Could Liverpool ever be a desirable place to live?

In the previous blogs, discussions around Liverpool’s issues with deprivation and stigma have been explored in relation to its emergence of “scouse exceptionalism” and the need for identity in Liverpool. However, this final blog seeks to evaluate the growing potential of Liverpool as a city and will discuss the question of: Can Liverpool could become a desirable city to live in, once again?

In its golden days of the industrial revolution, Liverpool’s population grew from a minuscule 6,000 people to over 80,000 merely due to the job opportunities available for people at the time. Home of the first-ever inter-city railway, linking itself to Manchester and widening its potential, Liverpool was considered the UK’s second most thriving city for many decades.

It’s easy to forget such prosperity after the emergence of the city’s troubles from the mid-20th century and its decline as mentioned in the previous blog, but numerous industry insights contest that Liverpool is on the rise once again.

Modern-day Liverpool

At present, the cost of living in Liverpool is significantly cheaper than its neighbouring cities, with rent prices in Liverpool being between 26-28% cheaper than Manchester and Chester and substantially 65% cheaper than the country’s capital of London. Regardless of the fact that Liverpool’s low prices may derive from the city’s stigmatisation, past and potential crime issues, for today’s youth looking to get themselves on the property market, Liverpool seems a good shout. Especially as the cost of living is rising throughout the UK, could this be Liverpool’s breakthrough?

Some people may be reluctant with such a reputation, but other UK cities have since proven that complete positive rebranding of a city is definitely possible. A prime example of this is Liverpool’s neighbouring city, Manchester; once commonly referred to as “Gunchester”, due to high levels of crime, Manchester is now a hotspot for creatives in the North of England thanks to its creative rebrand and gentrification.

In recent years, Liverpool City Council has focused much of its regeneration schemes into rebuilding the city’s creative brand and reforming its former industrial past by creating modern, innovative working spaces. Despite their many failed attempts at regeneration (the Pumpfield Regeneration scheme and the Metalwork development within the Vauxhall area, to name a few), Liverpool has focused most of its regeneration on building infrastructure which has since paid its dues. The city is now home to the second most listed buildings outside of London and is renowned for its cultural spaces, museums and historical landmarks, all of which contribute massively to the city's tourism industry (prior to the COVID-19 pandemic).

The majority of Liverpool’s historical buildings have since been demolished or regenerated into modernised tourist attractions, this includes:

• The infamous Albert Dock; formerly a site for importing ships, which since its renovation is now a multi-use promenade, home to many businesses and residential apartments.

• Rope Walks; formerly a warehouse hotspot throughout the industrial revolution, now regenerated into a social hub for nightlife and student apartments.

• The Royal Liver Building, which is now appreciated for its rich history of being Europe’s first skyscraper and is a symbol of the city’s great culture and architecture.

• One of Liverpool’s greatest regeneration schemes, the Baltic Triangle; Liverpool’s answer to Shoreditch, another area which was formerly vacated by warehouses but is now a hotspot for street art, creative businesses and vibrant living.

In addition to Liverpool's newest regeneration scheme, Ten Streets, a new development across the waterfront which aims to be a home to new creative, innovative, and cultural businesses, providing over 2,500 jobs for the city.

The city clearly has a lot to offer, so why let the stigma hold them back?

Strategies for Improvement

Although Liverpool may not currently have the opportunities available that England’s more developed (southern) cities may have, a 2019 PwC Good Growth for Cities report found that the Liverpool City Region was the most improved city in the UK, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. These results were also heavily dependent on the unemployment rate decreasing across the city, a good indication that Liverpool’s crime rates may also fall, as a result of more opportunities and higher employment rates if this positive development continues; a stepping stone to pardoning the city of its adverse reputation.

Liverpool is a city that should be commemorated more for its authenticity. A city that embraces its history and working class heritage, doesn’t try to mask its flaws but rather strive for positive change through empowering its people rather than attempting to replace them with a creative class.

Although the city has tried to implement top-down strategies to improve the city’s reputation, most of these have failed solely because the city refuses to change its ways but rather stick to what it knows – its own community and way of living.

Besides being authentic, Liverpool is classed as one of the friendliest cities in the world, such positive attributes should be emanated more within policy making and marketing strategies. Similar to the way that the aforementioned Liverpool FC x Nike campaign exerted the true meaning of being a scouser (an American company, may I add), Liverpool City Council and its governing bodies should play to its city’s strengths by replicating this unvarnished image.

A 2020 report on the population of Liverpool found that the city was predominantly compromised of Gen Z and Gen Y individuals and will continue to grow its Gen A population in the coming years. It would be wise for Liverpool City Council to use this information strategically within their plans for the city, some examples of strategies include the following:

• As they’re known for their humour and wit, there should be further endorsement of bottom-up scouse entertainment enterprises. Some great examples include the Have A Word Podcast, a comedy podcast, or local comedy clubs including the well-loved Hot Water Comedy Club.

• Play to the city's strengths by focusing the city's creative pursuits and enterprises towards the fashion industry. Although the city may not be able to entirely match London's success in the fashion industry, investment in fashion colleges, boutiques and workshops could be a promising start seeming the eminent interest amongst the city.

• Considering further funding available for start-up businesses in Liverpool, specifically those created by the younger generation - consider taking the unconventional route, seeming as it is in scouse culture.