The process of place-making is not confined to cities and regions – but to settlements of all sizes. Determining what a place-based strategy should focus on starts with identifying what the location provides in terms of key resources, services and growth opportunities that shape day-to-day-life and economic opportunities and increasingly, quality of life assets. For policymakers, this raises questions around innovation and creativity in the spheres of socio-economic, cultural and environmental development and governance and increasingly, the role of digital. It also demands access to quality data – at various scales – to enable us to identify trends and patterns and ensure future policies are clearly evidence-informed. Critical factors impacting on the future of place include:

• Climate Change and the necessity for mitigation, adaptation and just transition;
• Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the growing need to build sustainable and resilient communities;
• Changing demographics and the growing need to plan for an ageing community – with digital playing a significant role in enhancing quality of life and social connectedness; and
• Data and digitalisation and acknowledging places as socio-technical and cyber-physical systems.