I’ve written a blog post in response to pick up on most of these points.

No; this is the cause of the problems

Start from the bottom up. What do individual people do each day, what are their aspirations…

That Birmingham has the talent to achieve its long-promised full potential isn’t in doubt. The question is how to harness it. As we all know, the ‘product’ is much better than it’s given credit for, and yet it still seems to punch beneath its weight.

I would suggest the following:

1) Learn from the best, but don’t copy. Some cities have a knack for seeming to do everything right, and these are the cities that have managed to fuse an intrinsic sense of self-confidence with a belief in the universal power of good design. Barcelona is the most obvious example. Also in this vein, issue 5 of volume 1 (July/August 2007) of Monocle magazine should be standard reading for all city-makers; it’s a journal that effortlessly conveys a persuasive understanding of what makes the greatest cities… well, the greatest.

2) Rebrand. Michael Wolff is dead right. The current Birmingham logo and branding is embarrassing. But the branding must mean more than just a new logo and slogan. It must mean a whole new way of marketing and promoting Birmingham that utterly eschews the tired and ineffectual marketing devices the city has used as crutches in the past, principally the title of ‘Second City’ and the yawn-inducing fact that Brum has more miles of canal than Venice. The latter typifies a traditional and very damaging Brummie preference for quantity over quality. And even if you passionately believe that there is such a thing as the ‘Second City’, and that Birmingham is it, let it go. You’re on a hiding to nothing. Don’t even mention those words – a self-imposed ban would be a fine idea. Who needs the hassle of arguing over this irrelevance with Mancunians or anyone else? No-one outside Brum and Manchester cares anyway, and Birmingham should be secure enough not to lower itself to giving a shit about such a trivial, infantile debate. Aside from the above, the general calibre of official marketing campaigns used to promote Birmingham (both within the city and outside it) isn’t high enough.

3) Architectural quality control. Birmingham has some decent landmarks and a lot of excellent urban regeneration, but some of the new buildings in between undo all the good work. Someone clearly fell asleep at wheel when the Orion building slipped through. And it happens too often for comfort. The planning department needs to stop asking itself “is it bad enough to refuse?” and start asking “is it good enough to approve?”.

4) Transport. It’s quite simple: a city Birmingham’s size should have an Underground, and would do, if it were in any comparable country. It won’t be too long before Birmingham’s traffic problem will be too serious for mere trams to make much of a difference. Birmingham needs an Underground. It deserves an Underground. Most importantly, both Birmingham and Whitehall need to get used to the idea that Birmingham deserves an Underground. “Birmingham needs an Underground” needs to become a simple, clear and consistent cross-party policy that is reiterated so often that it no longer seems like the impossible dream it currently seems. It must become a long-term aim. Realistically the politicians of today need to recognise that it will take a few generations at the very least for a case to be accepted. But Birmingham must start making that case now, even if we never live to see it. Meanwhile trams are a good enough interim solution, and the long-term pursuit of an Underground shouldn’t be viewed as compromising the construction of one or two further tram lines, because one is a short-term solution and the other is a long-term solution. If Birmingham demonstrates it is serious about an Underground, is truly committed to it, and is in it for the long-haul, I believe it could secure at least one Underground line within the next fifty years. Sounds like a long time, but that’s how long these things take. And it would be a laudable aim – the power of Undergrounds and Metros to transform cities (both in terms of physicality and perception) shouldn’t be underestimated.

4) Birmingham needs a mayor. Period. Cities with mayors work better than cities without. They promote themselves better and are taken more seriously. Business and central government likes being able to deal with just one guy, rather than several different bodies that don’t necessarily sing from the same hymnsheet. London, New York, Paris, Berlin and Athens all have or have had mayors that have had a dramatic effect on their cities.

5) Independents make a city more attractive. I agree with what people have said above. Birmingham needs more independent shops and cafes. The Bullring was supposed to free up units elsewhere in the city centre; rents would fall, it was predicted, and the independents would move in. Well, it’s certainly freed up the units – but that’s all. Why are landlords not lowering the rents of stubbornly vacant retail units? What’s their problem? They prefer no income to a reduced income with a tenant? What’s the deal with the Great Western Arcade – always half empty? Birmingham City Council needs to seriously consider how it can help independents thrive and prosper. There are flaws in ideas such as a rent subsidy scheme, but it would be better than nothing. It’s certainly an issue that needs to be addressed and not ignored. Good independent coffee shops in particular can really lift a neighbourhood – something for the suburbs to consider too. The effect on the city’s character of having more independents on its streets would be immeasurable – certainly enough to elevate perceptions of the city from the “better than it used to be” rut in which it currently resides to “really good” in absolute terms.

It’s not perfect (I agree with Jon that the constantly increasing range of Quarters is slightly bizzare), but it is getting there.

Perhaps it is in my business interest to see the city do well, but I chose to work in Birmingham because of the fantastic opportunities it provides. I’m just not so sure we should all knock it quite so often - or assume that everything that has taken place previously was a waste of time.

We have to be passionate about the city.