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What Makes Downtowns Different?

Liverpool, like other British cities, has been developed along ordered town planning principles for the last 50 years. We have been building a city centre instead of a Downtown...VERY unexciting!


City Centres define and segregate amenities and facilities according to type, in-line with conventional methodology and town planning.

Downtown is more organic. It is flexible and can respond to the creativity, entrepreneurialism and needs for convenience of people.


City Centres arrange needs and uses into neatly organised boxes, districts or zones according to the plan, generally into Retail, Culture, Leisure and Big Business. It limits these activities to their designated area and so ultimately limits their amount. The plan determines how much use is designated - and no more.

Downtown thrives on complexity. Residents, services and business are more loosely mixed and grow where most appropriate. You can find the apartment block next to the corporate headquarters, the bank next to the chemists and the florists next door to Marks & Spencer's...all one one street! The level of activity only limited by the ingenuity enterprise and imagination of its citizens. More means more!

City Centre plans do not consider opportunities and potential, especially the greater potential of mixing activities together. The hardware of the plan is all, the software that is about people, synergy and growth, or the extra spins, catalysts and opportunities provided through mixing, sharing and networking are not explored.

Downtown's are exciting and productive places. They maximise opportunities to reside, do business, improve quality of life and share experiences through this mix. Growth is celebrated and passionately encouraged. Development is intensified in response to needs and demand. Downtown generates the critical mass that enables great cities to maintain their advantage over lesser places.

People downtown on one task may avail themselves of another as the mix provides this extra opportunity for amenity or business.

Downtown incredible intricacy and complexity is appreciated and helped to flourish. Networks are formed; new markets are identified and swiftly exploited. Enjoyment and entertainment are an integral part of the mix.

Downtown is seen as being fundamentally about diversity, communicating, combining, synergising and being able to utilise and build upon the incredible potential that is unleashed, in order to further improve and expand attractions, opportunities and support.

City Centres provide -

Spatially organised services
The requisite amount any one zone can accommodate

A Downtown Approach encourages -

Diversity
Extra business growth and new markets
Investment
Effective communication of its values
Culture, vibrancy, excitementEnjoyment
Convenience and amenity
Downtowners
Opportunities for quality development
Facilities
Inclusion
Intensity
Culture
Possibility
Opportunity

GROWTH!

Downtown Liverpool has been undersold for forty years. It is time that vision, ambition and pride once again drives development of Liverpool's downtown!

© 2005 Downtown Liverpool Organisation