[We're running a short walking tour of Sunniside before the talk – leaving Pop Recs 17.15pm. Join us for a preview of the Sunniside area.]

Revitalising town centres and high streets by encouraging more people to live in and around them has been the name of the regeneration game for a few years now – and has felt even more urgent post-pandemic. But repositioning neighbourhoods that many have left behind isn’t easy.

Historic assets are lovely but they coexist with present-day challenges; market forces are slow to catch up with visions; and balancing continuity and change to serve the needs of existing as well as new residents requires care, and thoughtful engagement.

This Common Good event - part of the fringe events for Sunderland Expo - will hear from practitioners working in inner urban neighbourhoods in Sunderland, Birkenhead and Aberdeen where attracting people to live is the focus of sustainable regeneration. They'll give you the highlights and the lowlights and hope to set the grounds for a lively debate that’s a feature of all Common Good events, as well as the usual pie + peas offer (see ticket options to get you're lovely pie ordered!)

This Common Good event is part of Expo Sunderland’s Delivering Future Cities Forum – where a stellar line-up of experts will descend on Sunderland to explore what it takes to deliver the cities of our future.