IDEAS FOR CAMDEN
CAMDEN RESTAURANT DAY
alt.future
What is it?
Once a year, anybody in Camden can set up a restaurant in their neighbourhood, home or street and serve food to the public.
Why is it useful?
Pho on the street, pasta in the park, enchiladas out your window… whatever, wherever, once a year. This idea first started in Helsinki and has since taken place in over 40 cities around the world. It’s also incredibly fun.
This type of spontaneity can provide an example for a range of pop-up public events, creating new ways for people to come together to use and reimagine their city. Mobile technology and social media can help to inclusively engage communities as well as creating new micro economies.
This type of spontaneity can provide an example for a range of pop-up public events, creating new ways for people to come together to use and reimagine their city. Mobile technology and social media can help to inclusively engage communities as well as creating new micro economies.
Who would need to be involved?
- Camden residents
- Camden Council
- Local businesses & pop-up event organisers
- Street licencing experts
- Food safety experts
Where do we start?
- Research and learn from the success of Helsinki’s and subsequent restaurant day’s, identify how regulations can be manipulated for community benefit.
- Convene a project group of citizens, local government and local business representatives to identify an equitable proposal.
- Run a workshop to co-design the regulatory, licencing and technology framework for “Camden Restaurant Day”
- Develop the proposal into a functioning prototype licence to be tested during “Restaurant Day”
- Test user experience and iterate prototype to form the basis for larger-scale trials.
Some thoughts…
- How could we easily mitigate health and safety and food standards risks?
- How would we ensure that the day benefits Camden residents, not just large-scale caterers?
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