Liverpool Smart City

25th May 2012 - Smart Cities and Liverpool

 

Good morning and welcome to Liverpool Town Hall.
We are here to discuss the importance of Smart Cities and so it is apt that this debate takes place in this building and in this chamber - always a place for debate - some of it very smart!!
Smart Cities is about intelligent, cohesive, sustainable urban and economic development.

Liverpool’s forefathers had the same thoughts more than 200 years ago when the decision was taken to construct this building from which they could wisely manage the city’s ambitions by making best use of their resources and emerge as a world city.
And what successes they enjoyed.
This building is still regarded as having the finest suite of civic offices in the UK and from here both the public and private sectors transformed Liverpool into the second city of Empire.
Liverpool was both innovative and pioneering.
That’s what Liverpool is again today.
This is a city in the process of transformation. Physically we look different - Modern and dynamic, making best use of our heritage.
And despite these austere times, confidence is in the air.

• Confident that we are masters of our own destiny
• Confident that we are on the right track
• Confident that we reflect the hopes and aspirations of our citizens and that we work for the common good
• Confident that we are again players on the international stage

To innovate and to blaze trails you have to have confidence in the bold decisions you will inevitably have to make.

That is why I stood for and won the office as Liverpool’s first elected Mayor, the first in the country outside London.
I wanted to become Mayor to use it for the good of Liverpool.
I believe that this city is again on the cusp on great times.
We are again a city with a global name and it is my job to make sure that we use it to create a better and a smarter future for Liverpool.
And I will bring smart governance in this pioneering role of mine.
Politics is the art of the possible, that’s why I’ve backed Liverpool Waters and fought for the right to be a cruise turnaround port. One is happening, and from this very week the other is now a reality.
So, the concept of being a Smart City is one that we must investigate and embrace, if we are to make the most of the giant steps we have taken in recent years.
I want a smarter and fitter economy with first class transport and communications infrastructure in a smart environment with people enjoying the benefits of smart living - healthier, wealthier and happier.
It holds the promise of being more competitive, investing in our human and social capital and in our education in which everyone holds an interest, because it is about their continuing well-being and future prosperity.
Let me tell you – We in Liverpool have a real aspiration to be the UK’s first Smart City.
We may have started more slowly than others but with strong leadership and with robust public/private partnerships we have the opportunity to overtake our competitors by learning from their mistakes.
If we work together to achieve our Smart City goal we can create a city that attracts even more investors, employers, visitors, residents and students. To make sure that Liverpool becomes the city of choice.
Liverpool is in a wonderful position to make this happen, because we are creative and enterprising and are model city for public private partnership sharing the same economic purpose.
In my Mayoral position I am fully committed to the development of a strategic approach to this development which will help position Liverpool high in UK Government Cities radar as an exemplar destination and will help our position to leverage EU funds with the appropriate size and scale of projects large investors are looking for.

Mayoral ambitions:

This all complements my key Mayoral ambitions supported by the City Deal we brokered with central Government.
City Deal is an investment pot of £130 million of public and private funds, which could grow to between £500million and £1 billion. It will be invested in delivering new schools and homes and creating jobs.

It also includes the first Mayoral Development Corporation outside London which will include:

• A new Enterprise Zone for North Liverpool and the Central Business District to offer incentives for companies to set up and existing businesses to grow
• Using any growth in business rates to benefit five key economic areas of the city, known as the Mayoral Development Zones – North Liverpool, the Knowledge Quarter around the universities, Stonebridge Cross, the Eastern Approaches and Speke-Garston
• Chairing an Investment Board bringing together assets including land, commercial and residential buildings
• Developing a new approach to welfare reform including investment in specific skills to match jobs and get more people off benefits and into work.

So let me give you some specifics and let’s start with the young, our future:

In education:

I’m developing a Schools Investment Plan to build 12 new schools and refurbish others, giving each a high quality environment in which to learn and be inspired and provide the best chance of fulfilling potential.
From this September, my Liverpool Mayoral Education Allowance will be paid weekly during term time supporting 16-19 year olds from the lowest income families to access further education and training.

