I’m from the US, so I’ll speak from what I know here—but I’m pretty sure it’s applicable in all countries. People will invest in real estate, and keep their investment, when they know the value is going to go up. And one way to assure that the value goes up is by investing in urban development, in gentrification--like what's happening with Crossrail. But I’m not just talking about drawing rich people to the neighborhood; I’m talking about adding value to the neighborhood itself. Renovate decaying parks, so kids have a safe place to play. Clean up beaches that have a lot of plastic trash. Start a construction project for a walking path. Invest in all of the things that increase the value of close-by property. And don’t do it scattered—do it for one neighborhood, then announce an intention to do it for another neighborhood. That way, you’ll draw investors in a pool, and the sheer amount of investors already there will draw in others. If the government won’t do it—and I don’t know how your government works—start a fund, which can be added to by people who want to buy property in the neighborhood, or people who’ve bought property, and want its value to increase. Also solicit donations for the fund from philanthropists (like Bill Gates here in the US). It’s an ambitious project, and one that it would be hard for an individual to undertake. But if a lot of you work together, I think you can do it.

There is another option. Britain's streets are dirty; I know that. And I know that, if your streets are dirty, your beaches are too. At least, the streets were dirty in 2010; I found this newspaper article online about them: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/nations-streets-are-dangerously-dirty-1993284.html

And if you clean up your streets and beaches, and keep them clean, you will increase the property value of all properties along that road. But instead of having a fund, try what we're trying here in America. We have community organizations "adopt" a section of roadway--the place that they've adopted, they clean themselves whenever it gets dirty; I think it's about once a month. They organization that has adopted the road is advertised by a small sign on the roadway section, which may help people to know about the group (I'm not sure). Schools could also adopt the road sections, and having to clean up littler will be a big motivator for kids (and adults!) not to litter in the first place.

I hope I’m eligible for the prize as an American…you do say it’s “open to everyone.” If not, well…feel free to use the ideas anyway.