With a move to ever taller buildings, what will Birmingham's skyline look like in ten years? Insider got Andy Coyne to step inside a Tardis and time travel to Brum: 2018.
If a week is a long time in politics, ten years is a lifetime in the development of a city.
To get an idea of the difficulty in predicting what Birmingham might look like in a decade's time, try remembering how different the city was in 1998.
Completion on the new Bullring was five years away and The Mailbox two. Brindleyplace was well under way, but by no means the finished article. Eastside was still Deritend, while the Jewellery Quarter was full of artisans but not widely used as a place to eat, drink or set up a media company.
Looking back over the last ten years, some observers believe momentum was lost in the second half of the decade after the Bullring opened, and that the city has rested on its laurels ever since.
But the sheer weight of development over the last few years has still been remarkable, from the grade A office space development at No 1 Colmore Square to imaginative schemes outside the city centre such as the conversion of the old Fort Dunlop plant in Erdington into a modern, white collar workplace.
And as we speak, ongoing developments and plans for huge schemes in Snow Hill, the old Natwest Tower, Eastside, the Irish Quarter, Icknield Port Loop and Five Ways will all change the way the city looks, as will Arena Central.
Behind them could be a large-scale development on the site of the wholesale market in the Bullring and plans to extend the central business district across Great Charles Street.
Arguably the best person to predict the future beyond that is Clive Dutton, Birmingham City Council's director of planning and regeneration.
The council commissioned a masterplan for the future development of the city centre in 2007 and urban design consultancy Urban Initiatives is now looking at how the findings of that masterplan can best be implemented.
Dutton sees this as a key opportunity for the city.
"We can only do this once every 15 years. The city centre masterplan becomes the touchstone of how you profile the city ten years hence," he says. "I'm not interested in patch and mend, but transformational change.
"Major schemes such as Icknield Port Loop are coming forward. We will have that on one side and Eastside on the other. Both will be completed well within ten years. The next push will be out through the Eastern Corridor - towards Small Heath - making the most of local train stations."
The fact the city council owns around half of the land in Birmingham means big projects can be more easily brought forward and controlled.
"It's the legacy of the city fathers and is a very precious resource," says Dutton. "Over the next ten years I can see the city council entering into long term joint ventures and we can insist on first class design."
And, echoing the opinion of many Brummies, he believes the city is often better off going it alone.
"The new library is an example of Birmingham looking after Birmingham. It will cost £3193m and we have said we will underwrite the whole lot. We will see more of that," he says.
"It is about constantly reminding ourselves of the significance, the power and the scale of the city. No other city can achieve what we can if we have a mind to and we have a mind to."
On a more specific matter, the awkward issue of how we are going to travel around the expanded city centre in the future would seem to be moving away from the grand schemes of underground systems and tram networks.
"The real answer is pragmatic solutions which can be implemented rapidly," says Dutton. "Too many of these projects take a decade or more and are no good to anyone. Perhaps it could be a superbus system designed in Birmingham."
Simon Marks, head of regeneration at property consultants EC Harris - which is working alongside Urban Initiatives on the masterplan - agrees with Dutton about its importance.
"In ten or 20 years are we going to be an IT city or a city of learning? The masterplan is crucially important in setting that framework, so when developers look at Birmingham there is something there that gives them certainty," he says.
"The masterplan also looks at the feasibility of delivery. The council ownership of land helps. It's about creating gateways and not being afraid to use CPO (compulsory purchase order) powers."
Marks, like many observers, sees Eastside as one of the key development areas throughout the next decade.
"The city centre will move over the next few years with the gateway developments that are already happening. With Eastside the gateway is Masshouse. This will be a fundamental piece of the jigsaw," he says.
"But we also need the infrastructure. The importance of New Street Station can't be emphasised enough.
"And Birmingham is going to have a huge city centre in ten years' time. It will probably take 40 minutes to walk from one side to the other. Perhaps we need some form of shuttle bus service with buses moving around the city centre painted a bright colour to make them distinctive."
Marks' top tip regarding up and coming areas is Digbeth.
"I think this area has huge potential. You need to give people the opportunity of living close to the city centre but in houses I think you could create an urban village and a family feel."
Mark Foley, a partnership director at regional development agency Advantage West Midlands, agrees.
He said: "There are big plans for Digbeth, with the Irish Quarter and the wholesale market. There will be a creative focus and it will use the history of Digbeth as an important context. Digbeth will happen alongside Eastside.
"I think Eastside will remain one of the major stories for the next decade. I think it will become a vibrant part of the city centre with students using the new university facility there.
"This time next year we should see cranes up following a long period of land assembly."
Overall, Foley is optimistic about Birmingham's prospects.
"The scale of development and opportunity is comparable to if not better than other cities," he says.
Bob Ghosh, director of Jewellery Quarter-based architect firm Kinetic, says: "The places I feel most excited about are the most difficult ones, such as the Jewellery Quarter and the Gun Quarter.
"Eastside has those big sites that is easy to develop, whereas there are conservation issues in places like the Jewellery Quarter."
Ghosh - like a number of those questioned - sees the city's skyline continuing to grow upwards.
"I think we will see more tall buildings, but we need to ensure the quality is maintained to make sure the city doesn't allow any mediocre buildings," he says.
Mike Taylor, associate director at property agency Jones Lang LaSalle, worked for Birmingham City Council for ten years and agrees with Dutton about the unique opportunity the masterplan offers.
He said: "Urban Initiatives is taking a strategic initiative and turning it into a spatial plan, looking at everything from the wholesale markets to New Street Station.
"It will look at everything, but will take it to the next level. It may say that one area needs a new public space or another a new public transport corridor.
"The private sector will piggy back on these types of developments and it will set the ground rules for the next 20 to 30 years."
Taylor also sees further expansion of the central business district.
"I think we may be looking at the area beyond Great Charles Street. There are two very large sites that are car parks at the moment and there is already a proposal for a new bridge," he says.
"The other area of opportunity is Paradise Forum. If the library moves. I could see that becoming an office quarter. Baskerville House has become something of a pioneer in that area."
Steve Sanham, a development surveyor at Urban Splash - the firm behind the redevelopment of Fort Dunlop and the Rotunda - is yet another to notice Digbeth's potential.
He said: "The area everyone is talking about is Digbeth. A lot of people are waiting to see what will happen there.
"Eastside is about creating a sustainable mix of uses. It's about creating a 24-hour place that has an exciting urban feel."
And, based on the success of Fort Dunlop in attracting occupiers, he sees more inner city developments of this kind.
"Buildings like Fort Dunlop are the key to regenerating an area that has lost its purpose. There are other areas like that. These are destination buildings and big statements," he says.
David Smith, a director at planning and urban design consultancy Turley Associates, sees Snow Hill as an area to watch. "It is an area close to my heart. I am intrigued to see how the whole area will change," he says. "The Ballymore stuff at Snowhill is providing a phenomenal anchor at the end of Colmore Row. Abstract Land's Birmingham Post building is due to complete in April 2008 and we are involved with Kenmore on No 1 Snow Hill Plaza. We are looking at a phenomenal amount of office floor space. It could swing the pendulum back from Brindleyplace.
"Generally, I think Birmingham is incredibly well placed. There are so many big development opportunities it is difficult not to be optimistic."