A bold masterplan to transform Birmingham into a greener city of more jobs, better transport options and higher quality, energy-efficient new homes, is set to be unveiled at a major conference this week.
The draft Our Future City: Central Birmingham Framework 2040 has been hailed as the most important strategy written for the city this century ahead of its launch by the council at UKREiiF 2023. Shaping the next 20 years of development, this is a plan that will deliver unprecedented levels of new jobs, homes and green space.
Delivery of the framework’s vision would double the city’s green spaces to a level comparable with Vienna and double Birmingham’s network of active travel routes to 200km – the same level of healthy transport infrastructure as in Copenhagen, with the ultimate aim for the city to become a benchmark for meeting the challenges of the 21st century in its own right.
The framework, which has been developed with technical support given by Arcadis as lead consultants and Howells providing architectural support, outlines the potential to create 74,000 new jobs – an 80 per cent increase on the city centre’s current employment capacity, as well up to 35,000 new homes for Birmingham’s young and growing population.
And, by creating vibrant new neighbourhoods, there would be a doubling in population density, bringing Birmingham into line with other major European cities, but not at the expense of green open space – with a pledge that the concrete-bound mistakes of the past will not be repeated as part of the council’s effort to tackle the climate emergency on the city’s route to net zero carbon emissions.
This plan also marks a major change from previous approaches to the city centre, with a clear intention to spread the benefits of development and investment into inner city areas, supporting access to infrastructure, jobs and improved public spaces.
