Why Cities?

Why cities

Cities are arguably humanity’s greatest invention. They are the crucible of invention, engines of progress and the place where communities come together. As we advance through the 21st century, our cities will be more important than ever. Over half of the next generation will be born in our cities and new relationships will be formed. It will be within our cities where new ideas foster, inventions are made, and masterpieces created. It will be within our cities that societal movements will develop and global challenges will be tackled. And it will be in our cities where our ambitions of tackling poverty and inequality will be tested.

Our cities exist to serve. First and foremost, our cities need to serve the people who live within them. Cities with healthy, happy, hard-working communities are what we aspire to. Cities are assets because they bring people together in close proximity with each other. The asset is the citizens. We therefore need to design and run our cities to serve the needs of the people who live in them. People need good quality, affordable housing; to be able to travel around easily; to have the opportunity to learn and work; to feel safe; to have access to health, care and welfare services when they need them; and to be inspired and excited by the wealth of cultural and community offerings. These are a universal requirement for all citizens. History teaches us that divided cities, with deep-rooted inequalities, have and will continue to fail. Our leaders of our cities are chosen to serve these needs and require the tools to be able to deliver for them. It is why as Core Cities we have championed devolution and will continue to call for more powers and funding for our leaders, both at city level and at national and city-regional levels, to achieve our ambitions.

For our cities to be successful, they need to serve more than just themselves. Our cities are not islands; they are inherently connected within their regions, whether that is with neighbouring cities, surrounding towns and our rural areas. Our cities operate as systems within city regions, playing the key nodal role in daily flows of workers, students, consumers, goods and services across our wider regions. We take this responsibility seriously, with all of our cities part of a formal combined authority or city region partnership. As the major city in these partnerships we need to drive the economy for the city region and leverage our international status and cultural offer. But we also recognise our reliance on and responsibilities to our neighbours, and the economies of scale that can be achieved in working together on policies that straddle administrative boundaries.

Our cities also have a responsibility to serve the United Kingdom. We have a critical role to play in helping the Government to deliver all of their national missions. Our priorities as Core Cities are aligned. Whether this is our growth and investment ambitions for our cities being integral to the success of the Government’s Industrial Strategy and Growth Mission. Or our desire to deliver a disproportionate share of new housing to meet the challenges of affordability and good quality homes. We will be at the vanguard of public service reform, utilising our convening role across our cities and expertise in delivery to improve health outcomes, public safety and expand opportunities. And we will continue to drive innovation in policy and delivery to achieve a just transition to Net Zero and make our cities more biodiverse and sustainable.

Finally, our cities serve the UK on the global stage. Our cities are inherently international, with populations drawn from countries all around the world, deep and long-standing cultural relationships with over 100 international cities, and the touchpoint on trade and investment relationships. As Core Cities UK, we take pride in our international role, whether that was in establishing the Urban 7 as the mirror group of cities to the G7 or in championing policy innovations like 3Ci at international events like COP and New York Climate Week. Whether through familial connection, historic ties, sport, music or broader culture, our cities command huge respect and recognition around the world and we will continue to use this in service to our residents, our city regions and for the country.