A think-tank report called into question the value of urban regeneration schemes, which in the previous decade had cost £30 billion of public money. Towns and cities in receipt of funding designed to bring them up to the general economic standard were, in fact, declining when judged by a whole range of indices.
Source: Tim Leunig and James Swaffield, Cities Limited, Policy Exchange (020 7340 2650)
Links: Report | Summary | LSE press release
Date: 2007-Nov
A collection of essays by leaders of eight city councils in England examined the recent renaissance of major cities. The authors acknowledged the difficult challenges which included: education, skills and training; improving transport networks between and within city regions; climate change and carbon reduction; increasing capital investment and engaging the private sector; and innovation and harnessing intellectual capital.
Source: Chris Murray (ed.), Working Together: Transformational leadership for city growth – Essays from the leaders of England's core cities, Smith Institute (020 7592 3618)
Links: Report
Date: 2007-Nov
A think-tank report highlighted attempts by cities to discover specialisms and characteristics that would help them build and sustain a cohesive identity, as part of a redevelopment strategy.
Source: Neil Lee, Distinctiveness and Cities: Beyond 'find and replace' economic development?, Work Foundation (0870 165 6700)
Links: Report | Work Foundation press release
Date: 2007-Oct
An article examined whether variations in the governance structures of cities really mattered. Key factors driving area regeneration were underlying economic strengths and weaknesses, the operation of the market, and the availability of funding and the suite of policy tools through which it was allocated.
Source: Tony Gore and Steve Fothergill, 'Cities and their hinterlands: how much do governance structures really matter?', People, Place & Policy, Volume 1 Issue 2
Links: Article
Date: 2007-Sep
A report said that cities should be given more control over local transport, planning, and training in return for involving local businesses in making decisions.
Source: A Tale of the Cities: The best of times?, British Chambers of Commerce (020 7654 5808)
Links: Report | BCC press release | FT report
Date: 2007-Sep
A report sought to encourage a new understanding of the role of suburbs, reflecting the important contribution they made to the economic prosperity of cities and their city-regions.
Source: John Fisher, State of the Suburbs: An economic, social and environmental analysis of the English suburbs, Local Futures Group (020 7520 8120)
Links: Report | Telegraph report
Date: 2007-Sep
A report examined best practice in the setting up and early operation of urban regeneration companies in Scotland.
Source: Liz Shiel and David Smith-Milne, Best Practice in Establishing Urban Regeneration Companies in Scotland, Scottish Government (web publication only)
Date: 2007-Sep
A think-tank report examined the key economic challenges facing cities. There was a division between those cities that had experienced success and renaissance in recent years, and those that had not. All cities faced the challenge of sharing opportunity, and had concentrations of deprivation and worklessness. Those cities that had experienced high levels of economic growth faced a number of challenges such as congestion and environmental degradation.
Source: Glenn Athey, Paula Lucci and Chris Webber, Two-track Cities: The challenge of sustaining growth and building opportunity, Institute for Public Policy Research (020 7470 6100)
Links: Report | IPPR press release | FT report
Date: 2007-Jul
A new book examined attempts to promote urban safety, orderly communities, and place regeneration. Policies to make cities better places were inextricably linked to an attempt to civilize, pacify, and regulate crime and disorder in urban areas.
Source: Rowland Atkinson and Gesa Helms (eds.), Securing an Urban Renaissance: Crime, community, and British urban policy, Policy Press, available from Marston Book Services (01235 465500)
Links: Summary
Date: 2007-Jul
A new book examined the changing economic role of cities, and the contribution of partnership and collaboration towards their regeneration.
Source: John McCarthy, Partnership, Collaborative Planning and Urban Regeneration, Ashgate Publications (01235 827730)
Links: Summary
Date: 2007-Jul
A report called for a major reappraisal of policy for the suburbs. Good-quality, medium-density suburban living could be highly sustainable, particularly if the transport links were well planned.
Source: Ben Kochan, Achieving a Suburban Renaissance: The policy challenges, Town and Country Planning Association for Joseph Rowntree Foundation, available from Marston Book Services (01235 465500)
Links: Report | TCPA press release
Date: 2007-Jul
A paper examined the capacity of town centre management to contribute towards the social enhancement of local places and communities in England, and to redistribute regeneration benefits over communities from different social strata.
Source: Noriko Otsuka and Alan Reeve, Town Centre Management and Social Inclusion, International Land Markets Research Group/Oxford Brookes University (01865 483409)
Links: Paper
Date: 2007-Jun
The government published the results of consultation on its plans to promote city development companies in England: the companies would bring together key experience from the private and public sectors to improve economic development delivery across city-wide regions. There was support for the overall thrust of the paper from the majority of respondents.
