What should Leeds be for famous for?

To steal the epitaph from Anthony H Wilson’s headstone, revealed last week, I’d like Leeds to be a ‘cultural catalyst’ and to decide that this is how it will present itself to the rest of the world.

Picking up on several themes from the interesting comments on the What if Leeds blog, some of which were raised at the Leeds City Vision conference, I’d like the city to focus on behaving towards people as citizens, not consumers. Leeds architect Irena Bauman commented in her book ‘How to be a Happy Architect’ on the value of public squares in a city, primarily for the people who live there. She draws a comparison with Millennium Square which often is circled by litter-strewn wheelie bins and cheap barricades, obscuring the paid-for activity taking place within. Imagine if Millennium Square was planned as a creative, connected space with its citizens, not consumers in mind.

Leeds is, and has been for centuries, progressive in manufacturing, commerce, education, retail, healthcare, digital technologies and probably many more fields that I know nothing about. Out of this Leeds have grown Opera North, Phoenix Dance, the Northern Art Prize, Northern School of Contemporary Dance, East Street Arts, Leeds International Pianoforte Competition, West Indian Carnival, Leeds Lieder and loads more arts organisations, all of them home grown. At the same time, there is a social divide in the city.

Familiarity with our culture is an inheritance and we have a right to curiosity. Leeds should build on these cultural treasures to create a generation that is knowledgeable and familiar with its art and culture: treating culture as a public service – a utility like water, gas, electricity. It creates spaces where all participants are equal and it provides shared memories and the chance to be freed from cultural inhibitions. Culture is not medicinal or civilising but it produces humanity and society.

It’s also a key attractor for the corporate sector, seeking to do business in places where the workforce wants to live, where other businesses can form links in their supply chain and where the Chief Executive’s children can enjoy a good education.

It was interesting that the cultural champion at the City Centre Conference was Gerald Jennings of Land Securities, the company behind the new Trinity Leeds scheme who, in his presentation, commented that Leeds’ promotion of itself as the ‘Knightsbridge of the North’ is fourteen years old; long past its sell by date. Instead, in spite of – or perhaps because of – his depth of knowledge and understanding of consumer behaviour, trends and city centre development, Jennings praised the very creative and well-connected Art in Unusual Spaces and cited the city’s need to focus on its cultural life to differentiate itself in the market place.

There are many examples of cities promoting their cultural assets, to great effect, as drivers of inward investment and tourism, an idea I support fully for Leeds. Paris famously opened the Centre Pompidou in 1977 and in the next decade, the Louvre ‘Pyramid’ reminding the world and its residents of its cultural significance and willingness to take risks. Following a successful Barcelona Olympics in 1992, the city threw the spotlight on celebrations of local artists Miro (1993), Gaudi (2002) and Dali (2004).

Closer to home, British company Artichoke astounded and inspired the citizens of London, Liverpool and Durham with its imaginative – previously unimaginable - programme of free public events. I attended an event recently in Liverpool where the local chief of police, whilst facing cuts to her policing budget, stepped forward to give a passionate plea for more cultural events like the breathtaking ‘spider’ La Princesse, which gave local people a lasting sense of pride, described by one of the Artichoke directors as “shared fun”.

York’s solution to creating a safer city centre at night that would attract more families and older people, would counter the lairy drinking culture and would stimulate the evening economy for local businesses was to commission artists to project work onto historic buildings. What began 6 years ago as a one-off is now a stunning and successful annual, free event, attended by tens of thousands of local people and featuring nationally and internationally in the media, showing York as a contemporary, historic, imaginative place.

Wouldn’t it be great if Leeds demonstrated the spirit of civic leaders during the 18th and 19th century building explosion in Europe that created libraries, galleries and theatres as centres to raise the spirits, cultivate the minds and educate the citizens. We have those spaces, although their futures are incredibly insecure, let’s use them more, or better.

