Learning from the participatory practices of urban observatories to co-create a new town observatory in Loughborough, UK

The concept of urban observatories was adopted by UN-Habitat in the early 2000s with the aim of promoting urban information, supporting decision-making and facilitating dialogue between stakeholders. As urban information may seem distant and inaccessible to a range of stakeholders, this paper investigates the potential of urban observatories in promoting collaboration and citizen engagement. This paper reviews 20 existing urban observatories in the UK and worldwide and outlines the principles learned for co-creating a town observatory with different stakeholders in the town of Loughborough, UK. The paper concludes with lessons for observatories seeking to track the impact of localized top-down and bottom-up urban regeneration interventions in a collaborative manner.