Source: The Role of City Development Companies in English Cities and City-Regions: Summary of Responses to the Consultation Paper, Department for Communities and Local Government (web publication only)
Links: Report | Consultation document
Date: 2007-Jun
A report by a policy group of the opposition Conservative party called for a 'massive transfer of power' to local government in England. English cities needed powerful elected leaders with the ability to raise funds on the open market.
Source: Cities Taskforce, Cities Renaissance: Creating local leadership, Conservative Party (020 7222 9000)
Links: Report | Conservative Party press release | BBC report | Guardian report | Inside Housing report | Regeneration & Renewal report
Date: 2007-Jun
A report said that adapting the design of towns and cities to climate change offered enormous potential for creating high-value, high-quality places for both people and businesses.
Source: Robert Shaw, Michelle Colley and Richenda Connell, Climate Change Adaptation by Design: A guide for sustainable communities, Town and Country Planning Association (020 7930 8903)
Links: Report | TCPA press release
Date: 2007-May
A report by a committee of MPs said that although the costs of the post office network might be reduced through the government's proposed restructuring programme, revenues were likely to continue to fall without remedial action.
Source: Stamp of Approval? Restructuring the post office network, Third Report (Session 2006-07), HC 276, House of Commons Trade and Industry Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report
Date: 2007-Apr
A report (and a linked journal article) used migration data from the 2001 Census to examine how successful cities were at attracting the people they needed. Cities losing population included all the large conurbations plus most small cities in the north and west. London stood out in attracting many 'higher managerial and professional' people, and especially recent graduates. Cities making strong gains from longer-distance movement mostly had growing local job numbers, plus some key quality of life characteristics. Some cities attracting few longer-distance migrants also lost many migrants more locally, threatening their tax base and housing markets.
Source: Tony Champion, Mike Coombes, Simon Raybould and Colin Wymer, Migration and Socioeconomic Change: A 2001 Census analysis of Britain's larger cities, Policy Press for Joseph Rowntree Foundation, available from Marston Book Services (01235 465500) | Tony Champion and Mike Coombes, 'Using the 2001 Census to study human capital movements affecting Britain's larger cities: insights and issues', Journal of the Royal Statistical Society: Series A, Volume 170 Issue 2
Links: Report | Summary | JRF findings | Abstract
Date: 2007-Apr
A report examined the actual and potential role of mixed-use local urban high streets. Local urban high streets had frequently suffered from neglect in comparison to town centres and out-of-town retail: but they had the potential to meet contemporary policy aspirations with regard to sustainability, social inclusion, and place-making.
Source: Peter Jones, Marion Roberts and Linda Morris, Rediscovering Mixed-use Streets: The contribution of local high streets to sustainable communities, York Publishing Services for Joseph Rowntree Foundation, available from York Publishing Services Ltd (01904 430033)
Links: Report | PP press release
Date: 2007-Apr
A report examined the use of urban public spaces, and related interactivity within and between people of different age groups. Good-quality public spaces were integral to safer, more sustainable and cohesive communities: yet many public spaces were subject to competition between different users, of different ages, with conflicting ideas about their appropriate use. The book highlighted self-regulation as an essential element of the management of public spaces.
Source: Caroline Holland, Andrew Clark, Jeanne Katz and Sheila Peace, Social Interactions in Urban Public Places, York Publishing Services for Joseph Rowntree Foundation, available from York Publishing Services Ltd (01904 430033)
Links: Report | JRF Findings | PP press release
Date: 2007-Apr
A report called for a strategy on urban environments and health. Obesity, air pollution, and traffic accidents were all worse in towns and cities, where 80 per cent of the population lived.
Source: The Urban Environment, Twenty-sixth Report, Cm 7009, Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | CPRE press release | BBC report | Regeneration & Renewal report | Guardian report
Date: 2007-Mar
A new book said that a community-oriented and environmentally sensitive approach to urban regeneration was needed - rather than the government's 'top-down' sustainable communities plan, which drove large-scale building and minimal renovation. It identified five key factors to make cities work: 'smart' growth and 'compact urban forms'; neighbourhood renewal and local management; sustainable development within cities; mixed communities within existing neighbourhoods; and citizen involvement in new ways of organizing cities.
Source: Anne Power and John Houghton, Jigsaw Cities: Big places, small spaces, Policy Press, available from Marston Book Services (01235 465500)
Links: Summary | LSE press release
Date: 2007-Mar