A shining city upon a hill: restoring pride and tackling pollution in our towns and cities
We're delighted to have launched our new essay collection, A shining city upon a hill: restoring pride and tackling pollution in our towns and cities. The collection includes contributions from leading conservatives, who set out how we can revive our high streets, expand clean transport infrastructure, and bring beauty back to our towns and cities by streamlining red tape, unlocking private investment, and tackling anti-social behaviour.
The title of this essay collection draws on the vision of the “shining city upon a hill”, brought to life by Ronald Reagan during his presidency. The phrase originates from a 17th-century sermon but Reagan imbued it with new meaning and relevance.
The recurring motif became a call for Americans to have pride and optimism in themselves and their nation; to boost and celebrate prosperity and the free market; and to champion individual freedom. These themes feel particularly pertinent given the UK’s current national concern about declining community spirit and economic growth. We hope this collection provides a blueprint to restore civic pride, expand economic opportunity, and tackle air pollution in our towns and cities across the UK.
Authors
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The Rt Hon Victoria Atkins MP: Foreword
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Nicholas Boys Smith MBE: The gifts of gentle density: building better and more beautiful places
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Aphra Brandreth MP: Why good development needs nature: empowering people to make their communities beautiful
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Cllr Aled Richards-Jones: A breath of fresh air for our high streets
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Rebecca Smith MP: Improving rail connectivity: why local growth must be supported by sustainable transport
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Sir Andy Street CBE: Time for trams: how Great British innovation could get us back on track
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The Rt Richard Holden MP: Rebuilding our buses: putting passengers first again