This lunchtime I was deeply disappointed to see the results of a survey from Yougov wherein respondents were asked to rate the favourability of all the cities in Britain. The outcome placed Sunderland as the third most unpopular city in the country with only 30% of participants expressed a positive view, beating only Wolverhampton and Bradford. As much as such a survey is inherently subjective and based only on perceptions than empirical facts, nevertheless it poses as a strong reminder of the enormous challenges which Sunderland's image as an area faces in modern Britain. There is a lot of work to be done in order to fight this.
Sunderland's image problem is long lasting and entrenched. It is made worse by the fact that many locals themselves do not challenge this pessimistic view, but actively embrace it. The city's socio-economic decline in the 1980s and 1990s has created both an representation and culture of deep abiding pessimism. In this era, everything the city was and stood for was destroyed by radical economic change which did not adequately compensate for the losses. This severely damaged the spirit of the community, creating an atmosphere of hopelessness, defeatism and cynicism. Simultaneously, the city's woes became an engraven part of southern imagery about a grim, decaying and desolate post-industrial North which was best avoided. Thus together, both locally and nationally, the stage was set for the city's image to become ultimately toxified.
But an image is an image. I'd always like to remind people that images do not always exist in tandem with reality. Because of the trauma of the past, the local culture of pessimism has persisted stubbornly, likewise nor have we done enough to remarket the city to outsiders. But in both cases, beyond the imagery people are now failing to recognize what the area has to offer. Far from being a post-industrial wasteland, our city possesses some stunning scenes of natural beauty, from incredible rejuvenated victorian era parks to an outstanding seafront. The city centre, although it has seen much better days, continues to decorated by historic architecture and legacies of the past. All around are rich places of historical interest, appealing to the mind and the senses.
What is the truth? Sunderland has challenges, we hope to better. But part of reviving this area is to come to a solemn appreciation of that which we do have The culture of pessimism leads people to simply to struggle to care. A new development such as Keel Square is simply laughed off with charged cynicism, than appreciated for what it means for our area. We do not paint a good advert for ourselves, this is what has to change first. People should get behind the local authorities in their efforts to promote the area through schemes such as Sunderland Culture, rather than reveling in petty rumours and bitter gossip. I understand that older generations are particularly skeptical because they have lived and known a town which was much more prosperous than it is today. They might live in a shadow of what Sunderland was, but that does not mean they shouldn't be passionate about Sunderland.
As a whole, I believe the survey is misrepresenting of our city, but I grasp where that image came from and also what needs to be done to be fix it. I believe pride and belief in Sunderland as a city is what's needed to drive it forwards. We have to battle this negativity and scribe a new counter-narrative as to how this area is understood. This is why I created Sunderland Renaissance.
Sunderland's image problem is long lasting and entrenched. It is made worse by the fact that many locals themselves do not challenge this pessimistic view, but actively embrace it. The city's socio-economic decline in the 1980s and 1990s has created both an representation and culture of deep abiding pessimism. In this era, everything the city was and stood for was destroyed by radical economic change which did not adequately compensate for the losses. This severely damaged the spirit of the community, creating an atmosphere of hopelessness, defeatism and cynicism. Simultaneously, the city's woes became an engraven part of southern imagery about a grim, decaying and desolate post-industrial North which was best avoided. Thus together, both locally and nationally, the stage was set for the city's image to become ultimately toxified.
But an image is an image. I'd always like to remind people that images do not always exist in tandem with reality. Because of the trauma of the past, the local culture of pessimism has persisted stubbornly, likewise nor have we done enough to remarket the city to outsiders. But in both cases, beyond the imagery people are now failing to recognize what the area has to offer. Far from being a post-industrial wasteland, our city possesses some stunning scenes of natural beauty, from incredible rejuvenated victorian era parks to an outstanding seafront. The city centre, although it has seen much better days, continues to decorated by historic architecture and legacies of the past. All around are rich places of historical interest, appealing to the mind and the senses.
What is the truth? Sunderland has challenges, we hope to better. But part of reviving this area is to come to a solemn appreciation of that which we do have The culture of pessimism leads people to simply to struggle to care. A new development such as Keel Square is simply laughed off with charged cynicism, than appreciated for what it means for our area. We do not paint a good advert for ourselves, this is what has to change first. People should get behind the local authorities in their efforts to promote the area through schemes such as Sunderland Culture, rather than reveling in petty rumours and bitter gossip. I understand that older generations are particularly skeptical because they have lived and known a town which was much more prosperous than it is today. They might live in a shadow of what Sunderland was, but that does not mean they shouldn't be passionate about Sunderland.
As a whole, I believe the survey is misrepresenting of our city, but I grasp where that image came from and also what needs to be done to be fix it. I believe pride and belief in Sunderland as a city is what's needed to drive it forwards. We have to battle this negativity and scribe a new counter-narrative as to how this area is understood. This is why I created Sunderland Renaissance.
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