LOCAL ECONOMY, MAY 2003, VOL. 18, NO.

2, 121–134 FEATURES 3

‘Design-led’ Urban
Regeneration: a
Critical Perspective
‘Design-led’ Urban
Regeneration: a Critical
Perspective

David Bell and Mark Jayne

& ABSTRACT
This paper develops a critical perspective on ‘design-led’ urban regeneration,
which is a fuzzy term used to describe a diverse raft of economic development
strategies. A definition of design is outlined and then utilised in an assessment
of a number of local and regional design-led urban regeneration schemes. A
more detailed critique of one such project, the North Staffordshire Design
Initiative, is then undertaken. We argue that there is a lack of best practice
models and empirical research to guide policy makers.

& INTRODUCTION
This paper develops a critical perspective on the ways in which ‘design-led’
urban regeneration has been undertaken in local and regional economies.
Strategies aimed at economic and social regeneration nowadays routinely
include design, although it remains a fuzzy concept. For European and UK
cities and regions seeking to innovate in a post-industrial economy, design is
promoted as an important element of competitiveness. It is argued here,
however, that there is little consensus around what constitutes successful
design-led urban regeneration, sustainable design policy or design economy.
Dundee by Design, the Liverpool and North Manchester Design Initiative, David Bell and Mark
Design Yorkshire, the Leeds Architecture and Design Initiative, and the North Jayne are at the Cultural
Trends Unit, School of
Staffordshire Design Initiative are some of the increasing number of design-led Humanities and Social
urban regeneration schemes in the UK. Elsewhere in Europe, in cities such as Sciences, Staffordshire
Eindhoven, Barcelona and Copenhagen, there are similar projects, some of University, College
Road, Stoke-on-Trent
which make up a European Design Network, where flagship buildings act as ST4 2XW, UK, Tel:
shop windows for design excellence. 01782 294894, Fax:
01782 294760, E-mail:
In order to promote ‘design’ as a motor for economic and social regeneration, [email protected],
such schemes often begin by assessing the economic impact of design activities [email protected]

Local Economy ISSN 0269–0942 print/ISSN 1470–9325 online # 2003, LEPU, South Bank University
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DOI: 10.1080/0269094032000061396 121
" FEATURES

‘Design-led’ Urban that hitherto might have been undervalued, misconceptualised or ignored
Regeneration: a altogether. Baseline surveys of design activity, the provision of business advice,
Critical Perspective the development and promotion of personal and business networks, improve-
ment in production techniques and promotion of consumption milieux, and
design improvement to the built environment are characteristic of the range of
practices that are included in such strategies.
However, there is as yet no acceptable or widely agreed model of best
practice nor convincing or sustained success stories (or indeed agreement about
what design-led urban regeneration actually is). Such initiatives are in their
infancy, and vary in focus, scale and scope. This paper critiques this piecemeal
economy, making recommendations about good practice. We begin with a brief
outline of the ways in which ‘design’ has been theorised and utilised in policy
terms. Examples of design-led urban regeneration projects are then presented.
One such project – the North Staffordshire Design Initiative – is considered in
1
The NSDI report can be more detail.1 Conclusions are then drawn and implications for policy and
found at www.staffs.com/ planning discussed.
designInitative. The
authors were the research
supervisor and lead & DESIGN BRIEF – SOME THEORETICAL AND POLICY
researcher on the NSDI.
BACKGROUND
There are now a growing number of academic disciplines providing a variety of
theoretical frameworks for the investigation of the design economy (see for
example, Miller, 1987; Lash and Urry, 1994; Jackson and Thrift, 1995; Molotch,
1996; Du Gay, 1997). Addressing the ‘culture of design’ – as defined by Guy
Julier (2000) in his book of that title – is suggested here to be the most
satisfactory way to synthesise this literature.
Julier describes the culture of design as combining the circuits of production
and consumption with the role of the designer – the design ‘object’ or ‘thing’ sits
at the intersection of these three. Production includes manufacture, materials
and technologies, as well as marketing, advertising and distribution. Consump-
tion on the other hand focuses on the ‘life’ of the design object from purchase
onwards – how it is used, where it is obtained from, what it is made to mean by
the people who own it. Production and consumption are mediated by the
designer, who shapes (but not necessarily determines) the form, content and
meaning of ‘things’ of every kind.
It is in the interplay and overlap between production, consumption and
design that cultures of design exist, and between their similarly intertwining
populations (designers, producers, consumers). Encouraging and understand-
ing cultures of design means recognising the coexistence of these domains, and
nurturing them all in complementarity. They are folded together in complex
ways; as each changes shape, shifts emphasis or moves in new directions, so the
others have to be more fluid and mobile. For design to be culturally legible, it
has to speak to all of its audiences (Julier, 2000).

