The urban places that most of us inhabit are made up of buildings, streets, spaces and landscape, various land uses and a community of users. ‘Place’ is therefore a socio-physical construct, and numerous claims are made about the power of place.

The international literature suggests that whoever we are, our everyday engagement with the places in which we live, work and play will influence, for good or ill, the lives we lead, the opportunities available to us, and our personal and communal happiness, identity and sense of belonging (Speck 2012; Montgomery 2013).