The future is urban. By 2050 70 per cent of the population will live in cities and towns. But how do we make cities liveable places that offer education, security, housing, work, a sense of place and a happy and fulfilling experience for all? How can we make cities more than just places for the wealthy? What makes an ideal city? This debate – which launches the 2015 Festival of the Future City – brings together academics, artists and writers to discuss what city living and working should be.

Introduced by Alan Wilson and starting with a lecture by Mark Walport looking at the findings of the Foresight Future of Cities programme, it is followed by a panel – one of the ‘The Way We Live Now’ national debates marking ten years of the AHRC – with Lauren Elkin (author of the forthcoming Flâneuse: The (Feminine) Art of Walking in Cities), Gabriella Gómez-Mont (Mexico City Lab), writer Olivia Laing (author of the forthcomingThe Lonely City: Adventures in the Art of Being Alone), Richard Sennett (LSE), and Brent Toderian (former Vancouver city planner and now advisor to cities around the world.

Booking

This event is free, but booking is required. Online booking is via Eventbrite and managed by Festival of Ideas. Please use the contact function in Eventbrite or get in touch with any online booking queries.  BOOK HERE.

Events start punctually and, out of consideration to other audience members and speakers, our policy is not to admit latecomers. Please make sure to arrive before the advertised start time to take your seat/s.

The Festival of Ideas endeavours to hold its events in venues that are accessible to all. The venue has a loop system and is accessible to wheelchair users. If you have specific access concerns, please do contact us with any questions.

In association with

Government Office for Science

Bristol Festival of Ideas

Cabot Institute

Bristol 2015

Arts and Humanities Research Council

Foresight

Bristol City Council

University of the West of England