Market Square: Vision And Process 10
The Market Square, the Town, and the Planet
Published in the Stratford Gazette, 11 October 2012.
In July, Stratford’s Market Square team made a road trip to visit recently revitalized public spaces in Brantford, Waterloo, and Guelph.
In Guelph we met with Ian Panabaker, Corporate Manager in charge of the Downtown Renewal project. He told us that in 2006 City Council budgeted one million dollars to create a community space adjoining the new city hall. When the new Council (which included two landscape architects) took office, they stopped work on that design and mandated staff to come back with a design for a modern space with more facilities and features. Guelph’s new Market Square opened about a year ago and was an instant success. City Council views it as the biggest political hit of their term in office and are wondering what they can do for encores.
Our purpose in making this trip was to see what other cities were doing – nearby cities, facing some of the conditions and constraints that Stratford faces. We wanted to meet with the people who had dealt with these issues. We wanted to learn something about the history of the projects, the process followed when designing and building the spaces, and the impact of the completed spaces on the community.
Every city does it differently, but there are several common elements.
First of all, there has to be a clearly understood process. Of course there’s always a minimal process: decisions are made and work gets done. But something more is needed: a process that is infused with a big vision and directed by the best principles of urban design. The experience of other cities makes it clear that it shouldn’t be done just “any old how” but that some ways work better than others.
The second essential element is openness. Everyone agrees that the process has to be very open, with lots of input at all stages from stakeholders and the public. This input can take the form of surveys, public meetings, discussion groups, feed-back on a website. Everyone who has ideas and suggestions should have a chance to express them. The result will be a public space that really meets the community’s needs, that is a site and focal point for our activities and something we can be proud of.
The third crucial part of the process is to hire experts. Our Market Square is potentially a world-class space. Two of the people we talked to during our road trip compared it to the Campo in Siena, Italy, which is one of the iconic public spaces in the world. They put Stratford in that league because of its interesting shape, the wonderful vistas leading towards it, and the heritage facades which create its character. It is also the perfect size: research has been done on the optimum size for public spaces, and our Market Square meets that standard. It’s enclosed enough to have definition and to feel sheltering, and big enough so that it doesn’t feel cramped and allows all its sides to be seen from the best possible distance. It’s also ideal for a wide variety of public events, as is being demonstrated.
To make the most of this beautiful space, it’s necessary to work with experts. Many factors have to be taken into account, and there are people who know the questions to ask and the ways to weave the answers together to create a result that works. They understand the technical, engineering aspects of building a public space.
The experts will work with the community and give shape to the community’s needs, wishes, and vision. This is part of the “urban design” idea that I wrote about in my previous article and also of the process of moving from “design concept” to design. It’s where urban design merges with urban planning.
Stratford is not a big city, but it is a beautiful one and it has a very distinctive character. The downtown has such “good bones” that it’s important to have good advice about urban design. Our Market Square in particular is really something very special; it is an extremely significant architectural treasure. The design for its revitalization has to be world-class. And its central location means that it can be the community’s vital heart as well as a gem of urban design and vision. Revitalizing it is a big project for our small city, but a setting such as this is a resource of immeasurable value.
And after all, Stratford has a tradition of doing what was considered impossibly big and daring. Tom Patterson said, “Let’s have a Shakespeare Festival,” and Stratford said, “Yes, we can do that.” Now have one, and it is world-class. Maybe we can draw on the same deep-rooted vision, determination, and resourcefulness to do something that big and challenging again. We certainly have the starting point. Now, as in Tom Patterson’s time, the crucial elements are a big vision and an open process in which the community and the experts work together, in which Stratford once again says, “This is who we are.”
Brandis has lived in Stratford since 1996 and is a full-time writer. She is the author of a number of books – visit Marianne's website
Published in the Stratford Gazette, 11 October 2012.
In July, Stratford’s Market Square team made a road trip to visit recently revitalized public spaces in Brantford, Waterloo, and Guelph.
In Guelph we met with Ian Panabaker, Corporate Manager in charge of the Downtown Renewal project. He told us that in 2006 City Council budgeted one million dollars to create a community space adjoining the new city hall. When the new Council (which included two landscape architects) took office, they stopped work on that design and mandated staff to come back with a design for a modern space with more facilities and features. Guelph’s new Market Square opened about a year ago and was an instant success. City Council views it as the biggest political hit of their term in office and are wondering what they can do for encores.
Our purpose in making this trip was to see what other cities were doing – nearby cities, facing some of the conditions and constraints that Stratford faces. We wanted to meet with the people who had dealt with these issues. We wanted to learn something about the history of the projects, the process followed when designing and building the spaces, and the impact of the completed spaces on the community.
Every city does it differently, but there are several common elements.
First of all, there has to be a clearly understood process. Of course there’s always a minimal process: decisions are made and work gets done. But something more is needed: a process that is infused with a big vision and directed by the best principles of urban design. The experience of other cities makes it clear that it shouldn’t be done just “any old how” but that some ways work better than others.
The second essential element is openness. Everyone agrees that the process has to be very open, with lots of input at all stages from stakeholders and the public. This input can take the form of surveys, public meetings, discussion groups, feed-back on a website. Everyone who has ideas and suggestions should have a chance to express them. The result will be a public space that really meets the community’s needs, that is a site and focal point for our activities and something we can be proud of.
The third crucial part of the process is to hire experts. Our Market Square is potentially a world-class space. Two of the people we talked to during our road trip compared it to the Campo in Siena, Italy, which is one of the iconic public spaces in the world. They put Stratford in that league because of its interesting shape, the wonderful vistas leading towards it, and the heritage facades which create its character. It is also the perfect size: research has been done on the optimum size for public spaces, and our Market Square meets that standard. It’s enclosed enough to have definition and to feel sheltering, and big enough so that it doesn’t feel cramped and allows all its sides to be seen from the best possible distance. It’s also ideal for a wide variety of public events, as is being demonstrated.
To make the most of this beautiful space, it’s necessary to work with experts. Many factors have to be taken into account, and there are people who know the questions to ask and the ways to weave the answers together to create a result that works. They understand the technical, engineering aspects of building a public space.
The experts will work with the community and give shape to the community’s needs, wishes, and vision. This is part of the “urban design” idea that I wrote about in my previous article and also of the process of moving from “design concept” to design. It’s where urban design merges with urban planning.
Stratford is not a big city, but it is a beautiful one and it has a very distinctive character. The downtown has such “good bones” that it’s important to have good advice about urban design. Our Market Square in particular is really something very special; it is an extremely significant architectural treasure. The design for its revitalization has to be world-class. And its central location means that it can be the community’s vital heart as well as a gem of urban design and vision. Revitalizing it is a big project for our small city, but a setting such as this is a resource of immeasurable value.
And after all, Stratford has a tradition of doing what was considered impossibly big and daring. Tom Patterson said, “Let’s have a Shakespeare Festival,” and Stratford said, “Yes, we can do that.” Now have one, and it is world-class. Maybe we can draw on the same deep-rooted vision, determination, and resourcefulness to do something that big and challenging again. We certainly have the starting point. Now, as in Tom Patterson’s time, the crucial elements are a big vision and an open process in which the community and the experts work together, in which Stratford once again says, “This is who we are.”
Brandis has lived in Stratford since 1996 and is a full-time writer. She is the author of a number of books – visit Marianne's website