The Living City

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Future Cities - What does London's future look like?

Lancashire 2025 needs your support to prove to the judges - the dcms aka department of culture media & sport (although I might be wrong on that point) - there is public support for the plans. The bid team submitted even though lancs county Lancashire County Council removed their support - Preston, Blackpool, and Blackburn all backed them. More will join when they see public support. A good move - so much work already done and Lancashire needs it. If we get this it will raise Lancashire’s profile, bring more money, visitors, and activity to the county and that means government will be more likely to invest in our infrastructure, not just culture. It’s about raising our profile. If you think that Lancashire as a whole deserves more financial support from central government, if you think that we need to redress the balance between £$€¥ money going to the big cities and not to our places, then sign the petition and let’s all show support and the will to get Lancashire revving up its energy 💥💥💥

Sign the Petition Support Lancashire 2025 bid for City of Culture

Might be for you

Preston City Council Sponsor 20 Free Webinar Places Preston City Council is sponsoring 20 free training places for Preston City Council residents on this autumn’s New Economy Programme’s Community Ownership and Democratic Business webinars.

Nature and Cognitive Development go hand in hand

Children growing up near woodlands or exposed to green spaces displayed better cognitive development and lower risk of emotional and behavioural problems, a new research study has revealed.

Works by female artists comprise a small share of major permanent collections in Europe and the U.S

At auction, women’s artworks sell for a significant discount compared with men’s.

Only two works by women have ever broken into the top 100 auction sales for paintings, despite women being the subject matter for approximately half of the top 25.

Why Is Work by Female Artists Still Valued Less Than Work by Male Artists? The historic and enduring valuing of works by male artists over works by their female peers may be rooted in fundamentally biased cultural value systems.

We are in awe of this sculpture which honours those who participated in the Black Lives Matter protests and creates a permanent tribute to the racial justice movement

New York artists turn plywood from Black Lives Matter protests into sculptures | amNewYork For New York artist Tanda Francis, the Black Lives Matter protests during the summer of 2020 were an historic event.

As part of The Living City we are always asking how we can be more sustainable.

Our diets play a major part in this, is regenerative agriculture the answer?

‘Sustainable isn’t a thing’: why regenerative agriculture is food’s latest buzzword Everyone from small farms to McDonald’s is getting involved in regenerative agriculture. Could it point the way to a better future for farming?

Just a couple of places left. You only need to attend one session
Email to book [email protected]

Interested in consumerism and sustainability?

The Living City programme is working with performance company ZU-UK to support their development of an interactive physical game exploring consumerism & sustainability. .

We need 12 people to take part in the test run of the interactive game at St George’s shopping centre.

Participants will be paid £20 expenses to take part and be provided with refreshments & local travel

What is involved?
Participants will be provided with a device through which they will follow instructions walking around the shopping centre to find hidden ghost stories. After the game the game developers will ask the participants some feedback questions to help with further development.

The game content includes adult themes, explicit language and issues around human rights, environmental issues, animal rights and difficult subjects.

Take Part: Email [email protected] with name & number, timeslot, and all names/numbers if you can bring 3 people, & we'll get back to you asap :)

Interested in sustainability?
Have some time spare on Tuesday or Wednesday next week?
Take a look at our call-out below regarding the free Hunt for Ghosts in St George's Shopping Centre

Could we use underground fridges to reduce our carbon footprint?

This sustainable underground fridge keeps food chilled naturally, no electricity needed! Our traditional designs deserve more merit than we give them – one of the best examples is the Groundfridge, a modern-day version of the cellar. Cellars have been used across the ages to stor…

Interested in consumerism and sustainability?

The Living City programme is working with performance company ZU-UK to support their development of an interactive physical game exploring consumerism & sustainability. .

We need 12 people to take part in the test run of the interactive game at St George’s shopping centre.

Participants will be paid £20 expenses to take part and be provided with refreshments & local travel

What is involved?
Participants will be provided with a device through which they will follow instructions walking around the shopping centre to find hidden ghost stories. After the game the game developers will ask the participants some feedback questions to help with further development.

The game content includes adult themes, explicit language and issues around human rights, environmental issues, animal rights and difficult subjects.

Take Part: Email [email protected] with name & number, timeslot, and all names/numbers if you can bring 3 people, & we'll get back to you asap :)

Can nature inform architecture?

Inspired by the Vietnam's lush landscapes, a new generation of architects is looking to embed nature into Vietnam’s construction culture

is nature in architecture something you would like to see in Preston?

How architects are greening up Vietnam’s hotel scene Inspired by the country’s lush landscapes, a new generation of architects is looking to embed nature into Vietnam’s construction culture. Joshua Zukas reports

These examples of bamboo architecture show how versatile and sustainable this material can be.

What are your thoughts on using bamboo as a sustainable resource?