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It is clear, then, that design takes place in many realms and is a lived cultural ‘Design-led’ Urban
practice. Crucially, the culture of design lives in the city, in and with its citizens – Regeneration: a
and this symbiosis benefits the design process as well as the look and feel of the Critical Perspective
city and the lives of its residents and visitors. The new cultural economies – in
which design takes a central place – grow and flourish in locales that are
innovative and adaptive. Places, their products and their people share the
benefits of this kind of branding. Together they constitute what Angela
McRobbie (1999) names ‘the culture society’ – a place where the creativity of
everyday life is fostered, promoted and supported at the level of policy and
public debate.
Creating and sustaining cultures of design is social and cultural, as well as
economic work, and its benefits are similarly social and cultural as well as
economic. The culture society is an ecology and economy of creativity that is
inclusive and multidimensional. As Tim Dant (1999) says, ‘the practices of living
with things . . . contribute to the character of social life’ – they help make up the
everyday, and in that they are simultaneously mundane and remarkable. Design
is all around us, giving shape to all our lives in countless ways. People, things,
ideas, images and places – together they constitute the cultures of design.
In UK policy and research terms, ‘design’ is now bundled with advertising,
architecture, the art and antiques market, crafts, designer fashion, film, inter-
active leisure software, music, the performing arts, publishing, software and
television and radio as one of the creative industries (Department of Culture,
Media and Sport, 1998). While the label ‘design’ in this context is problematic in
several ways (for example, it is clear that design is central to the symbolic
content of all these activities, and that this definition ignores the importance of
industrial design, advanced technology and engineering), research undertaken
into the creative industries provides a useful conceptual and methodological
template (see Fleming, 1999).
For example, studies relating to the creative industries have identified the
economic benefits of the sector (Myerscough 1998), including its export
potential (Griffiths and Williams, 1992). Research has also highlighted that a
high proportion of regional and local development organisations in the UK
stress cultural factors in their locational marketing (Landry, 1995). Local
strengths and weaknesses, the importance of local clusters, networks as well
as sectoral and spatial interdependencies, and interconnections of capital and
culture in local, regional supranational and global scales have all been inves-
tigated (Bryan et al, 2000; Fleming, 1999). what is inward economic investment?
Furthermore, the ‘buzz’ that often surrounds the outputs of the creative
industries, and their suggestion of creativity, innovation, flexibility and entre-
preneurialism have been linked to inward investment and economic develop-
ment (Morris et al, 1993). Lifestyle, identity, everyday life, and forms of
sociability have also been shown to be vital symbolic underpinnings of creative

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‘Design-led’ Urban production/consumption milieux, and thus a vital element of concern for
Regeneration: a integrated urban and cultural policy development (Parkinson and Bianchini,
Critical Perspective 1996; O’Connor and Wynne, 1996).
This mix of theoretical debate and empirical research provides a valuable
framework to assess the role of design in urban regeneration initiatives. It is
argued here that an understanding of the ways in which the production and
consumption of design interpenetrates with regulation, representation and
identity as interrelated practices and processes must underpin any analysis
(see Du Gay, 1997; Jackson and Thrift, 1995). It will be shown that, to date,
design-led urban regeneration initiatives rarely address, let alone achieve, this
synergy.

