As January rolls round, the inevitable calls for “new year, new you” flood our social media, TV and minds.  But here at DG Cities we’re taking a slightly different slant on things and have been thinking about what 2021, the year after the year like no other, could mean for our urban environments.

Today therefore we’re sharing our top predictions for what we’ll see happening in 2021 and our hopes for what we’d like to see; which thankfully are often the same thing.

Urban Predictions for 2021

It would be impossible to not mention the pandemic and many of our expectations for the year ahead are directly related to COVID-19, with there being a strong and increased focus on economic recovery and regeneration in our cities, town centres and high streets.  Alongside that we hope to see greater devolution of powers and finance, and joined up city-wide approaches that address the big challenges of health and well-being, economic recovery, carbon reduction, education and skills, poverty and equality.

One thing 2020 certainly did teach us was the value of data and we anticipate seeing an increased reliance and use of citizen data to inform decision making post-pandemic.  Our hope is that we’ll see the ethical use of citizen big data to rethink how people move and live in cities and their suburbs / feeder towns and empower people and communities.

A trend we were seeing already but one we expect to rise this year as people reconsider how and where they work and travel is the 15 minute city. This approach to urban design, which Paris’s mayor has embraced in a radical overhaul of France’s capital, aims to improve quality of life by creating cities where everything a resident needs can be reached within 15 minutes by foot, bike or public transport. 

As we expect more people to shift to a hybrid working location model, the 15 minute city may offer a solution whereby companies reduce the size of their HQs and instead favour localised spaces where employees can come together for collaborating, innovating and meeting customers. Whilst some of us might shift back to the norms of commute post pandemic, it’s a moment to reconsider what a new balance might be.

Ultimately, we’re looking this year to see – and help local authorities take – small but effective local actions that are directly improving peoples’ lives.

Environmental Sustainability

This time last year we predicted we’d see sustainability concerns become more mainstream, although it’s fair to say we didn’t quite expect to see quite the changes that unfolded as our roads and skies cleared and we all rediscovered the joy of birdsong. We also envisaged a shift towards zero emission vehicles which became even more real with the government’s ban on small ICE vehicles after 2030.

We’re expectant and hopeful this year therefore that we’ll continue to see lots of announcements around zero-carbon initiatives and a continued push towards energy efficiency, waste reduction and positive behavioural changes as from central government down we see a desire and commitment to help the push to net zero.  Taking this a step further, we think we may see more nature-based solutions coming to the fore with the inclusion and wildlife within the urban landscape.

Looking towards what we’d like to see in this area, is stronger legislative commitments to reducing waste and single use plastics, an increase in car-free urban zones and clear measures to combat air pollution in our urban areas.  Within the team we’d also like to see a movement to making our cities wild; with almost 50% of London already being green, we’d love to see other cities following suit and allowing access to nature.

Despite the continuing challenges the pandemic presents, we’re optimistic about the positive changes we can expect to see in our cities this year.

What are your thoughts and expectations for the year ahead? We’d love to hear from you!