The revival of the market town

A brief scenario on the revival of localism in Britain in the coming decade, from Times Online:

Climate change will be one of the main drivers for change in the workplace over the next decade, restricting the freedom to travel and raising the cost of transporting goods.

Companies, especially global corporations, will have physical economies that are much more local, but with a superimposed knowledge economy that is free from the limitations of geography.

People will move to places that offer the facilities they need or aspire to. Having a good range of schools, shops and healthcare facilities within affordable range will become vital, leading to the resurgence of the old market towns as hubs for the local physical economy.

Each market town will have a specialisation to attract residents, such as a top theatre, a world-class sporting venue or an artists’ colony. This process is already emerging, with towns such as Ludlow becoming famous for its food, or Brighton for its night life.

Most market towns already have railway stations, which will become the preferred method of long-distance travel. Most are also historic centres of food production, which have been left high and dry by the supermarket revolution— but already the localisation process is starting with the rapid growth of farmers’ markets selling local produce. There are even signs that the headlong movement of manufacturing to the developing world may be about to reverse.

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Comments

[Graeme Kidd]

Ludlow is was the first Cittaslow, or "Slow City" in the United Kingdom - the Cittaslow movement started in Italy in 1989 and is now spreading to other countries. Ludlow is fortunate in many ways - it has a great built environment, a real sense of community, is located in beautiful countryside and still retains it role and functions as a traditional market town serving a large hinterland. The Cittaslow movement seeks to embed respect for tradition and elements of the Slow Food philosophy into local government administration. It has achieved a great deal in Ludlow, and is being taken up by other towns in the UK. www.cittaslow.org.uk