Embracing all the different parts of the community is the future of Manchester. That was the message that came out of FutureEverything‘s City Debate, which took place last Friday afternoon at Manchester Business School.
Chaired by Radio 4′s Jennie Murray, the debate featured a diverse mix of representatives from the city giving their 90-second vision on the proposition that Manchester should become the first experimental city, adopting a systematically experimental approach to its development.
The main theme developed was that any future should focus on the ordinary people of Manchester and how to include them in the vision of a future city.
Patsy Hodson,Vice Principle of Manchester Communication Academy, reminded the assembled audience that while we were listening to the discussions, hundreds of Manchester children had left school for the day to return to some of the most deprived homes in the city. She also pointed out that 41% of Manchester’s population is economically inactive.
Colette Williams, who stood as a Moss Side independent candidate in the recent local election, told the assembled audience that she was fed up with only being asked to talk about gun gangs and antisocial behaviour. Why not embrace young people as being part of the landscape?
In a lively debate, helped by some searching questions from the floor, it became clear that people are the heart of our experimental city and that any experiment needs to embrace them.
As the debate moved on to city centre living, one observation was that although you could buy as many cappucinos as you want, it was impossible to find a NHS dentist anywhere.
The effects of the credit crunch loomed large across the landscape, with many of the cranes that have dominated the skyline now standing idle. Local blogger and writer Kate Feld made the point that this was not necessarily a bad thing. It gave the opportunity to look at existing buildings, as she called for derelict pubs to be turned into community arts centres.
It is estimated that over 4,000 flats currently lie empty in the city. Dave Carter, head of Manchester’s Digital Development Association(MDDA), called for them to be used for social housing.
Maarten Hajer, Dutch political scientist and urban and regional planner, closed the discussion by pointing out that Manchester must have a strong, confident political leadership to be able to experiment. He added that Manchester as a future city needs to drive content (not marketing), to raise aspirations and promote independence.
But the main themes returned to embracing the community. Hodson, the star of the debate, suggested that next year’s debate should come under the FutureEveryone umbrella.
See also Sarah Hartley’s thought-provoking blog in which she digests and summarises the debate from a holistic viewpoint.
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41 per cent of Manchester’s population economically inactive? Really? I think Patsy Hodson was referring to certain parts of East Manchester where she works, which is a frightening enough statistic.
There are some stats here which might be helpful.
http://neweconomymanchester.com/stories/1183-worklessness_monitor
Thank you for pointing that out Michael.
As you say the 41 per cent is a frightening statistic which ever part of Manchester it applies to and re iterates in a way how much work still needs to be done to bring all the communities into the economic and social generation that is taking place in certain parts of Manchester.Patsy did not refer to East Manchester when she made the point at Friday’s meeting but it seems likely that she was refering to the communities in which she works.