Man Met Talks... about The Future of the High Street

In this talk, Professor Cathy Parker MBE will explore how high streets can be revived through people‑focused regeneration.

Professor Cathy Parker MBE has been researching an alternative approach to regeneration – one that starts not with buildings or blueprints, but with local leadership, partnerships, and people. This talk brings this together with five years of national evidence from her research leadership of the High Streets Task Force, a government-funded programme that supported over 150 towns and cities across England. In this latest talk, Cathy will share...

• Why high streets fail (or succeed) – and what the evidence really shows about how people use town centres today.
• What people-powered regeneration looks like in practice, and why local leadership, partnerships and skills consistently matter more than short-term projects or physical redesign.
• How five years of national data from over 150 towns and cities changes the way we should think about vitality, viability and “success”.
• Why places that invest in local capacity and coordination are better able to turn funding, policy and ambition into lasting change.
• What this evidence means for the future of high streets – and what residents, practitioners, policymakers and students can take away from three decades of Manchester Met research into making better places.

If you are an Alumni of Manchester Metropolitan University you can register for this event here.