How to rebuild a city - Sunderland, Part 1

[@mrmitchell78]

I’m enjoying what is being done in the Keel Square area, plus the building around City Hall. As a Mackem who comes home every few months, I’m definitely seeing a positive change.

[@dianelough9395]

Great blog thankyou. Keep up the good work. Looking forward to the next one. Well done.😊

[@NorthernRealm]

Nice one cheers!

[@wanderingturnip]

Epic!! glad to see you finally got the camera out 👍

[@NorthernRealm]

@@wanderingturnip cheers pal. What can i say, you inspired me 😂

[@SleepyBoardGames-jk9up]

Love this mate, I'm born & bred & still live in Sunderland although it's taken years to do at least we are doing it now it's great to see everything that is going on, riverside Sunderland keel square, roker & seaburn as well

[@gillianangus1175]

Great vlog.

[@NorthernRealm]

Thank you! More to come.

[@yosefkorn]

You should give tours of sunderland. Id go on one.

[@SleepyBoardGames-jk9up]

Sheepfolds as well, will be massive for our city, so much happening & if people are still not happy they never will

[@paulcaib4352]

keep it up mate, good vlog of familar places

[@NorthernRealm]

Cheers!

[@ThePsychoAnimal]

Great video, mate! It's exciting to see Sunderland slowly progressing during the last decade or so. Hopefully, this development and investment will continue after the current plans are complete, with more projects across the rest of the city. There is still lots of work to be done. p.s good to see another Sunderland DOTA player, there is dozens of us

[@SerotoninRelease.]

Fantsatic video! I watched The Wandering Turnip for a while and loved the Sunderland video. I love what you're doing, keep up the great work. Keep that positivity going! I love seeing that not just Sunderland but the North East as a whole seems to be finally getting much needed development (especially Sunderland though.) I'm from Chester-Le-Street and went to Uni in Sunderland, so lived there for a bit. I moved out of the UK some years ago because this development wasn't clear and with the whole Brexit thing, it all got a bit too much for me. But I love home, I miss home and I've only ever wanted the region, Sunderland, Durham, Newcastle etc, all to prosper. I think there are too many people who are super negative, but they're not without reason, I understand why they are. But I think after so long of the region just being stagnant and in fact in many places declining, we have to hold onto hope and hold onto the things that are trying to make an impact and really get behind such projects. After living in a different country for so long, I've seen what is possible and what may be good for back home. Not everything is transferable though of course due to a difference in culture and habits but there are certainly things that I feel will help. I think there needs to be spaces that help encourage young people to explore and practice new skills or follow their interests. For example in places in Netherlands there are areas that have been redeveloped and had their identity changed in some way but with homage to the past. So for example there's a space with hotels, arts, nightclubs, bars, restaurants and studio spaces. People can go there to practice djing, art or even film and much more. I live in Taiwan now and there are still arcades, but with modern machines and gimmicks. Things are cheap and accessible too. There's stores where you get to make your own things, like woodcarving, jewelry making, and more, all personalised experiences found under the same roof. There's a way to combat online shopping and it's through spaces like these where it provides experiences that online can't provide. There are also many 24/7 places, such as KTV (karaoke private rooms, the buildings look like hotels) private movie rental places where you book a room, you pick the movie you want and can get room services for food etc (I get culturally this may not be transferable to the UK but still interesting ideas.) There's bowling alleys that also have darts, pool and other pub style sports. There are a ton of pop up events, free gigs, tech demos etc. Food and culture are showcased, daily, and they're proud of it here, as should we of our own culture. It should be celebrated. The cities that people fall in love with are the ones that provide a wide range of activities, food, culture and standard of living. There are plenty of art galleries and museums, tech centers etc. There is just so much going on, all the time. For me, what makes a great city is by having not only sociable spaces, where people can share, hang out and explore cultural things, but a it's about it's infrastructure, it's ease of access and getting around. It's about having convenience through a system that is interlinked between not only businesses and industries but services. There are cheap and super accessible city bike share systems, or even electric scooter shares, all without an app too. And why not lean into the fact our natural beauty is incredible and easy to access. We can set up tours and other business can grow from such opportunities. That's what Taiwan as a country leans into. Another thing to add is that you want big, green spaces, beautiful parks close to the city centre. You want people to come visit and spend there time making memories in these places. I think Sunderland has the land available to really transform into spaces that attract and keep people there. It needs to be planned in the right way. So for me, we should be learning from these cities and countries. I firmly believe that by providing more space of industry and businesses will be very attracting to the things that we want to see in our city. I firmly believe that Sunderland should be doing it's very best to attract the tech industry, financial industry and entertainment industries, not forgetting any future industry that requires skilled labour and speciality skills. The whole point of this isn't just for the current residents and population but rather to attract and keep smart minds who come through the University. You want those who come to the university to stay and help bolster and develop the city. We need to show our culture and our history proudly in unique ways. Preserve historic buildings as much as possible. We need to create walkable but large parks that help connect the city centre and the other parts of the city. The city needs to become more cohesive in how it's structure (it seems to be going in that direction with the new footbridge and other developments though!) The city needs to lean into being a city of the future. Tech, green energy, walkable and easy access for people, plenty of space for cars without ruining the walkable aspect, be affordable, offer plenty of activities for the young, offer plenty of opportunities for people to learn, share and engage in new ways. I've waffled on enough but I'm passionate about these things, especially the North East!

[@NorthernRealm]

thank you!

[@robstafford8306]

Was born in Sunderland and have worked in different Universities across the Country. As a result I have seen different cities who have gone through a massive change in their industrial bases…. Please look at the plan for the City, it takes time, but it’s happening. Do some research on bridges…. One built and the footpath nearly completed….

[@themanftheworld8439]

Sunderland city centre is finished.

[@Dangerous_Brian]

You forgot to mention that it's a cross between Mogadishu and Beirut!

[@kevgeordie1]

😂😂 all the free gigs being put on, and he doesn’t know who pays for it😂 try all the council tax payers in Washington and other towns that have the misfortune of coming under their control. Any fee events put on in the other towns?

[@Dangerous_Brian]

@@kevgeordie1 Quit a few videos on here lately showing how great SUnderland is......clearly these people don't live their or were not part of the Town/City 30 or 40 years ago when it was fantastic. Boils my piss when people look through rose tinted glasses! So many people seem to think free money is free money or its the Governments money! The Government is penniless as it's the public's money, we just allow those clowns to spend it stupidly !

[@SerotoninRelease.]

@@Dangerous_Brian Public money needs to be spend on things the public can either use, do or be invested in. Redevelopment is needed. How would you spend the money?

[@SleepyBoardGames-jk9up]

This is now & the future, it is exciting everything going on so the vlogs are showing this, stop thinking back 40 years ​@@Dangerous_Brian

[@janbenker6273]

​@Dangerous_Brian Sunderland was an absolute dump 40 years ago. Filthy, everything closing down m, crime and violence was off the scale. Many of thousands left. I was one of them. You are the one with the rose tinted glasses

[@Darren-b2g]

10 minutes showing grass where something might be built