& DESIGN-LED URBAN REGENERATION

The most widespread use of the term ‘design-led’ urban regeneration is that
associated with urban planning and architecture. Flagship buildings, high-
quality residential and commercial developments, squares, fountains, boule-
vards, street furniture, lighting and landscaping make up the tool-kit of this
particular brand of design-led urban regeneration. Such infrastructural improve-
ments are carried out in conjunction with other place promotion and marketing
strategies in order to stimulate local economic development through the
attraction of post-industrial professional, managerial and service businesses.
The flotilla of supporting cafes, shops and boutiques, restaurants, clubs,
delicatessens, and other transitory events, such as festivals and sporting events
related to these post-industrial city spaces, adds value to urban regeneration
initiatives.
The lifestyles, forms of sociability and consumption practices that surround
these sites and activities also provide fertile images that are used in place
promotion and marketing campaigns. Indeed, the corporate branding of local
and regional authorities, in the form of fonts, logos, websites, videos and
brochures is often tied in with images of post-industrial economic competitive-
ness. Of central importance to these (virtual and physical) urban characteristics
is the symbolic content of image and taste cultures, which are attractive to
mobile post-industrial employers, middle-class citizens and tourists (Florida,
2002).
A further architectural and planning practice associated with design-led urban
regeneration is connected with social regeneration, social exclusion and
environmental sustainability. Design features are often written into the planning
process in order to contribute to crime prevention, facilitate community inter-
action and enhance sociability in relation to housing, public space (such as
streets and parks), and transport. Design innovation is also considered as
desirable in public sector institutions and buildings such as offices, hospitals,
bail hostels, and prisons. However, while these design interventions are

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acknowledged potentially to have an economic pay-off in terms of reduced ‘Design-led’ Urban

crime, vandalism or energy conservation, they are rarely conceived in terms of Regeneration: a
direct economic benefit (for example, if local architects, interior designers, Critical Perspective
garden designers, sculptors, builders and miscellaneous other creative busi-
nesses and manufacturers are utilised).
The second group of practices and processes that come under the design-led
urban regeneration banner relates to the creative industries. As noted earlier, in
central government policy ‘design’ has been packaged with other creative
industries that produce goods and services with a highly symbolic or intellectual
content. Projects and initiatives that can include dedicated creative industries or,
less often, design-orientated economic development services (incorporating
business advice and support) and the provision of incubator and managed
workspace have become commonplace. These activities are most often insti-
gated by local authorities seeking to support this economic activity in its own
right and to generate a local economy characterised by innovation, creativity
and flexibility (represented by a critical mass of creative design businesses).
Support for the creative design industries and the associated economic, social
and cultural conditions that surround a successful creative economy is thus an
important feature of post-industrial economic development strategies.
The final area of activity associated with design-led urban regeneration seeks
to link up the work of creative design businesses with manufacturing, engin-
eering, advanced technology and other industries to encourage design-led
production. This matching service is often provided by local authority economic
development sections or is increasingly one of the roles of the kind of creative
industries and design support agencies noted above. This includes the matching
of designers (with no production capabilities) with manufacturers (who can
undertake short batch production runs). Further support services are often
offered to economically struggling traditionally focused manufacturers to sti-
mulate innovation through design and image-led advertising and marketing.
Design innovation is, of course, a staple element of many traditional manu-
facturing, engineering, advanced technology and other industrial businesses.
However, the ability of such businesses to be competitive and sustainable can
depend on their ability to innovate through design practice and innovative
process.
These three types of design-led interventions are perceived to add economic,
social or cultural value to urban regeneration schemes. From its ‘shallowest’
manifestation through planning and architectural practice to ‘deeper’, more
focused or direct engagements with business development in relation to
interventions with creative, manufacturing and industrial businesses, design-
led strategies can have considerable impact on local economies. It is argued
here that these practices and processes have the greatest impact when all three
strands are strategically implemented in unison, hence addressing all aspects of

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‘Design-led’ Urban the ‘culture of design’. This creates an interpenetration between design and
Regeneration: a other creative businesses, dynamic and flexible manufacturing, engineering,
Critical Perspective advanced technology and other industrial businesses, miscellaneous other
private sector businesses and local and regional government authorities and
departments. Moreover, where local production (whether that relates to the
highly symbolic design aesthetics of high value added consumer products, or
the products and services of, for example, architects, web-designers, sculptors,
builders, engineering or hi-technology services and manufacturers) is linked to
local consumption cultures there is a significant benefit to the local economy
(even when goods and services are marketed and sold globally). This can be in
terms of facilitating supply chain connections between local businesses across
all sectors or through the attraction and retention of tourists and other creative
people (who are also consumers) and the presence of spaces, people and
businesses associated with post-industrial economic activity.
For example, in the UK, cities such as Manchester, Birmingham, Sheffield,
Leeds, Nottingham, Cardiff, Bristol and Bradford, and towns such as Hudders-
field, have adopted regeneration strategies that include strategies to promote
creative industries. Within these initiatives it is common for city centres to
become the symbolic and economic focus of rejuvenating city-regions. In many
localities, this also includes the agglomeration of creative and cultural industries
and particularly the development of ‘quarters’. This is most obviously evident in
improvement to the built improvements to the built environment – as a marker that identifies progress in
environment as the post-industrial economy. Such initiatives seek to integrate production with
a marker that identifies
progress consumption and visibly celebrate the creative economy of the city-region
(Jayne, 2000).
In some cases, this has included a brief to develop the design economy of
cities and regions. Julier (2000, 125) describes the ‘Barcelona paradigm’ as the
best model to assess design-led urban regeneration strategies, and it shows how
design was one of ‘several layers and networks of signification’ in the re-
imagining of Barcelona. These points also included internationally renowned
architects designing flagship buildings in the city, as well as the architectural
heritage of Gaudi, Domenech and Cadafalch being promoted and events such
as the Olympic Games in 1982. Improvements to public transport, the re-
development of the seafront, parks and plazas were projects aimed at stimu-
lating economic and social regeneration.
Julier (2000) suggests that central to this project was design as a ‘signifier of
the cultural sphere’. Taste was linked to processes of identity, cultural politics
and cultural policy, and civic pride. Links between industry, designers and other
creative industries practitioners were encouraged, and design became an
element written into all policy documents. Along with improvements to the
physical infrastructure of the city there was also a ‘wholesale ideological,
cultural, commercial and hence aesthetic repositioning of a region’ (Julier,

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2000, 126). Design-led production and consumption cultures (and the networks ‘Design-led’ Urban
of individuals, agencies and institutions) that constituted a regional culture of Regeneration: a
creativity were supported. In this way, image-making capabilities and design Critical Perspective
practice were utilised to improve the city’s image in a context of global place
marketing. In sum, central to the imagination and identity of the city, was a
consciousness of design-led policies and projects that addressed all of the
2
domains of design culture.2 It is not possible to say
that this was always
In the UK, those projects specifically aimed at design have, to some degree, to directly due to design
emulate the activities undertaken in Barcelona. There are therefore some being a meta-narrative of
local authority policy and
defining characteristics of design-led projects, which include flagship buildings,
planning.
local economic development agencies and business support. Other policies
include the promotion of good design in architecture, professional and public
events and festivals, the stimulation of consumption infrastructure, as well as
baseline surveys to look at the scale and scope of any extant design economy
and attitudes to design.
Glasgow, for example, which has arguably come closest to emulating the
Barcelona paradigm in the UK, has developed infrastructure and policy relevant
to the ‘culture of design’. The Lighthouse, Scotland’s Centre for Architecture,
Design and the City, is a city-centre flagship showcase building, with gallery
space, a rooftop café and education facilities. This is augmented by various
other projects and initiatives, such as the Glasgow Collection, which brings
together the best in design as a way of marketing the city’s creative talent and
design products. Creative Scotland, a support agency for the creative industries,
also has a strong design consciousness.
In contrast, design-led urban regeneration schemes in other cities have been
far less successful in encouraging synergies between the domains of design
culture (for example, the Northern Quarter in Manchester and the Rope Walks
area of Liverpool). The Liverpool and Manchester Design Initiative offers
professional advice to businesses on all aspects of design commissioning, as
part of a broader package of city-wide creative industries initiatives located in
specific city-centre quarters. The Leeds Architecture and Design Initiative is
focused on architectural design alone. Design Yorkshire has produced a
regional design strategy based on comprehensive empirical research into design
production and clustering.
It is clear from this brief introduction to these initiatives that while each has a
different focus, there is an attempt to address at least some (if not all) the
domains of design noted earlier. As such, no one project has been wholly
successful and produced a holistic, strategic and integrated design policy that
addresses all aspects of the culture of design. It is with reference to this
economy that we suggest that there is a lacuna of empirical research and
best-practice models to guide policy makers. What follows here is a more
detailed analysis of one such initiative, the North Staffordshire Design Initiative,

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‘Design-led’ Urban through which we aim to highlight strengths and weaknesses and outline policy
Regeneration: a implications.
Critical Perspective

The North Staffordshire Design Initiative

The North Staffordshire Design Initiative (NSDI) was initiated by the North
Staffordshire Partnership (NSP) – the strategic regeneration body for the region
formed by the administrative areas of the city of Stoke-on-Trent and districts of
Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire Moorlands and Stafford, in the West Mid-
lands, UK. The Partnership is a consortium of public, private and community
organisations formed to take forward the recommendations of the North
Staffordshire Task Force. The Task Force was established in January 2000 by
the then Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, Stephen Byers (owing to the
acute economic challenges facing the sub-region), who issued the following
challenge:

