Creative Coastal Futures

Plymouth features in nationwide Culture, Development & Place event
Ariel view of Plymouth  
Leading academics from the University of Plymouth have addressed colleagues from across the UK at the Key Cities Innovation Network Conference 2024, this week.
Professor Chris Bennewith and Professor Katharine Willis presented Creative Coastal Futures: City and pan-regional partnership approaches to developing cultural and creative industries in the far South West.
The University of Plymouth's team was one of eight presenting at the event in Bradford, which brought together representatives from the national network of 24 of the UK's key urban areas.

Britain’s coasts are a rich source of natural and cultural assets, yet coastal communities are some of the most deprived in UK; 21 of the 88 most deprived local authorities are coastal towns.

Through our work at the University of Plymouth, we propose a vision for how creative industries and cultural investment can create a step change for coastal communities through their broader spillover effects.

Chris BennewithProfessor Chris Bennewith
Executive Dean

As the University’s Professor of Smart Cities and Communities, Professor Willis’s attendance at the conference follows time spent at the World Urban Forum in Cairo, earlier this month. And she is one of just seven international experts whose work in the field of sustainable urbanisation will feature as one of this year’s Global Urban Lectures.

Our cross sectoral partnerships across the city in Plymouth and in the wider region create pathways to addressing long-term socio-economic inequalities in coastal towns and regions.

In Plymouth, a coastal city, we have led a series of cultural commissions and creative digital initiatives with the Plymouth National Marine Park that connect people with their marine environment, which is so important to the city's identity and future place-making. In Cornwall, the Shared Prosperity Funded Entrepreneurial Futures (2024 – 2025) links University academics with industry partners to explore how immersive technologies can connect people to their coastal spaces in new and exciting ways.
By focusing our energies on place, impact, and innovation, investment in culture and developing creative skills can transform the lives of people in some of our most vulnerable communities and benefit the country more widely.

Katharine WillisProfessor Katharine Willis
Professor of Smart Cities and Communities

In addition to the University’s presence at the event, Jemima Laing, Deputy Leader of Plymouth City Council, and Cabinet Member for Culture spoke about the role of culture for transforming place, and its importance in our city.
The presented projects are now being written up and peer-reviewed before being published in a report to showcase place-based innovation across the network.
Key Cities is a diverse, national network of 24 cities that represents urban living in the UK and has the range, expertise and agility to deliver innovative solutions for the challenges we face. The conference showcases and promotes research and scalable innovation relevant to communities and places in all parts of the country.
The 2024 Key Cities Innovation Conference – Culture, Development & Place - was hosted by the University of Bradford five weeks before Bradford takes on the mantle of UK City of Culture, with speakers including AHRC Director of Research, Strategy and Innovation Jaideep Gupta, Arts Council England chief executive Darren Henley, and Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture Creative Director Shanaz Gulzar.
Key Cities Innovation Conference

SHAPE disciplines address global challenges associated with marine, health and sustainability through the lens of place

Through five place-based research themes, we investigate the intricate relationships between communities, the natural world, and technology.
Locally, we co-create sustainable solutions to complex problems in order to build resilient and thriving neighbourhoods, cities, and regions. This work transcends geographical, social and political boundaries to become applicable on a global level.
place-based research
SHAPE – Social Sciences, Humanities, and the Arts for People and the Economy