Imagining the future
What could Kensington and Chelsea be like to live in, work in and visit by 2028, and what actions can we take to influence the Royal Borough’s future for the better?
This is the question the Council is hoping to answer with the help of a new project which aims to highlight which issues and challenges will top the agenda in the future.
Twenty years from now it is possible the world will face a completely new set of challenges.
Many existing problems are still likely to be present, perhaps on an
even bigger scale.
Kensington and Chelsea Council will be at the forefront of tackling some of these within the context of the borough.
To prepare for this future role, the Council has launched a project – Vision 2028 – which aims to more clearly define what these might be.
A wide range of people who live in the borough are being consulted, including residents, senior council officers, cabinet members and even school children.
Workshops hosted by the Council have already taken place across the borough with a view to establishing both what people imagine Kensington and Chelsea will be like in 2028 and what they want it to be like.
To drive discussion forward, participants in these workshops are presented with a series of issues which exist now and which may affect the world in 20 years time.
This wide-ranging list of factors covers issues affecting both the borough and wider society.
This includes, for example, the growth of air and noise pollution, growing pressure on housing, the ageing population and increasing cultural diversity, increasing congestion, rising energy costs and rising individualism.
All of these can be expected to impact on the borough in twenty
years time.
Views and information collected at these workshops will be used to inform the Council’s Community Strategy, the Council and its overarching plan for the future.
Here we present an early overview of some of the conclusions drawn from those workshops.
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The workshops decided that in the year 2028 there is likely be a greater diversity of cultures and household types, with a mix of young families, key workers and residents with a range of incomes.
Meanwhile there will be fewer temporary or intermittent residents with a great trend towards putting down roots.
Continuing the borough’s tradition of welcoming a diverse mix of people, participants wanted the borough to be a place where people feel they belong.
This would have positive outcomes. For example, this could potentially create
more opportunities for engaging in the community with more people volunteering.
With higher levels of community cooperation it is hoped crime and the fear of crime could decline.
Kensington and Chelsea Council is already committed to reducing carbon emissions – the Council’s vehicles run on LPG fuel and residents are encouraged to recycle their waste.
Unsurprisingly 2028 workshop participants want the environment to be treasured and natural resources to be considered as key assets and for the Council to take a lead in relation to energy efficiency.
They believe that there will be greater awareness and more pre-emptive action in relation to flooding and that more residents will turn to low-carbon transport such as cycling and walking.
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The Royal Borough is renowned for its rich cultural history and diversity.
The vision for the future is that there will be greater participation in culture from people living in all parts of the borough.
A strong emerging vision was that the borough’s affluence would ignite cultural life at every level, from nationally feted exhibitions to smaller scale street fairs.
In the 2028 workshops, participants imagined a future where residents and public services had more of an open dialogue and listened to – and understood – each other better.
Better levels of communication would lead to more tailored services that meet residents’ needs more directly.
With the Chelsea Academy clearly on the horizon, workshop participants believe the borough will have an excellent reputation for educating children.
Another upbeat conclusion from the workshops is that, aside from residents enjoying better overall health, a preventative approach to healthcare will result from in-depth exchanges with the health services.
Overall the 2028 workshops have imagined a borough where there is more integration, less crime and where cultural diversity thrives.
What do you think the future holds for Royal Borough? Which issues do you think Kensington and Chelsea Council needs to focus attention on?
Email your comments on this story to rbkcdirect@rbkc.gov.uk.
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