Evaluation
The numbers of people and levels of activity in Birmingham's central streets and public spaces are a testament to the success of the city centre regeneration project. Vast numbers of people are on the move on foot, some in a hurry going to and from places of work as well as others moving at a more leisurely pace.
People use a variety of streets and newly created open spaces - main shopping streets, canalsides with cafés and restaurants, business areas, and the gardens and streets surrounding the cathedral where improvement works are nearing completion - many others use newly created spaces to meet, talk, play, eat, skateboard, travel by boat, cycle, read, juggle, or sit and watch.
The city centre is a hotch-potch of colours, styles, textures, materials and heights, with the interventions adding to this diversity, sometimes relating to it or to dominant features nearby and sometimes not, and Birmingham's former image of a confused and cluttered space has not been completely dispelled.
Co-ordination on design, planning, implementation and maintenance is an unresolved issue particularly in relation to issues of clutter and quality. However, continuity is now a dominant characteristic, achieved by inserting links for routes wherever possible, even through public buildings, most notably the Mail Box, The Convention Centre and Paradise Forum, thereby creating interesting and lively indoor spaces.
Comfort, ease and interest for pedestrians is integrated in different sections of the routes, with generous provision of seats, litter bins, signs, lighting, ramps and surfaces that are easy to walk over. As a result not only do large numbers use the spaces, but they include people of all ages, including the very young, the old and the disabled. There is little litter, which is a major achievement for a busy city centre area and an indication of a good sense of ownership.
The way in which the dominance of cars has been altered is particularly striking. The pedestrian bridge linking Paradise Forum to Centenary Square seems, from the point of view of the pedestrian, to continue a seamless route, and the fact that it crosses a busy dual carriageway road is almost imperceptible. Similarly refurbishing and imaginative lighting has dramatically improved the quality of the underpass to the Mail Box, integrating it more closely, both visually and physically, with the wider pedestrian network.
The regeneration of the city centre has attracted large numbers of overseas visitors. Birmingham is now the most visited location outside London, and with major events held in the conference and sport facilities. The new lease of life will doubtless continue to make Birmingham a successful 21st century city and regional centre, and a shining example to countless other cities.