We will build a future for North Staffordshire by facing our challenges and
exploiting our key strengths and opportunities. The sub-region’s world-class
enterprises are built on enterprise, innovation, creativity and design. These four
interconnected drivers can infuse each of the pillars, shape all aspects of our
strategy and build our distinctive solution for North Staffordshire.
(North Staffordshire Task Force 2000, 1).3
3
The political, economic,
socio-spatial and cultural
conditions of North
In order to respond to the vision outlined by The North Staffordshire Task Force,
Staffordshire have been
written about in detail the North Staffordshire Partnership adopted three interconnected strategic
elsewhere and will not be objectives: to create a vibrant, robust and entrepreneurial economy; to facilitate
replicated here, see
Phillips (1993) and
community renewal and to encourage a good quality of life for confident
Edensor (2001). involved communities; and to produce world-class goods and high quality
public and private sector services.
To achieve these goals, the NSP sought to prioritise one of the ‘interconnected
drivers’, design excellence, in order more effectively to foster synergy between
(the other ‘interconnected drivers’ of) enterprise, innovation and creativity.
Design excellence (both product and process) was considered historically to
have been the bedrock of industrial growth in the area but that its importance
had been diminished over time to be replaced by production-led priorities. The
NSDI was thus instigated in order to formulate a strategic framework for design-
led economic and social regeneration in North Staffordshire. The NSDI had four
main aims; first, to explore the feasibility and long-term viability and potential
funding sources for a Design Initiative in North Staffordshire; second, to assess
the feasibility of the development of a network of design-led businesses and
organisations; third, to identify regional, national and European best practice;
and, finally, to make recommendations for the broadening of design-led urban
regeneration in North Staffordshire.

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Initially, however, in order to ensure that political enthusiasm for a design-led ‘Design-led’ Urban
agenda was (shown to be) grounded in the realities, and potentialities, of the Regeneration: a
local economy baseline research, a mapping exercise, and consultation were Critical Perspective

undertaken. First, a questionnaire survey (two different self-completion ques-

tionnaire surveys were distributed initially to design businesses and secondly to
manufacturing and industry to assess the scale and scope of the design
economy). Secondly, a ‘visioning event’ was held with local design practitioners
and policy makers. Thirdly, there was a survey of design-based education and,
finally, an audit of other design infrastructure, organisations and policy in North
Staffordshire. This research phase was to culminate in the publication and
dissemination of a report that would also include an evaluation of, and outline
actions to achieve, the four main aims of the NSDI.
Figure 1 provides a brief review of the major findings of the questionnaire
survey. Issues raised at the visioning event included the desire to develop a
‘designers network’, and concern that designers within the ceramic industry
were undervalued and underpaid in relation to comparable industries. The
socio-cultural environment, the physical infrastructure and transport network
were also discussed. It was felt that there was a paucity of high quality shopping
and eating and that the region’s consumption spaces provided limited oppor-
tunity for browsing and entertainment in comparison to the ambience other city-
regions had to offer. Current housing in the city and a lack of desirable housing
was also noted. Such deficiencies were all considered as vital for graduate
retention and for attracting creative people from elsewhere to live and work in
North Staffordshire.
The third element of research assessed the levels of design-based education,
which was found to be strong in North Staffordshire. There was a tradition of
design courses that produced high quality graduates, strong links with industry,
including student placements, and innovation in applied design and product
development. Unfortunately, many tutors acknowledged that they regretfully
admitted to their students that they would probably have to leave the area to
build careers in design – and indeed that students often favoured the more
‘attractive’ and ‘exciting’ atmosphere of metropolitan areas such as London,
Manchester and Birmingham.
The final element of research found a grab-bag of design infrastructure,
organisations and policy in North Staffordshire. These included the Ceramics
Industry Forum, which was set up by manufacturers with government and
European funding to promote innovation in design, marketing, manufacturing
and technology and to assess the demands of consumption-led markets and the
‘Design Strategy for the Built Environment’ – a progressive (yet largely un-
applied) policy document written by Stoke-on-Trent City Council that seeks to
promote good architectural design (see Chetwyn 2000). There are also various

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‘Design-led’ Urban Figure 1. Summary of research findings