The new plans being developed for the ‘city park’ at the South Bank of Leeds are an exciting opportunity for the city to set the tone of how it wants to develop and what it wants Leeds to be famous for. If Leeds decided to be an engine of progress with a commitment to being creative and connected, that could make an interesting touchstone for the many and complex decisions that will be made along the way. Lots of people involved could have some fun with putting creativity at the heart of the South Bank. A truly connected park might make it open to all, with free wifi, easy physical access, in touch with the best international precedents and with space where people come into contact with others for shared fun.

If Leeds decided to present itself to the rest of the world in this way, would 'Live It, Love It' be good enough for its citizens?

A whisper is more seductive than a shout

In a quietish corner of Southern Leeds is a place that would give Simon Jenkins hope and show that some planners and architects in England actively share his view. He might not have heard much about it because, unfortunately, it's not the tallest or the most costly and it doesn't have a starchitect's signature. It's a thoughtful, integrated piece of design that will make ordinary people's day a bit better.
In spring 2009, a dark, noisy, unpleasant and very busy tunnel - an important gateway that connects Leeds city centre to the southern Holbeck and Beeston areas - will be transformed into ‘Light’ Neville Street. This artist's impression is by Iain Denby. The ambitious, £4.6million improvement combines the talents of Bauman Lyons Architects, engineers and acoustic experts Arup, Berlin-based sound and light artist Hans Peter Kuhn and local graphic designer Andy Edwards. Hans Peter Kuhn's work around the world, beautifully photographed by Gerhard Kassner, is currently on display at PSL [Project Space Leeds].

The tunnel will improve the link between the city centre and the communities of Holbeck and Beeston, via Holbeck's 'urban village'. Holbeck's star rose in the 18th century when pioneering industrialists, merchants and traders benefited from the area’s proximity to the commercial centre and the natural trade route along the River Aire. The cradle of Leeds’ former industrial might contains a wealth of industrial premises, some of which emulate the Egyptian Temple of Horus (image below) or a series of Italianate Towers in style.

The sympathetically developing Holbeck Urban Village respects its industrial heritage and the stunning architectural legacy that includes 33 listed buildings, with the standard for design set five years ago by phase one of multi-award winning development, The Round Foundry.

The intention for this southern bit of Leeds is to improve to the highest design standards, the roads, tunnels, pavements, cycle paths, lighting, green spaces and everyday places that most of us take for granted.

It's what Wayne Hemingway, who has made a plea for 'iconic pavements' instead of 'iconic' skyscrapers, has been championing for ages.

Beauty surrounds, health abounds

I love Morecambe. For years the butt of everyone's jokes (such as: Morecambe props its dead people up in bus shelters to make the place look busy - hilarious), this summer the reopening of the blingtastic Midland Hotel has shunted Morecambe into the broadsheets and glossy magazines, in a good way, as never before.

What I admire about Morecambe is the way that it treasures its natural assets, understanding their value for everyone, resident or visitor. Since the arrival in 2001 of the statue by Graham Ibbeson of Eric Morecambe, the beautiful and thoughtful tern project has developed the promenade with the aim of encouraging people just to enjoy Morecambe's stunning seafront. Inspiration and life-affirming wellbeing for free.

Skirting over the teething problems of running The Midland (as I said, I love Morecambe), I hope the momentum for change that the revived hotel has brought to the town, won't turn the heads of those behind its regeneration and that they continue to cherish its unique, natural landscape above all.

Plans to build on the sea-side of the promenade are being hotly debated in The Visitor and the second English pier to be destroyed this year by fire highlights the problems of maintaining those coastal assets that no longer draw the crowds. Morecambe used to have two piers and a stunning lido, all of which provided great ways to take in the sea air. Instead of building a block of flats next to the Midland, where the relatively few people who live in them can grab some of the best views, can Morecambe find a way to make the views pay and benefit everyone?

What Southwold Pier has created is great but Morecambe doesn't yet attract the numbers of well-heeled visitors (or down-at-heel Prime Ministers) that would make a pier a good bet. But I for one would love to sit in an office on a pier - could Morecambe create a new workplace pier with public areas for everyone to enjoy too?

Or a marina that would attract sea-faring visitors to the town, revenue for local business owners and more reasons for Sandgrownuns to promenade along the promenade.