Quality, uniqueness and place

60 March 2015

RELAND appears to be slowly

re-emerging from its recent eco-

nomic troubles and many have

offered new ideas about our

future. For us, this will involve

considering the importance of two

interconnected phenomena: the experi-

ential economy and place-making. Both

are about quality of life. We argue that

focusing on quality will enable Ireland

to compete internationally and more

sustainably.

The Experiential Economy

Work carried out by the Whitaker Insti-

tute at NUI Galway has shown that

– despite the recent economic malaise –

goods and services that give consumers

‘an experience’ have seen their market

share increase. Driven by sectors such

as craft food, new media and gaming,

worldwide exports of these products

have increased exponentially over the

last decade. Think of these as the goods

that chime most with our consumer sen-

timent. Be they the latest release from

the prime experience producer Apple in

the form of a smart phone or the latest

Nordic Noir boxset.

Consider that well-designed and

engineered smart phone: it is not the

functionality per se that matters but

the experience and ease of use. The

best smart phones are beautiful in their

functionality and therefore desired and

The Experiential Economy

and the importance of the local,

the authentic and the designed.

By Kevin Leyden and Patrick Collins

ENVIRONMENT EXPERIENCE

Goods and

services

that give

consumers ‘an

experience’

have seen

their market

share increase

“

Quality,

uniqueness

and place

March 2015 61

PLACE (de la République, Paris)

62 March 2015

purchased. They are individualised;

they reﬂect the uniqueness of their user.

The same goes for clothing, cars and

baby buggies. Design and distinctive-

ness attract.

Winners in the experience economy

trade on uniqueness, quality, design,

and on the symbolic nature of what

they oﬀer. If we think only about price

we are catering only to a proportion of

the market. Quality and authenticity

sell too. Massiﬁcation has given way

to a mature consumer economy where

we express our own unique identities

through products and services in a way

that could not be done in the past.

We might consider the burgeoning

Irish craft-beer industry. Surely – you

would have thought – there was little

room for yet another beer in the market

place. But there was plenty of room for

quality, uniqueness and a place-based

experience. Even Ryanair – with its ﬁx-

ation on price – has come to realise that

customers do care about the experience

of travel, and how they are treated.

Irish industrial policy and Irish entre-

preneurs know most of this, of course.

But sometimes we lose sight of the fact

that uniqueness, quality and experience

have value. We focus on decreasing price

per unit to increase eﬃciency rather

than increasing the quality per unit

which can also lead to greater market

returns. Far more needs to be invested

in indigenous entrepreneurial talent

and their production of quality, unique,

place-based products. Irish clothing

fashion, creative software and apps,

gaming, music, the arts, literature, the

hospitality sector, ﬁlm and new media

production among others need to be

recognized and supported for their con-

tribution to the economy.

The Importance of Place-Making

How and where we live, the day-to-day

experience of place also matters. Qual-

ity urban planning contributes directly

to our quality of life. By now there is

solid evidence that urban design aﬀects

us physically, socially and mentally. Yes,

planning decisions aﬀect our weight (is

walking to work realistic?), our carbon-

foot print, how we shop (on foot at local

shops or by car at large multiples) and

how social we are. A lot of it comes down

to whether the place you live requires

you to drive to attain your daily needs.

Some planning models enable people

to travel by multiple means – walking,

cycling, or public transport – whereas

others require the car. The choice of

planning design matters; it has eﬀects.

Planning, building, and maintain-

ing real places worth being in requires

eﬀort; it requires urban design, land-

scape architecture, and joined-up policy

thinking. It requires multidisciplinary

perspectives, creativity and an appre-

ciation for uniqueness. We need to think

far more about quality of life and addi-

tionally tapping the power of smart

technology and the web to improve gov-

ernment services and urban liveability.

Irish planners and engineers need to

focus far more on place-making. That

is, creating built environments that

people are attracted to and enjoy being

in. People want to live in well-designed,

unique places that are beautiful. We

want to live in authentic communities

where we feel connected to each other.

All suburbs or urban neighbourhoods

should have their own style or sense of

place. Each should be a unique destina-

tion. With some notable exceptions the

Irish planning system oﬀers the same

suburban ‘cookie-cutter’ or mass-pro-

duced designs, and increasingly, the

same monotonous shopping options

via large multiples. Many of the sub-

urbs outside the M50 look identical to

those outside of Galway, or Limerick.

This sameness is proﬁtable for develop-

ers and Tesco but it is hardly proﬁtable

for people and their connections to the

places they live.

Many of the junctions and street-

scapes follow the same appalling

blandness. Quite often there is a total

disregard for local context or the expe-

rience of the pedestrian.

Quality urban design and place-mak-

ing can have important economic eﬀects

too. Well-functioning – usually ‘walka-

ble’ – places with unique shops, cafes,

restaurants, pubs, and good schools,

attract creative people and businesses.

They make it easier for creative com-

panies to attract and retain quality

workers. Such vibrant places tend to

be more social which can encourage

the sharing of ideas which often leads

to innovation and creativity. A lot of

what has been behind the successful re-

emergence of New York City has been

place-making, preventing anti-social

behaviour, promoting urban ‘liveability’

and de-emphasising the car. The attrac-

tiveness and design of place matter and

are key elements of the experiential

economy. Indeed, place-making is all

about creating experience and enabling

them to happen daily.

The end of the Celtic Tiger gave and

gives us pause to rethink our develop-

ment model. Our economy and our

cities and towns need to reﬂect Ire-

land’s unique place-based experience

and focus upon the importance of qual-

ity and quality of life. •

Professor Kevin M Leyden works in the

School of Political Science & Sociology,

NUI, Galway

Dr Patrick Collins works in the School of

Geography & Archaeology, NUI, Galway

ENVIRONMENT EXPERIENCE

The successful

re-emergence

of New York

City owes

much to

place-making,

preventing

anti-social

behaviour,

promoting

urban

‘liveability’

and de-

emphasising

the car

“

English Market, Cork city