A government report says many English towns and cities are "wasted assets" that deter people from wanting to live in them.

The interim report, "Urban Renaissance - Sharing the Vision", is published by the Urban Task Force set up last year.

The task force - the idea of Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott - was given the job of finding "ways of creating urban areas which respond to people's current need and future aspirations".

Reversing decline

Launching the report, Lord Rogers of Riverside said: "An urban renaissance is not an option - it is a necessity.

"We need to make sure that we can reverse the spiral of decline that has dogged so many of our urban neighbourhoods.

"A national strategy of compact urban development will meet the twin necessities of solving our city crisis and providing millions of new dwellings."

Lord Rogers, architect of the Millennium Dome at Greenwich in south-east London, said the strategy would be based on design excellence, social inclusion and environmental responsibility.

The architect of the Dome has a vision

The idea is to replace what the report calls "ghetto estates", with the problems of crime and social exclusion that affect cities like Los Angeles, with places that will attract the middle classes.

Lord Rogers, chairman of the task force, said this would mean providing space and beauty through new standards in design and architecture.

The report forms part of the government's attempt to improve the quality of urban life by cutting the use of private cars and so cutting air pollution from exhaust fumes.

So the report says homes may be built without garages to encourage the use of public transport.

And schools, shops and other facilities will be built close at hand, if possible within walking distance.

Unspoilt country depends on attractive cities

Lord Rogers said the quality of urban life in England had been falling for a long time, and compared badly with other European cities.

He looked forward to Birmingham and Manchester being able to compete with cities like Hamburg, Lyon and Turin.

He said "fiscal items, incentives, levies or legislation" to tackle the problem would be considered.

The government wants to encourage more building on old industrial land - "brownfield sites" - to stop the countryside disappearing under bricks and mortar.

Sharing the vision

One idea it is considering is a greenfield tax to discourage building outside urban areas, though its political opponents say that is unrealistic.

Friends of the Earth urged the entire government to endorse the vision shown by the report.

It said the report showed "a consensus now exists that the only way to protect our countryside and promote sustainable communities is to regenerate existing towns and cities".