[MarkatManchester]

Hi everyone.

I am a researcher at the University of Manchester and have just happened to stumble onto this forum, after Googling Piccadilly Gardens.

Piccadilly Gardens is one of the sites we are interested in getting views and opinions on, particularly by its users. Our research looks at how urban design builds in control and for some how it excludes them.

I have read through what some of you have said already about Piccadilly Gardens and it has been quite informative. However, I was hoping that the discussion could be reopened for further evaluation.

We would like it if you could discuss particular features of Piccadilly Gardens, such as the wall, the fountain, the benches, the street wardens, the lighting, the walk ways, and so on in relation to your experience of them. Our concern is less with the historical significant of the site, but more the current social significance. We would also like to hear about your comparisons of the site to other urban spaces you have visited, recently or in the distant past, in Britain or abroad. Do you have, in comparison, any favourites and why. We would like to know, also, what types of things have you done in this space, for example picnics, meeting friends, hanging out, and so forth, the good and the bad.

Your help in this matter would be greatly received and most appreciated.

Best wishes.