One Powerhouse

Regional inequality in the UK is too high.

It’s not right that life chances are decided by where you are born. But 'levelling up' is about more than just money. 

The One Powerhouse Consortium believes that the problem of regional inequality can be solved not just by money, but by using place-based plans for the economy. This is known as ‘spatial planning’.

What is spatial planning?

Spatial planning is about using a map of everything in a place to create a plan on how best join them up. The idea is to make the most of what you've got for the benefit of the people who live there, now and in the future.

Spatial plans include things like towns, cities, housing, schools, universities, roads, rails, airports, offices, factories, hospitals, energy sources, museums, parks and leisure activities.

This approach is common around the world, but not in England. The One Powerhouse Consortium is bringing together organisations to develop spatial planning in England beyond the ‘Northern Powerhouse’.

Spatial plans for England's regions 

The RSA worked with local planning consultancies to develop prototype regional plans for the four English ‘mega-regions’ identified by the UK2070 Commission.

Download the maps (all in pdf format):