We’re studying neighbourhood regeneration — how to create strong communities by building social capital. Making people feel connected to their community through shared space, activity and history.

I’m afraid I’ve been a bit cynical; it sounds like hippie communes and unrealistic nostalgia to me. They’re dreaming about a past that never was. The small, connected communities of the past came with lack of privacy, nosiness and homogeneity. Perhaps the New Urbanism movement has remedies for these ailments.

I suppose the alternative is the social isolation shown in sci-fi moviees like Blade Runner and Minority Report. Now, that would be scary.