Latest News

As conversations about the future of our high streets evolve, the issue of safety - both real and perceived - has become a feature to the debate. A thriving town centre is not just about footfall and shopfronts, but about people feeling welcome, comfortable, and confident to spend time there.

Ahead of an IPM webinar on 8th July, this latest blog by Kirsi Eronen from Turku Center in Finland highlights how stakeholders in one of the country’s most historic cities are working collaboratively to address complex safety challenges in their city centre.

The Institute of Place Management is pleased to confirm that Dr Lucy Montague will represent Manchester Metropolitan University at an upcoming roundtable hosted by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on New Towns.

Speaking to postgraduate students and researchers from the UK, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Australia - during a recent Place Research Seminar, part of the MSc Place Management and Leadership residential at Manchester Metropolitan University - James Child Head of Research from ING Media explores how digital conversations are reshaping the perception, competitiveness and performance of cities across Europe.

Dr Jenny Kanellopoulou, Senior Lecturer in Law at Manchester Metropolitan University and the Institute of Place Management, visits Chicago as part of IPM’s ongoing internationalisation work to build a global community of place managers and leaders.

Dr Ilze Mertena, Senior Lecturer at Manchester Metropolitan University and a member of the British Academy Early Career Researcher Network (ECRN), has been awarded a grant from the ECRN Seed Fund 2024 to lead an exciting new project that places independent high street businesses at the heart of the experience economy.

We were pleased to welcome Zuzana Mikulášová to the Institute of Place Management and Manchester Metropolitan University on her recent visit to learn more about our work and connect with our team. Zuzana is currently undertaking a PhD and, after considering where to base her research, chose Manchester Metropolitan University - recognising our world-leading position in the field ...

Just weeks after the local elections and amid growing momentum for local government reorganisation, the Institute of Place Management convened a national online event to explore a critical question: What role should town centres play in the UK’s evolving devolution agenda?   Chaired by Ian Harvey, Head of the Institute, the session brought together speakers from national bodies ...

To mark World Health Day 2025, the Institute of Place Management is pleased to share this guest blog by Esther Worboys, IPM Fellow and experienced place practitioner, reflecting on how the places we live, work and shop in can directly shape our health and wellbeing. This year, the World Health Day theme is maternal and new-born health – an issue of global urgency and deep local ...

We are delighted to confirm Dr Nicola Headlam as a keynote speaker at the upcoming IPM Place Platform Symposium, taking place on Tuesday 17th June 2025 at The Anthony Burgess Foundation, 3 Cambridge Street, Manchester, M1 5BY Dr Headlam is a Policy Fellow at the University of Birmingham’s LPIP (Leadership for Place-based Innovation and Policy) and the host of Placecast, a new p ...

In this timely and thought-provoking piece, Jean Ball SFIPM explores the evolving - and often contested - meanings of the words ‘Place’ and ‘Local’ in the context of placemaking, devolution, and civic participation. Drawing on recent IPM roundtable discussions and her own reflections, Jean challenges us to consider how language, scale, and democratic structures shape people’s s ...