We asked you to create a short story, in written or spoken word, which imagines a city of the future which is more EQUITABLE, SUSTAINABLE and JUST, for all its residents.
Five winning entries were selected, each receiving £1,000 cash prize to support their creative work.
There is also the opportunity for winning stories to influence the thinking and strategy of regional policy makers and researchers at the Centre for Urban Wellbeing.
The winning entries were announced during the Birmingham Settlement Neighbourhood Futures Festival in June 2023, and published online at the University of Birmingham’s Centre for Urban Wellbeing and Birmingham Voluntary Service Council (BVSC) websites.
In the competition, entrants were asked to consider some of the challenges facing urban populations across the West Midlands today, whether environmental, economic or social, and depict a means through which these may be overcome. For example, stories may be about transport, urban school experience, working in the city, health, culture, the creation of clean green space, it may concern the fight against injustice or for inclusion, perhaps all of these!
We looked for stories which demonstrate an OPTIMISTIC future for the West Midlands, painting a picture of a vibrant, thriving environment which enables the WELLBEING of all its residents. How would this city look? How would it feel and operate? What technologies and innovations might be used to transform or renew the urban landscape, and how might communities work together to create positive change? We encourage you to be creative, think outside the box and to expand the boundaries of current possibilities. The only limit is your imagination!
Submissions were in prose or poetry, in written or spoken word, and in a variety of presentational styles. For example, entrants were invited to include photography, artwork or film alongside their submission.
