I was recently one of a party in a hot air balloon floating serenely over the Serengeti when it developed a leak and began to descend towards a crocodile infested swamp. There was no other option – someone in the basket had to go and, fearing that if I confessed to being a spatial designer it would be me, I claimed to be a heart surgeon. As it happened, we chucked a couple of quantity surveyors to the crocodiles and, thereby slowing our decent, the remainder of the group was able to land safely and later recount the tale over dinner.

Such experiences are useful as they prompt us to consider our true value and role when the chips are down. The pandemic has taken this to a whole different level and prompted some in our industry to become prophets, confidently describing new paradigms of society, including the end of cities as workplaces, and the mapping out of new models for living – starting now. Enough! No-one can predict the future which will, no doubt, be as complex and constantly changing as the past. We must recognise that our skill is not prophecy but an ability to develop ideas, explore alternative visions, design the details, manage the process, work with others whilst doing so and, importantly, meet changing circumstances with flexibility of thought. The track record of definitive, prescriptive new models of living is poor – consider many of the post-war, utopian social housing developments for example.

Cities are super flexible, have been the focal points of society for millennia and survived far worse than Covid-19. The 1665 ‘Great Plague’ of London killed a quarter of the city’s population, but wasn’t seen to be half as bad as the previous ‘Black Death’! The consequences of these, and many other prior and subsequent epidemics/pandemics were severe but our innate desire to congregate is deep rooted and both we, and the idea of urban living are extremely resilient – we just seem to have forgotten this for the moment. 

In the hurry to have something to say we must not throw away the narrative of urbanism as a positive, progressive concept – one which focusses on the many benefits of living and working in cities – benefits both for individuals and society as a whole. If spatial designers are not the champions of this narrative then no one will be. Its fundamental truths still hold – let’s not rush to produce thought pieces or new business models that undermine it. Not only would this be bad for cities, it would ultimately be to the detriment of us as individuals. Ancient Greek society, still the first reference point for modern western life, valued the production of ‘good citizens’ – those engaged in the activities of daily life and the public affairs of the community. Maybe this could be done remotely, online, from one’s bedroom, but I’m not convinced.

The continued success of cities is vital – they are our economic engines, our cultural crucibles and our innovative milieus. (ref. Cities in Civilization, Peter Hall) Put simply, good cities are great places to be human. They will be different tomorrow for sure, but that has always been the case and, as ever, spatial designers have an important role to play in shaping change. We will not be the ones to save the world from Covid – that will be the health care workers and the inventors of vaccines. Nor will we be the re-booters of the economy - that will be the entrepreneurs. But we still deserve our place in the balloon. So why?  

Let’s start with an ability to see the bigger picture. This is intrinsic to our interests, education and experience: the desire to see how all of the moving pieces relate and for what purpose. This includes all of the physical stuff – space, movement, form, use etc. but also the historical, cultural and political contexts, amongst others. Spatial designers usually start from a particular perspective but we tend to end up as generalists. When you’re considering something with a lot of moving parts that’s a good place to be. Also, importantly, we tend not to operate as individuals but rather multi-faceted organisations bringing a broad spectrum of connected expertise to bear.  

Then there’s the vision thing – our USP. Where else to turn for a compelling description of the way things might be? We just need to make sure that our involvement is seen as inspirational and democratic, not didactic and dictatorial.

Designers are sometimes characterised as egotists, but that should be a rare exception. In reality our talent is collaboration and consultation. We can lead when required but more often we sit within complex team structures and the ability to be good team players is a valuable skill. Let’s shout about this.

Talking of shouting we are nothing if we are not great at communication – explaining, advocating, persuading, building support, and importantly listening. This is not a natural role for some consultants but it’s an essential part of what we do and we should claim it as our territory. 

The role of spatial designers is evolving as the world around us and the way we practice evolves. Perhaps the most significant recent change is the increasing role that digital technology plays in both the design and the use of our spaces and places. We must be technology led designers, not in the sense that we let the technology set our course, but in the sense that we have the understanding of tech and the ability to harness its benefits and avoid its pitfalls. Spatial designers can be, and must be, masters of the place tech agenda – if we are not the techies will be, and our cities don’t want that.

Another evolution of increasing importance is the move to put health and wellbeing centre stage in our lives and, as part of this, the design of the environments around us. This is more territory that is ours to claim and a natural addition to the way in which we already consider sustainability in our work.

In summary, we have many claims to our space in the balloon, but how can we live up to all of that? As individuals most of us would struggle, but we can as organisations that understand the big, complex picture and have organised to bring all of the skills to the table. This is the route by which we can help face down the pandemic and lead normal lives in cities again.

We need thriving cities – now more than ever as we come back together as society. That broad category of people that I have labelled ‘spatial designers’ must step up to make sure we have them – our role in the mix is key and we should say so.

And yes, included in the team we will need quantity surveyors. Sorry crocs.