Regeneration: a
Critical There is a wealth of design-related economic activity in the sub-region, covering all
aspects of design, from garden design to web design. In addition, businesses in the
Perspective
manufacturing/engineering sector place strong emphasis on the role of design, both
employing in-house designers and out-sourcing design work.
Design businesses
. Tend to be SMEs, usually with less than 10 employees; the majority are based solely in
the region, and are independent.
. Turnover ranges from under £25k to over £500k.
. Design business clients are globally distributed, although one third of the businesses
serve local clients predominantly.
. There already exists a network between design businesses, as well as with business
support agencies – although knowledge of networks and support is patchy, and
profiling is clearly needed.
Manufacturing, engineering and advanced technology businesses
. Employ both full-time and part-time design staff, though often as a small proportion of
their workforce.
. Make use of bought-in design services, both sub-regionally, regionally and from
outside the region.
. Recognise the importance of design to their activity, especially in terms of product
design.
The Mapping Document offered businesses the chance to comment more generally on
design activity. Comments included:
. North Staffs should emphasise and celebrate its success in design.
. The region needs to build an awareness of all design industries in the area.
. Businesses need to be ‘sold’ the importance of design as a critical source of value-
added – they need proof that design makes a difference.
. Regional and local design businesses need to be profiled as a source of real talent –
clients should ‘shop local’, rather than always looking to London.
. A Design Expo for agencies and design businesses would help raise the profile of the
industry in the region.
. Business support needs profiling, as long as its services match the distinct needs of the
design sector.

(NSDI: 34)

membership bodies, such as North Staffordshire Guild of Craftsmen, and

publications such as the Craftworkers’ Year Book produced in the region.

Design flaw?
The research undertaken for the NSDI found that North Staffordshire has a
varied and diverse design economy. However, the relatively short research
period (three months) ensured that the data gathered through the mapping
document were lacking in significant ways. For example, there was no attempt
to claim a wholly definitive audit of the design economy, and no attempt to put
a figure on the overall value of design to the North Staffordshire economy, nor
the total number of design jobs. Neither was there an attempt to gather

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information to address the differential construction of different design activities ‘Design-led’ Urban
or the links between sectors. Given that there was a significantly better response Regeneration: a
rate from design businesses (in contrast to those from manufacturing, advanced Critical Perspective
technology and engineering businesses) further research into the value placed
on design would appear to be imperative. Furthermore, there was little
information gained about interdependencies of design sectors locally or at
regional, national or global levels. A further failing was that only anecdotal
information was gathered about the social relations of production.
An even greater failing was that there was no focus at all on the consumption
of design. A survey of infrastructure (cultural intermediaries, shops, suppliers
etc), or the value of design in everyday life, the role of design in identity
formation, the presence or absence of representations of design, or indeed the
amount spent on design products and services in North Staffordshire, are all
areas of interest that are vital to any understanding of the design economy of the
region. Finally, the North Staffordshire Design Initiative replicated a short-
coming generic to all design-led strategies in the UK in failing to attempt
tangibly to address the ways in which design could be written into policy and
planning across the many interested agencies and local authorities.
Despite these shortcomings, the NSDI did make some prudent recommenda-
tions relevant to stimulating a progressive ‘culture of design’. These included a
design festival, encouraging greater interpenetration between manufacturing
and the creative industries, the stimulation of design networks, and a flagship
building. Specific initiatives included community projects, the (re)education of
managing directors, an international design festival, and a design collection
(along the lines of the Glasgow Collection).
However, a proposed (off-centre) Design Innovation Park, to include clus-
tered incubation space, a permanent showcase for ceramics SMEs, and flexible
exhibition space is worth addressing in more depth. The off-centre location of
the Design Innovation Park (which will be the home of all the regionally
significant business support agencies) immediately appears to be at odds with
the siting of a flagship building in the city centre. If the goal of a flagship
building in Stoke-on-Trent city centre is an attempt to add symbolic cache and
increase the consumptive-productive profile of the region’s design expertise,
then the physical separation of the ‘command’ functions of the production chain
would appear to be ‘hollowing out’ the creative milieu. This is contrasted with
more successful design economies where agglomeration (of the consumption
infrastructure and, to a lesser extent, production) in visible city-centre locations
produces a functional centrality, and hence a support framework for design
activities throughout the city-region. Despite the progressive elements of the
NSDI, then, as current proposals stand, they do not address all the elements of a
culture of design.

