BCSC - General - Edinburgh, Shopping Centre Management Conference

Date: 02 Mar 2006

Creating great cities is literally an art and it requires "innovative thinking in the round", according to international cultural planning consultant Charles Landry.

Addressing more than 650 shopping centre management executives gathered in Edinburgh for retail property organisation BCSC's annual Shopping Centre Management Conference, Landry, Founder and Director of Comedia, said that people had to move away from "silo thinking" and aim for a diversity imperative.

"Think of the city as a living work of art and as being greater than the sum of its parts," says Landry. "In musical terms, however, it's often more like a jam session than a symphonic orchestra session. The big issue in cities is that lots of different people want to empower themselves and shape the city. It's about control of the experience. Getting those relationships right requires considerable effort and focus and the breaking of traditional boundaries."

Landry believes the secret of a successful city is broken down into nine criteria:

Critical Mass
Innovative capacity
Accessibility
Organisational capacity and leadership.
Identity and distinctiveness
Diversity
Competitiveness
Security
Linkage and synergy

"Amsterdam, Helsinki and Munich are great examples of 'balanced' cities," he says. "There's a balance between the commercial and non-commercial elements. The successful cities give a rounded experience. You want the mainstream and the alternatives to give you edge and difference and allow self-expression. Great cities have local distinctiveness but global aspirations."

Landry, whose company has worked on more than 180 assignments for national and local authorities and funding agencies, believes that cities will only reach greatness by "reaching beyond the bland" and by adopting a "diversity imperative". He says that the cities that are moving forward allow imagination and that they add value and simultaneously add values."

For those at the heart of city leadership Landry suggested a multi-faceted approach:
"Think like an artist, plan like a general and act like an impresario! Remember that people want to be involved - or at least they want the opportunity to be involved as the 'authors' of their community success."

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