City Planner: Brighton 2050, Samer Bagaeen MRTPI FRICS

Debates about the future of cities are knocking on the doors of cities up and down the country. Looking forward well into the future and specifically looking into the opportunities and challenges that UK cities will be facing over the next 50 years, is a very important part of planning ahead.

You would not know it, but England’s future is in the hands of its cities. The future is not rural and it is not in the areas of outstanding natural beauty. As beautiful as they are, the future of the South East of England and its landscape is in the hands of cities like Brighton and Hove.

Our city needs to grasp this and grab it with both hands. Part of this is a debate about the future shape and form of our city and wider region – the policy folk and the politicians are taking care of this!

As beautiful as they are, the future of the South East of England and its landscape is in the hands of cities like Brighton and Hove

There is also another important debate that needs to take place and it is vital that there is more of an intellectual imperative at the front of this policy and political debate. A lot of people in the region and in the city have made a huge intellectual investment in this and the time feels right for the shape and colour of this investment to come forward.

At the forefront of this are questions like whether we want Brighton and Hove to become an ecological city, a sustainable city, a food secure city, etc..

There is more to this than what I’ve covered, so more about this in future columns. Sometimes you have to expand the pitch before you distil it!

www.samerbagaeen.com, @samerbagaeen