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‘Design-led’ Urban & CONCLUSIONS

Regeneration: a This paper has developed a critical perspective on design-led urban regener-
Critical Perspective ation in terms of the extent to which such initiatives address the ‘culture of
design’. Across Europe there is a developing package of policy and infrastruc-
ture around an understanding of the importance of this ‘new’ design economy.
The relevance of such an emphasis is understood not only in terms of jobs and
the economic value added to city-regions, but also in producing an ecology and
economy of entrepreneurialism, innovation and creativity, which are very
attractive to both inward investors and other creative people.
The NSDI draws clearly into focus important generalisable lessons about what
constitutes cohesive design-led urban regeneration. First, design-led urban
regeneration can be focused on architecture and urban planning in order to
create the physical and symbolic conditions to attract post-industrial employers,
consumers and tourists. Second, the creative industries (with their focus on
aestheticised high-value added consumer products and image-led advertising
and marketing expertise) can contribute to an ecology of innovation and
creativity that is symbolically central to the economic profile of towns and
cities. However, central to the success of both these elements are broader
economic development and place promotion strategies that attract post-indus-
trial managerial, professional and business employers, and a critical mass (or
cluster) of creative businesses. Together, these economic sectors intertwine to
produce post-industrial production and consumption cultures, lifestyles and
forms of sociability in central urban areas.
Third, local authorities, economic development and business support agen-
cies must champion product and process design as central to the competitive-
ness of manufacturing industry, engineering, advanced technology and other
industrial businesses. While design activities (although to differing degrees) are
perhaps integral to all these businesses, design interventions can facilitate the
increased competitiveness of manufacturing and industrial activity. This is seen
as a process of updating and diversification of traditional manufacturing prod-
ucts and processes, enabling such businesses to be more flexible, speedier and
responsive to the demands of the consumer. A further impact can be seen in
image-led advertising, branding and marketing expertise that creates a ‘con-
temporary’ feel to traditional products or enables traditional companies to
present new products with a contemporary edge. Finally, and linking all
these activities, must be the successful nurturing and maintenance of supply
chains, networks and production and consumption cultures in local and
regional economies.
For design-led urban regeneration to be comprehensive, it must include
successful elements in all these cross-cutting and interrelated spheres of the
economic, social and cultural life of urban areas. However, it has been made
clear that design-led urban regeneration demands cooperation between key

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 FEATURES 3

institutions, a high level of joint planning and the development of synergies that ‘Design-led’ Urban
maximise the economic, socio-spatial and cultural impact of individual and Regeneration: a
strategic decisions. Initiatives must fully integrate all aspects of design if they are Critical Perspective

to be successful. Thus, while there are now many regional, national and
European design initiatives, more can be done to achieve synergy and inter-
penetration between areas such as production and consumption, architecture,
city planning, the creative economy and the manufacturing, engineering and
industrial sector. Moreover, there is considerable scope for the development of
UK and European design networks. On a local and regional basis, it is clear that
there is considerable potential for linking design to broader cultural policy and
strategic regeneration frameworks.
In conclusion, any analysis of design or formation of design-led strategies by
policy-makers is made difficult by the diverse mix of strategies, initiatives and
organisations involved. This feature of design poses a considerable challenge
for regional policymakers, who want to capitalise on economic development
opportunities, but who must do so without stifling creativity and diversity. There
is clearly a need for more research into the contribution of design at local and
regional levels. Further research is needed into individual sectors, clusters, the
consumption of design and design in everyday life. Ultimately, research is still
hampered by a lack of data on the industry and its consumers. This paucity will
impede planning processes for years to come. As such, the collection of
appropriate sets of design data (even mundane issues such as employment
structures, scale and scope, earnings, and business and public expenditure on
design) must therefore be a research priority. The NSDI, therefore, highlights
issues that are of much broader relevance for understanding the complexities of
design-led regeneration strategies.

Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Advantage CHETWYN, D. J. 2000: Constructive design
West Midlands for funding the research on intervention: the city of Stoke-on-Trent
which this paper is based. We would also like Strategy for the built environment, Built
to thank other members of the NSDI Steering Environment, 25, 356–70.
Group, Paul Boardman, Hilary Chilton, Mark
Morrison, Mo Trudel and Dave Weightman. DANT, T. 1999: Material culture in the
The views of this paper are, however, those social world, Buckinghamshire: Open
of the authors. Special thanks also to Ruth University Press.
Holliday for commenting on early drafts.
DEPARTMENT OF CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT
2000: Creative industries: the regional
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