The 3D Lancaster: Mill Race Area project offers an immersive exploration of Lancaster’s historic Mill Race area, blending past, present, and future perspectives. Guided by Dr Paul Cureton from Lancaster University’s Imagination Lancaster, and Elanor Brown, Project Manager at Lancaster City Council, the project delves into the significance of this often-overlooked part of the city.

Children and young people are often not a part of placemaking or urban development. To address this Cureton and Brown designed a range of digital planning tools, including an interactive computer game of Lancaster, drawing on geographic data so children could play, shape and design the buildings and facilities they wanted to see. AI tools were then used to analyse what the children made, which informed a council report of what they wanted in their future and the future space of Lancaster, effectively bringing an underrepresented group into the conversation to create a tangible story about the locale.

Funded by the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) as part of Proptech R4, the project utilises archive documents, drawings, and heritage plans and transforms them into a set of digital tools for public use and immersive experiences 3D Mill Race Area. The digital resource is complemented by data walk engagement workshops walks around Lancaster and open-source planning card decks that can be implemented by other local authorities.

The project successfully demonstrates why the historic aspect of Lancaster should by sympathetically restored and encourages the general public to interact with archival materials in a unique way whilst enhancing their digital skills. In summary, 3D Lancaster: Mill Race Area serves as a valuable resource for understanding Lancaster and the Mill Race area’s historical and cultural significance while also showcasing the potential for future urban development and public engagement.

For a more in-depth exploration, you can watch the video below: