropriate conclusion which combines
target the people of greatest need directly. A baseline pragmatic observations about the nature of the city from
an urban design perspective, but also its entrepreneurial evident that Liverpool Vision was essentially being
agenda: proactive in setting the urban design agenda for the city
centre because it had firmly established a link between
‘‘Unfortunately, the quality of the public realm does economic and social regeneration and the quality of the
not meet the expectations of the unofficial ‘‘English emerging built environment. It also had money to spend
City of Architecture’’. City approaches and gateways in areas of implementation with European Objective
are ill defined. . .the motorcar unfairly dominates the One funds being siphoned through a Regional Devel-
city core, severing connectivity and stifling move- opment Agency to approved projects. Of course, as a
ment. . .[there is a]. . .lack of ground floor activity in partnership organisation the city council can claim
many buildings adjacent to public open spaces and some involvement in this, and rightly so, but in contrast
streets. . .much of the streetscape is tired and lifeless. it might be judged that the city council’s planning
Despite this, Liverpool is fortunate that it has the department was a little slower to embrace urban design
building stock and urban fabric to provide a public and its contribution.
realm that could be the envy of most European cities. During the mid to late 1990s the Liverpool
(SOM, 2000, p. 19)’’ Architecture and Design Trust (LADT) was established.
This was an advocacy organisation funded and
Although not exclusively an urban design document, supported by the city council as well as other agencies
the explicitly spatial nature of the analysis and and organisations in the city. With a small permanent
recommendations intimately tied a concern for physical staff, and volunteer involvement from local universities
form and quality into a wider debate about economic and design practices, the Trust tried to raise awareness
and social issues and possibilities. In particular it placed of the value of design for the city in parallel with the
emphasis on tying movement proposals to ideas for emerging debate nationally. It established a design
public space and pedestrian connectivity and also review panel during the mid to late 1990s to review and
enhancing key public spaces to ‘‘post card’’ standard— comment on the design issues associated with planning
a very interesting and illuminating turn of phrase. It also applications for the city council. The panel continued
established proposals for character areas of distinctive with a small membership and CABE became critical of
land-use and built-form; an approach reminiscent from its procedures. This panel duplicated a national CABE
Birmingham (Hubbard, 1995; Wright, 1999). This drew design review panel which would also comment on
attention to the live-work potential of historic buildings. significant schemes in the city earlier in the design and
It also suggested the building of an iconic Fourth Grace development process, whilst comments were also not
at the waterfront. It highlighted the development always in agreement with those of the local panel. This
potential of the Paradise Street and Chavasse Park could frustrate the local planning authority. Interest-
area to extend the retail core south and improve linkage ingly there is also a third tier of design review in the
with the waterfront. It suggested a (now complete) region run by Places Matter, an architecture and built
conference centre and arena at the Kings Dock site. It environment centre created for the north west of
also called for new movement and public realm England. Neither Liverpool nor Manchester, big cities
strategies. This document, written by a global design in the region, send their schemes for consideration.
agency, contains many of the clichés critiqued in the Liverpool has been keen to re-launch the local panel,
literature about urban design. widen its membership, but also retain some autonomy.
After a little time Liverpool City Council also Concurrently the new management team in the city
developed its in-house urban design team. Many also established a Design Champion in 2002. Towards
commentators working in the city have suggested that an Urban Renaissance (Urban Task Force, 1999) had
previously the quality of design and development had been calling for cities to establish Champions, and
not been a significant concern, but that creating jobs, Liverpool was one of the first cities to adopt the idea. In
providing welfare and, in relation to the built Liverpool the Champion tried to promote the benefits of
environment, a concern for heritage had dominated good design and help establish a higher standard for
the planning and development agenda for many years new development amongst partners. The city hosted a
(interviews). This has to some extent changed. From national conference about how to procure better design
having one urban designer employed to comment of in public funded projects, in particular for the National
planning applications, it employed a new urban design Health Service. The Champion also encouraged the
manager, a public art officer, and an additional urban suitable training of all staff to ensure awareness of the
designer bringing the team up to four. Despite this it is emerging urban design agenda and how it might affect
their practices or the decisions that they would take. broader body of thinking about what urban design and
Within Liverpool the Champion was a city councillor. therefore development should be trying to achieve
This was a very down to earth appointment in (Fig. 9). The guide, however, was written to be
comparison with the use of high profile architects in promotional and teach people about the existing
other cities. The Design Champion has been an qualities of the city. It was not site specific and the
important symbolic post and the previous Champion language is encouraging, using could rather than terms
worked hard to put design concerns on the agenda such as must or should. Some have viewed it as a coffee
locally. It seems similarly symbolic that the post has table publication (interviews). It was well received but a
now disappeared. list of further more specific guidance, including city
centre design guidance and a tall buildings policy did
5.2. Design policy, strategies and guidance not appear until called for by UNESCO (see below).
People committed to design quality have wondered
The Liverpool Unitary Development Plan (Liverpool whether and how the guide has been applied without
City Council, 2002) was the main adopted statutory adequate dedicated professional skill and member
plan. It contained 18 pages and 17 policies related to support, and more critically because the quality of
listed buildings, conservation areas, historic parks and some schemes which have been approved have been
archaeology. It contained roughly one page on design or below the aspiration set in the document (interviews).
urban design including one motherhood policy. This is a By contrast in 2000 Liverpool Vision, working with
low level of commitment to urban design policy Mersey Travel published the Liverpool City Centre
(Carmona et al., 2002). Movement Strategy (Mersey Travel, 2000). This was a
Interestingly, in the following year the city published well publicised strategy to reorganise travel and
an urban design guide (Liverpool City Council Planning improve facilities for public transport users in the city
Services and Chapman Robinson Consultants, 2003). centre. The movement strategy provided a framework
The guide firmly reflects the generic language and for embracing a planned Mersey Tram proposal which
agenda of By Design, and so it connects directly to a subsequently was not awarded funding. It involved new
Fig. 9. Liverpool Urban Design Guide ‘‘Objectives of Urban Design’’.

