Bending the future

Earlier this week I was invited to be part of a meeting convened by the Vice Chancellor to discuss the implications of the Cambridge/MK/Buckingham/Oxford economic arc/corridor to our town and especially to the University itself. It was attended by many local leaders from the Local Enterprise Partnerships, the County Council and the District Council etc. We were joined by delegates from the Ministry of Housing, Communities, Local Government and the Department Transport. (see the list below). It was a fascinating meeting, potentially the first of many, to dig into the detail of what is being proposed.

The outline plans are all here:

• Partnering for Prosperity: A new deal for the Cambridge-Milton Keynes-Oxford Arc
• Oxford to Cambridge Expressway Strategic Study
• East West Rail

Buckingham is at the centre of all this. We must be thinking about what this means to the future of our town and surrounding countryside. Fortunately, we have the refresh of the current Buckingham Neighbourhood Development Plan underway this year so there will be ample opportunity to think about what kind of future we want for our town in this wider context. 

The even wider context is some the 'mega trends' that will be impacting on future including the rapid progress of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and linked (but separate to) the changing role Robotics. A recent summary of megatrends include: 

• Shift in global economic power 
• Demographic shifts
• Accelerating urbanization
• Rise of technology
• Climate change and resource scarcity

I offered several ideas into the pot of discussion:

• We need to start the conversation now and it needs to be highly inclusive especially of young people who will be living in the future that is being currently mapped out
• This conversation needs to make room for imagination, ambition and diverse multiple perspectives and interests
• Perhaps we should now be talking of 'purpose creation' rather than 'job creation' as the impact of AI and robotics grows. (What are we going to do with our time if technology is doing most of the jobs currently occupied by humans?)
• Education is critical in all of this: primary / secondary / colleges / universities / lifelong learning
• Where will well-being fit in and how can we integrate it with prosperity and security into the whole emerging plan
• What can we learn from other parts of the world that are going through something similar: how do we keep housing / infrastructure / commercial opportunities in balance and sustainable? 

It was a good meeting. I am looking forward to the next one!