Looking back can help plan ahead

I recently spotted the news that the Bath Digital Festival is going to be built around the apparently simply question “What if …?” and it got me reflecting on the decade I spent devising and producing dozens of programmes of the same name for BBC Radio 4, presented by the brilliant Cambridge historian, Christopher Andrew.

The concept was simple enough. Imagine something that had happened, hadn’t. What would the consequences have been and how would things have turned out differently ? We reflected on quite a few political stories and the occasional death. For example, What if President Kennedy had survived his assassination ? How would America look today ?

We looked at major global events, such as What if the Cuban missile crisis had turned into a nuclear war. I vividly remember a Russian contributor claim Europe would have looked like the moon ! Whilst we also looked a more domestic matters, like keeping the death penalty and Grammar Schools.

Some people argue that the What if question in itself is futile, but I think it has a lot of value so I expect the Digital Festival will generate some interesting and thought provoking debate which could provide positive and fresh thinking on a variety of relevant topics.

It would be outside the scope of the Festival, but it could be instructive to broaden the issue and apply it to Bath, over say the last 20 years. There are so many potential counter factual scenarios that could be posed. You will probably have your favourites.

But as a starter for ten, how about What if the Dyson plans to establish a design and engineering school in Bath had come to fruition ? How many young people might have emerged and what impact would that have had on the local economy and on the reputation of Bath ?

What if the Rugby Club’s plans to develop the stadium had been approved when they were first proposed ? How would that have impacted on the business, the success of the team and the wider community ? What if any number of housing schemes had gone ahead ? How would our homeless situation look and would there have been an effect on house prices ? What if the Eastern Park and Ride had been built ? What if the various ideas to improve the river scape been carried through at the beginning of this century ? The list is endless.

The City would certainly have been a different place. Whether it would have been better or worse will be a matter of opinion, but by reflecting on the past, we might make better decisions for the future.