This is a blog which was originally published on the Centre for Cities website as part of a series of blogs on the outlook for cities in a new decade.

2010 is the start of the teenage years for Northern Cities and our city policy over the next couple of years will determine how they develop and mature.

Over the last two decades a huge amount has been done in revitalising city centres, the likes of Urban Splash celebrating high quality, contemporary architecture; restoring historic mills and warehouses, bringing people back to live in city centres and reversing the flight of jobs outside of the city. Enlightened local and national Governments have helped build new galleries, theatres and concert halls to spice up the cultural offering.

The city centres of 2010 are unrecognisable from those of 20 years ago. Urban ‘blight’, ‘urban decay’ and ‘urban problems’ have been replaced with new buildings, new residents, new businesses and new cultural offerings. Much has been achieved but these cities are now highly impressionable teenagers who could go in a number of directions. For all the success of the last 20 years in regeneration, there’s still a lack of families and primary schools and other essential services and although regeneration has been completed in core city centres you only have to walk a few hundred yards from them to find a donut of deprivation.

If the cities are to mature, we need to see continuous investment and the creation of real regeneration in the social housing estates. It’s not just a lick of paint, new bathrooms or new kitchens, we need to see genuine ways to tackle Victorian terraces such as Chimney Pot Park, 1960s council estates; such as 3 Towers, the Cardroom Estate and Park Hill and we need to find new financial ways to do this.

The days of regeneration being funded as a spin-off to private sector led development are over for the time being and we need to continue the innovative work of organisations like the Homes and Communities Agency and regional development agencies with whom we can look at new funding models.

There are no easy answers but I hope that the work of Centre for Cities (which I’m proud to Chair) will help the Government and industry better understand how to grow and develop cities through their teenage years to develop into mature, family-friendly, adult cities.