3.4.3
Original Document
The requirement for more housing can bring substantial benefits to the city centre. Birmingham’s younger than average population and its ethnic mix are assets for the city. But outside the core shopping and office areas and outside working hours, much of the city centre lacks vibrancy owing partly to an absence of city centre residents to support local activities combined with an pattern of land use which does not attract people in the evenings. In the evenings, much of the centre, including most of the main shopping areas, are all but deserted. If the Big City Plan is to improve the interest and vibrancy of the wider centre it must bring about an increase in the city centre’s population and a more diverse pattern of land use.
Plain English Translation
The need for more housing can bring a lot of benefits to the city centre. Birmingham’s younger-than-average population and its ethnic mix are assets for the city. But outside the core shopping and office areas and outside working hours, much of the city centre is not lively partly because of a lack of people living there to support local activities and also because the way the land is used does not attract people there in the evenings. In the evenings, much of the city centre, including most of the main shopping areas are quite deserted. If the Big City Plan is to make the wider centre more interesting and lively, it must raise the city centre’s population and use the land in a wider variety of ways.
Many of the city residents today are young single people. As they grow older and become attached the need for family housing will increase otherwise they will have to relocate to the suburbs. Providing options to stay within the inner should be made a priority, but this means that schooling, medical care, and leisure options including parks and play areas should also be increased too.