Get away from it all. Move to the town centre

Redeveloped docklands are once again becoming desirable, but this time the emphasis is on affordability rather than executive glamour

If you want to live somewhere peaceful, cut off from the constant noise and fumes of traffic, somewhere where you don't wake up in the morning worrying if your car is still outside, how about Birmingham city centre, or York or Hull docks?

For most of the 20th century, city dwellers have fled to the suburbs to escape from these problems. That was the vision of the suburbs laid out by Ebenezer Howard in 1898. Now, the twin tyrannies of cars and crime are encouraging suburbanites to head back into town. They want to walk, not crawl to work; they want secure parking and secure property and they are prepared to swap the gentle green of the garden for the water of a canal or river.

Along the banks of city waterways new residential developments continue to grow out of derelict industrial land. One of the largest is in Hull docks, where Bellway Homes is building an entire village, the urban equivalent of the Prince of Wales's Poundbury in Dorset. It is not as spectacular as the docklands projects of the Eighties: the emphasis is on affordability rather than glamour.

One of the most ambitious schemes is taking place along the canal sides in Birmingham. Brindley Place, named after one of the city's industrial pioneers, already boasts the splendid Symphony Hall, the International Convention Centre, the National Indoor Arena and the more established Birmingham Rep. These core buildings have recently been linked by a string of bars, shops and restaurants which give the development a human scale.

Now it is the turn of the residential pioneers to move in. Crosby Homes, the Midlands subsidiary of the Berkeley group, is building 143 homes in a triangle flanked on two sides by canals.

Symphony Court, as it is called, is a bold project. Tall terraces are topped by Dutch gables. These will be the first private houses to bear a B1 postcode. Crosby has taken a lead from London, going for a white gloss and chrome look. Included is a fitness room. Trees are being planted to relieve the sharp lines of the office blocks going up near by.

The properties range from one- and two-bedroom flats to three-storey townhouses and penthouses, priced from pounds 70,000 to pounds 250,000. They appeal to anyone who likes cities and does not have children: the first 20 buyers include business people wanting a pied a terre, young people wanting a city life and older couples whose children are grown-up.

David and Wendy Parker have sold their five-bedroom house in the leafy suburb of Selly Park and have bought two adjacent flats at Symphony Court that Crosby is knocking into one. With their youngest daughter now 19 they no longer want the space or the hassle of owning a large old property.

"I want somewhere easy to clean and maintain," says Mrs Parker, a 45- year-old teacher. "I'm not really a gardener. All I want is a terrace with pots on and we've got two terraces, one overlooking the canal."

She thinks her husband, who runs an office supply business, will enjoy the athletics at the indoor arena, her daughter will go to Ronnie Scott's just over the road and she will visit the antiques market in neighbouring Gas Street. "I also like the security of the area. There are gates, and video cameras on the doors. It's very, very secure," she says.

The security gates that seal Symphony Court off from the public were the only source of controversy with Birmingham City Council. For the developer they have become as compulsory as a parking space. It seems people will buy the up-side of city life only if it comes with protection against the downside.

This does not apply only to Birmingham. Tanya Smith, who is 22, moved out of her parents' home in a village into a one-bedroom flat in Rowntree Wharf in the centre of York last month. The wharf is a stunning piece of industrial architecture rising directly out of the River Foss, with views across to York Minster.

"The first time I came here I loved it," she says. "It is very quiet even though it is inside the city walls. The security is wonderful, and there's good access from the car-park. It is very nice for a single girl."

The one cost that hits buyers in new, secure developments is the maintenance charge, which only Londoners are used to paying. For Ms Smith it works out at a hefty pounds 84 a month for buildings insurance, water rates, a caretaker, laundry room and the general upkeep of the building. The Parkers will be paying around pounds 100 a month in Birmingham, but that is comparable to the cost of insuring, maintaining and cleaning their old home.

A few weeks ago I asked what in the next century would become the property equivalent of the terrace in the 19th century and the semi-detached in the 20th century. My own suggestion was a mixture of flats and houses built round a garden square. Readers responded with other urban suggestions. Perhaps the answer will be something like these city developments, where water replaces the grass, and security gates acknowledge that visitors are not always welcome.