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Share on LinkedInNew research published today (commissioned by Network Rail) considers the key trends that will influence the future of British cities and shape the country’s productivity into the future.
2025 offers a moment to reflect on the impact of the pandemic, the way people now interact with cities, the benefits that persist and how the role of cities might develop in the future. Working with key stakeholders, we sought to understand how trends that predated the pandemic had continued, accelerated or decelerated and which new ones had entered the picture. We shortlisted an original 16 themes to a focused set of five, dividing these into three central ones: Commuter City; Knowledge City; and Productive Regional City; and two supporting themes: Sustainable City; and Leisure City.
This report brings together our findings alongside a set of recommendations that centre on supporting the UK’s cities to thrive into the future:
Recommendation one – supporting the Commuter City: While commuter volumes remain lower than pre-pandemic, 49% of people cannot work from home and most who can do not do so exclusively. If more companies do shift further towards a hub-and-spoke model to take account of changing preferences, this only increases the importance of connections between cities and towns, as well as within them. In this context, further investment and service planning for suburban lines and stations may be needed, with knock-on potential benefits for local economies.
Recommendation two – supporting the Knowledge City: Despite the shifts in how cities operate that have taken place, a move to a fully remote workplace has not become a central feature. There is significant potential to lean into evolving cities to harness the benefits of dynamic agglomeration and to support increased growth and productivity. The “knowledge hub” model has significant potential but needs to be supported by investment in transport infrastructure and housing stock to ensure it can drive the widest possible benefits, and not see these limited to only the higher-paid.
Recommendation three – supporting the Productive Regional City: Boosting the productivity and potential of our northern cities must remain at the heart of a future plan for growth. Enhanced transport connections and greater city density are key to achieving the agglomeration benefits currently enjoyed by smaller cities in the south of the country. Creating enhanced inter-city regional transport links has the potential to support a wider Northern City Region and should be part of future discussions on the best way to boost growth.