The Big City Plan Charter - Any Questions?

In advance of the launch they’ve put the website online and the Charter document in full for you to download.

The website itself is a triumph of accessible simplicity, and credit goes to Debra Davis for pushing the ‘keep it simple, stupid’ agenda on web communications. More where this has come from, I hope. I’ve already suggested they add an RSS feed…

I’m going to Baskerville House for a noon launch, and there’ll be opportunities for questions.

If anyone wants me to ask anything pertinent let me know - I’ll be reporting back this afternoon I hope.

Here’s what Mike Whitby has to say about this project - it certainly has all the hallmarks of a good piece of work:

The BIG CITY PLAN is an important stage in the evolution of Birmingham into the UK’s second World City. But this plan is not just about repositioning our city for those who wish to visit, relocate and invest, it is more importantly about how the citizens of Birmingham want to see their future.

An opportunity comes around once in a generation to produce a plan on this scale. We will be looking to consult everyone who has an interest in the city. This Charter is our statement of intent, setting out the scope of the BIG CITY PLAN which will evolve over the next 18 months. We thought that it would be better to talk around ideas rather than consultation with a blank slate. We want this plan to be visionary but we want to make sure it happens. These are our consultants’ ideas, but they have listened to a wide range of views before they put pen to paper.

These ideas have been shaped by existing policy, such as Birmingham Vision 2026 and the Birmingham Prospectus as well as by discussions with international experts and The Big City Team, a group of people from Birmingham, who share our passion for the future of the city. We thank them for their efforts.

This is just the start. We want more people to join in defining our future. (My emphasis)

You may notice that some of the blog comments from my original blog post “ Who Wants to Redesign Birmingham ” are in there, like Paul Ashton’s which occupies a whole page:

So, seriously. If you make a comment or ask a question I’ll do my best to see that something comes of it.