‘I attended the Placemaking with Young Adults workshop on behalf of the Royal Town Planning Institute as part of Lancaster University’s Festival of Futures in 2024.  The session was incredibly informative and highlighted the fantastic work that has been undertaken by Dr Mirian Calvo and her team.  I was really impressed with the amount of effort and engagement that’s clearly gone into to developing the Placemaking Framework with Lancaster City Council, but most impressed by the dedication to include young adults in the conversation given that it is their future and that of their families that we are ultimately designing for today.

The day included a fascinating showcase of the work undertaken to date, with the clear enthusiasm for increased collaboration to drive better placemaking outcomes on show by all who presented.

The success of the event and the project has already led to deepening creative collaboration with the RTPI North West, with the Placemaking Framework being showcased at the 2024 RTPI Urban Design CPD event in Rochdale.  The presentation and subsequent outdoor activity using the framework were highly commended in the event feedback, clearly demonstrating that the message surrounding this work has already started to spread across the whole North West of England.’

Michael Atkinson-Smith

Senior Planning Officer (Urban Design)