What if a small rural town in England could learn from the fortunes of a town in Mississippi, USA? Or, a town on the coast of Scotland learn the secrets of a thriving town in Finland?
In the new 'Turnaround Towns’ report launched today by the Carnegie UK Trust we highlight how previously struggling towns from around the world have transformed their fortunes and created vibrant, prosperous places for people to live – and explore what these lessons could mean for towns in the UK.
The case studies – compiled for the Trust by Jane-Frances Kelly, former Director of the Cities Programme at the Gratton Institute in Australia – come from towns in the USA, Australia, New Zealand, Germany and Finland. They demonstrate how towns have rebuilt their economies, found a new sense of purpose, engaged their citizens, developed new local leaders and committed themselves to achieving real, lasting change.
We must avoid the temptation of policy transfer – approaches that work well in one jurisdiction are rarely replicated successfully in another, very different, place. But equally, we must be open to policy learning – to understand how and why initiatives have worked in a variety of different settings and consider what inspiration these examples might provide for our own local contexts.
Stories involving local artists, penguins, community activists, entrepreneurs and elected representatives demonstrate the many very different ways that change can be achieved.
The towns we analysed all had a strong sense of purpose – a clear story or narrative about themselves which was recognised and held in common by both residents and those from outside the community. Duluth in Minnesota celebrates both its industrial heritage and its location on Lake Superior, and is growing and attracting new businesses through an attractive combination of culture, music and outdoor activities. Oamaru in New Zealand has made itself famous for its Victorian architecture has become the country’s capital of ‘steampunk’.
Building on this sense of a wider goal, it is significant that none of the towns featured in the research focused solely on their economy in their drive to achieve improvement. They wanted to improve the entire experience of living in the town for residents, to offer secure livelihoods alongside a clear sense of identity and strong social connections.
While none of the case studies were all about the economy, economic improvement was at the heart of each of the stories. The research reinforces that a successful economy is the central, critical component of a thriving town. All the examples featured in the study took clear, deliberate action to improve their economic position – often over many years.
Some clear lessons also emerged from the case studies about the process for achieving change.
Local leadership of the process was critical. The towns featured in the research had both the levers and capacity to initiate actions to bring about improvement. They took ownership and responsibility for doing so, while drawing in external resources and support as required.
Altena, in Germany, supplies nearly a fifth of the world’s steel wire. Despite also having a popular tourist attraction of 12th century castle on a hilltop just outside the town, it began to struggle following the 2008 economic crisis with major businesses leaving and the town’s population in decline. The town’s leaders took decisive action, recognising that a major opportunity was being missed with only a relatively small proportion of the 100,000 plus visitors to the castle each year actually visiting the town itself. A new elevator was built to link the castle and the town centre, which quickly reaped significant benefits.
Alongside leadership, a high degree of community engagement was a key ingredient in the success of many of the case study stories. A remarkable example came from Douglas, Georgia where a welcoming event organised by the Chamber of Commerce for a company considering relocating to the town attracted 500 local residents to the airport at less than 24 hours’ notice, to give the visitors a warm welcome. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the company eventually selected Douglas as the site for their business.
This example also illustrates another significant message from the case studies – the importance of cross-sector collaboration – finding common cause across traditional public, private, third sector and community boundaries in order to achieve practical outcomes. Examples range from the apparently simple – the colocation in Douglas of the Chamber of Commerce and the Economic Development Agency to the more unusual – a collaboration in Paducah, Kentucky between local artist groups and the town’s planners to create a unique housing and regeneration programme led by artists.
Finally, the research emphasised the importance of time and flexibility in achieving significant social and economic change in towns. None of the case studies were overnight successes, all had to work hard over many years to achieve their desired goals. They often had highly adaptable approaches, trying new solutions to find out what worked in challenging circumstances.
How can we draw on some of these lessons for UK towns?
Firstly, we need to improve the recognition we give to towns as valuable, distinct entities in their own right. We need more data and more evidence about our towns and ‘what works’ in achieving success. We need to ensure mechanisms are in place to help towns develop local leaders and foster community participation. And we need to help our towns work together, recognising their different strengths for mutual gain.
Time for Towns sets out key asks for all those interested and working in town socioeconomic development across the UK and Ireland.
Douglas White is head of advocacy for the Carnegie UK Trust.
