The Future of the City Centre: Global Perspectives debates future directions. It looks beyond the post-industrial, post-commercial, and post-retail city centres to examine differing visions of the future form and function of the urban core. This theme and the related sub-topics will assist the development of future city models and help to contextualise urban change.
The in-depth research covers not only urban form and the re-use of the built heritage but also the provision for cultural events and different forms of entertainment that will offer vitality, together with visitors and responsible tourism. City authorities are starting to realise that structural changes are happening in city centres, as their influence is declining, and therefore new forms of governance will be needed. The book is based on an international research network hosting four symposia over 24 months. They took place in four cities in four different continents to encompass a world view of developed and developing countries. This book offers theoretical and practical perspectives from leading thinkers, academics, and practitioners, drawing on thematic issues explored across four international cities: Newcastle, UK; Newcastle, Australia; Pretoria-Tshwane, South Africa; and João Pessoa, Brazil. It draws on a wider set of global examples to reveal the shared issues and pressures being brought to bear on city centres and the diversity of responses being undertaken to ensure their long-term future.
The book includes illustrations from cities around the world, and it is directed at academics, students, and professionals in architecture, planning, urban design, the built environment, geography, economics, sociology, and cultural studies.
Bob Giddings is Professor of Architecture and Urban Design in the Department of Architecture and Built Environment at Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. He has extensively researched the city, which included work for his doctorate – Towards the Urban Restoration of Newcastle upon Tyne. He has since published over 70 papers on architecture and urbanism and supervised 20 successful PhDs. Bob was the principal investigator on the Future of the City Centre project. Previously, he was one of the originators and associate director of the acclaimed Sustainable Cities Research Institute and has been Visiting Professor at two European university faculties of architecture.
Robert J Rogerson is Academic Director of the Institute for Future Cities at the University of Strathclyde, UK. Trained as a geographer, he has worked for more than 30 years with and for communities, seeking to improve their quality of life, making them more sustainable and resilient, and helping to create more inclusive cities. He was co-investigator on the Future of the City Centre project and is currently undertaking projects that enhance social connectedness. Robert has published extensively on sustainable communities and active citizenship and works with local authorities globally as well as the UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office to find innovative solutions to urban problems.
