The Big City Plan outlines the ambition of Birmingham to make the top 20 of the worlds most liveable cities by 2028. I am not aware which index the document is pointing to, so i am assuming that any of the main headline reports count.

This is ambitious when you consider that Birmingham will have to rival the likes of Auckland, Geneva etc.

The question is where is Birmingham currently, and do you think Birmingham will achieve its ambition within the timescale?

getting a metro sorted and high speed rail will automatically push Birmingham up the index if you ask me. i just finished my dissertation and from the research i did many felt that high speed rail will become one of the criteria for this sort of index.

I think one of the reports i saw had Birmingham in the top 100 or just outside of it (i forget). I think the Big City Plan has some elements which will help it but by its self im unsure. Im not sure as to what extent "liveable cities" count... when you look at areas of birmingham where the bus is the only form of transport and a bus stop within a 10 min walk bus the bus comes every 40mins etc. How will these issues affect liveability (if that is even a word).

I think everyone knows transport is one of Birmingham's main issue. Any growth of Birmingham will have to come by public transport (mainly metro and train, as the bus has limits to growth). The other thing i would say is that (as i have said before) after 8pm, the city centre core is pretty much dead with no life until 10 when the clubs open (discounting areas like Arcadian et al) and this needs to be addressed.

The BCP or any other plan for the city centre cannot get the city into the top 20 most liveable cities in the world. Whilst transport is probably our most major issue, the situation with the inner-city areas is the real chokehold. They are infected with a glut of low aspirations and academic achievement passed on from the sweeping away of the heavy industries which were their very cause. I've said it before in great detail so I don't think I should get back into it again but it'll take several generations before we start to see any distinct change in the aspirations of those living in inner city Birmingham, where people still see low-skilled jobs as their only option.

We have to get as good as most of the cities in Scandanavia, Germany, Netherlands and Switzerland to be included surely? Edit - about city core dead after 8pm, create a cafe culture where they stay open until midnight.

No where in this country has a cafe culture. It's just not a British thing. We might as well recreate the pub culture, Germany does that just fine.

The success of any city depends on those with the brains and the drive STAYING there, and others with brains and drive COMING there.

As we all know London is such a city, it has a history of famous people from all over the world coming to it, and living and working there. These include politicians, artists, actors, musicians, thinkers, architects, designers, scientists etc etc.

Unfortunately Birmingham has a reputation of being a "metal bashing" city (a lot of the industry has gone but the reputation stays) so it is not an attractive city for those type of people.

It also has street after street of bland, small, terraced houses, with few "quality" areas to live in. Edgbaston, Harborne, Sutton Coldfield are just the few that come to mind. I moved out of Birmingham to Solihull to find a nice area to live (I know many others who have done the same).

Many of the other areas in Birmingham are inner city ghettos (how many of us could reel off area after area we would not want to live in).

Whenever I drive into Birmingham I have to take certain routes to AVOID the worst areas like Sparkhill and Sparkbrook as driving through them is too upsetting.

No, I am afraid Birmingham has a HUGE mountain to climb to get itself a better reputation.

p.s. As an example, on TripAdvisor the other week someone asked about visting Birmingham and there were loads of negative comments. One guy just said "get on the M6, then drive straight past the city"

Maybe he had not visited the city for a while, but the problem is a reputation takes a long time to lose (how many of you STILL think Skoda cars are rubbish when in fact they are now excellent cars?)

The success of any city depends on those with the brains and the drive STAYING there, and others with brains and drive COMING there.

As we all know London is such a city, it has a history of famous people from all over the world coming to it, and living and working there. These include politicians, artists, actors, musicians, thinkers, architects, designers, scientists etc etc.

Unfortunately Birmingham has a reputation of being a "metal bashing" city (a lot of the industry has gone but the reputation stays) so it is not an attractive city for those type of people.

It also has street after street of bland, small, terraced houses, with few "quality" areas to live in. Edgbaston, Harborne, Sutton Coldfield are just the few that come to mind. I moved out of Birmingham to Solihull to find a nice area to live (I know many others who have done the same).

Many of the other areas in Birmingham are inner city ghettos (how many of us could reel off area after area we would not want to live in).

Whenever I drive into Birmingham I have to take certain routes to AVOID the worst areas like Sparkhill and Sparkbrook as driving through them is too upsetting.