Bamboo Architectural Designs that prove why this material is the future of modern, sustainable architecture: Part 2 Bamboo is gaining a lot of popularity as a sustainable material in the world of architecture! Bamboo is being used to create beautiful and majestic structures, that are green and respect their surr…

A really interesting read on how our cities can adapt in sustainable ways from AI informed farming methods and trains that use magnetic levitation

Whale Turbines and Toast Trackers: This is the City of the Future Discover the innovations of tomorrow (and today!) that will help us create a sustainable city and the civilization of the future.

What a brilliant idea! 🐝🐝🐝
Is this something you would have in your ideal Living City?

Bee-friendly bus stops topped with living roofs appear Don't 'bug out' but all the city's stops are set to be improved at no cost to the council

What will the future of cities look like?

For a more sustainable future in a world of climate change, 21st-century cities must be based on models of adaptation that learn from natural systems.

Farewell the utopian city. To cope with climate change we must learn from how nature adapts The utopian 20th-century model of a modern city – one that has been replicated around the world – is being exposed as unsuitable for adapting to the pace of change in the 21st century.

The Living City updated their business hours.

The Living City updated their website address.

Our workshops continue this weekend with Creative Collage and Textured Rubbings with Brendan Bunting.

Ever wanted to express yourself in the form of collage, want to create art inspired by your environment and concerns, or maybe you're an avid scrapbooker looking to expand your collage skills - this workshop is for everyone!

Sign up here https://withribbon.com/s/69240

Fab writing prompt from NWN!

Have you spent any time outside recently? 🌳 Nature can be an amazing source of writing inspiration, so we're encouraging you to go out – maybe to your local park, or just outside your door – and listen to the sounds in the environment. Really tune in to the sounds and see how they layer up on each other. Can you capture sounds in words?

Today's writing prompt was written by Sarah Tarbit. Share your responses with us using !

Feeling like you need an uplift? join the fabulous Claire Walmsley Griffiths in Shutter Release, bringing photography & wellbeing together. & if you're local to Preston, you could find inspiration with many photographs dotted around the city centre as part of the fantastic Lancashire Photography Festival by Garry Cook - find out more & download the map here: https://enjoyshow.co.uk/

Happy Easter Monday.

We will be spending our day doing the 1st instalment of CJGriffiths Photography Claire Walmsley-Griffiths SHUTTER RELEASE.

Claire's photography session can be done on a phone camera and is suitable for beginners. It's the perfect opportunity to learn a new skill whilst simultaneously helping your wellbeing.

https://the-living-city.org/2021/04/01/claire-walmsley-griffiths-shutter-release-%ef%bb%bf/

Fab photography across Preston this month - download the map and wander round!

Lancashire Photography Festival – map and line up Here is thefestival map and details of who is showing images at all 17 locations in Preston.The festival launches on April 2, 2021 across the city of Preston, Lancashire. Download the festival pdf …

We are so very happy it’s spring. Big love x

Happy Spring Equinox! 🌷 Today we welcome in the first day of astronomical spring 👋

📷 Josh Dury Photo-Media

Here are 5 ways to destress whilst being creative - plus how you can do all these things for free this month

5 Ways to to destress while being creative – The Living City Here at The Living City, this month and throughout April, we are focusing on finding ways to improve our wellbeing whilst being creative and learning new skills. Here are 5 ways to destress in a creative way along with the proven benefits of doing so. You can also sign up to do these things for free...

Free Writing Workshops for Anxiety

Writing can be a great way to manage and release anxiety. It's not about writing a masterpiece, it's about having fun learning a skill that can help you to manage anxiety.

Our workshop leader is award-winning norther poet Louise Fazackerley, she's fun, unpretentious and will unleash your creativity.

You won't have to share your work if you don't want to, you won't have to have your camera on if you don't want to - (though we do love to see your faces because speaking to black screens is REALLY hard!)

Here's a personal experience of how writing can help with anxiety and depression https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/your-stories/writing-my-way-through-anxiety-and-depression/
Book here https://the-living-city.org/art-workshop-booking/

Writing my way through anxiety and depression Paul explains how putting pen to paper has enabled him to address his anxiety and depression.

What do you think?
In our Preston Voices series people said they loved the Fishergate transformation and would like to see more indie businesses, could this be a step towards making that a reality?

Watch how Friargate and Ringway in Preston city centre to look after £14.7m revamp Aerial view of the new Ringway and Friargate junction Pic: Lancashire County Council Prestonians and visitors are being invited to give their views on desig

Exciting work happening at the Harris!

Balconi Balconi is a free online concert featuring Cold Bath Street streamed live using binaural microphone technology to replicate space.

Check out our free arts & wellbeing programme for Prestonians
😍🤩

Free arts and wellbeing workshops to help Prestonians emerge from lockdown Brendan Bunting from Can’t Draw? Don’t Worry! will run some of the workshops Prestonians are being invited to a series of online creative wellbeing