Urban Translation

Why do places change and what influences the evolution of our cities and towns? Urban Translation helps uncover the remnants of grand visions and prosperous times, new beginnings and reinventions and the forgotten or unresolved spaces that characterise parts of Newcastle, Sunderland and Middlesbrough.

• Newcastle

  Begin your tour

  Seeking to escape its riverside origins, Newcastle clambered uphill, shifting its focus to the clean and airy North. This tour reveals how changing attitudes towards urban development inspired Newcastle to turn back to face the waterfront and shows how grand visions and ambitious plans have stamped their mark in some quirky and surprising ways.

• Middlesbrough

  Begin your tour

  A tour from one town hall to the other superbly illustrates the history of Middlesbrough's development. From Centre Square, which represents a renewed confidence to celebrate the civic and cultural heart of Middlesbrough, this tour travels back in time to the origins of the town and asks what the future holds for this forgotten birthplace?

• Sunderland

  Begin your tour

  Sunderland has grown and prospered on the River Wear, its history and culture formed by a connection to the sea. This tour opens a window into the design of Sunderland, how neglected parts of the centre have been brought back to life in recent years and reveals the challenges still faced in the endeavour to rejuvenate the city's streetscape.