A new book examined partnership working and governance under the New Labour government in the United Kingdom. It said that, despite substantial investment in the partnership agenda, there was little evidence that this had significantly improved outcomes. It examined three areas of policy (child safeguarding, urban regeneration, and the modernization of health and social care), applying a new framework to the analysis before making recommendations about effective collaboration.
Source: Helen Dickinson, Performing Governance: Partnerships, culture and New Labour, Palgrave Macmillan (Publication date: May 2014)
Links: Summary
Date: 2013-Dec
A paper examined key components of the debates around successful cities and economies in England, setting out recent policy, and describing the 'successful city'. It argued that a more powerful and diverse set of cities outside of London could contribute much to the urban policy agenda, and that they should be allowed to 'take some of the strain' from the capital by taking on roles that did not needed to be performed there.
Source: Michael Parkinson, No Cities, No Civilisation; No Successful Cities, No Successful Nations, European Institute for Urban Affairs, Liverpool John Moores University
Links: Paper
Date: 2013-Dec
A think-tank report examined how urban green spaces could be improved. It said that urban local authority spending on open spaces in England had reduced by around 10 per cent between 2010-11 and 2012-13 and, at the same time, funding reductions had caused related national third sector organizations to close. The report noted the lack of available data on urban green spaces and called for a new national 'urban green space map' to provide information to direct future improvement efforts.
Source: Katherine Drayson, Park Land: How open data can improve our urban green spaces, Policy Exchange
Links: Report | Policy Exchange press release
Date: 2013-Nov
A special issue of a journal examined economic development in the United Kingdom under the coalition government.
Source: Local Economy, Volume 28 Number 7-8
Links: Table of contents
Notes: Articles included:
James Rees and Alex Lord, 'Making space: putting politics back where it belongs in the construction of city regions in the North of England'
Iain Deas, Stephen Hincks, and Nicola Headlam, 'Explicitly permissive? Understanding actor interrelationships in the governance of economic development: the experience of England s Local Enterprise Partnerships'
David Waite, Duncan Maclennan, and Tony O Sullivan, 'Emerging city policies: devolution, deals and disorder'
Allan Cochrane, Bob Colenutt, and Martin Field, 'Developing a sub-regional growth strategy: reflections on recent English experience'
Sarah Ayres and Graham Pearce, 'A Whitehall perspective on decentralisation in England s emerging territories'
Kevin Broughton, Nigel Berkeley, and David Jarvis, 'Where next for neighbourhood regeneration in England? Two years on'
Mike Chadwick, Peter Tyler, and Colin Warnock, 'How to raise the bar on impact evaluation: challenges for the evaluation of local enterprise partnerships and the regional growth fund in times of austerity'
Lee Pugalis and Gill Bentley, 'Storming or performing? Local Enterprise Partnerships two years on'
Date: 2013-Nov
A new book examined the city and the different ways in which it could be researched. Chapters from nine contributors explained how research was conducted, to provide a practical resource for students.
Source: Kevin Ward (Ed.), Researching the City: A guide for students, SAGE
Links: Summary
Date: 2013-Nov
A report examined the future prospects for town centres in the United Kingdom. Noting a change in shopping trends, it said that fewer town centre retail units would be needed in the future. Recommendations included: town and city centres to be designated as 'infrastructure', and incorporated in the government's national infrastructure plan; cross-border co-operation between local authorities; proactive use of compulsory purchase orders; and greater engagement with private sector developers, investors, landlords and housebuilders.
Source: Beyond Retail: Redefining the shape and purpose of town centres, Distressed Town Centre Property Taskforce
Links: Report | BCSC press release
Date: 2013-Nov
A think-tank report highlighted the importance of city centres – and not just high streets – to the promotion of jobs growth and local economies.
Source: Paul Swinney and Dmitry Sivaev, Beyond the High Street: Why our city centres really matter, Centre for Cities
Date: 2013-Sep
A think-tank report said that policies intended to revive high streets had failed. The Town Centre First policy had been intended to support the high street by limiting out-of-town shopping centres: but it had decreased competition between retailers and damaged the social fabric of many communities, especially outside the south east region. Discriminating against out-of-town outlets had also pushed up prices, which was particularly damaging for low-income households.
Source: Alex Morton and Gerard Dericks, 21st Century Retail Policy: Quality, choice, experience and convenience, Policy Exchange
Links: Report | Policy Exchange press release
Date: 2013-Sep
A paper described a method for defining the 'core urban area' and 'hinterland' of large and metropolitan cities.
Source: Alex Fenton, Urban Area and Hinterland: Defining large cities in England, Scotland and Wales in terms of their constituent neighbourhoods, Social Policy in a Cold Climate Research Note RN004, Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion (London School of Economics)
Links: Paper
Date: 2013-Jun
A think-tank report said that the model of regeneration funding that had supported investment in many cities before the start of the global economic recession was no longer viable. Private sector banks and other investors had a much weaker appetite for risk, and the public policy goal of reducing the deficit meant that there was much less money for state-led regeneration. New models were required to support investment in cities, including urban development funds.
Source: Paul Swinney and Zach Wilcox, Developing Interest: The future of urban development funds in the UK, Centre for Cities
Date: 2013-Apr
A new book examined contemporary Anglo-American suburbia. Drawing on research in outer London, it looked at life on the edge of a world city from the perspective of residents.
Source: Alan Mace, City Suburbs: Placing suburbia in a post-suburban world, Routledge
Links: Summary
Date: 2013-Feb
A new book set out the case for radically rethinking understandings of contemporary suburban life. Suburbs and the relationships that sustained them had been subject to significant changes in the previous 50 years, with changing work patterns, changing family lives, changing patterns of home-ownership, and a massive shift in the structural relationships between inner cities and their surrounding urban environment.
Source: Rupa Huq, On the Edge: The contested cultures of English suburbia, Lawrence & Wishart
Links: Summary
Date: 2013-Jan
A new book examined the role of universities as urban institutions, and their impact on employment, the built environment, business innovation, and society at large.
Source: John Goddard and Paul Vallance, The University and the City, Routledge
Links: Summary
Date: 2013-Jan