

Manchesterism - our report on Burnham, growth, economy, housing and place
Image: Victoria North, courtesy of Manchester City Council / Far East Corporation (FEC) Following the speech by Andy Burnham at the Peoples' History Museum in Manchester, Future Cities Forum held a discussion to look at how the city has set a standard for development in housing and infrastructure, and how this might be used as a blueprint for the rest of the UK. In his speech Andy Burnham spoke of his ambition for 'good growth in every postcode' and 'hope in every heart'. Ce


FUTURE CITIES FORUM Summer Awards 2026 winners and judges' views
Image: Department at Carnival Parade, Ryde, Isle of Wight - winner in the Retrofit & Restoration category (Photo courtesy Tim Crocker Photography for Turner Works) Future Cities Forum is releasing its Summer Awards 2026 awards winners and runners-up across six categories with a selection of comments from the judges. The judging took place on 7 July 2026. The judges were: Hazel Edwards, Area Director (Senior Director) South East at Arts Council England, Alice Barrois, Principa


'Manchesterism' - Burnham, economic regeneration, housing and place
Image: St Peter's Square Manchester - view to Town Hall annexe building where Future Cities Forum was hosted in April 2025. Future Cities Forum is holding a discussion this week looking at the vision for the economic regeneration of the UK announced by Andy Burnham, who is hoping to become the next Prime Minister. He has spoken of his ambition to allow UK regions greater control over infrastructure such as water and energy, and to create the biggest council house building pr


Our all-female judging panel for Future Cities Forum Awards Summer 2026
Image: Kanal in Brussels - one of the short-listed cultural entries in the cultural category. Future Cities Forum is releasing the names of its all-female judging panel, who will assess projects across six categories in this summer's awards. The short-list of projects has already been released Future Cities Forum's 2026 Summer Awards entries short list The judging panel is composed of Hazel Edwards - Arts Council England Hazel leads the delivery of the Let’s Create 10-year st


Designing new model innovation districts, re-inventing heritage
Image: CGI of Melbourn Science Park in South Cambridgeshire with new village green, courtesy of Sheppard Robson Future Cities Forum invited Sheppard Robson and Ridge and Partners to speak at its 'New Model Innovation Districts' discussion event, hosted by the Wellcome Genome Campus in Cambridgeshire, about best practice for the design of science, technology and engineering campuses in the UK. Eugene Sayers, Partner at Sheppard Robson began by describing how the design of scie


Greater Cambridge - science, housing and infrastructure
Image: the city of Cambridge - looking beyond to the wider region (courtesy Webb Aviation) Future Cities Forum held a panel discussion on the issues affecting innovation, district and housing development across Cambridge and the region - at its recent event, hosted by the Wellcome Genome Campus.. Those contributing included Bethany Dugdale, Deputy Chief Executive, Cambridge Growth Company, Dr Geoff Darch, Head of Strategic Asset Planning, Anglian Water, Cllr Bridget Smith, L


Oxford City Council's disappointment on the 'scrapping of a devolution deal'
Image: Oxford City Centre - Cornmarket, looking towards Carfax, Christchuch, and Oxford Town Hall Oxford City Council has expressed its disappointment at Oxfordshire County Council for scrapping a devolution deal that would have brought billions of pounds of investment to the Thames Valley. It states: 'Councils across Berkshire, Oxfordshire and Swindon had been working collaboratively on a proposal for a Strategic Authority, linking together councils across the Thames Valley