City on the Beach - Our sketchbook for Swansea
As part of our 20 year partnership with Swansea City Council, I was in Swansea last night to launch ‘City on the Beach’ – our sketch book of ideas for the city.
I have history with Swansea, doing my O and A levels there back in the 80’s, so I know the city fairly well and it’s not only great to be back to see how much the city has transformed but a real honour to be collaborating on an ambitious strategy for the future.
There are 7 sites within the Partnership – each very different, each capable of adding real value to the wider Swansea offer and together they have the potential to build on the amazing work that the city and other partners have already delivered, positioning the city as a progressive, forward-looking city that can meet the challenges of the future.
The event was a chance to present our latest thinking for these sites, including Swansea Central, a new business district where the first of 7 office buildings has already received planning permission, and Swansea Civic Centre, where we’ve unveiled plans for a City Waterfront district that puts the breathtaking five-mile beach at centre of the cities civic and social life - all connected by Ffiordd ir mor – (route to the sea) – Swansea’s very own Ramblas.
As we have been developing our ideas for each of the key sites, we have inevitably been thinking about how each can contribute to a co-ordinated story about the city as a whole. This is the genesis for ‘City on the Beach’ - a phrase that we think beautifully encapsulates this bigger city-wide narrative.
City on the Beach is a simple statement of fact, a claim that Swansea can make that few UK cities can, but it is also shorthand for the fact that Swansea has everything a city should have - and all within easy walking distance. In the search for cities that are better for people and the planet we think it’s the gold standard. From the train station to the Wales Coastal path in 20, from work to the market in 10 and from the city centre to the beach in 5. You can cycle to open country in your lunch break, swim in the sea after school or catch a concert without catching a taxi. In big cities work-life balance can be quite a slog - in Swansea it takes no effort at all.
A truly ‘liveable city’ for the future that plays to its unique strengths. In the fight to keep the best people, attract the best jobs and deliver the best quality of life, Swansea has a five-mile head start, because if you can live anywhere why not live in the city on the beach.
The City on the Beach sketch book is now available to download here. (There's also a version here for any of our Welsh friends).
It is deliberately thematic and is intended as a provocation and the start of a wider conversation with all stakeholders in the city and beyond so if you want to be part of the story please get in touch – no idea too big or too small !!
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