Property X-Change launched on July 13, 2022, with an inspiring event at City Hall. Here you can watch the live recording of ‘Mock the Street, a dynamic panel discussion designed for the occasion to celebrate our values of diversity, collaboration, and experimentation.

Property X-Change celebrates diverse voices, collaboration, and experimentation in high street regeneration and property development. Everyone who signed up to join the platform’s launch was invited to put their hand up and join a dynamic panel discussion on the evening of the event.

More than a third of the 130+ guests took us up on this offer and, with a brand-new panel format, we were able to get 15 people on stage in the span of a 30-minute programme.

‘Mock the Street’ was inspired by the BBC programme ‘Mock the Week’, which invites rapid-fire responses to a variety of prompts. Mixing serious and light-hearted questions, our version featured three sets of panellists, five questions per panel, and 90 seconds to answer. The panel was expertly hosted by Adam Scott, director of the experience masterplanning agency Freestate.

Wave 1

The theme of the first wave was ‘A taste of culture’, bringing together Marie Williams (Dream Networks), Michael Blake (Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea), Yasmin Jones-Henry (ING Media), David Barrie (onRedchurch), and Ramsey Yassa (Nooma Studio).

In response to the question ‘Meanwhile use – a great opportunity or a lacklustre compromise?’, Yasmin responded: “I think they are a great opportunity because they are a living lab. They can allow developers and investors to experiment to see how future user groups would use the space before they create the final product. It could actually save money in the long run, whilst allowing communities to co-create what the permanent thing will be.” Marie stepped in next: “Just building on what Yasmin said, I think we forget that when you create this space, you are actually creating a community, you are building a commons.”

Adam summarised the discussion: “These five globetrotters gave us fine examples from all over the world. Leaping from Nairobi to Brixton, they imagined community activism with a dash of Spiderman’s friendly neighbourhood superpowers. As they celebrated co-created playscapes and high streets as giant living labs, they recommended that such richness, such empathy would only become real if it was founded on policy with sharp teeth!”

Wave 2

The second wave, ‘Small is Beautiful’, was brought to life by Jimmy Wheale (Nomadic Gardens), Tom Atkinson (TfL Property), Vibushan Thirukumar (Oru Space), Adewole Ademolake (A’lake), and Louise Duggan (GLA Regeneration).

The first question the panel faced was: ‘What is the greatest benefit of going small-scale over large scale?’ Vibushan answered: “I think going small scale is great because you’ve got a smaller team and you can convince them to do innovative things easier, and therefore there is more creativity involved”. Another question, asking about how small businesses can have a big impact, prompted a response from Louise, highlighting research by Suzi Hall into the great impact that tiny businesses in Peckham are having, rivalling the yield of even Oxford Street.

Adam’s summary: “We heard that small fits everywhere, we heard about scale, about the importance of time. We wondered: where’s our pub? This band of bold amplifiers told us that big goals can start small, that way you take the community with you one joyous prototype at a time. Don’t be dismayed by big generic high street dinosaurs, they told us, their time has gone. Today we embrace micro enterprises and their rich programmes, from refill shops that pack a punch, to pop-up sensory gardens, to community event spaces, to conscious co-working.”

Wave 3

The final panel was ‘Power to the people (and planet)’, and who else to take to the stage under this theme than Parisa Wright (Greener & Cleaner), May Molteno (Trilogy Property), Yip Siu (GLA Regeneration), Maher Anjum (OITIJ-JO Collective), and Shazia Mustafa (Third Door and South Kilburn Trust).

“Play ought to be the absolute basis of any community area I think,” said May in response to the question ‘Is there a place for play on the high street?’. Parisa added: “I would just say that play is for adults as well as children, and for people with different abilities, different backgrounds.” As a light-hearted interlude we asked: ‘What would David Attenborough say about the high street?’. Shazia jumped in first: “The high street at the moment is for people who are solo or in couples, whereas human beings are made to be social.”

As summarised by Adam: “Our last team opened their arms wide and they spoke of the high street of togetherness, home to artisans and home-workers, intergenerational storytellers and playful toddlers, pedestrians who love a conversation, working mums who need a little balance. It was an energetic and fast-paced story of people over profit and never pay-to-play. This was the high street we all want, one that thinks global and acts personal!”

Reflections

Across all of the panels, we were delighted to see panellists embrace the values of Property X-Change. It was incredible to experience how many different voices can be heard in 90 short seconds when everyone is encouraged to share the space, and how much can be shared and learnt when people are generous with their knowledge and working together.

We hope that by sharing this recording, others might be inspired to break the mould, and encouraged to participate in new kinds of conversations. While this event was a moment of celebration, we are also looking forward to giving more time to the serious topics that were raised by our panellists and guests.

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Tell us what you think. Property X-Change encourages anyone with a vested interest in the bright future of London’s high streets to continue the debate across our social media channels. We also invite suggestions for future conversations, forums, and questions that you would like to see raised.