Urban Environments of the Future

University of Leeds

The UK's cities and regions are faced with difficult decisions when planning housing, transport and economic growth.  How many people and households will there be?  What resources will they consume?  Will there be enough roads, trains, jobs, electricity, water, leisure space?  Is the rate of consumption sustainable?  If not, what steps can we take now?

Many departments and projects at the University of Leeds are looking into the future of our cities, including:

PROSPECTS - Procedures for Recommending Optimal Sustainable Planning of European City Transport Systems	Institute of Transport Studies
SPRITE - Separating the Intensity of Transport from Economic Growth	Institute of Transport Studies
LANTERN - Leeds Health Air pollution, Noise, Traffic and Emissions Research Network	Institute of Transport Studies
WaND - Water Cycle Management for New Developments.  Forecasting UK water demand, taking account of planned housing developments.  Includes population projection, at local authority level, and at household level (using IPF, microsimulation and other techniques).	School of Geography
MoSeS - Modelling and Simulation of e-Social Science.  Developing a dynamic microsimulation model of population, households and infrastructure. Will be applied to problems in employment, transport and health issues.	School of Geography
Micro-MaPPAS - Micro-Simulation Modelling And Predictive Policy Analysis System For Leeds (eg effects of housing and industry on health)	School of Geography
Book: 21st Century Leeds, Geographies of a Regional City.  Examines all demographic trends, including Population Structure and Life Expectancy	School of Geography
City Living in Leeds	School of Geography
Work hard, play hard: consumption, lifestyle and the city	School of Geography
City: Analysis of urban trends,culture, theory, policy, action	School of Geography
Linking Town And Country	School of Geography
Yorkshire & Humber Regional Review	School of Geography
Book: Land Use Simulation for Europe	School of Geography
A Migration Model For Great Britain	School of Geography
Strategic Urban Transport Initiatives	School of Geography
Foresight Futures Project On Flood Risk	School of Geography
Solutions for Integrated Water Resources Management	School of Geography
Ozone depletion and climate change are studied with a range of chemical transport models, including TOMCAT and SLIMCAT.	School of Earth & Environment
Understanding sustainable development in households	School of Earth & Environment
Trade-offs in decision making for sustainable technologies	School of Earth & Environment
Renewable energy technologies in the UK	School of Earth & Environment
Economics of Land use	School of Earth & Environment
EUNET-DECISION - Multicriteria analysis tools to support decision making in relation to major investments in European transport infrastructure	Leeds Business School
Future of Work Programme	Leeds Business School
Centre for Industrial Policy and Performance	Leeds Business School
Community involvement and environmental impact	School of Civil Engineering

The Northern Way envisaged

Influential architect Will Alsop gives a striking version of the future in his notes for the 'SuperCity' exhibition:

Imagine a future in which the vast M62 corridor is a singular entity, a huge coast to coast 'SuperCity', 80 miles long and 15 miles wide. Here city limits are blurred, its inhabitants live in Liverpool, shop in Leeds and go clubbing in Manchester. Using the latest forms of advanced transportation, SuperCity residents could wake up by the Mersey and commute to an office overlooking the Humber. Air travel from a central hub puts the world on our doorstep. What impact will this have on the traditional definition of a city and the people who work, rest and play in this radical new landscape?