Regarding Jobs:

I want our youngsters to be able to take advantage of the thousands of new jobs I have pledged to create
Major regeneration projects are planned for schools and housing, creating employment.
Many of these jobs will be in the construction sector so we will need builders, plumbers, electricians, joiners.
Twelve new schools and 5,000 new homes will create 17,000 jobs in construction and the wider supply chain.
With private sector partners we are delivering new retail projects in Edge Lane and Great Homer Street.

The Mayoral Development Corporation:

This will support new businesses and business growth in the city. Through it, I will also support local entrepreneurs and boost business-start-ups, creating a further 2000 jobs.
We will also support the growth of the Bio-Innovation Centre, creating new facilities for cutting edge businesses in Liverpool.
A total of 1,300 new jobs will also be created in the wider economy through the construction of the new exhibition centre on the Kings Waterfront, boosting the local economy by £10 million and attracting 250,000 visitors in its first year.
Employment will be created through the building of a permanent cruise liner facility, while the Liverpool Waters development, which we are working on with our private sector partner, Peel Holdings, will ultimately create thousands jobs.
In all this, I will ensure that developers, managers and operators engage with us to ensure Liverpool people have access to these jobs and to new training opportunities.
We will also give the opportunity to 3,500 young people in Liverpool to become apprentices through our Liverpool Futures programme, giving them real jobs and the training they require to pursue careers in their chosen field.

Building New Houses:

A key priority of mine – family homes which are secure, affordable and of high quality.
The City Council has already set in train plans to build 2,500 new homes but I want to build a further 2,500.
The construction of new homes on brownfield sites will target dereliction in including 500 new homes at Stonebridge Cross and more than 1,500 of the new homes will be built in some of the most deprived areas of the city, where demand outstrips supply.
Where possible, derelict homes will be refurbished and brought back into use.
We will also put £3m into a scheme to provide mortgage deposits for first-time buyers.

In Business and Enterprise:

I will lead a new Mayoral Investment Board.
I will pool public funding streams, Enterprise Zone income and the city’s land and assets to attract substantial private sector investment. And I will be working closely with Liverpool Vision and the Local Enterprise Partnership to bring in investment, entrepreneurship and create jobs.
I will vigorously pursue a business friendly agenda and reduce red tape to make Liverpool the preferred choice for investment and job creation.
National banks have reduced their lending to small businesses, so I will work with our Credit Unions to provide much needed loans to help.
I will continue to exploit our world class visitor offer and strengthen our science and technology sectors, the port and construction and development.
Together, these initiatives will transform Liverpool into the most business and enterprise-friendly city in the UK, a magnet for investment, and a great place to live and work.

Finally, A Civic Pride Campaign:

This will be launched to encourage people to pledge to keep Liverpool clean and ensure our city is a brilliant place to live, work and play.
I think this is smart thinking.
I think this will lead to a Smart City.
Ultimately, Smart City is about jobs and it is about economic growth and creating a better future.
They are my main priorities as Mayor.
Thank you very much.
ENDS

http://liverpool.gov.uk/mayor/messages-from-the-mayor/speeches/smart-cities-speech/

Speech Analysis 

This is Joe Anderson's speech, who is the Mayor of Liverpool. In this speech he addresses the challenges to be a Smart City, and the importance for Liverpool to become the most successful smart city in the UK.
In the first part of the speech Anderson makes a reference about the history of the building where the conference takes place. The Mayor focuses on the importance of that building and its antiquity. Then he speaks about the importance of Liverpool in the history, using words like "innovative" and "pioneering".
The Mayor makes use of catch phrases and stresses the word "confident", to instill confidence in the future to all citizens and people. He tells about his candidacy and the things that he already made for Liverpool.
Anderson is very ambitious, and is putting a lot of effort into transforming Liverpool in the first Smart City in the UK.
His ambitions concern the following topics: education, houses, jobs, and business.
Regarding education, Anderson's plan is to support the building of new school and to provide economic support to families.
Then, the idea to give resources to build new houses will have two effects: it will ensure an higher accomodation standard for the families and as a side effect it will stimulate the creation of new jobs in the business of construction.
As the last topic, Anderson wants to promote investements in new technologies company, that would find an attractive place to grow in Liverpool.
The words that are more frequently used are: development, confidence, first city, growth, business, construction, jobs, home, investment.