Radical Citizenship: a model for new towns and beyond

Demos and Inner Circle Consulting join forces to help shape the delivery of New Towns and other large-scale developments

Last Sunday the final report from the New Towns Taskforce was published, marking a significant milestone in shaping the future of large-scale housing development in the UK. After months of anticipation, the report was an encouraging read with strong weight given to placemaking principles and local economic growth. 

But the hard work starts now. 

Why? Because the Taskforce has set a broad framework but there is now a need to colour in the detail of what comes next. Demos and Inner Circle Consulting have joined forces to research and design the best way places can embed local stewardship, governance and collaboration from the outset. 

We share a joint belief in the potential of the new towns programme that moves beyond the built environment and towards a radical rethink about the way that citizens are engaged in the future of their neighbourhoods and communities.  

We want to take a closer look at the engagement, delivery and governance options that will deliver an optimal citizenship-led approach to this generation of new towns. We want to learn from best practice and successes across the world. 

The Taskforce’s recommendations offer the chance for mixed tenure neighbourhoods, “ambitious” density, green space, sustainable travel and infrastructure investment. It lays out a vision for how new towns can help unlock economic potential in those places where the lack of housing and infrastructure is strangling growth and considers a long-term skills and employment offer that considers more than just the bricks and mortar of growth.  

As expected, development corporations are recommended as the delivery vehicle for bringing speed and efficiency to the delivery of new towns, and the Taskforce is clear on its recommendations for long-term stewardship that goes beyond the initial build phase. It is also really encouraging to see that community engagement is stated as being “essential to the success of new towns” and something that is “embedded throughout the planning and delivery process”. 

We believe that new towns present a once-in-a-generation opportunity for careful planning to foster thriving local economies, lift up communities, develop local job markets, and deliver affordable, high-quality homes. It is a call to action for the whole industry to apply all we know about creating joyful, functional, sustainable places: vibrant high streets and community hubs that support social connection, and safe, healthy environments where urgent challenges like climate change and clean air are addressed. Done well, new towns will be able to provide residents access to education and training that equip them with skills and opportunities to grow and thrive. New towns also offer a vital chance to build a preventative model into the foundations of new developments – where design and partnership working can help avoid the serious health and social problems that currently put so much pressure on our public services. 

We see this opportunity as extending beyond economics and infrastructure. We know the built environment shapes how people relate to one another and to the institutions that serve them. But currently, the way that people typically relate to their built environment and local place creates either a passive, disengaged citizen, disconnected from others in their neighbourhood; or an angry, disempowered citizen who is set in opposition to what feel like powerful developers and uncaring local authorities. That broken relationship and mutual mistrust hinders local cohesion and hobbles democratic effectiveness.

We believe new towns offer a chance to rethink that relationship and a way to upgrade our democracy. In a time when digital interactions increasingly define our relationships, the role of the built environment in fostering real-world connection has never been more critical, or indeed, more radical. We seek opportunities via the new towns programme to re-centre ‘place’ as a means to strengthen citizenry, cohesion and resilience in the face of polarisation. We want to focus the conversation around the kinds of lives and places that people want. We want to think about how civic habit is fostered in new and regenerated neighbourhoods. And ultimately, we want to see a new deal between citizens and state emerge – grounded in a new citizenship that is more engaged, more constructive and more fulfilling.

It is important to recognise the risks to new towns delivery – local anti-development campaigns, shifting local politics and changes in political leadership at the national level. Some places fear the pull of the ‘new town’ badge could displace funding, skills and capacity from their own regeneration or growth proposals. They and many more, whose sites are not designated as an official new town through the programme, will nevertheless wish to bring their own proposals to life.

With this at stake, we see a clear need for a new local partnership approach that takes new towns forward – both those places that are part of the official programme, and those that are not – and a new model that could support regeneration and growth proposals more widely. This partnership model needs to draw on the whole (diverse) partnership of place – local housing associations, local builders, local institutions, self-builders, and local and future residents. It must demonstrate efficiencies in time and budget comparable to some of the standard models, such as mass house-builders and development corporations. We also see a need to develop a stewardship model that exists alongside the new town; one that enables a new radical citizenship that will foster community resilience as well as sustainable socio-economic growth.

We will be publishing our first paper in the coming weeks – building on the themes and challenges outlined in this blog. If you are interested in getting involved, we’d love to hear from you. Drop us a line: [email protected] and [email protected]