No, I am afraid Birmingham has a HUGE mountain to climb to get itself a better reputation.

p.s. As an example, on TripAdvisor the other week someone asked about visting Birmingham and there were loads of negative comments. One guy just said "get on the M6, then drive straight past the city"

Maybe he had not visited the city for a while, but the problem is a reputation takes a long time to lose (how many of you STILL think Skoda cars are rubbish when in fact they are now excellent cars?)

The thing is every city has areas of inner city poverty. London is a city you point out as being a huge success, but it has areas that make Handsworth, Aston and Small Heath look wealthy. Brum is no exception. I certainly don't think it puts many students off staying in the city once they finish University.

Slowly but surely our reputation is changing! The city centre has now had over 20 years continuous regeneration. The Bullring, The Mailbox & Brindley Place are just a handful of examples.

Within the region the younger generations now see Birmingham as there 'Big Night Out' and Shopping destinations. We just need the rest of the UK to catch up.

I'd love to see Bham in the top 20 global cities. And I'd love to return to the city to live, or atleast have a base there.

But, I'm saddened by the lack of effort/ thoughtfulness on the part of various "powers that be". Britain NEEDS more than one global city. But the Establishment just wants everything to be in Ldon, with other greatly lower profile places.

In some ways, Bham is terrific. In others, its nowhere near where it should be.

The Big City Plan is a horrifically dull document in so many places. There is simply no global ambition, no vision, no will to achieve greatly better. Its just muddling along. Maybe BCC feel that grand projects aren't a votewinner for the local electorate. I remember the stated policy in the early 90s when an end was callde to the grand projects like the ICC, NIA etc.

Why the hell can't people sit down and think Greater Birmingham - a European conurbation that only about 3/4 maybe 5 cities in Europe are signif bigger than. Why cant people think of iconic, grand landmarks? Bham aiming to be innovative and the best in something?

This is why people leave. This is why people won't come back. Its a terrible shame.

As we all know London is such a city, it has a history of famous people from all over the world coming to it, and living and working there. These include politicians, artists, actors, musicians, thinkers, architects, designers, scientists etc etc.

Unfortunately Birmingham has a reputation of being a "metal bashing" city (a lot of the industry has gone but the reputation stays) so it is not an attractive city for those type of people.

We did have these kind of visitors in the late 18thC and throughout the 19thC due to our innovation as well as our "metal bashing".

Erebus dismisses the idea of a cafe culture but why shouldn't it be so? If our students are at University to learn and discuss all matter of things, why is the boozer their only option of after-tutorial relaxation? Lots of European cities chock full of bars and pubs still show a good cafe scene late at night. I'm not saying that all students should be tee-total but it would be nice to mix it up a bit.

I think there should be a late market scene all year round and not just at Christmas and summertime. Markets are great at attracting browsers and visitors, so I think one of our streets should get permanent wooden units for this.

There was a letter in the Post today about the irritating and tiresome youths who fuck about in St Phillip's Square after school and at weekends, damaging the tombstones and messing up the lawns - there should be open spaces for them somewhere to congregate that isn't so sacred. I have in the past, suggested a couple of floodlit sports pitches built on wasteground sites with underneath carparking, for them to let off some steam and to actually partake in sport / do something useful with their lives!!

getting a metro sorted and high speed rail will automatically push Birmingham up the index if you ask me. i just finished my dissertation and from the research i did many felt that high speed rail will become one of the criteria for this sort of index.

Isn't there some sort of plan to reopen Curzon St at some point as Birmingham's stop on a high speed rail line linking London-Birmingham-Manchester-Glasgow?

yeah kind of, the plan at the moment unless something has changed is a station next door/linked to moor street

Yeah I've just been reading up on it, HS2 right?
The plans look pretty ferocious! I don't think they should be putting it quite so central to be honest, it'll dwarf Moor St and what's wrong with the land opposite Millenium Point?

its not really to do with suitability of the land but more about the purpose of high speed rail and what it is meant to do. see cuzon gate thread where i posts a lil reply

No rapid transport network-No chance. I'd say if a fully completed and established tram network was running then it could be more likely, so you will probably be looking at 2045-2050.

2028 seems too soon.