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Placemaking Framework

Last updated:
16 April 2026

Groups of connected white lines with white circles on the ends.
Knowledge Exchange Design System, Brand and Creative Services, UAL

UAL supports the inclusive growth of the places in which we are located.

We have a long-term commitment to be an active contributor to a rich and varied portfolio of activities, projects and programmes. These are delivered with and within the locales of our sites across London, and with partners regionally, nationally and internationally.

Placemaking is central to our institutional mission, helping us to:

  • develop more impactful place-based partnerships with shared delivery objectives and resourcing commitments
  • maximise grant-funding, investment and other resources leveraged to benefit the local stakeholders of our priority places. This includes the number of local businesses and organisations we support, and the new products, services and jobs this support enables
  • increase participation in our place-based capacity building and skills development programmes.

Placemaking is what happens when we commit to working in a place, with people, over time, towards a shared vision and for mutual benefit.

As an ongoing programme and portfolio of activities, Placemaking is about making a long-term investment in coordinated activities, with strategic intent, in our local geographies.

Placemaking vs place-based

We differentiate activities delivered in a place with a group of people (such as those delivered as part of public and community engagement) and Placemaking activities by intent and longevity – not necessarily duration.

Placemaking projects work iteratively and cumulatively to build long-term impact over time and place. They support inclusive development and create a legacy within our priority places.

Placemaking that is responsive to context

We recognise there is a dynamic set of factors relevant to places that need to be taken into consideration when developing Placemaking projects:

  • policy (local, regional, national)
  • commercial trends
  • social and cultural conditions
  • ambitions, priorities and needs of the consortia, communities and networks operating in our local geographies
  • our own institutional interests as a specialist arts and design university.

We explore these contextual boundaries early, and review and update often, to ensure the most comprehensive evidence-based understanding of the context we are working within.

Placemaking that is local and global

As an anchor institution within our local geographies, we have a vested, long-term interest in supporting sustainable, inclusive social and economic development.

We have both a responsibility as a social purpose-driven university and agency as a large, long-standing and well-resourced organisation to catalyse and contribute to initiatives with policy makers, commercial and industry partners, cultural and community groups and individuals that address shared goals and challenges.

Additionally, UAL has the capacity to deliver on our Placemaking objectives, understanding our staff and students as societal resources and the local context as a place to test, learn and grow place-based solutions.

As a global university, we seek global impact. We work in partnership to explore which of our Placemaking outputs and approaches may be transferable. We bring our innovative and operational capacity to bear on global challenges and our expertise in culture and creativity-led Placemaking to place-based partnerships across regional and international contexts.

In these scenarios we recognise our responsibility and agency as an ‘outsider’ to the places and people we are working with. We take great efforts to understand and reflect this in our practices and processes.

Our Placemaking Manifesto presents the shared objectives and desired impacts of our Placemaking Community of Practice. The manifesto helps us to assess Placemaking opportunities and refine our approach to maximise positive impact and mitigate against any unintended, potentially negative, effects of our actions.

Through Placemaking, UAL can make a difference by helping to make a place more:

  • Accessible: We widen participation and support marginalised and under-represented groups to take part.
  • Equitable: We address systemic power imbalances, support the redistribution of power and prosperity, and bring about more collaborative and inclusive decision-making.
  • Inclusive: We ensure that the voices and interests of all relevant stakeholders are heard and considered together. We align cultural activation, enterprise and cultural production towards more inclusive growth.
  • Sustainable: We embed behaviours and activities that contribute towards net zero goals.
  • Innovative: We work with diverse partners to create an environment that nurtures and tests new ideas, products, services, policy and processes.
  • Prosperous: We provide business and innovation support to local micro, small and medium sized enterprises, to help them to achieve sustainable growth.

Accountability

Placemaking is a complex, multi-faceted, long-term commitment to local places and the people that live and work there. The complexity of places and place-based societal challenges is such that attributing impact to specific interventions can be difficult.

We cannot hold ourselves to a pass/fail view on delivered activity. Evaluation aims to help us understand what works and improve our performance. A nuanced evaluation system must aim to track outcomes towards delivering on our overall objectives, over time. This allows us to track progress and trends with a view to adjusting delivery to maximise positive impact towards agreed goals.

On a place-by-place basis, we will work to co-define the desired impacts with our partners and the communities that we are working with and within.

We will co-develop local plans aligned with local common goals and missions. We will support the co-production of portfolios of activity that clearly articulate ‘what’ initiatives will contribute and 'how'.

The UAL Placemaking Logic Model shows the mechanisms we use to help achieve the objectives set out in our Placemaking Manifesto. It was developed through analysis and synthesis of UAL Placemaking practices.

Our Logic Model provokes reflection on what the objectives of our placemaking practices might be. It also provides inspiration for planning projects that help to achieve these objectives.

Download the UAL Placemaking Logic Model (PDF 870KB)

Our case studies exemplify the depth and breadth of UAL Placemaking practices.

Explore our Placemaking case studies to see how we work to realise shared visions and achieve mutual benefits.