Croydon is the new ... Barcelona

Now Croydon wants to turn itself into Barcelona, one of the coolest cities on the planet.

The much-reviled town - whose one fragile connection with glamour is that it was the birthplace of Kate Moss - was today announcing a multi-billion pound regeneration plan that will include pod-shaped buildings on stilts.

With ambitions to become a beacon of sustainability, it will include a 30-storey version of the Eden Project and - inspired by the regeneration of Barcelona after the 1992 Olympics - scores of public squares and miniature parks throughout the town centre.

Intriguingly, glass apartment blocks will be linked by high-level covered walkways across the main Wellesley Road - at a time when apartment blocks with high-level walkways are being demolished all over Britain as breeding grounds of vandalism and crime.

The transformation is being masterminded by architect Will Alsop, whose centrepiece will be a giant greenhouse inspired by the Eden Project, with different species planted in "sky gardens" on each floor. One of Alsop's main themes is to reverse the car's stranglehold-The "forest of car parks" in the town centre will be hacked back, and the eight-lane Wellesley Road will be reduced to two.

He will build a pedestrian-friendly "emerald necklace" of parks, and bring the river Wandle to the surface for the first time in 40 years since it was buried in culverts. He even nurtures dreams that people might fish for Wandle trout.

The town centre population would be boosted from fewer than 5,000 to 50,000 by the building of 20,000 new homes. The proposals, named Third City, are part of Croydon's bid to gain city status after years of being overlooked. Jon Rouse, the council's chief executive, said: "Croydon was a prosperous historic town in the 19th century and the history books show that it was a really pleasant place to come.

"The Second World War completely blew it to bits. What grew up in the Sixties was one of the most wholehearted developments of Corbusian modernism. At the time it was seen as very exciting and pointed the time to the future. But it didn't work and it became seen as an alien structure imposed on the historic settlement. Now Will Alsop is trying to bring the historic urban pattern back."

Alsop said: "This marks a new beginning. Developers are lining up their money to invest and I have faith that the people of Croydon are behind what we are planning to do.

"We know London is under housing pressure but rather than building new estates in the Thames Gateway area, we should be looking to build ... in places like Croydon."

The plans will start with a £450 million urban regeneration vehicle set up by the Tory-controlled council. In addition some £3.5 billion in private investment has been earmarked for projects including an arena for 12,500 spectators and a 44-storey residential tower.

SOUTH LONDON VERSUS CATALONIA

CROYDON
History: Busy market town in the Middle Ages. The Germans bombed it and they built lots of skyscrapers.
Population: 430,000 people. Kate Moss is a native.
Quote: "From London to Croydon is as ugly a bit of country as any in England." William Cobbett in 1830.
Famous for: Trams, tower blocks and the Croydon facelift (a tight ponytail).
Attractions: Fairfield Halls, host to Seventies disco bands.

BARCELONA
History: Founded by Hercules 400 years before Rome.
Population: 1.6 million. Architect Antoni Gaudi and artist Joan Miro.
Quote: "The creation continues incessantly through the media of man." Antoni Gaudi.
Famous for: Stunning architecture and culture.
Attractions: Gaudi's cathedral La Sagrada Familia and a host of world class museum and galleries including the Picasso Museum and Miro Museum. Seven beaches and FC Barcelona.