What Does The Future Look Like For Cities In The UK?
55% of the world’s populations live in cities. By 2050, that number is predicted to rise to 68%. Overpopulation of the UK’s largest cities is unsustainable, piling pressure onto housing prices, job availability, infrastructure, and connectivity.The UK needs its smaller cities to thrive to consequently provide a support system to the big cities like London, Manchester, and Birmingham. So what’s the plan?
Rebalancing the Population
Depopulation in rural areas is affecting other western countries, each taking different approaches to resolve the challenge. Italy, for example, initiated a scheme offering millennials up to £24,000 to relocate to rural villages with a view to revitalising and enriching smaller communities and boost the local economy.
In the UK, a levelling up plan was initiated earlier this year with a view to building urban regeneration areas outside the large cities. Urban regeneration involves more than just buildings: areas across the UK will see new infrastructure, high-speed internet, and local public transport connectivity. Bristol Temple Quarter is one example, with the plan of thousands of new homes and jobs as a result of £95 million in government funding. The scheme will deliver new affordable homes, improve transport links, and generate employment opportunities to attract fresh talent and boost regional productivity.
One of the key areas outlined in the plan is the Research and Development (R&D) sector. Investment in the R&D sector will shift away from the “Golden Triangle” of London, Oxford and Cambridge, to boost jobs and productivity in areas outside the South East. Funding will support jobs, fuel new Innovation Districts, and attract talent and further investment to areas of regeneration. Looking to the future of work in the UK, young people are paving the way with remote working trends after the pandemic, however in London it’s clear that overpopulation will impact the city’s potential in the long term.
Future of Work
Existing trends in work-from-home were expedited by the pandemic and young people in particular “seem most primed to work remotely indefinitely”. Injecting money into other areas of the UK offers an option outside of London for young people to thrive in remote and hybrid roles.The areas under the Levelling Up plan will provide 5G broadband and convenient travel links to facilitate flexible working.
42% of workers in the UK said that their preferred style of working is mostly from home and sometimes in their place of work. Developing areas outside the centre of the capital and other major cities enables a best-of-both-worlds scenario for young people: those living in these areas can harness all the advantages of both a smaller city, while being well-connected to bigger cities. For the areas themselves, the initiative boosts the economy and community of areas that are otherwise dwindling.
Impact on London
The UK’s plans for urban regeneration will have a consequential positive effect on the future of the capital. Tackling London’s overpopulation challenges will advance the city’s potential for diversifying its space and support environmental objectives. By levelling up other areas in the UK, London will see a ripple effect of benefits in the long term.
By 2030, instead of what could have become if rapid scale urbanisation and overpopulation had accelerated through lack of action, areas all over the UK are set to flourish under the Levelling Up plan. Young people will reap the benefits of urban regeneration projects that facilitate flexible working styles, and rebalancing the population will support and sustain the economy in the long term.
For more information or to talk about the work Invest Eight are doing in relation to urban regeneration, send me an email: freddie.toomer@investeight.com
