The idea
We have developed a series of award-winning and hugely successful street markets and also popup (or meanwhile) spaces, which have gained national acclaim. They are built on our expert knowledge of urban regeneration and urban design, which combine towards broader themes of ‘placemaking’ (which is one of our core purposes as a purpose-driven company and BCorp).
Welsh Government, as part of the Covid recovery response, commissioned us to assist in developing best practice approaches for both street markets and also popup/meanwhile spaces in empty shops, and to contribute more generally to aspects of placemaking.
What we did
We were invited to participate in a series of meetings of the SW Wales regional town centres group, comprised of local authorities and convened by Welsh Government officers. The meetings commenced shortly after the start of the first Covid lockdown and have continued regularly since. We also participated and advised sub-groups of the main group on the themes of markets and meanwhile spaces.
As well as the input to the collaborative approaches to post-Covid recovery, we developed guides (see links at the bottom) for both markets and popup/meanwhile spaces, each in two formats – a short quick-read and a second in-depth guide. The guides draw on our knowledge of successfully developing and delivering these initiatives ourselves coupled with research into approaches elsewhere.
Impacts of our work
As a result of our work and recommendations, Welsh Government’s Transforming Towns funding for town and district commercial centres now incorporates provisions for the support of both markets and popup (meanwhile space) measures as well as various elements related to placemaking, including green infrastructure.
Furthermore, the current Welsh Government programme of work includes both street markets and popups/meanwhile spaces as key elements of the post-Covid recovery.
Other local authorities are also now actively pursuing approaches for markets and/or popup/meanwhile uses.
Downloads
You can download the guides (each is in PDF format) here:
