During September 2018, Ed’s Place popped up in the old George Henry Lee building, Liverpool, to involve people in reimagining Liverpool city centre.

The four-week programme saw 2,000 people thinking creatively about how the city centre can be a better place for everyone. It brought together designers, developers, policy makers, people working for social change, businesses and the wider public.

Throughout the programme, an interactive exhibition explored how Liverpool city centre could be reimagined and revived. People were invited to think about the

future of public spaces and empty buildings.

Events including family activities, a Rotating Debating panel, walking and running tours, design workshops, knit and natter, and memory sharing sessions enabled people to share ideas and learn about the city.

Throughout the programme, we gathered invaluable information, providing a unique insight into what people want Liverpool to be like in the future. This is a summary of our findings.

Ed’s Place was jointly funded by PLACED and the University of Liverpool’s School of Environmental Science.

Ed’s Place

Ed’s Place

Reimagining Liverpool

city centre

Through the exhibition and activities, Ed’s Place provided a unique understanding of people’s priorities for the city centre and how they would improve it.

This includes:

• Those spaces in the city centre which local people feel should be prioritised

• In what way people would like to see areas improved

• How people would like the public realm improved, and what routes are key

• Ideas for how to reuse empty buildings

• What community means to people, and how they feel connected to Liverpool.

We also explored:

• The need for a permanent ‘Ed’s Place’

• What people believe the impact of a space like Ed’s Place would be on the city

• The importance of involving people in the design of the built environment, and their current experiences of trying to share their views.

Ed’s Place was created as an inclusive and welcoming space enabling people to come together and express their ideas, concerns, priorities and experiences.

“We need more places like this so we can work together towards a brighter future.”

- Participant

What did we learn?

What did we learn?

During the 2017 #BetterPlacesTogether campaign with Ed the Campervan we undertook a survey exploring people’s perception of the value of engagement, the benefits of more voices being involved in the design of places and spaces, and people’s experience of engagement.

The results of this survey were convincing and mirror discussions in our wider engagement work. They include:

- Engagement has real potential to have a social impact and increase wellbeing: From community cohesion to an increased sense of ownership, people believe their wellbeing and quality of life would be improved through engagement in their built environment.

- People want to share their views, but don’t believe they will be listened to: People are passionate about the design of places. They want to influence change. However, many do not believe they will be listened to or know how to share their ideas.

- It needs to be a two-way process: People do not expect all their ideas to be implemented but want to understand why decisions are made.

- It’s ‘us and them’: The public often talk about developers, decision makers and designers as ‘them’. They feel ‘they ’ do not understand local issues, and are just out make the greatest profit.

- There needs to be a range of engagement options: We don’t all want to get involved in the same way. We are not all able to attend consultation events, or have knowledge to respond to planning applications. There needs to be more diversity in opportunities to engage.

- People have a great deal of knowledge: Those who use spaces know the challenges that exist, the opportunities, how the space works, who uses it and when. They have ideas about how a space could feel, functions and activities that could work. When combined with the knowledge of professionals, this presents the opportunity to truly create better places.

Why Ed’s Place?

Why Ed’s Place?

“I was struck how inclusive a space it became.

All ages, academics and professionals and some of

the most vulnerable people felt very comfortable

working, talking and just being in the space.”

Part ic ipant

At PLACED, we believe we need to move towards greater dialogue and discussion, bringing people together to have a conversation and develop solutions.

This is why we established Ed’s Place as a pilot. We wanted to explore the value of bringing together those working in the built environment and those who have had no formal engagement. Our vision was for an accessible space where people can learn about their city, share their views and hear those of others in an enjoyable, accessible way.

We wanted to test whether – when combined with other engagement approaches – Ed’s Place would enable more voices to be heard, enable collaboration and be a positive space to help us create better places.

“I am very excited about what PLACED is doing and its potential to mediate between communities, developers and the local authorities. This is what the development control process lacks.”

- Participant

Why Ed’s Place?

Why Ed’s Place?

Our high streets are changing. As long-term occupiers like retail units, churches and banks close, how can we think creatively about the role of high streets in our city?

What about the spaces ‘in-between’? The public squares, streets and parks that join our city together?

And how do we create better places for our city? Do more people need to be involved?

The Ed’s Place exhibition was made up of ten individual activities inviting people to share their ideas on these themes. From voting with ping-pong balls and marbles, to identifying priority spaces on a city map, people were encouraged to get hands on and interactive.

Transforming public spaces

We were interested in what areas of the city centre people feel should be and what they believe should be done in these spaces.

Williamson Square, Bold Street, Lime Street, the Albert Dock and the area around St Johns were some of the spaces in the city centre people feel need to be addressed.

People were eager to see more greening, landscaping, seating, playful spaces, colourful installations and space for people from across different generations to come together.

Visitors also told us they would like green corridors to connect the different areas of the city.

Reimagining our buildings

Many people felt a sense of community had been lost from the city centre. They felt creatively reusing empty buildings could bring people together and address this. From community shops to support services, counselling to doctors, there was a real appetite to rethink what buildings can offer the city.

Many people were keen to see more cultural spaces. Cinemas, exhibition spaces, music and workshops spaces were ideas that featured heavily.

Other key themes for reusing buildings included services and accommodation for homeless people, play spaces for children and youth services.

Our findings

Our findings

What is community?

There was a strong sense that community means a connection between people of a certain location and is something quite abstract. Comments indicate that Liverpool and its “community” appear to be disconnected.

“When people stop and talk in the street or on the bus. It makes me feel part of a community. You can’t find community, you can only be part of it or not. Community is humanity.”

- Participant

Shaping the city

We learned a great deal about people’s experiences of engaging in the design of the city and their views on the importance of being able to shape their city.

When asked about the importance of engaging people in the built environment, 94% of people told is that community input was critical to help shape places and spaces.

However, 76% of people told us that there are currently no or very few opportunities to engage.

Whilst people told us they would

like to engage in their built environment many said they did not know how or didn’t believe that anyone would listen.

“Very keen to see the follow up. It ’s too good not to take the next step.”

- Participant

Thinking about Ed’s Place

We asked ‘What would be the impact for the community if a place like this existed?’ The most frequent answers were:

- Better decisions would be made about developments

- There would be greater accountability from decision makers

- It would break down barriers that prevent them having a voice

- Places would better meet the needs of the community

- It would enable me to give and participate in social and community life

“I’ve loved it! It was very exciting. I’ve not done

anything like this before!”

Jess ie, aged 6

Our findings

Our findings

People have a desire to have closer relationships and accountability to people that make decisions. They want not only to be heard, but to be listened to and considered when decisions about the city are being made. There is a desire for more transparent systems of engagement and more direct conversations with decision makers.

When we asked people whether a place like Ed’s Place should exist in the city centre to talk about places and spaces 92% said ‘Yes’.

• “Brings decision makers into the room with the community”

• “Yes! A permanent space like this would let the community think and share ways to improve the city”

• “Only if people (decision makers) actually listen. People don’t think they have a voice.”

“I was struck how inclusive a space it became. All ages, academics and professionals and some of the most vulnerable people felt very comfortable working, talking and just being in the space.”

- Participant

Our findings

Our findings

Ed’s Place was a great success. We saw 2,000 visitors from a diverse range of groups. People loved the feel of the space, the activities, and the programme.

By ensuring it felt accessible and informal people from all backgrounds could engage; professionals from the built environment sector occupied the space alongside the public.

Those working in the sector found new networks and ideas. Family activity at the weekends provided a safe space for people to come with children. Older people experiencing isolation found companionship through drop in sessions. Those with mental health difficulties commented on how they felt comfortable and safe in the space.

The level of engagement with the activities in the space was very high; the amount of data captured was significant and of high quality. The information provided in this booklet is just a summary of those findings. The full report can be provided by emailing info@placed.org.uk.

We believe Ed’s Place has significant potential to bring people together to create better places.

We are currently exploring options for delivering the next phase of the project. If you would like to be part of the journey, get in touch.

We can also replicate the approach taken at Ed’s Place to involve people in developments and regeneration strategies. From a two day exhibition to a longer pop-up, we can replicate the approach and tools used in Ed’s Place as part of a tailored approach to enable you to undertake meaningful engagement.

Let’s make better places together.

Ed’s Place - What’s next?

“The space improves people’s mental health.

We have autism and like to find places we feel safe.

It’s important to have somewhere like Ed’s Place.”

Part ic ipant

Ed’s Place - What’s next?

The programme would not have been deliverable without sponsorship and support from our partner the University of Liverpool’s School of Environmental Sciences.

Other invaluable support was provided from volunteers in the PLACED network, including Ambassadors, supporters, and notably Ronnie Hughes from Sense of Place.

Securing the space for free was invaluable, and we are grateful to the building owners and Outlier Strategy for making this possible.

In addition, it depended on the commitment and hard work of the small PLACED team.

The support was very much appreciated in realising the vision.

Contact us

We’re always happy to chat about ways that we could work together. If you’re interested in working with us please get in touch.

Call Jo on 07968 237 280

Drop us a line at info@placed.org.uk

Visit www.placed.org.uk

www.facebook.com/place.org @PlacedEd

Thank you

Ed’s Place

Ed’s Place