Reading 2050

Principal Investigator: Professor Tim Dixon (PI)
Researcher: N/A
Funding Status: Funded internally
Partner: Barton Willmore, Reading UK
Start and End Date: 2013 – ongoing

The Reading UK 2050 project was established in 2013 by the University of Reading, Barton Willmore and Reading UK CIC (the ‘Reading 2050 partners’) to deliver a strategic, long-term vision that will support Reading’s growth and prosperity, and help ensure we can deliver a legacy of a truly smart and sustainable city, by 2050. Through a series of workshops and sessions with a wide range of organisations and people from across Reading and the Thames Valley region we have developed an economically viable and evolving future vision for Reading in 2050 which links and informs Reading Borough Council’s Local Plan and the Reading Climate Change Emergency Strategy (2020-25).

The Reading 2050 Vision was launched in September 2017, and a public lecture series  created a platform not only to discuss and debate how Reading should evolve to a smarter and more sustainable future by 2050, but also to help inform the continuing development of the vision and provide an important channel for public engagement. The series (which was developed with Professor Lorraine Farrelly) started from the premise that to understand the future of a place the present and the past must also be understood. The Public Lecture series (hosted by the interdisciplinary School of the Built Environment) ran from October 2017 to October 2019, and was structured around three themes which underpin the Reading 2050 vision:

•           Place and Environment
•           People and Lifestyle
•           Economy and Employment.

News and Events:

Reading 2050 Lecture Series: https://www.reading.ac.uk/architecture/architecture-public-lectures.aspx

University Research informing future vision of Town Press Release 

Reports and Publications:

Reading Climate Emergency Strategy: https://readingcan.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/our-plan-READING-CLIMATE-EMERGENCY-STRATEGY-2020-25-Final.pdf

Other publications/reports: https://livingreading.co.uk/publications-events

Dixon, T.and Montgomery, J., (2015) Towards a smart & sustainable Reading UK 2050: full report. Project Report. Barton Willmore pp54

Dixon, T.and Cohen, K. (2015) Towards a smart and sustainable Reading 2050 vision. Town and Country Planning, January. pp. 20-27. ISSN 0040-9960

Further Information:

Click here for further information