Tower Gardens: Draft Open Brief

11th August 2020 Through My Castle Gateway we’ve been talking about Tower Gardens since 2017. Yet Tower Gardens is the area where the least active masterplanning work has been done so far. This was in large part due to the controversy created by the idea in the draft masterplan of putting a boat-shaped building close … Read more

Our rivers as veins not just drains! A first glimpse at the ‘social values’ of York’s rivers

This blog post aims to introduce you to some of the ideas and research that will be explored by the Living Well with Water (LWW) project that has emerged out of the My Castle Gateway conversations. You can find the main website of the project here, as well as follow LWW on twitter @WaterinYork.  My Castle … Read more

A Speakers‘ Corner for the Eye of York

Tillman Jacobi It is a good occasion to revive true public debate in times of many global concerns and uncertainties, or controversial political, economical and social developments. This kind of debate becomes most real and catching, when it is delivered in person – not online. London’s Speakers‘ Corner has, for centuries, been a mighty institution … Read more

York Against the War: 15th March 2003 demonstration and the Eye of York

On 15th March 2003 York Against the War organised a demonstration that began in the Eye of York and marched to outside the Minister, where a rally was held. In assembling the demonstration in the Eye of York, York Against the War was part of a tradition that included The March Against Yorkshire Slavery – … Read more

Gathering Place: What’s next for the Castle and Eye of York/shire public spaces?

Gathering Place: What’s next for the Castle and Eye of York/shire public spaces? Over the summer we’ve been doing many different events talking about different aspects of what might make brilliant public open spaces in the Castle and Eye of York/shire. On Saturday (2-4pm) in the Drawing Out The Brief open analysis session we’ll be … Read more

Alternative Visions – a reshaped Piccadilly by Chris Donegani

Chris Donegani lives on Piccadilly and was a regular participant in the workshops we ran to look at the reshaping of public realm along Piccadilly earlier this year. Having been part of the various conversations and given a lot of consideration to the various issues involved, Chris put down on paper some proposals which illustrated … Read more

Gathering On The Move – Cycling for Wider Mobility

Group ride with York Cycle Campaign – 23rd September 2019 Background One of the cornerstones of the My Future York approach to public engagement has been “Look at your City” events where we’ve walked or cycled around parts of the city to reflect on how they work, and how we might learn lessons which can … Read more

Walk with Todd Longstaffe Gowan

Internationally-renowned landscape architect Todd Longstaffe Gowan joined us on at a rainy lunchtime, helping us to look at how landscaping can create a public space residents will love. Within the group there are a diverse range of perspectives including residents, local history enthusiasts, and people concerned with accessibility. We start the tour at the Eye … Read more