Fig. 10. Liverpool City Centre Movement Strategy.
interchange facilities and refurbishment of main line centre; a plan that replaced a failed ring road scheme.
and other Merseyrail stations. It involved public realm Critically the strategy was giving greater priority to the
work to reduce the impact of traffic in key areas, needs of pedestrians and public transport users, linked
improve pedestrian surfaces and road crossing oppor- to emerging proposals for the regeneration of six key
tunities. It also included works to enhance movement of development areas around the edge of the centre
traffic north and south across the eastern edge of the (Fig. 10).
Fig. 11. Public realm classification in the Public Realm Implementation Framework.
Fig. 12. Williamson Square fountains implemented as part of the Public Realm Implementation Framework.
A Public Realm Implementation Framework (Liver- and commercial core received World Heritage Site
pool Vision, 2004) also sought to create a clear strategy (WHS) status in 2004 (Fig. 13). The environment
and framework for how public spaces might be treated, contains a rich collection of historic buildings and
whilst also setting quality standards for design and environments, but it also contains the commercial office
maintenance. This involved a classification of streets area, waterfront and abuts the main shopping streets. A
and spaces in relation to their proposed movement buffer zone required by UNESCO contains the entire
function and also character. Spaces were categorised city centre area which provides long views to the
and mapped as strategic streets and boulevards, city waterfront. Pendlebury et al. (2009) note the distinct
streets, (pedestrianised) retail streets, pedestrian lanes, problem that urban World Heritage Sites present. For
strategic gateways, major squares and gardens, city UNESCO designated sites ‘‘. . .transcend national
squares, garden courts and water spaces (docks) values and [are] of common importance to present
(Fig. 11). For each category a performance standard and future generations of humanity as a whole’’
and design guidance was established. A series of (UNESCO, 2007, p. 7) They should be authentic and
projects was then developed to enhance the city for able to convey truthfully their historic significance.
2008, when the city was European Capital of Culture. They should also have integrity and be intact. In
This represented a significant development in both Liverpool there was concern that the status might drive
thinking about and developing projects for the public developers away, if the Council were required to resist
realm in the city, as well as also establishing clear tall buildings or developments which might modernise
benchmarks by which to judge management and the city’s stadtbild. Such a position emerged as regional
maintenance (Fig. 12). cities in the UK saw more proposals for tall buildings,
The creation of Liverpool Vision and the develop-
ment of this suite of urban design related strategies and
guidance documents is in very significant contrast to a
previous decade when essentially urban design thinking
struggled to be taken seriously. We can see the influence
of the developing national agenda as it applies the ideas
developing within urban design since the mid 1980s, but
this links firmly to the new forms of governance which
had come to regard the built environment as an
important economic asset, rather than merely a location
of work or living.
Although entrepreneurial governance might draw
attention to the quality of development and the public
realm, Liverpool’s World Heritage Site status generated
conflicts in interpretation about the design of develop-
ment, even though Liverpool embraced the status partly
due to its tourist potential. Liverpool’s historic docks Fig. 13. Liverpool World Heritage Site area and buffer zone.
and Liverpool’s city centre waterfront became the site planning document (SPD) is based on a thorough urban
for some limited but controversial examples due to the design analysis of the entire centre (Liverpool City
views and value of the historic setting (see Short, 2007 Council, 2009b, 2009c). It includes an analysis of short
for a discussion about the assessment of tall buildings in and long views, legibility, route hierarchies, the
historic areas, including a number of cases in Liver- character of streets, ease of movement and the location
pool). Within UNESCO members seemed surprised that of key urban and open spaces (Fig. 14). Following this,
major urban centres seeking investment might find specific character areas are highlighted. These discuss
WHS status somewhat of a straightjacket, despite its architectural styles and details, the character of key
good intentions (Rodwell, 2008). edges, important urban design characteristics and
Whilst Liverpool had looked after its Listed specific development issues (Fig. 15). Urban design
Buildings, its lack of an urban design policy for the guidance in the SPD is then organised around By Design
city started to show as UNESCO scrutinised the nature headings with key questions highlighted for developers
of developments emerging, and started to wonder if they and their designers to address through design and access
were out of scale or unsympathetic. In October 2006 statements. The same is done for any designs for the
UNESCO issued a report bemoaning the lack of a clear public realm. Views are openly discussed, tall buildings
strategy for dealing with individual development are defined, whilst sites for a clustering of tall or
proposals within the World Heritage Site and buffer medium rise buildings are highlighted (Fig. 16). Design
zone, and indirectly threatened to consider withdrawing criteria are then set out for how tall buildings must be
the status (Bonnette & van Oers, 2006). treated in their context, including how they must relate
This dictated that Liverpool adopt a stringent and to the existing grain of the city and how they should sit
clear framework to guide decisions about developments in the immediate streetscape. Following, this detailed
across the city centre. The emerging supplementary guidance is presented for development in each character
Fig. 14. Extract from the World Heritage Site Supplementary Planning Document Evidential Report, analysing the designated area and buffer.
Fig. 15. Extract from the World Heritage Site Supplementary Planning Document Evidential Report, analysing a specific character area.
area. The result is a stringent framework for the entire

centre which will empower the planning authority in its
decision making. The hope is that the World Heritage
Site status will continue to attract investment, whilst
developers confronted by the quality of the SPD, and the
analysis on which it is based, might work towards better
schemes quickly, given that the ground rules are clear.
Future research should explore its impact.
The policy, strategies and guidance established to
encourage design quality reflect quite closely the
developing practices occurring elsewhere in the UK
and also government guidance. There are evidently a
number of explanations for this. The city has moved
towards a more executive form of government with a
strong council leader and chief executive often referred
to as the power brokers in the city. This executive has
been critical to the establishment of key players in
strategic design terms. They established Liverpool
Vision. Concurrently urban design has benefited from
Fig. 16. The location of high buildings in the World Heritage Site the strategies and guidance created and promoted by
Buffer Zone based on Fig. 4.3 in the Supplementary Planning Docu- Liverpool Vision, whilst Liverpool City Council has
ment (Liverpool City Council 2009). been somewhat more tentative in creating its Liverpool
Urban Design Guide, and expanding its professional 6. Recent developments in Liverpool 1999–2008
team. UNESCO has bounced the city council into
creating comprehensive guidance for development in Reviewing developments in the city centre as a
the whole city centre in line with the national principles, whole allows the impacts of individual schemes to be
and driven by a heritage agenda. understood within some context. Between 2001 and
Interestingly in a quest to make the city more 2008 Liverpool Vision published development updates
business facing it is worth reflecting on whether these listing the schemes in the city centre submitted for
documents have subsequently been ignored in a quest to planning permission which would involve new build-
court investors. The discussion of developments will ings (Liverpool Vision, 2001–08). Fig. 17 is a map of
explore this, but in policy terms one indicator of this is the sites which have been subject to developer interest,
the reluctance of the city to initially approve a tall including private investments and also work to the
buildings policy. It is worth noting the complexity in public realm. This map highlights the diverse range of
judging the implications of this, given the fact that the settings for which a significant mix of projects came
Government Office for the North West of England forward. Although comprehensive schemes have been
rejected the idea of more SPD relating to the proposed, an awareness of these must be balanced with
development plan, but this might have allowed some an appreciation of piecemeal developments elsewhere.
senior people in the city council to be belligerent. It is Fig. 18 shows the projects submitted for planning
welcome, therefore, to see the level of influence vested permission which carry the greatest value for the city.
in the UNESCO judgement that SPD was needed, the The named projects are shown on the map in Fig. 19.
impact that this has had, and most critically the quality Individual projects worth over £100 million are
of the guidance that is emerging. presented. Others are grouped together under the same
Fig. 17. Map of sites subject to developer interest between 2001 and 2008.
regeneration discourse during recent decades. Before

the 1990s developers preferred the simplicity of
proposing single use schemes which would maximise
investment value and be easier to manage. The
willingness of investors and developers to embrace
mixed use schemes reflects a dovetailing of urban
design, planning and developer objectives. In Liverpool
many developments have often been residential uses
with, for example, a commercial use on the ground
floor. These schemes account for the repopulation of
Liverpool city centre as a place to live. In 1991 the city
centre population was 2340 people. Currently Liverpool
Fig. 18. Projects of greatest value to the city. City Council estimate that about 19,000 people live
there (Liverpool City Council, 2009a; Liverpool City
heading. The Paradise Street project is far and away the Council and Liverpool Vision, 2004).
most significant development at £920 million. There are Developers working in the city illustrate the diversity
a range of other headline projects, but the combined of organisations and the nature of the schemes that they
value of all smaller schemes was £2173 million. These have promoted. Fig. 21 shows a list of developers and
values give no sense of the urban design qualities of the number of building schemes that they have
such schemes, but their spread shows that investment submitted for planning permission between 2000 and
has been realised across the centre, and that the city has 2008. The list shows all applicants submitting three or
experienced a significant range of investments in more schemes. This highlights the local nature of a lot
developments at a great variety of scales. of these companies, with 15 of the 19 organisations
Fig. 20 is a map showing areas that have been subject based in the north west of England. It also highlights
to mixed use proposals. Mixed use development is a how active social landlords have been in the city centre
direct result of debates within urban design and with three housing associations and trusts promoting 18
projects. It highlights the amount of projects emerging
from Liverpool University, with 10 new buildings being
proposed. Liverpool Community College and John
Moores University (not on the list) have also added 5
new buildings to the area, including a significant Arts
Faculty building. The gradual emergence of these
projects has contributed to the current awareness of the
impact of the knowledge economy in this area. Finally,
and critically, Frenson are a London based company
who have made 21 planning applications, mainly in the
Rope Walks area. Although many schemes have
emerged there is a concern locally that the extent of
their interests in the area has delayed progress.
In trying to move away from a discussion of
unrepresentative schemes, evidence from Liverpool
does emphasise its rather regional credentials as it has
courted a significant amount of investment from within
the region, whilst large schemes have been reasonably
balanced against evidence of smaller schemes over
large areas. Some of this is explained by the texture of
the city, with large numbers of smaller sites available for
regeneration and the protection afforded by conserva-
tion areas which make it hard for larger developers to
control significant areas of land to deliver bigger
schemes. It also reflects, however, the somewhat
Fig. 19. The locations of the most valuable projects in the city. tentative nature of the development market given the
Fig. 20. Proposals for mixed use developments between 2001 and 2008.
lack of general affluence in the city compared to assertive involvement from the city council to secure
elsewhere in the UK. public benefit through the physical form of the scheme.
Rope Walks is a historic area of the city which saw the
6.1. The significant urban design projects in implementation of a public realm strategy as a context
Liverpool City Centre for piecemeal mixed use schemes. The Fourth Grace
tells the useful story of a failed project to develop an
It is beyond the scope of this paper to review all of iconic building. Finally the schemes around Old Hall
the projects in the city centre, but some schemes and Street are discussed to explore the ambiguity around
areas give an indication of general trends, and in dealing with tall buildings, but also the upgrading of a
particular how urban design has been dealt with. A somewhat bleak modernist streetscape. Other large
thorough and well illustrated discussion of a wide range areas such as projects in the Kings and Princes Docks
of recent Liverpool schemes is presented in Bayley are not included, because although they are interesting,
(2010). Published by Royal Institute of British the discussion here was not considered dependent upon
Architects, it is an endorsement of the design quality them. A convention centre and arena in the Kings Dock
of much of the development across the city as a whole. are a direct product of an entrepreneurial endeavour,
In this paper only schemes that offer a telling and but their urban design is possibly less important
concise insight into how and why the city level (see Bayley, 2010, pp. 120–123). Princes Dock is a
governance has embraced urban design are included. significant but constrained site, and the development
Liverpool One is one of the most significant regenera- and its character is less complete and also therefore
tion schemes in the UK, and involved a distinctively harder to really interpret or judge.
No. of
Applicant Head Office Location
applics.
Liverpool Community College Liverpool 3
Copedale Ltd Liverpool 3
Poseiden Investments London 3
Beetham Organisation Liverpool 3
J Armor Ltd Ormskirk 4
Cosmopolitan Housing Association Liverpool 4
Derwent Lodge Liverpool 4

