Paul Jones, a sociologist at Liverpool University, argues for a 're-think of the form and function of cities and believes their future will be about the public reclaiming private spaces.' As inner cities become increasingly popular, the suburbs that surround them will be the challenging place to live. They will struggle economically, as is already happening in London, but lack many of the adhesive community features that can make slums resilient and tight-knit. The idea of a suburb is based on private space, and so they will not be able to adapt as easily as inner cities, where an empty block can be transformed into a garden in a week.
