Learning from blackpool: re-enchanting sterile streets

Contemporary urban streets are over-regulated, preoccupied with surveillance, commercial requirements and rapid transit, aesthetically homogeneous and sensually sterile. As an exemplary site of contrast, we focus on the recently redesigned Blackpool (UK) Promenade. First, it argues this redesign honours the resort’s popular traditions, its potent heritage and the importance of innovation. Second, it explores how the promenade fosters playful interactions, conviviality and lingering. Third, the article focuses on sensory attributes that enhance the experience of promenaders.