English Cities Fund UK Govt 4
Neptune Liverpool 4
Property Regeneration Homes Ltd Manchester 4
Villagate Properties Ltd Westerham, Kent 4

Downing Development Liverpool 6
Liverpool Housing Trust Liverpool 6
Ergo North West Ltd Liverpool 7
Urban Splash Manchester 7
Maritime Housing Association Bolton 8

Univ Liv Liverpool 10
Iliad Liverpool 11
Frenson London 21
Fig. 21. Developers of three or more schemes in the city between 2001 and 2008.
6.2. Liverpool One bordered the site. No clear sense of use was forth-
coming, whilst no architect wanted to anticipate the
During the 1990s Chavasse Park offered a genuinely scope for shopping and parking which has ultimately
dismal link between the city’s shopping streets, business prevailed (Anonymous, 1995).
district, the regenerating Albert Docks and also the The site was the subject of a planning application for
emerging Rope Walks area. Post war urban design what was called a National Discovery Park. This was a
thinking, guided by the powerful hand of the local mixed use visitor attraction hoping to gain funding from
authority, had developed an inner city ring road, closed the Millennium Commission, but the application failed
streets and delivered the back side of some law courts, a and the scheme was not progressed. In August 2000 the
bus station and car park, hotel and deck-accessed office Walton Group used the acclaimed architect Philip
scheme with ground floor parking. An unattractive area Johnson to prepare a shopping mall proposal hidden
of grass created a long walk from the shops to the inside a futuristic membrane roof superstructure. The
overbearing Strand Street ring road which must be mall suggested a link between the main shopping streets
crossed to get to the regenerated Albert Dock and and the Albert Dock. It included the bus station, but left
waterfront (Fig. 22). the neighbouring hotel on Paradise Street. In design
In 1995 the RIBA published the results from a design terms the Philip Johnson project is significant because
competition supported by the city council and the then of its form and the council’s reaction to it. It is
Merseyside Development Corporation to get ideas for essentially an innovative structure hiding a configura-
redevelopment in this area. With no real client the tion of spaces which the council did not see contributing
results were an array of more or less bland open spaces, to the wider regeneration of the area. It would have been
buildings and bridges which wrapped around and hid an iconic scheme by a star architect which theory
the worst of the bus station and offices which then suggests the city council should have been delighted to
comprehensive scheme. In this respect competitiveness

was being defined in regional terms, with Liverpool
losing shoppers from within the region to Manchester,
the Trafford Centre and Chester. This report coincided
with the change in council leadership and, a year later,
the establishment of Liverpool Vision. Liverpool had
been described as an economic basket case (interviews).
Despite this Grosvenor, the ultimate developer of the
Liverpool One project, were impressed by the potential
of the city illustrated in the findings of the study and the
new governance within the city. As such they responded
to an invitation from the council to form a partnership to
Fig. 22. Chavasse Park during the 1990s. progress development in the area. Critically the city did
not want the see ‘‘thrown together’’ master plans at this
accept. Their rejection of this scheme was a critical stage, preferring instead to work with developers
moment. In a city desperate for investment this scheme prepared to do the ground work to understand the
was rejected because the form of the scheme did not complexities of what were at this stage an undefined site
suggest wider benefits. and context.
In 1999 the city council published an urban design The master plan reflects the principles outlined in the
study for a wider area which became known as the city’s urban design study discussed above, but also
Paradise Street Development Area which contained embraces a number of additional qualities. Firstly the city
advice running contrary to the architect’s vision, but council wanted the scheme to be completed in one phase
which did embrace urban design thinking. The city so that it would not be possible for the developer to walk
wanted to: away from subsequent development. Secondly the
project is designed around the shortest walking distance
‘‘retain listed buildings and other buildings of interest between Marks and Spencer on Church Street, and two
and character; new anchor stores currently occupied by Debenhams
retain at least some of the pre-existing street pattern; and John Lewis (Fig. 23). This led to the expensive but
maximise ‘permeability’ over a 24-h period; interesting development of a new arcade breaking
reinforce the character of the city centre, especially through Church Street and constrained in scale by the
the physical and commercial link with the sea; location of the Bluecoat Chamber, an arts centre located
respond to the ‘scale and massing’ of buildings and in the oldest building in Liverpool city centre (Fig. 24).
the ‘metropolitan character’ of Liverpool; Thirdly Grosvenor were keen to develop the project so
exploit the changes in level across the site (there is a that it could be readily redeveloped in stages should
. . .11 metre. . . fall, reflecting the route of the original areas fail. This led to the development of individual
inlet around which Liverpool was built); buildings albeit built on one superstructure of parking
create ‘active perimeter frontages’, such as shop and servicing. Fourthly the scheme had to move people
fronts rather than blank walls;
provide full access from the main shopping route of
Church Street;
relocate any business or activity that is inappropriate
for the redeveloped site;
create high quality, open, public space;
create links to neighbouring districts, such as the
Rope Walks, the central business district and the
waterfront.’’ (Littlefield, 2009, p. 22).
A study of the retail potential of Liverpool by the

consultancy Healy and Baker noted that Liverpool had
fallen behind regional rivals in terms of its retailing
offer, and pointed to sites around to the south of Church Fig. 23. The Liverpool One masterplan shortest walking distances
Street and Chavasse Park as providing the potential for a between anchor stores.
Fig. 24. The Bluecoat Arts Centre.
though a number of levels to maximise the potential of the

