Big levers in Whitehall can’t stop the retail bloodbath. It’s going to need more devolution and inspired local leadership to help our town centres survive and thrive.
When Eric Garcetti was elected mayor of Los Angeles in 2013, one of the first things he did was to launch a Great Streets initiative to reimagine the city’s streets, one street at a time.
He made it very much a personal mission, speaking passionately about how he’d seen the city’s character deteriorate over the years through the decline of neighbourhoods and poor planning.
