Shape of the modern city is vital to our economy - Carolyn Saunders

Cities are vital building blocks of national economies and play a leading role in addressing some of the biggest challenges the world faces, including post-pandemic economic recovery and tackling the climate crisis.

Carolyn Saunders, Partner at Pinsent Masons

However, the combination of new ways of working, new technology, the transition to “net zero”, changes in shopping habits and pressures on housing capacity, threatens to disrupt the way cities have always operated.

Collaboration, better use of data, upskilling of workers, and the reimagining of communities and the high street will be important to cities if they are to remain important key hubs that serve businesses and people in a sustainable way.

The climate crisis is the biggest challenge that we face, and cities globally have the power to impact this. Vital to innovation and collaboration is infrastructure that enables organisations across the public, private and third sector to safely share data.

Data is a valuable but under-used asset but if stakeholders can safely share their data they can unlock its power, enabling collaborative solutions to be found to tackle the climate crisis and other challenges.

People are the lifeblood of cities, however, providing affordable, sustainable and quality housing, whilst also ensuring people have access to the services they need, is a major challenge.

Cities need to tackle this and there are great models they can draw upon. For example, we have seen the development of garden communities across the UK – new settlements made up of a mix of housing, transport and community infrastructure, with a focus on sustainable living, green spaces, high quality design and vibrant neighbourhoods. Cities should consider how they can create similar communities as they look to tackle housing issues.

High street businesses were among the most impacted by the pandemic, and changes in working patterns and number of commuters coming into city centres will continue to have implications. With home-working, communities gravitated towards their local high streets and, with hybrid working this looks set to stay. City centre high streets need to consider the type of experience they are offering to customers and what they can do to ensure they are meeting new demands.

Rapid changes in technology, the adoption of AI and automation in particular, will continue to affect the job market and the types of jobs that are available. It is important that people living and working in cities have the skillsets to work in jobs where technology can be expected to play a bigger role.

Governments need to understand the types of skills gaps that are emerging and what can be done to help and they must look to break down barriers to accessing jobs, and support organisations in putting diversity and inclusion at the top of their agendas.

Cities are well-versed in adapting to change, remaining important economic, social and cultural hubs through the centuries despite significant changes in industry and technology in prior generations. The focus must be on what they can do in practice - as JFK said: “We will neglect our cities to our peril, for in neglecting them, we neglect the nation”.

Carolyn Saunders, Partner at Pinsent Masons