Designing a new Jerusalem
BARCELONA, Rome, Venice, Paris, Prague, New York. Like me, you may have found yourself fantasising about a city break, especially around Valentine’s Day. Some cities seem to have discovered the elusive formula that makes them beautiful, vibrant, and affirming of our humanity. A visit to one of them leaves us feeling enriched and refreshed.
The collapse of Intu has presented the city council with both a headache and an opportunity to redesign a significant part our own city. Cities are changing rapidly. Retail is moving online or into out-oftown retail parks at an accelerated rate. The demand for office space is declining as people get used to working from home. Will our cities die? Or will a new vision emerge?
You may have seen some of the visions for Nottingham that have been produced by architects and planners. The council’s consultation demonstrates that the last thing people want is another shopping centre. We are hungry for green space, the arts, areas for meeting friends, good housing and places that feed the soul. It’s as though we are emerging from the pandemic with a stronger sense of what makes us human and we want this expressed in the fabric of our city.
As someone who leads a faith community in the heart of Nottingham, I find it encouraging that the Bible does not end with a return to the Garden of Eden. The final chapters of the final book of the Bible speaks of a new city. The longings of the human heart do not require us to escape to some rural idyll: cities can express our highest values and enable us to realise our potential to be so much more than consumers.
Two features of this New Jerusalem strike me as relevant as we dream of a redesigned Nottingham. Firstly, there is a beautiful life-giving river running alongside the main street of the city, flowing “from the throne of God”. This shows me that the life of a city ultimately has a spiritual source, not just an economic one. Secondly, one feature from the Garden of Eden is present – “the Tree of Life”: “And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.” This shows me that a city cannot be a place for just one people group or stratum of society. It has to be a place where all “nations” can live and where all can be healed.
I am excited by the amazing opportunity we have at this time to reimagine part of Nottingham. I hope and pray that it will not be squandered, and that Nottingham can become one of those cities on people’s bucket list because it is a city that is good for the soul.
■■ The Revd Canon Steve Silvester is Rector of St Nic’s Church, Nottingham.