Place Beyond Place
I attended a one day symposium in Preston called Place Beyond Place. The symposium aimed to analyse the impact of the global on the local, looking at urban design, public art and regeneration. I was particularly interested in attending due to my interest in local distinctiveness.

It was an absorbing day with talks from Loraine Lesson, who has worked on socially engaged projects around the theme of urban regeneration since the 80's, and Paul Goodwin, who has recently carried out a research project on 'Re-Visioning Black History'. A key point for me in Paul Goodwin's talk was the consideration of modernism as dehumanising. He talked about the idea of vernacular architecture, sighting 'shanty towns' as an example of the people's architecture and mentioned a book in relation to this called, 'Learning From Las Vagas', which I am keen to read.

In the afternoon we went on 'alternative' guided tours around Preston, exploring the city through its social, cultural and natural connections to other, global places. I thought that this was a really interesting idea and I was fascinated to see how the four different artists conducted their tours. The two that interested me the most were William Titley's and Rebecca Chesney's.

William gave an experience of Lahore through the streets of Preston, which linked with my interest in how we interpret place through our own personal associations. (Picture Credit Above: William Titley, Road Block)

Rebecca on the other hand gave a tour of weeds around Preston questioning where the plants have come from and examining the ever changing urban environment alongside human activity. This connects with my interest in nature verses the built environment and how the two sit together. (Picture Credit Below: Rebecca Chesney, Dandelion)

You can read more about the symposium here: http://www.placebeyondplace.info/

MONOTONY
I have begun a series called 'Monotony'. Thinking about local distinctiveness and globalisation in its broad context, I wanted to draw attention to the monotony of the street furniture that we find in Manchester. I have already done a piece of work with a bus stop bench but I wanted to extend this work and highlight further the homogeneous quality of these identical bus benches that line Oxford road.

This piece links directly with point 4 listed below which reads: Work for local IDENTITY. Oppose monoculture in our fields, parks, gardens and buildings. Resist formulae and automatic ordering from pattern books which homogenise and deplete.

Key Ideas: Local Distinctiveness

Common Ground has written a set of 'Rules for Local Distinctiveness'. There are over 40 but I will just mention 10 key ideas that fit in with my work.

1. Let the CHARACTER of the people and place express itself. Kill corporate identity before it kills our high streets. Give local shops precedence.
2. Defend DETAIL. Respond to the local and vernacular. No new building or development need be bland, boring or brash.
3. Our IMAGINATION needs diversity and variegation. We need standards not standardisation.
4. Work for local IDENTITY. Oppose monoculture in our fields, parks, gardens and buildings. Resist formulae and automatic ordering from pattern books which homogenise and deplete.
5. Let NATURE in.
6. Champion the ORDINARY and every day.
7. Get to know your place intimately. Search out PARTICULARITY AND PATINA helps add new layers of interest.
8. REVEAL the past! Decay is an important process. Don't tidy things up so much that the layers of history and reclamation by nature are obliterated. Let continuity show. Personality often resides in SUBTLETY and idiosyncrasy. Look closely and often.
9. USE old buildings again. Find new functions for them. Accretion is better than demolition.
10. VALUE your own values! Democracy thieves on discussion about things that matter to us. Let the experts in on your own terms.

Local Distinctiveness
I have been reading a really interesting book called 'Local Distinctiveness: Place, Particularity and Identity'.

It is published by a group called common ground who have a very comprehensive website at:  http://www.commonground.org.uk/  I came across this publication after I had been doing some serious thinking about the purpose of my work and where it is heading. After considering my interest in the random markings that surround us on our city streets, decay, the pattern of age, regeneration and modernisation, I began to think about how these interests link in with ideas to do with our sense of place.

I am uncomfortable with 'new builds', corporate areas of the city that appear to have no character' no personality. I think a good example of this can be seen when looking at the city of Liverpool. It has a richness that I think Manchester lacks and yet it is very quickly becoming more corporate as big investors move in.