Category Archives: Community Development

Yours for £1 (not really)

Posted on February 18, 2019 by

It was an eye-catching gimmick, and it did the job, getting media coverage (and me onto the radio (again)). In early February, at a London auction The Postings shopping centre in Kirkcaldy was put up for sale with a reserve … Continue reading →

Posted in Buildings, Community, Community Development, Creative Places, Dumfries, High Streets, Kirkcaldy, Landlords, Localisation, Places, Property, Regeneration, Retail Change, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Shopping Centres, Town Centre Living, Town Centres, Towns, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

“Destination High Street – Restoring Vibrancy to Scotland’s Towns”

Posted on November 5, 2018 by

The invitation from the Architectural Heritage Society of Scotland (AHSS) and the Scottish Civic Trust was to present a keynote address to their conference on ‘Destination High Street’.  As both Professor of Retail Studies and Chair, Scotland’s Towns Partnership I … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, BIDS, Buildings, Community, Community Development, Consumer Change, Consumer Lifestyle, Creative Places, Design, Development Trusts, Environmental Quality, Government, High Streets, Historic Shops, Internet shopping, Local Retailers, Online Retailing, Places, Public Realm, Rates, Retail Change, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Small Towns, Social Inequality, Streets, Streetscapes, Tax, Town Centre Action Plan, Town Centre Living, Town Centre Review, Town Centres, Towns, Understanding Scottish Places, Urban | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

‘Oor Summit’ and its Big Ears

Posted on June 20, 2016 by

Towards the end of the first day of the World Towns Leadership Summit in Edinburgh last week, Neil McInroy tried to describe and capture the sense of engagement and endeavour that the delegates were displaying and he used the phrase … Continue reading →

Posted in ATCM, Bids Scotland, Community, Community Development, Connectivity, Data, Downtown, IDA, Leadership, Local Retailers, Places, Public Realm, Reinvention, Retail Change, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Scottish Government, Social Justice, Sustainability, Town Centre Action Plan, Town Centre Review, Town Centres, Towns, Understanding Scottish Places, University of Stirling, Urban, World Towns Agreement, World Towns Framework, WTLS16 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Social Spaces and Places

Posted on March 10, 2016 by

A number of my colleagues have at times questioned why I bother with this retail blog or engage with Twitter. They tend to view such activity as essentially pointless or potentially taking them away from their research and other activity. … Continue reading →

Posted in Academics, BIDS, Community, Community Co-operatives, Community Development, Cooperatives, Development Trusts, High Streets, Places, Regeneration, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Town Centre Action Plan, Town Centre Review, Town Centres, Towns, Uncategorized, USP | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

How to Save Our Town Centres

Posted on February 18, 2015 by

Early on in 2013 Julian Dobson (director of Urban Pollinators Ltd) visited Stirling and we had an interesting discussion about the state of British retailing, high streets and town centres. He had asked to come up and chat as part … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Community Development, High Streets, Localisation, Regeneration, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Small Shops, Town Centres, Towns | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Small Business Saturday and Craft Town Scotland

Posted on December 9, 2014 by

I am not wholly convinced about Small Business Saturday, which took place on the 6th December. Another US import, it is now in its second year in this country. It has had an impact and a lot of publicity and … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Books, Community Development, Craft Town, Crafts, Design, High Streets, Independents, Local Retailers, Places, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Small Business Saturday, Tourism | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Your Town Centre: An Innovation Challenge

Posted on May 13, 2014 by

“See the world as you want it to be, not the way it is” There’s been much discussion over the last few years about the need for a new narrative or story for Scotland’s Town Centres, not least in the … Continue reading →

Posted in BIDS, Community Development, Development Trusts, Entrepreneurship, Government, Innovation, Regeneration, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Town Centre Review, Town Centres | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Regeneration – of Place and People?

Posted on March 26, 2014 by

I attended a couple of events at the end of last week which caused me to feel a little more positive about some of the things going on in Scotland in terms of retailing and towns. On Thursday I was … Continue reading →

Posted in BIDS, Charrettes, Community Development, Government, Heritage, High Streets, Historic Shops, Places, Regeneration, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Shopfronts, Stirling, Town Centre Review, Town Centres | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Community Engagement

Posted on March 18, 2014 by

I fail to see how anyone can work (especially if a Professor) in a Business or Management School and not have any contact with businesses or organisations, or even worse, any interest in how business or organisations really work or … Continue reading →

Posted in Academics, Charrettes, Community Development, Development Trusts, Government, High Streets, Places, Planning, Retail Planning, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Town Centres | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments