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‘Walking the Walk’ Re-imagining Public Space, 2014-2022 – Online Event

28 April 2022 @ 18:25 - 19:30

Free

Christina Norton, Architect & Founding Director of Soundings will present on the Practice’s retrofitting of urban spaces.
There is no doubt that Covid has brought the issue of community strength and cohesion to the forefront of public debate. It has viscerally revealed the importance of neighbourhoods from all perspectives. Most people want to be involved and feel connected in urban placeshaping. Now more than ever city dwellers have a desire to come together and exchange thoughts and ideas about how our society, and the places we build together, can be better. We have all evidenced the significance of public realm and green spaces in our cities as generous, accessible and inclusive environments for all; places that bring people closer to nature, enable social interaction, foster cultural life and have a direct impact on our sense of wellbeing and community.

Spurred on by this and with the added imperative to mitigate the climate emergency, in her talk, Christina Norton, architect and founding director of Soundings, suggests that we need a radical re-think of what city priorities should be and challenge the established norms of good taste public realm design. With a city where public open space is often in deficit; and the streets, estates and suburbia often forgotten public assets, she proposes that these become our area of focus – a spatial mission but also a clear social and environmental challenge.

Norton will explore Soundings’ instincts to build communities, sustainable places and a strong sense of the ‘public’ through ideas for retrofitting urban streets and squares, bringing the wild into the city, and facing the opportunities and challenges this brings by using imaginative ways people can upgrade their experiences and interactions. She will reference recent Soundings’ projects Mayfair Green Route, the Culture Mile Look & Feel Strategy and Westway Community Street.

Check on the organiser’s website that dates and times are correct.

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