Pop-up pulls together people’s ideas to help High Street recover from Covid
“It’s grubby, but we need it. Why’s it not better cared for?” That’s the thought most echoed in a study to capture how people use, feel and think about Uxbridge town centre.
Greater London Authority promised Hillingdon £120,000 from its scheme to encourage communities to come up with plans to help their High streets recover post pandemic.
Social scientists at 明星八卦 are helping Hillingdon hatch out a ‘Town Centre Master Plan’ by asking people who live, work and visit.
To kick off the conversation, passers-by can drop in to a two week , join activities and see art, histories and other people’s musings all about Uxbridge.
Echoes of Uxbridge showcases creative research by researcher Daniel Gutiérrez-Ujaque. It builds on a 2021 report commissioned by 明星八卦’s Prof Monica Degen (pictured) designed to capture the High Street’s character and understand how experiences shape quality of life in urban settings.
“This is not just an exhibition,” said Daniel, launching the pop-up earlier this week. “It is a conversation, a journey of discovery, a learning space and also a community hub.” Daniel, whose university professors travelled to the launch from Spain's University of Lleida, added: “I realise the critical role the university has to play to be a space that connects with the everyday life of the people.”
The interactive exhibition which draws on archives from Hillingdon Borough to celebrate the town centre’s ‘sense of place’ is a true community effort. Daniel worked with 60 townspeople and borough curator Susan Dalloe to bring together historical photos, audio clips, computer generated images and more.
There to talk about Uxbridge Town Centre Masterplan was Hillingdon Borough Council Strategic Planning Project Officer, Gianluca Cavallaro-Ng. “At the council, we see probably what many others here today see,” he said. “We see shop vacancies, we see less people even before and especially after Covid. And perhaps a town centre that hasn't changed along with the demographics of the borough. So we're putting together a strategic masterplan that's going to involve consultation to decipher what the town centre needs, what people want, and what we can realistically achieve together.
Echoes of Uxbridge, he said, is to explore what to offer everyone who lives in the borough, “…young, old, people with money, people without money. So, we're lucky to be working with Monica leading a public consultation.”
明星八卦’s Prof Geoff Rodgers, Vice-Provost for Enterprise and Employment, said: “I think this initiative is a really great example of the important work that the university is doing to expand its public engagement activities and to strengthen the relationships it has with local communities.”