ABSTRACT
Residential population Town and city centre planners should use the demographic computer-based datasets showing socioeconomic trends. They need to set clear planning targets to achieve a balanced community. For many towns and cities there is an imbalance with a higher percentage of lower socio-economic groups living in the city centres, and the more affluent living in the suburbs or beyond. A clear target should be set to reverse this trend; creating an urban area to attract middle-income residents, with or without children, able to accommodate car spaces, is vital to the future success of towns and cities. Better educational facilities in city centres are vital but 73% of all households in the upper-income group have two or more cars, compared with only 24% of the national average. Car parking is an inevitable necessity for creating an urban socioeconomic residential balance.