site. This uses the landform, car park lifts and escalators
to move people from two levels of shops to higher level
leisure uses, restaurants and the public open space. The
scheme embraces a new public open space on the site of
Chavasse Park, built over the car park and reflecting a
long held belief that the city centre needed an open space
in this location. The scheme is unapologetically mixed
use with a diversity of functions arranged around a core of
retail activity focussed on both Paradise and South John
Street (Fig. 25). Shops are on the ground floor with leisure
activities and residential uses on higher floors. A new
hotel links the project to the Albert Dock. The scheme has
been designed by 26 architecture firms working on 30 Fig. 25. Pattern of use in Liverpool One.
buildings (Fig. 26). This creates an unprecedented
amount of variety for a project of this scale, but
ultimately the variety is tied into a coherent master plan The city council appointed a dedicated urban
which unites the form. Most critically the development designer to work on its behalf to progress the
reflects a series of other desire lines with streets development with the City Centre Development Team.
connecting in direct routes through the site to neighbour- The original master plan was described as extremely
ing locations. These routes tend to have a high degree of prescriptive and contained details of building heights,
active frontage, although frontages to the east have been uses and floor areas. Four buildings around the Bluecoat
sacrificed around the bulky car park neighbouring the Chamber were also designed in detail to set an
John Lewis store (Fig. 27). exemplary development standard, whilst also providing
The scheme generated some controversy when the early space for uses being relocated from elsewhere in
owner of Quiggins, a building of youth oriented stalls the scheme (Fig. 28). This master plan was used as a
and boutiques refused to cooperate with the compulsory basis for the compulsory purchase procedure, and was
purchase order served on the site. Quiggins was also awarded outline planning consent. Architects were
certainly a distinctive use benefiting from what was then selected by the developer and city council and
an edge of centre location, and providing a valuable worked to the brief created by the master plan. The
location for alternative low cost businesses. It was a urban designer employed by the city council could then
telling conflict when one of the UK’s most successful work in partnership with colleagues in Grosvenor to
development companies supported by the local author- ensure the qualities being sought were realised
ity attempted to oust a use which did not conform to the throughout the design process, rather than merely
development vision. Subsequently a very similar reacting to schemes being submitted for subsequent
business space opened on Renshaw Street nearby, consents. Projects were submitted to a special working
dissipating the conflict. group of councillors rather than the full planning
Fig. 26. Various views from new streets in Liverpool One. Top left: Route to the Albert Dock. Top right: reintroduced South John Street towards John
Lewis. Bottom left: Paradise Street towards Rope Walks. Bottom right: College Lane looking west towards Paradise Street. John Lewis is closing the
view on the left.
Fig. 27. Connectivity through Liverpool One.
committee. This process was as seamless as possible scheme, the One Park West residential tower designed
creating certainty for the developer that a scheme by Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects. The original building
submitted for detailed approval would be able to was reduced in height so it did not overwhelm the
proceed. Interestingly, from within the development setting of the Three Graces on the Liverpool waterfront
team there was a concern that architects were a little (Fig. 29).
overwhelmed by the prescriptive nature of the master It is an important scheme for a number of reasons.
plan and that maybe they could have been encouraged to Firstly it marks a clear shift from mall style
challenge the master plan a little more to create more developments being imported into city centre streets
interesting buildings. English Heritage also, however, in the UK, and instead a reversion to a more open street
challenged the scale of one of the larger elements of the system. This is aligned to urban design thinking, but is
with the early sites and development briefs and also the
RIBA competition. You are rewarded with a form of
development which far exceeds even the latter’s
unfettered expectations. Finally and critically it is
important because the project has involved moving
ownership of 42 acres of a city centre to private
ownership for 250 years. The tendency to privatise is not
new. Shopping centres have existed for some time in the
UK and similar rules apply to their use. What is
interesting here has been the success of urban designers
in arguing for an open street system. This has created
the impression of public streets from which many
people will benefit for 24 h of the day. The difference is
how they are managed.
In Liverpool it is hard to judge if this has resulted in
very severe social consequences. As you walk the
streets it is difficult to see the moment that you move
from one type of space to another, although it is possible
Fig. 28. The Bling Bling Building by CZWG Architects contains the to note the more managed and manicured nature of the
Herberts hair salon and training centre, and was one of the first Liverpool One scheme, whilst uniformed staff appear to
buildings to emerge from the development. Schemes like this were oversee the comings and goings in the streets. On the
used to set the standard for subsequent phases.
positive side this has allowed the vested interests of the
developer/land owner to be harnessed to motivate
the ‘‘mall without walls’’ criticised by Minton (2006, ongoing management, maintenance and cleaning in the
2009). This was done to future proof the scheme and interests of both businesses and general street users.
allows phases to be redeveloped. It also reduced There is a focus on these streets that a city council
reliance on anchor stores which might be prone to fail. simply cannot justify as resources must be spread across
There was also a concern that the middle classes in so many areas of service. The quality and maintenance
particular do not like the contrived and controlled nature of the landscaping and planting in the new public space
of mall type schemes (interview). Secondly the very exceed that elsewhere; and this is in a city that has often
open nature of the process through which the project seen well intentioned projects vandalised. Compared to
developed is also interesting. At the start no site had the rest of the city centre this area is commercial, but is
been established, and in a sense the project works it exclusive and are people being socially filtered? An
through a rigorous urban design and development Office Service Charge brochure states clearly that
analysis to determine the possibilities and the extent of ‘‘[l]ocal and model bylaws apply to Liverpool ONE,
the site. It is interesting to compare the resulting scheme leading to the elimination of anti-social elements such
as vagrants and beggars.’’ What might be embraced in
the notion of anti-social may be spelt out somewhere
(the owners would not share this despite requests) but
the normal user of the streets would have no idea, and it
may be left to the discretion of the security as to how the
rules are interpreted. One might imagine that it is a more
tightly defined notion given the level of surveillance
and management here, but Liverpool also has local
bylaws in place covering the entire city centre stopping
skateboarding, cycling, trading and touting. Still the
majority of the people here are shopping or hanging out,
just as in any normal street, but work needs to be done to
examine the implications of such a tendency, and
whether they are severe enough to warrant concern.
Interestingly the centre was accepted as part of a tuition
Fig. 29. One Park West by Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects. fee protest route used by about 2000 students during
2011, and videos on You Tube have indicated that shops They undertook no market research but saw the potential
in the centre have been targeted by protests relating to of former commercial buildings for mixed use conversion
trading ethics. (interview). Essentially they pursued developments
which reflected their own preferences, typically on sites
6.3. Rope Walks with very low values. They were creative and committed
enough to break free from the then narrow view of what
In the neighbouring Rope Walks area it is evident that would work commercially, and they embraced the value
the character of the area has determined a very different of design. Here the site was totally derelict, but just off a
approach to design and development. An existing connecting street to the commercially active Bold Street.
pattern of east west streets has been supplemented by Their mixed use project was finished in 1995. It
improved north-south movement and a number of new combined flexible commercial spaces on the ground
squares. This is an unfinished place of piecemeal floor with 18 apartments above. Most critically it was
developments within a completed landscape framework. built around a new privately managed public space which
In the late 1980s developers Charterhouse Estates almost instantly became a new focal point in the city.
bought many compulsorily purchased buildings in the Concert Square became Liverpool’s example of the value
area between Duke Street and Bold Street from the city of public space; but a new type of space created and
council (for an extensive discussion of planning work in managed for eating and drinking. It was an early example
the area see Couch & Dennemann, 2000). Their plan of the reintroduction of living spaces back into city
was to establish a cultural quarter in the area in response centres within the UK. It also revalorised neighbouring
to similar schemes in Glasgow and Sheffield, and to use buildings and led to a significant rise of property values
the creative industries to help regenerate the area. The within the vicinity (Fig. 30). It is the scale of intervention
company did their own urban design analysis which and investment which suited a historic context, but which
they published. It emphasised the value of Bold and could not have been anticipated by policy or guidance at
Duke Streets and the potential role of nodes or junctions the time. Since then it is a precedent which many have
in the area, but due to the property recession at the start learnt from.
of the 1990s the company went into receivership. Piecemeal development and adhoc initiatives con-
In 1993 Tom Bloxham and Jonathon Falkingham tinued to occur in the affordable spaces in the area. Most
established Urban Splash, a regeneration company significant was probably the establishment of Cream at
which initially developed sites in both Manchester and the Nation club night (Fig. 31) in buildings on the north-
Liverpool and immediately left its mark on the cities. In east side of Wolfstenholme Square. The national
Liverpool the company saw the potential of a rundown emergence of club culture formalised a green-field
site in the same area between Wood Street, Fleet Street rave culture of the early 1990s and brought it back into
and Concert Street and promoted a vision for the future city spaces. The success of Cream bought thousands of
of such sites which subsequently resonated throughout young people to the run down spaces in this part of the
the UK. This company is interesting because the owners city and spawned a range of related bars and smaller
took a positive attitude towards cities and urban life. venues within the vicinity at the lower end of Fleet
Fig. 30. Concert Square by Urban Splash.

The partnership commissioned a Public Realm

Handbook (Liverpool Ropewalks Partnership, n.d.).
Essentially an urban design strategy, the document
proposed a coordinated approach to the development of
the public realm in the area. It suggested the need to
introduce other new spaces into the fabric of the area, as
well as create north-south linkages to help people move
between Bold and Duke Streets (Fig. 32). Critically it
built on the success of Concert Square, and refers to
similar schemes such as Temple Bar in Dublin,
Castlefields in Manchester and public realm work in
Leeds. The whole public realm programme took over a
Fig. 31. Cream at the Nation, Wolfstenholme Square. decade to implement, but the approach also became a
model which informed other initiatives in the city.
Street and also at the northern end of Slater Street. More recently the city council approved a supple-
This was a very local bottom-up initiative which mentary planning document (Liverpool City Council,
took advantage of the availability of affordable and 2005). This is exemplary in linking back to the
unspectacular spaces in this part of the city. development planning policy context and the city’s
In 1994 the city council and English Partnerships, the design guide, elaborating general planning and design
English government’s regeneration agency, commis- policies specifically for the area and then applying these
sioned a regeneration strategy for the area and in 1997 through specific advice to more closely defined areas of
John Thompson Partnership ran a community planning character. The precedents set by earlier projects in the
weekend to develop an action plan and implementation area, including the urban space schemes and piecemeal
strategy with local stakeholders. This document and contemporary mixed use buildings, have certainly
procedure (based on the north American Urban Design informed the commitment to design and development
Action Team approach) was subsequently lauded. This quality, assisted by a more stringent conservation area
informed an Integrated Action Plan produced in 1997 setting.
(Liverpool City Council and English Partnerships, New public spaces have become a setting for some
1997). This itself led to the formation of what became decent buildings which, although typically very
known as the Rope Walks Partnership, a partnership contemporary, are an object lesson in how to relate
organisation set up to manage the implementation of such buildings to historic forms, whilst also acknowl-
the plan. This partnership approach reflected the edging the very vivid character of this area. Buildings
complex nature of interests in the area. here are located at the back of pavement and vary in
scale, but tend to be on relatively narrow plots, just as
you might imagine early warehouse developments
(Fig. 33). The area has tended towards residential led
Fig. 32. Rope Walks spatial strategy from the Liverpool Rope Walks
Public Realm Handbook (Liverpool Ropewalks Partnership no date). Fig. 33. Rope Walks character in Argyle Street.
Fig. 34. The Tea Factory.

Fig. 35. Connectivity between the new squares in Rope Walks.
mixed use developments to the south; restaurants, to the former Saint Peter’s Catholic Church which has
creative and professional industries in the centre; bars subsequently been converted to a bar (Fig. 36). A range
and night-clubs to the north and west; and Chinatown of impressive infill schemes and renovations to former
related projects to the east. These types of development warehouse buildings in Henry Street leads down to
reflect clearly the changing nature of the urban Campbell Square; a new square surrounded by
population highlighted in the entrepreneurial literature. commercial uses on the ground floor but which also
Notable developments include the FACT centre (an has a more domestic character (Fig. 37). The introduc-
alternative cinema and gallery space) and Tea Factory tion of these small squares has provided a focus for
(a mixed use commercial office space which is now renewal and given building users some aspect. They
home to RIBA in the North West) on Wood Street build on the early successes of Concert Square and its
(Fig. 34). The FACT centre in particular has been given lesson of the value of public space, although the spaces
a setting and access to the footfall on the shopping street vary in their character, and closely reflect their
Bold Street by the creation of a through route, Rope neighbouring uses.
Walks Square, which also opened up the opportunity of These lessons have also been adhered to in the
development around Arthouse Square (Fig. 35). Saint development of the East Village Estate in the southern
Peter’s Square has created a new focal point at the corner of Rope Walks (Fig. 38). This comprehensive
centre of the area for the Tea Factory and design studios scheme built between Kent and Cornwallis Streets
to the north and west. It also provides a low key setting was built by a private developer, a house builder, a
Fig. 36. Saint Peters Square.

Fig. 37. Campbell Square.
community college and a housing association. It enough, and this is despite the recent record of investment
contains a college training centre, apartment blocks in the area (interview). So it is still possible after a decade
for rent or joint ownership, workspaces, shops and cafes of intense development to walk through the new squares
in a dense mixed use project arranged in part around two into neighbouring streets and think that little has occurred
squares internal to the block. One could criticise the here, or that progress is slower than it might be.
privatisation of space in that as you enter it is clearly
spelt out that these are privately owned and managed 6.4. The Fourth Grace
areas, but they are new spaces additional to the street
network and also domestic squares in the heart of the In the UK, despite the amount of talk about iconic
city. The form of the scheme invites you in as a member buildings, few actually come to mind. Salford has its
of the public, but it does seem appropriate to allow Imperial War Museum by Daniel Libeskind. Newcastle
residents some control over how they might be used. has The Sage by Foster and Partners. Sheffield had the
If there is a problem for the Rope Walks area it is a failed National Centre for Popular Music in a building
result of its recent history. The bulk buying of cheap designed by Nigel Coates. Portsmouth has the
properties in the area means that ownership is vested in Spinnaker Tower by the less well known HGP
too few hands, and that progress can be constrained by Architects. It would be interesting to research how
the whims of too few people. Professionals working in many people know where these buildings are and what
the city are particularly concerned that historic buildings they are used for. Liverpool exploits weekend, cultural
at risk are not coming forward for development quickly tourism through its gallery and museum offer, such as
the new Tate Gallery and Maritime Museum in the
Albert Dock, but it lacked a development which would
draw international attention. The scheme for the Fourth
Grace was a high profile endeavour to achieve this.
The site was Mann Island, which is located on the
waterfront between the existing Three Graces and the
Albert Dock (Fig. 39). Liverpool Vision acted as a client
for an initial bidding process to find a scheme for the
site, and they requested a radical design. A design
competition was used to encourage attention to design
early in the process of thinking about schemes. The call
drew 17 expressions of interest from developer-led
consortiums. At this time Building magazine reported
concerns that despite aspirations for an iconic element
to the scheme that the low demand to develop here
‘‘. . .meant that a radical scheme was unlikely. . .’’. The
Fig. 38. East Village Estate. value of the project at this stage was reported to be £80
Fig. 40. The Cloud by Alsop Architects.

