Those who tried desperately from the 1940s onwards to hold back the growth of cities by establishing satellite towns could not have foreseen how quickly the population pressure would go into reverse as cities began to lose their appeal for people and companies. As we all know, opinions are now sharply divided on just what the impact of the computer modem will be. Yes, say some. Not at all, say others. People need to meet people for businesses to thrive.
Cities are where people meet.
And yet probably everyone in this room knows at least one person who works with a computer from a home outside the traditional urban settings. If you don't yet, you soon will. Secure in the knowledge that the best brains in the business are inevitably and frequently caught napping by what actually does happen to cities, I would like to set out a model for the future that, I suggest, is as likely as any other. I am not talking about cities of the Pacific Rim, or American examples such as Atlanta, which are expanding at a speed reminiscent of Manchester in the 19th century. For the purposes of this afternoon, I am talking quite unapologetically about England.