...THIS CITY IS AMAZING
An alternative strategy for Sheffield
Sheffield is changing before our eyes like a very slow, very disappointing magic trick. But no-one responsible for this change has ever really told people what the end result will look like, because they've never really thought about it. And as any management consultant will tell you, if you fail to plan you plan to fail. Sheffield First, the shadowy junta in charge of the city's direction, asked two questions to find out what people want their city to be. Here they are:
1) What is great or unique about Sheffield and what makes it distinctive?
2) What do you want the city to be famous for in ten years time?
The first question is one of the easiest questions I've ever been asked. Sheffield is unique because it's so green it's like living in a forest; because it's produced the best pop music in the world ever; because it's experimented with cutting edge modern buildings. Because it's friendly, a social city. And because its whole attitude is non-conformist: it has never once done what it's supposed to.
What would I like it to be famous for? Well that's easy too, because it's the same thing. It seems obvious to us: if you want your city to be famous, you have to make it different to other places. The greenery, the music, the friendliness: these make it different to other cities. So it's these that could draw people to Sheffield, make it a place to visit, an individual city.
RIGHT NOW these differences are being hidden, ignored. The ideas that are running our city are the same ideas as every other: shopping, office buildings, economics, retail per square foot. These are the ideas that will feature in Sheffield First's new City Strategy, and they will make our city disappear into all the others.
Imagine instead, if Sheffield's differences were the key points of the city, the reason it existed, the foundations it was built on. A strategy for the city has to be based on these things. It's the only way to make Sheffield stand out. All the brilliant plus points of Sheffield that you and I see every day, the things that make us love our city, brought to the fore instead of brushed under the carpets. This city could be amazing.
This is our strategy. Sheffield could be these things:
A GREEN CITY
We could go from being the greenest city in the north to The Greenest City in The North. We think it should be painted on a building outside the station, written in white letters on the hills. And we think it should be at the heart of how the city changes. Green roofs, zero energy new buildings. A new ring of parks around the city, on dead ground, a new park over the old Wicker Viaduct. The best public transport in Britain, flat fare buses, new trams to Woodseats, Hunters Bar, the Northern General. A new canal in the Lower don Valley. Recycling on every corner. The city would be famous for being the first to stick its neck out and say: we're doing something.
A MODERN CITY
Sheffield has a modernist heritage like no other. Park Hill is at the centre, the most progressive building in the North (true). But look at that Arts Tower; look at the Crucible; look at the Charter Row power station. We should sympathetically refurbish and care for our modern buildings. Redo the Moor in it's original spirit. We should build on this with a museum of modernism, telling the story of this city - and this country - in the 20th century. Make Sheffield gleam again.
A MUSIC CITY
The sound of this city is amazing. A whole pop movement was based here, so many world famous bands and songs. And not once have we blown our own trumpet (if you'll pardon the pun). We could make music our mission. Every vacant building opened up to artists and musicians for six months at a time, administrated by Creative Sheffield (because they'll have to fill their days somehow), to rehearse and practice and make something new. A new record industry springing up around these creatives, bringing jobs and even money. An internationally renowned electronic music festival every spring, like a British Sonar. This city is the home of electronica. We need to celebrate it.
ARCHITECTURE CITY
The decision to build good buildings is a conscious one. The decision to build St Paul's Place was a conscious decision too. In Barcelona, Glasgow, Amsterdam, the decision was taken to build in a new and individual style, which has come to define the city. I'm not saying we should build fake Gaudí. Instead, Sheffield First should run a competition to build on Sheffield's sloping streets, a new style that can come to define our city. And they should incentivise the re-use and refurbishment of all those cool old factories. We could be beautiful.
A PUNK CITY
The other reason that Sheffield is unique is that everything it has ever said or thought or done has been non-conformist. It's a punk city in this respect. The Socialist Republic of South Yorkshire, non-conformist Christianity, electronic music, The Designers Republic. It's a city for new ideas. Sheffield thinks different. This has got to inform how we talk about Sheffield. Instead of pretending we're just like all the others, instead of lame, generic, 'City On The Up' slogans, we should be proud of our difference. Confident because we stand out, not ashamed. We should be shouting SHEFFIELD IS A DIFFERENT CITY, for all the reasons listed above. It isn't like yours. That's why it's cool.One last thing: as well as telling people all this, Sheffield First have to make it happen. They think Sheffield should be a City of European Distinction. But you can't become a City of European Distinction just by saying you are. Isn't that obvious to anyone else? The only way to become a City of European Distinction is to do something really, really, really well. Don't just say 'Sheffield is Growing': put your weight behind a couple of things - music, design, steel, environment, anything. Have the balls to run with a big idea. You have to earn distinction, not award it to yourselves.
Sheffield isn't a big city or a high rise city in the same way that Manchester or Birmingham are. It's a good place to be for different reasons. We don't need to ape those other cities. We have enough heritage and culture and ideas to forge our own identity. It's all here in front of us. If you want a city strategy, all you need to do is open your eyes.
We said this a year ago, and we'll go on saying it until someone listens.