Fig. 39. Mann Island site.
million (Anonymous, 2002, p. 12). The role of iconic building. The scheme also included a landscape
architecture was made evident in the Capital of Culture proposal to integrate an extension to the Leeds and
bidding process when both Liverpool and Birmingham Liverpool Canal and embrace the existing buildings. At
released radical building plans, with Liverpool pre- this time the quoted cost of the development was up to
senting short-listed schemes for this site by Alsop £225 million (Gates, 2002). In November 2003 the
Architects (Countryside Properties and Neptune), Architects’ Journal reported that the uses of the building
Edward Cullinan Architects (David McLean and the had still not yet been decided but that a windfall of £82
Downing Group), Foster and Partners (Urban Splash million of European Objective One funding was being
and Royal Bank of Scotland) and Richard Rogers earmarked for this project and also the neighbouring
Partnership (Chelsfield and Capital and Provident). Kings Dock development to ensure their implementa-
There is a certain ambiguity in the brief with their uses tion (Anonymous, 2003). Then in July 2004 the project
varying, although each included a space to accom- was shelved. Finally the project was claimed to be
modate what then was known as the Museum of unviable, with asserted costs increasing from £228
Liverpool Life (Booth & Gates, 2002). Three of the million to £324 million. Building Design asked if this
projects took on a very comprehensive character, with was the ‘‘[e]nd of the iconic age?’’ following the failure
Building magazine wondering if all would eclipse their of similarly radical schemes to raise funds typically
more demure neighbours, describing the designs as from the public sector or UK Heritage Lottery Fund.
flamboyant, ostentatious, exuberant and huge (Leftly, The failure of the scheme was controversial and
2002). None of the illustrated plans really explained shrouded in ambiguity. Architects started to question
how the building forms would result in a convivial the contribution that such buildings make to the cities in
public realm in a location where the quality of the public which they rest (Hurst et al., 2004, p. 1) whilst others
realm really matters. criticised the loss of good architecture within a context
The Alsop Architects’ scheme (Fig. 40) was selected where new developments have only been mediocre
in December 2002 following an exhibition at the Walker (Gates, 2004). Certainly the concerns reported in
Art Gallery at which 15,000 visitors voted for their Building at the start of the process appear to have
favourite scheme. Their favourite was by Fosters and been realised with inadequate private sector interest in
Partner but their views were ignored. The Alsop scheme the location and the form of the development, whilst the
was considered the most original, although few could so called iconic design and ambiguous mix did not allay
find words to describe its character. Paul Finch in the their fears.
Architects’ Journal described it as a ‘‘flying saucer Interestingly there is a lack of clarity in how any of
structure’’ (Finch, 2002, p. 6). It contained three these schemes are discussed. The urban design agenda
elements: The Hill, an exhibition space and auditorium, has its principles, and over the decade these have been
The Cloud which was the main structure of somewhat translated into a language that should allow people to
undefined use, and Living, a nineteen storey apartment talk about the merits of schemes using criteria of
concern to urban designers. In contrast architecture spectacular views from within. The Broadway Malyan
would seem to have failed to find a public language to buildings are clad in black granite. Much is being made
match the evolution of building forms and ideas, whilst of this, and it will contrast with the Portland stone used
any effort to discuss the impact of such schemes seems in the Port of Liverpool and Cunard buildings.
shrouded in mystery. Reading about the Fourth Grace Ultimately although the form is original, the building
project there is the language of I like it or I don’t like it, plans are less interesting. If this area is to be a success
blob or flying saucer and the lure of building forms and the commercial uses on the ground floor will ultimately
ideas that have not been seen before (Booth & Gates, be what make it interesting. People will spend as much
2002). Ultimately the site probably means this scheme time staring at unusual building forms in the street as
only really matters in visual terms to the vast majority of they will spend staring at works of art in a gallery. What
people. This left architects discussing if any of the will keep them there will be the chance to have a drink,
proposed projects were only landmarks or actually eat some food, shop and maybe watch people going by.
iconic (Gates, 2002). This seems such a self indulgent It is a little unclear if this will become a location people
and expensive conversation to have in a city which has will be particularly drawn towards.
such poverty. It remains unclear exactly how and why so
much public funding should be pushed into projects 6.5. Old Hall Street
which merely try and deliver a certain image, whilst
other developments confirm that Liverpool’s real city The absence of any significant commercial office
centre renewal has been occurring elsewhere despite the development in the city has clearly been a concern, but
high profile nature of this project, and the amounts of the Strategic Regeneration Framework (Liverpool
public money being promised for it. Vision and Skidmore Owings and Merrill, 2000)
Of course the idea to develop the site did not go emphasised the potential of focussing commercial
away, and the plan to build a new museum for Liverpool office development along Old Hall Street, improving
on the site part owned by National Museums Liverpool connections with neighbouring Princes Dock and also
also remained intact. Consequently a more moderate promoting the comprehensive redevelopment of the site
scheme has emerged. A museum designed by 3XM cost behind the former Exchange Station (Fig. 42). This lack
£65 million. Next door Countryside Properties and of investment along Old Hall Street left it dominated by
Neptune have worked with architects Broadway rather tired 60s and 70s comprehensive office schemes
Malyan to design and build a mixed use residential, such as the Littlewoods Building (from 1962), Liver-
offices and leisure scheme (Fig. 41). The scheme pool Daily Post and Echo building (1970–4) and the
remains very contemporary in form, and has fuelled
concern within UNESCO about the impact of such
forms on the integrity of the World Heritage Site in
which they sit. The irregular forms of all of these new
buildings offer a sharp contrast with the regularity and
massing of the existing Three Graces. The museum
closes one side of the Pierhead and offers the chance for
Fig. 41. The final Mann Island scheme includes the Liverpool Muse-
um by 3XM Architects and a mixed use development by Broadway Fig. 42. The Commercial Quarter highlighted in the Strategic Regen-
Malyan. eration Framework.
Royal and Sun Alliance Building (1972–6). The latter

has 3 storeys of car parking at ground floor level, and
toyed with pedestrian access at deck level. The street
has, however, seen somewhat of a transformation.
Public realm works have been completed by the city
council. There has been the development of ground
floor retailing which has animated the streets closer to
the city centre. The refurbishment of the Royal and Sun
Alliance Building and rebranding as the Capital
Building has updated the street image. Two new towers
contribute to the skyline but their use is dominated by
living spaces. The Beetham Tower is on Old Hall Street
and is 38 storeys, containing a hotel and 132 apartments.
Fig. 44. The Unity building from Rumford Street.
On Brook Street Beetham also developed the 40 storey
West Tower. This contains basement parking, 5 storeys
of office accommodation and 127 apartments (Fig. 43). scheme in the area (Fig. 45). The value of convivial
This latter scheme has such a small plot for its scale it public spaces as a setting for office developments was
interestingly has little impact on the streetscape within established in Broadgate in the City of London, and then
its immediate vicinity. Unfortunately its immediate emphasised in the much lauded development of
context is King Edward Street, a 6 lane road which Brindley Place in Birmingham. Here the scheme is
remains the antithesis of an attractive urban boulevard. far less ambitious in urban design terms, but a new
Close by is also The Unity building at 20, Chapel Street public space is the focus for the creation of a three phase
(Fig. 44). This contains two lower towers in a sensitive mixed use scheme of offices, retailing, restaurants,
location within the vicinity of the Liver Building and apartments and car parking. When completed two
Our Lady and St Nicholas church (Liverpool’s parish
church), but higher than the Atlantic Tower hotel. They
form an ensemble which has reinvigorated both the
skyline and also critically the streets in this area. This
development has come to symbolise the recent
renaissance in the city by updating a much photo-
graphed view. Both towers come down to form a
coherent frontage with ground floor retailing or
restaurant spaces. These tall buildings were dealt with
in an adhoc way, in terms of their impact on the historic
skyline and views. They fuelled the concern for proper
guidance to developers about tall buildings within the
UNESCO World Heritage area, as previously discussed.
East of Old Hall Street the new mixed use
development at St Paul’s Square is probably the flagship
Fig. 45. St Paul’s Square development in front of the Plaza (the former
Fig. 43. The Beetham and West Towers and the Unity Building. Littlewoods Building).
bedroom apartments here were for sale for around Design Guide reflects the language of By Design.
£150,000, whilst there was a government supported Fig. 46 illustrates this, but also tries to suggest how the
shared equity scheme operating for people on a low substance of the guide might link to notions of public
income and key workers. This allowed a split of 70:30 interest reflected in the physical form of development.
ownership, bringing prices down to just over £100,000 Whilst some commentators might see the inevitable
for people who were eligible. The combined effects of outcomes of entrepreneurial forms of governance and
the social housing sector developing in the city centre development, others will see efforts to protect and
and the effects of such shared equity schemes possibly enhance the cherished local scene, provide a choice of
help to bring such homes within the financial reach of a means and mode of movement and transport, reduce
wider spectrum of people, helped also one would environmental impacts, create perceived and real safety
imagine by relatively low initial land values. for users, clarify the distinction between public and
After decades of stagnation the office market in the private realms, encourage personalisation, promote
city became more buoyant, and in 2007 the highest economic vitality and viability, encourage aesthetic
specification office spaces reached a critical target price diversity and comfort, help people find their way
of £20 per square foot. Subsequently this has fallen back around, protect investment values and maintain and
reflecting national trends. There also remains a concern promote economic interdependency.
that larger offices tend to be let to public sector This clash of perspectives reflects the middle way
organisations (for example the UK Border Agency in which Punter referred to when he discussed the Labour
the Capital Building). Without demand it is hard to see a government’s search for a balance between regulation
larger project for the master planned commercial and deregulation. Essentially we see the emergence of
quarter progressing quickly despite the good intentions. an urban design agenda which regulates to secure some
The work to Old Hall Street and the development of St features of development in the public interest, and this
Paul’s Square certainly present a more convivial and comes into conflict with or is distorted by other
interesting streetscape. The image of the area has been development objectives. This is a manifestation of the
updated, and the greater mixing of uses has certainly janus-faced condition of the urban design professions
stimulated the vitality of the area. In urban design terms referred to by Knox (2011), although the progressive
it remains critical that the authorities hold their nerve agenda evident in the principles has become manifest in
and remain patient enough to get forms of development Liverpool, and development forms have been distorted
that reflect the vision contained in the masterplan, or at as a result of public sector intervention, not least in
least a form of development that remains in the spirit of Liverpool One. Critically we see the fuzzy way in which
what they hope to achieve. a quality public realm which urban designers celebrate
might also be viewed as both benefiting a wider public
7. Entrepreneurial governance and urban design but also as a territory which powerful private interests
in Liverpool try and control, not least through privatisation. The
ability to own, shape and manage the public realm does
Previous studies have clearly linked a notion of allow private interests to distort the nature of places in
entrepreneurial forms of governance to forms of urban their own interests, and this may, in the process,
design practice, procedure and product. The entrepre- disadvantage people. We are reminded that urban
neurial city is littered with flagship projects, iconic design is not enough to secure the qualities of a city’s
architecture, reimaging and rebranding initiatives, the environment, but also that ownership and management
privatisation of public space and evidence of gentrifica- regimes also have a significant influence over the nature
tion. Yet urban designers are not always aware of this of places.
agenda as they work to deliver what they see as a more It is significant that in Liverpool the Council tried to
progressive perspective on the public realm. Has be more business facing and investment friendly, but it
Liverpool emerged through a period to now firmly also seems significant that the city centre has received a
demonstrate these qualities, or how might we otherwise diverse range of investments. In terms of retailing the
explain the forms of development emerging? competition is regional, with Liverpool trying to regain
The development of urban design thinking in the UK its share of shoppers from the North West of England
is organised around a discourse which embraces a clear and North Wales. In terms of students the universities
lineage back to Anglo-American origins in a wider are competing for students from various markets, from
literature. By Design could almost be accused of the local to the international. The office offer is
plagiarising this thinking, whilst the Liverpool Urban conservative for a city of Liverpool’s size, and it would
Anglo
Responsive
American By Design Liverpool Urban Design Guide Notion of public interest
Environments
Origins*
Visual Character areas, valued buildings, style
Wolff, Bonta, Protecting and enhancing the cherished
Appropriateness/ Character scale and context, landmarks, skylines,
Jacobs local scene
Variety views
Through movement, density near public

transport, public transport information, • Choice of means and mode of
Ease of priority to sustainable transport, priority to transport.
Sennett, movement walking and cycling, innovative parking, • Reducing environmental impact.
Alexander Permeability meeting needs of people with sensory • Safety
impairments
Jacobs • Clarity of ownership and
responsibility
Continuous street frontages and
Continuity and • Personalisation
boundaries, permeability, fronts and
enclosure
backs, building lines, street planting
Street life, open space, activity, natural • Urban (economic and social) vitality
Krampen Quality of the
Richness surveillance, visual richness, public art, • Safety
Gombrich public realm
lighting, streetscape, street furniture • Aesthetic diversity and comfort
Lynch, Sitte,
Routes, landmarks, views, signage, focal
Bacon, Cullen Legibility Legibility • Ability to find your way around
points, avoiding clutter
Unwin
• Protection of investment value
Whyte, Of public realm, of built form, energy • Reducing environmental impact
Robustness Adaptability
Alexander efficient adaptation, reserve sites • Protecting and adapting the cherished
local scene
• Urban vitality
• Reducing environmental impact
Sennett, Jacobs Mix of people, mix of uses, appropriate • Safety
Variety Diversity
Barnett densities, visual diversity • Maintaining and promoting economic
interdependency and sustainability
• Aesthetic diversity and comfort
* These authors are selected from Responsive Environments and are not a comprehensive list.
Fig. 46. The continuity of urban design thinking: from theory to Liverpool’s planning and design guidance.
seem hard to argue that the city is competing is repositioning itself globally to attract inward invest-
internationally for companies to take the space. Tourism ment. Instead it seems more appropriate to reflect that
would seem to focus at a variety of scales as well, investment has been directed to forms of development
although we could assume that as a regional city which meet or encourage the development of a range of
Liverpool would attract visitors from across the UK for competitive markets. Liverpool is repositioning itself
short visits for tourism, night clubbing or football, and locally, regionally and nationally and possibly least of all
possibly fewer international visitors staying for a longer globally, making any reference to repositioning as a
period. It is recognised as a city you would stay in for one strategy a little ambiguous. This is probably a conclusion
of two days on a larger tour or for a conference (Tourism that can be generalised to other regional cities in the UK.
Solutions and ACK Tourism, 2004). Interestingly, in The extent to which UNESCO has bounced the city
relation to housing and living Liverpool is certainly in into producing more guidance for sites around the
competition with its metropolitan area, with the forms of World Heritage site might suggest that the city has
housing offering an alternative city centre market to the wanted to limit constraints on developers, but this view
inner neighbourhoods or sub-urban offer. Similarly the is also complicated by the reluctance of the Government
development of the night-time economy in areas like Office to allow more guidance attributable to an out-of-
Ropewalks, although attracting and serving some over- date plan. The tourism potential of such a heritage status
night or weekend visitors, would appear to be targeted can be aligned to the competitiveness discourse, but in
mainly at the local population, reflecting and evolving urban design terms it also reflects a concern for the
from recent cultural trends. In the case of Liverpool it protection of local and regional identity, and in some
seems a little overstated or simplistic to argue that the city respects is an outcome of the success of conservation
policies introduced to protect the cherished local scene. or landscaping. It also is not introverted or fragmented.
It seems hard to judge or interpret exactly if the Instead the scheme ties this area of the city back
constraint on development imposed by listed buildings together. People coming here do not enter an invented
in, for example, the commercial area, might be viewed model of reality or a place with a theme park
as part of a neo-liberal agenda to attract affluent tourists. atmosphere, although its management means that some
Prosaic conservation arguments merely to protect might consider it sanitised. It seems doubtful that
significant good quality buildings might offer more anyone other than an informed critic might, however,
of an insight. draw such a conclusion. The scheme is an interesting
In Liverpool the evidence tells us that new urban design solution to an urban design problem, but
developments have typically been on derelict brown- achieved using controversial compulsory purchase
field sites, in underutilised commercial and often powers, and with management and control now
historic buildings and fitted around existing inner area unaccountable to wider non-consumer public interests.
residential communities. Within a context of relatively Liverpool’s largest projects have been flagships by
severe deprivation and an oversupply of affordable virtue of their use and scale. The new shopping centre
homes any development might gentrify, but we can also contains contemporary buildings and has a fascinating
note that housing associations have been active in the contextual design, but it is not iconic. Tall buildings are
centre either exclusively or in partnership with private controversial and frame the waterfront view of the
developers. The introduction of private apartments has Three Graces, but they exploit the commercial potential
probably managed to re-balance the mix of people of their positions without being very memorable. The
living in, but particularly around the city centre. only attempt at something iconic failed. The Fourth
One area where the city might by more firmly Grace project is not particularly significant within the
criticised is around the issue of the privatisation of context of the city centre’s development or how it would
public space. The area of Liverpool One is an addition have been used, and it can be quickly forgotten.
to this trend, but it is a significant area both in terms of Searching for endeavours to reimage a city is
size and also location and it adds to large existing interesting, and Liverpool has a clear branding strategy
docklands areas. What is interesting is the emerging for how it presents itself in, for example the tourist
distinction between the apparent nature of the urban media, but is there a relationship between this and urban
forms on one-hand and ownership and management design? If, as a by product of urban design endeavours
practices on the other. Open streets suggest publicness. people feel an improvement to the place, and the
But these streets are built onto a mega (servicing and car meanings that they attach to a place change, then there
parking) structure and heavily managed to meet the is a connection, and of course the meanings may be
needs of the property owners. Such a scheme might, on good or bad. It does not seem correct, however, to
the surface, please urban designers, but the nature of the suggest that rebranding is the end in itself where a
emerging spaces may be compromised by the lack of commitment to urban design is concerned. Such a
public accountability for decisions that owners make conclusion would belie the origins and objectives of the
about management. field, and merely reduce urban space to a field of
The scale of the problem in the Paradise Street area competing meanings. Whilst this might be possible and
can only really be understood with clear reference back interesting as an academic exercise, urban design must
through the recent history of the site and with an occur in the real world and must confront possibly more
understanding of just what impact the forms of post-war pressing objectives of people enshrined in the principles
comprehensive development had on the site and its of urban design.
wider context. Whilst some might question the scale of More generally it is important to acknowledge the
this Liverpool One development, it has certainly contribution that basic urban design concepts have had in
resolved a long term problem of re-linking the city shaping both strategies and developments on the ground.
centre with the waterfront and the Rope Walks area, and Put bluntly, urban design theory has worked hard to
its architectural diversity is to be applauded. It has also justify forms of development which are permeable,
significantly improved the quality of the spaces that legible, offer mixed uses and give far greater attention to
people can experience whether they are shopping or not. the conviviality of the public realm. Post-war develop-
Rhetorical adjectives to describe it as placeless, ments in Liverpool had few of these qualities, and so it is a
escapist, fake or synthetic seem somewhat exaggerated. welcome trend to see the form of Liverpool One, the
There are some normalising tendencies in the retailing opening of streets and the introduction of new spaces in
brands, but there is no homogeneity in the architecture Rope Walks, and the significant introduction of mixed
use buildings and the enhancement of streets and are somewhat tangential. It is certainly possible to
spaces across the city centre, including in the Old Hall create good jobs in places that design might appear to
Street area. have forgotten. Urban designers have also tried to shape
interventions in some of the most deprived places,
8. Conclusion including in Liverpool. Research does confirm that urban
designers have shaped schemes which also try to
This study has explored whether and how forms of reintroduce more affluent people to ‘‘balance’’ commu-
governance affecting a deprived region of the UK have nities and reinvigorate local housing markets (Biddulph,
embraced an urban design agenda through its practices. 2003; Cameron, 2003; Lees, 2008; Roberts, 2007;
In particular the aim was to explore the role that urban Townshend, 2006).
design has established for itself, and reflect on which Given that, as Duany observed, good design can or
explanations account best for the physical forms of should create popular environments there must
development that have emerged. In particular it has inevitably have been some alignment of urban design
been concerned to examine whether an interest in, and thinking to private sector development objectives
the outcomes of urban design can be firmly attributed to where renewal has occurred. Areas of tension remain.
an entrepreneurial turn in urban governance. It is evident that the use of urban design principles has
The study has not involved research of design and reversed some of the negative trends evident in
development decision making, involving for example, a previous forms of retail or commercial office scheme
detailed assessment of the views of stakeholders in but a tension is created when a good piece of urban
progressing schemes through the planning system. It has design in physical terms is owned and controlled by the
focussed on the policy and guidance documents, and private sector, essentially privatising public space. This
assumes that implicit in the form of resulting schemes are is rightly controversial but its consequences remain
the priorities of the decision makers. It is the form of the ambiguous. The case also highlights the impact of
developments that is the legacy to any urban environ- contemporary buildings on a cherished local scene.
ment, as well as how they are used. The approach adopted Here it has been UNESCO that has imposed both a
here has allowed for a wider view of development, rather procedure and good quality urban design guidance onto
than focussing down on the minutiae of discrete the planning system, as a result of World Heritage Site
decisions, although this approach has allowed some of status. This dovetails with the entrepreneurial possi-
the significant controversies to be highlighted. bilities of tourism, but it is not driven or directed by this
In the case of Liverpool it is very evident that the city agenda. We are reminded that built environments host
has embraced an urban design agenda, and that this multiple discourses and meanings, as the semiotic
agenda has been owned and applied by a range of people triangle reminds us. It remains up to the planning
in very different agencies working in the region, system and the agendas presented there to resolve how
although it has been particularly driven by a partnership this comprehensive guidance is interpreted. A degree of
agency rather than the local authority. The work has gentrification has occurred, although to date this has
been aligned to substantive thinking and national policy typically been on empty sites adjacent to existing
and guidance, and it has been delivered through the full communities which have remained intact. The worst
range of tools and procedures available to the planning forms of enclave or gated development have not really
system. This has been a significant development in both appeared in the city centre apart from in discrete
thinking and practice in comparison with previous student schemes for which gating is common. It is,
decades, and the agenda has been driven by a concern however, evident in housing elsewhere in the city where
for the prosperity of the city generally when compared concern for security shapes even the most affordable
to national averages, but also the impact of depopulation schemes. The combination of urban design thinking
and suburbanisation. and control about frontage and sympathetic scale
The desire to attract inward investment is very real, and massing has combined with the existing texture of
and in this case it has not been targeted at the most sites and block structures to generally result in street
deprived neighbourhoods or people. Future work might facing schemes.
examine whether and how urban design endeavours in a It seems a little simplistic to suggest that a city is
city might benefit the poor more directly, although it is engaged in a global game of competing for mobile
thought that studies of more general socio-economic investment and using a certain form of urban design as a
policy might bear greater fruit, as links between basic tool. Many companies developing in Liverpool are
areas of wealth or job creation and urban design locally based and taken as a whole the diverse range of
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Mike Biddulph is Senior Lecturer at the School of City and Regional Planning at Cardiff University. He is most
widely known for his work on liveable streets and his publication ‘‘Home Zones: a planning and design handbook’’
(Policy Press). He has a wider interest in the design of residential areas and has also written ‘‘Introduction to
Residential Layout’’ (Elsevier). As a planner and urban designer he has always had a research interest in how planning
systems can be used to achieve urban design objectives.

