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145 BUILT ENVIRONMENT VOL 43 NO 1 determining countries’ economic robustness and technological progress. Reports have shown that countries’ manufacturing sectors produce most of their exports, are responsible for almost all their commercial investment in research and development, and propel their productivity growth and, in turn, per capita income growth (Manyika et al., 2012; De Backer et al., 2015, pp. 16, 17). Furthermore, recent studies strongly support the assertion that city planning and industrial policy go hand in hand. For example, 80 per cent of all manufacturing jobs in the United States are found within metropolitan areas, and 95 per cent of the manufacturing jobs that are categorized as ‘very high tech’ are also found within metropolitan areas in the US (Helper et al., 2012).1 This dynamic relationship between cities and industry was the overarching topic of a panel discussion during a symposium entitled Industrial Urbanism, which was held at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in October 2014.2 The following text outlines some of the developments and trends that the panellists identified and their predictions for the future, with a focus on three In a time of dramatic shifts in the manufacturing sector – from mass production to justin-time and make-to-order modes of production, from the limited use of expensive robotics to the widespread use of inexpensive robots, from centralized to distributed logistics systems, from polluting and consumptive production to a cleaner and more sustainable process, and from a demand for unskilled, inexpensive labour to a growing need for a more educated and specialized workforce – cities may see new investment and increased employment opportunities. However, garnering benefi ts from these shifts will require us to change how we think about industrial development and city planning. What are the spatial needs of manufacturing today? What might they be in the next 30 to 50 years? Should advanced manufacturing be subject to the same rules and zoning regulations as traditional manufacturing? How can cities benefi t from retaining and att racting manufacturing activity? Is it possible to design an industrial city that is liveable and off ers its inhabitants a high quality of life? The answers to these questions are important given the role of manufacturing in Facing Forward: Trends and Challenges in the Development of Industry in Cities