Our Vision for the West Midlands Metropolitan Area
The Vision
Our Vision for the West Midlands Metropolitan Area is for:
- a thriving, sustainable and vibrant community where people want to live and where businesses can develop and grow
- town, city and local centres that are attractive and vibrant, where high-quality public transport is the norm and walking and cycling common-place
- cleaner air and less congested traffic conditions
- a safer community with fewer road accidents and environments in which people feel secure
- equal opportunities for everyone to gain access to services and facilities, and enjoy a better quality of life with travel choices that are attractive, viable and sustainable
This Vision encompasses the four themes of the Transport Shared Priority agreed between central and local government, with the aim of improving the delivery of public services. The themes are to:
- tackle congestion
- deliver improved accessibility
- improve road safety
- produce better air quality
These themes are developed in the next chapter and form a framework for how we present our LTP2.
The Government's vision for the West Midlands region, set out in the Regional Spatial Strategyi is:
'one of an economically successful, outward looking and adaptable region which is rich in culture and environment, where all people, working together, are able to meet their aspirations and needs without prejudicing the quality of life of future generations.'
The Regional Spatial Strategy recognises Birmingham as a 'World City' at the heart of the region. It identifies major challenges, two of which are:
- Urban Renaissance - developing the major urban areas to counter the unsustainable outward movement of people and jobs which was facilitated by previous strategies
- Modernising the Transport Infrastructure to support sustainable development of the region
Our Vision is aligned with this Regional Strategy and provides the framework for more locally focused visions for each part of the West Midlands Metropolitan Area.