The leader of a women’s entrepreneurship group in Liverpool has spelled out her vision of how cities need to adapt to change as they go through the pandemic and beyond.
In a webcast with leading law firm Napthens, with offices in the city centre, the chief executive of The Women’s Organisation Maggie O’Carroll said that cities need to ‘re-create more health and wellbeing and arts and culture experiences.’
She told associate lawyer Jayne Croft of Napthens: “We need to rethink our city centres, how they are designed and what they are for. Health and wellbeing and arts and culture are more important now and being recognised as such.
“Landlords of buildings in city centres are going to have to re-model them mainly around arts and culture. It’s much more about an experience. I don’t think cities can come back as they were before the pandemic. They need a change of purpose.”
Jayne Croft added: “As a member of a law firm which is committed to Liverpool, we believe cities including ours can successfully adapt in different ways out of the pandemic in the way we do business and how we use our city spaces.
“Liverpool has deep roots and a heritage in the arts, culture and music as a major European city and this can only help as we look forward and beyond the pandemic.”
Jayne, who is also a board member of The Women’s Organisation, advises clients on a wide range of corporate transactional work including company disposals and acquisitions, re-organisations, shareholders’ agreements, start-ups and general governance matters across industries including industrial, property, retail, hospitality and technology.
Napthens opened its offices in the city in 2018 at The Plaza on Old Hall Street, and since then has become a firm part of Liverpool’s business and professional services community, acting for a diverse range of clients across the city region.
The Women’s Organisation was recently named as one of three projects across Europe exemplifying the very best approaches to supporting inclusive entrepreneurship and putting Liverpool on the global map as a key destination for women’s enterprise.