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Progress in Planning 76 (2011) 63–103

Urban design, regeneration and the entrepreneurial city

1. Urban design, regeneration and the entrepreneurial city . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

6.3. Rope Walks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

consequences of deindustrialisation? Interestingly the available affordable housing. Gentrification leads to a

walls’’, creating the impression of public space in new

Fig. 2. The objectives of urban design from By Design.

Fig. 3. The aspects of development form from By Design.

Fig. 9. Liverpool Urban Design Guide ‘‘Objectives of Urban Design’’.

Fig. 10. Liverpool City Centre Movement Strategy.

area. The result is a stringent framework for the entire

regeneration discourse during recent decades. Before

Cosmopolitan Housing Association Liverpool 4

Derwent Lodge Liverpool 4

Property Regeneration Homes Ltd Manchester 4

Villagate Properties Ltd Westerham, Kent 4

Urban Splash Manchester 7

Maritime Housing Association Bolton 8

comprehensive scheme. In this respect competitiveness

A study of the retail potential of Liverpool by the

Fig. 24. The Bluecoat Arts Centre.

though a number of levels to maximise the potential of the

Fig. 27. Connectivity through Liverpool One.

Fig. 30. Concert Square by Urban Splash.

The partnership commissioned a Public Realm

Fig. 34. The Tea Factory.

Fig. 36. Saint Peters Square.

Fig. 37. Campbell Square.

Fig. 40. The Cloud by Alsop Architects.

Royal and Sun Alliance Building (1972–6). The latter

Through movement, density near public

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