What Metro might do

As part of the School of Geography and Planning’s 50th anniversary celebration events, ‘What Metro Might Do?’ will explore the potential wider impact of Metro, involving the Welsh School of Architecture, Cardiff Business School and the Sustainable Places Research Institute.

Speaking about the event Professor Mark Barry, School of Geography and Planning said: “The Metro project is of such a scale and will have such a significant impact across South East Wales, that the region has no choice but to respond to address many of the issues that it faces.  These include the need to better integrate transport and land use planning with economic development across the Cardiff Capital Region and to establish commensurate governance arrangements.  The Metro provides the catalysts to address these once and for all.

“The Metro can be used to frame a broader conversation with people and communities across South East Wales around the kind of future they want and the place they want to live in. This ‘conversation’ has to be forward looking and confident and one that reflects our shared industrial and geographic heritage.  Merthyr and Cardiff are inextricably linked across time and place.  They are also both part of a new bigger place that can only work if it augments the deep rooted allegiances many of us have, especially across the valleys, to our town or local community.”

Cardiff University is playing a pivotal role in framing the questions and providing a forum for a range of stakeholders to engage in this debate, the event “What Metro Might Do?” is part of that process. It will generate ideas and themes for new research opportunities across a range of disciplines, including urban design, architecture, place making, and economics.