Hampshire County Council (HCC) has established the 2050 Commission of Inquiry to explore what our collective future might look like and how we might prepare for it.
The Southern Policy Centre was asked by HCC to help the Commission understand the drivers of Societal Change – looking at how local and national policies have shaped where we are today and what will shape the future for our communities, as well as highlighting emerging trends that will impact on how residents will live and work over the next 30 years to 2050.
The work is intended to help the Commission as it begins to debate the changes our society faces, the challenges we must meet, and the opportunities before us. The findings can be read in full here: Hants in 2050
In it, we explore four key drivers which will influence society and shape our future:
- our people
- how we are governed
- the environment
- the development of digital technology
For each of these drivers, we set out the today’s context, trends – both established and emerging – key challenges, risks and opportunities, and how public services might evolve in response to these drivers.
The future for Hampshire’s citizens
Whatever factors shape our future, they will impact on real people.
To help understand what the future might look like from the perspective of our residents we consider what life could be like for a hypothetical family in 2050.
Our narrator is Harry, born in Winchester in 2020. We explore how life has changed for him, his parents, grandparents and siblings over the 30 years since his birth
We set out two scenarios:
- A positive future, where Hampshire has risen to the challenge
- What might happen if we don’t get it right.