River Don — 30 years of projects across South Yorkshire

Sheffield's Investment Zone: an opportunity to showcase the city’s “green” future?

The UK’s first Investment Zone has been declared spanning Sheffield city centre, the Lower Don Valley, Rotherham and beyond. The economic objectives are clear, but there is little mention of sustainability.

This feels like a major omission and a lost opportunity. The Investment Zone is home to many businesses that support a sustainable future. Sheffield has committed to net zero carbon by 2030 and is known for its pioneering work to create sustainable urban places. Why not build on this experience and know-how to create the UK’s “greenest” Investment Zone?

Imagine extending Grey to Green across Sheffield city centre and using the river, canal, railway, roads and development sites of the Lower Don Valley to showcase what an adaptive and resilient urban environment should be.

Placemaking, Regeneration, Climate EmergencyMiranda Plowden20 September 2023Don Valley, urban ecology, Oliver Gilbert, wild figs, David Nash, Sheffield Development Corporation, Carbrook Hall, pleached limes, Chatsworth, Green Estate, Nigel Dunnett, Grey to Green, River Don Comments

Dun Works, Sheffield: how can one person's enthusiasms generate a brand that speaks to a whole neighbourhood?

South Yorkshire Housing Association has ventured into a new type of housing: 225 flats for market rent in Kelham Island, Sheffield's most up and coming urban neighbourhood, recently voted one of the top 10 places to live in the UK.

These new homes are aimed at a new audience for us and needed a new approach to branding. But how to create a brand that is authentic, celebrates the neighbourhood and communicates our social values?

Brand, PlacemakingMiranda Plowden27 August 2021Dun Works, Kelham Island, Fat Cat, River Don, John Donne, Richard Hawley, Owen Waterhouse, Cheyne Capital Management, Justine Gaubert, Jonny Wilkinson, South Yorkshire Housing AssociationComment