We’ve been working alongside Oxford City Council and architecture practice Gort Scott on the redevelopment of Oxford’s iconic Covered Market. As well as restoring the historic building, the masterplanning project is looking at how to breath new life into the market and how it serves the city. We’ve been working on a series of public engagement activities to explore how the market could play a role in helping to make the city centre more representative of the city as a whole.
We’ve been talking with people who don’t currently feel welcome in the market, because of race or ethnicity, age, socio-economic status, or geography. We’ve been talking about belonging, prestige, identity, representation, ownership, and access, as well as hearing many personal stories about what the market means to different people.
This sketch shows a representation of how the market could help ‘reimagine the high street’ and what infrastructure and services might be needed to future proof it as somewhere people will want to visit in the future.